Hades

Chapter 1. Kala

Twenty years later

"Woof." A furry paw patted my cheek several times. I opened my eyes in a daze, meeting a piercing stare, just a feet away from me.I yelped sitting up with a start, causing the dog in my lap to nearly fall off the bed and receiving a growl from him.

"Don't growl at me, you're the one who scared me, asshole."

 I turned on the light before shooting a murderous glare at the dog. Wait a second...I didn't have a dog! I screamed again, jumping out of bed. What was a dog doing in my apartment? Where had it come from? I looked at the open window, but I had closed the window before I slept, I always did, didn't I? I looked back at the dog from the corner of my room. It was a German Shepherd and it was sitting on the white carpet at the foot of the bed watching me calmly, it hadn't flinched in the slightest at my hysterical reaction. In fact, it seemed even...bored. Could a dog be bored? I couldn't ask myself any more philosophical questions as the dog got up and headed for the half-open door to my room. When it reached it, turned its head towards me and looked at me for a few moments, then opened the door wider with its head and went out into the hallway.I followed  as if mesmerized. My apartment was not very big. It only had one bedroom, one bathroom and a third larger room that joined the kitchen and living room, but with the little I had saved I couldn't afford much more and the rent was affordable.The dog went to the living room window on the other side of the apartment, stood up on its two hind paws and leaned his front paws on the glass, growling. I looked through the glass straight out into the darkness of the night, a little frightened.

"I can't see anything."

But there was no doubt that it did, I could tell by its tense position and its constant growling, "There's nothing..."A shiver ran through my body. There was something, or rather, someone. It was almost imperceptible, however, in the distance I thought I could make out a large shadow, as of a corpulent figure, a very tall person perhaps? I swallowed saliva, feeling a sudden fear, what if it was a stalker? Should I call the police? I tried again to make out the figure, but to my relief...or horror, that shadow had disappeared.Had I closed my bedroom window? I ran back into the room, the window still open. Tachycardic, I slammed it shut and leaned my forehead against the glass, taking a deep breath to try to calm myself. Whoever was outside couldn't have gotten into the house, my window was in the opposite direction, it wouldn't have given them time....Something rubbed against my hand and I looked down to find the dog's head, it nudged my hand with his muzzle and licked my fingers. Smiling I stroked its head.

"Can you imagine  there is someone hiding somewhere in the house?" I said as I continued stroking the dog's head trying to relax my racing heart "Then he's lost. I hook him by the neck and HAEEYAH, HAEEYAH, Karate Kid style." I punched the air as if my opponent was right in front of me, "One taekwondo kick and I'll knock him out."

CRASH

I couldn't help but scream at that sudden sound. But almost instantly I took a breath and calmed down. It was only the branches of the tree that had hit against the window.The fear had left me a little and I looked down at the dog, who looked back at me with a stare that said  What- kind- of- insine- woman-are- you?  Surely- you-don't- even- know -how- to- peel- a- potato- well-, much less how to give a taekwondo kick."Aren't you a  watchdog?" I pointed to the window, "Go out there and prove it, then!"

And if it weren't for the fact that I was too overwhelmed, I could have sworn the dog smiled at me. The dog tensed up again and perked up its ear listening to something in the distance. It got back up on its two paws and scratched at the glass.

"Do you want to go out?" I asked, a little dazed and, again, a little frightened. The dog just stared at me, "You can't go out the window, even if it's a first  floor you'll hurt yourself" The dog growled at me in response and turned its attention back to the window, getting more and more tense. I sighed in defeat and opened it.