Savage?

Nine

I remember waking up to a dry mouth and itchy fur. Dried blood from running wild made my coat darker red than normal. My paws and just about everything else ached.

The box I had slept in smelled bad, and so after I blinked the sleep out of my eyes I was eager to leave. Humans patrolled the sidewalk in front of me, but none seemed to care about me. They stepped to the side to let me pass and for the most part I ignored them.

My first priority was finding water to drink and bathe, but there were no lakes near here. I was in the concrete jungle.

A growl came from one of the side alleys I passed. A mangy dog with one eye stood over a scrap of food. My stomach rumbled and I quickly weighed my chances. The mutt was even more malnourished than I was, bones pushing against his grey fur. His dark eyes were devoid of anything except hunger and malice. It would be easy.

I approached slowly, head down and lips pulled back. The mutt started to back away, but his eyes darted down to the food and he regained his stubbornness. I stepped forward, and he reached down for the food. Sensing his intent to run, I lunged. My aim was a little off, but my teeth left a bloody trail on his side. He cried out in pain, and started to run in defeat. Blood lust overwhelmed me and I chased him down, trapping him against the brick. He snapped at me, barely grazing my muzzle. Even so, it infuriated me more. He was only a few inches shorter than me, but seemed so weak. I slashed at his underside, then at his face. He staggered back and forth, blood pouring from him. He collapsed, all the will to live gone. I took my chance and snapped his neck, leaving him limp on the concrete. I was hungry, but I would not be reduced to eating my own's flesh.

I trotted back for my prize, feeling proud. The feeling disappeared as soon as I realized the meat was gone. Sniffing around, I determined that during the fight another street dog had stolen my lunch. It was a lesson to me. Don't be cocky, just eat what you can.

I slunk to the opening of the alley, hoping for a chance to chase down the thief. Not another dog was in sight, just more humans. I snarled in rage at myself and the rat who took my food.

Several of the humans eyed me, and I growled back at them. The rumbling in my throat reminded me how thirsty I was, and I huffed out a sigh. With my head low I loped down the sidewalk, my head pounding.

After walking for what seemed like hours, I heard the distinctive splashing of water. I picked up the pace, which had drifted into a slow trot. I found myself staring at a park, with a medium sized pond in one corner.

I ran towards it, crashing straight through the shallow water. I began lapping up water, barely aware of the red tint to the water around me. I must have stayed like that for a while, enjoying the cool, soothing feeling. My trance was broken by an odd honking noise. A large goose flapped towards me angrily.

I looked at it questioningly as it approached. Meat. My brain urged. I met the birds charge and grabbed it by the wing. It pecked against my skull, struggling violently. I let it go, spitting feathers out. It beat me with its good wing and kicked at me. The small talons stung, and I gritted my teeth.

A small crowd had gathered around the pond, mainly young adults who were entertained by the fight. I paid them no real mind. I was used to being watched. In a way it actually reinvigorated me. I pretended Master was in the crowd, watching me, waiting for me to best my new foe.

I struck again, this time grabbing the other good wing. My teeth found the fragile bones and crushed them to dust. The goose screamed in pain and, it's spirit broken, tried to fly away. With both wings out of commission, it didn't get very far. I bounded after it, my teeth catching and pulling out feathers repeatedly. Eventually, the goose's rear was red and naked. My teeth hit flesh and I yanked it back towards me. With a final burst of effort my teeth connected with its long neck and I snapped it with a tug.

The crowd shrunk back as I eyed them warily, and slowly dissolved into only one or two people left standing there. I growled at them for good measure and drug my kill over to a large oak. With the oak behind me, I began tearing off feathers and slitting them out so I could get to the real prize, the flesh.

Several frightened mothers guided their children away from me, but I still had come across no real adversity.

I was almost finished with my meal when an impish young yellow lab bounded over to me. My body stiffened and I growled at her. The lab turned her head and barked, something I rarely did. My lips came up further, revealing my razor teeth. The lab turned her head further. I was angry she wasn't getting the message. This was mine!

I lunged towards her and my jaws clamped around her muzzle, shaking vigorously. The naive yearling yelped and cried, and tried to pull back, only further shredding her muzzle. Someone ran over, probably the lab's owner, and kicked me in the side. I let go of her and bit the offending foot. The man yelled and tried to kick me with his other foot but lost balance. I let go as he hit the ground roughly. I growled at both of them once more, grabbed the rest of the goose, and trotted off.

Author's Note: Wow that took a lot longer than I thought it would. Luckily, I've been procrastinating so hard on other things that I've started finishing my old procrastinations.