What am I

3: I'm certifiable

The whole drive home I was lost in thought about the girl in the parking lot. Who was she and why had she reminded me so much of my dream? Sure the colors were the same as the giant beast from my dream but I'm sure there are thousands of things in this world that are those colors. They were popular colors...right! Maybe that's why the words from my dream also played in my head when she drove off.

Pulling in my driveway I could see the outline of Titan, our pure breed husky dog, laying in the middle of the walkway. As soon as I got out of the car his head popped up and he ran towards me. Only when he was a few feet from me did he stop and put his nose in the air, sniffing lightly at first then baring his canines once he caught an unfamiliar scent. He looked back at me in confusion and sniffed again.

It was as if he didn't know me, he circled me for a moment before taking one of his massive paws and swiping the air around my knees. He was trying to attack me, I could see the viciousness in his eyes. Taking a step forward to try and make a run for it to the front door, he lunged at me, sinking his razor sharp teeth into the flesh of my leg. Screaming out in pain, I saw the door open and my dad charge at us.

As soon as my dad was able to get him off and tie him up around the house, I swear I could hear a deep voice yelling. "No, he's going to attack you! I have to stop him...that's not Harry!" I quickly got to my feet and limped over to peak around the corner of the house to see who was yelling over Titan's barks and my dad's yells for him to quiet down.

Nothing. I saw nothing. Just them. It wasn't until I heard a new set of growls Titan was releasing at me that I looked into his eyes again and heard the voice once more. "YOU'RE NOT HARRY!"

Is...is my dog...talking...to...me?! NO WAY!...I'M FUCKING LOSING IT! I thought as the shouts and growls continued to mix together in my mind. I can't hear dogs talk, no one can! Titan just doesn't recognize my smell, maybe I got into something and didn't know. That...that could happen, right? I mean I could have stepped into something and it just threw him off.

I took off inside and ran upstairs, ignoring my frantic mother wondering why I was dripping blood down the hallway. As soon as I got to my room I slammed the door shut and ran to the bathroom. I stripped and jumped into the shower. The water hitting the bit marks left a trail of red as it mixed with the blood, washing it away.

Once I was done and the water ran a light pink I grabbed a towel and got out. Reaching in the cabinet above the toilet, a picture fell out. The wolf. Just the sight of it sent a shiver down my spine. I threw it in the rubbish bin and went to grab the antiseptic and bandages. I stuck my foot over the side of the tub and poured the clear liquid over the bit marks.

It burned like a mother! I expected a little sting but this was as if I poured 100% alcohol on it and lit a match over it. I quickly turned on the water to rinse it off. Once the 'fire' was down to a normal sting I wiped it with a clean tissue and put the bandage over it.

******

"Harry, I know you probably don't want to, after what happened this afternoon but Titan needs to be walked. I have some work to do so I can't do it myself. Sorry son." My dad said after dinner. Mum was still so shocked that Titan had done it. She was just crying on and on about how he was always such a good dog and how when I was little he would always be by my side. The memories of using him as my first horse and my constant pillow came to mind.

"It's ok, dad. I'll take him. I think maybe I just stepped in something he didn't like and that's why he freaked out." I tried my best to reassure my mum. She nodded slightly with a small smile while I walked out the back door.

I did my best to keep my steps light as I rounded the corner, pecking around the house to see Titan. He was laying there whining with his head in his paws. "Where's my Harry?" came through the whines and I nearly jumped when his head snapped up and sniffed the air around him once again, his eyes fixed on my own.

Within a second he was on his feet, sniffing wildly at me. "It's you!" someone shouted and Titan started to jump up and down. He came as close as his leash would allow and whined at me with sad eyes. This is stupid! He's been your dog since before you can remember! Don't be scared of him! My subconscious screamed at me. It was right, I know he didn't mean to hurt me earlier. He would never.

I walked over to him and put my hand on his head. "You got some rather sharp teeth there my friend, how about you keep them to yourself from now on, huh?" I laughed as I bent down to scratch behind his ears as his head lay on my shoulder. With a lick from my jaw to my forehead, I knew he was just trying to say sorry in his own way. Not in the 'my dog was talking to me' kind of crazy way.

My dog doesn't talk to me! He can't! I kept repeating in my head as we got to the small wooded area behind our house. We liked to walk out there during our evening walks since the streets and parks were normally littered with people and cars at this hour. Making it to the clearing just pass the shrubs that signaled the end of the path I let Titan off his leash to run freely.

Taking a seat, I thought back to the voice I heard in the yard. Maybe I was going crazy. YOUR DOG DOESN'T TALK TO YOU, YOU IDOIT!...Or does he? Leave it to my subconscious to make me second guess my sanity! "Or maybe now you can actually hear me, Harry." My head snapped up to see Titan sitting right in from of me, his split eyes burning into mine. That was one thing about him I loved so much, he had one gold eye and one pale blue, nearly white eye. "I love your green eyes too, Harry. Though sometimes they have blue and gold in them too." The voice spoke again, reading my thoughts. Shit, you're really losing it man! I thought trying not to freak out.

"D-did you...j-just...t-talk to me?!" I whisper/yelled to Titan. His tilted sideways while his tongue pocked out the side of his month. "Talked...is a relative term, my friend. But you can hear me, can't you." He stated without moving his...lips? Holy shit, I'm certifiable. "N-no...dogs don't talk! And I sure as hell don't hear what dogs think!" I was still trying to stop the voice that was telling me I was nuts!

"Just go with it, Har-" he cut himself off and spun on his head to the end of the clearing. "Easy boy, there's nothing there..." I tried to calm him, I didn't want another episode of this afternoon. "NO, there's something...in the trees, just...THERE!" he growled and bared his teeth.

"C-can you call your dog off p-please?" A soft voice spoke as a small figure stepped out from the treeline. All I could make out was nearly white, blonde hair and a lime green hoodie.