The Sphere

Chapter 15

Billy got himself up. He felt his stomach grumble and remembered just how hungry he was. He looked up at the deli sign, and figured he wouldn't bother reading what it said. With his head hanging low he walked inside and looked around. He hadn't expected the store to be stocked with anything. Billy perked up and walked over to where they would make the sandwiches, if anyone ever worked there.

Billy had always watched so intently at how the deli workers prepared his sandwiches, some of the people behind the counter felt uncomfortable, but a lot were flattered with how Billy showed such an interest.

"How can someone be so interested in a simple sandwich?" he was asked by the woman making his meal one day. He was at his favorite deli, the one that was right across the street from his old school. The woman who always made his sandwiches, her name was Rebecca.

"It's not about the sandwich Rebecca, it's about the art." This made her giggle. Billy was in there almost every day to get the same thing; Honey glazed turkey, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard, and two strips of bacon, on a hero roll. Billy became such a regular at that store that eventually Rebecca began letting him make his own sandwiches when he came in. Of course she'd have the meat already sliced for him, it's bad enough she was letting him behind the counter, but she would probably go to jail for letting a child from the ages of 13-15 use the slicer.

As Billy walked silently around the deli preparing his sandwich, he realized how much he missed Rebecca. And how he began thinking of the outside world as the past, as if he'd never go back again. He wanted to be hopeful, he wanted to say everything would be okay, but he just couldn't bring himself to believe it. None of whatever happened was even in his hands. It was all up to John and Kelly, he would just have to tag along with whatever went on between them.

Billy finally finished his sandwich but without the bacon, or the tomatoes, or even the mustard. He realized the store wasn't as he had hoped, but it had enough to prepare something for his aching stomach. As he approached the doorway, before he could even take a bite, a dog walked it's way inside. The dog was about the height of his thigh. And it looked weak, as if it hadn't been eating itself. Now why would John put something this precious in here with them?

"Hey little buddy, you look hungry. You want some of my sandwich?" Billy asked as he leaned down to the dog. The dog looked up toward Billy and growled harshly. "Woah there." Billy said backing up. "I just wanna help. You looked hungry, but I guess not. I'll just-" he took a slice of turkey out of the sandwich and tossed it on the floor in between himself and the dog. The dog ignored his feeble act of friendship and continued growling. It had it's eyes locked on Billy, not the sandwich. Billy noticed and was stepping back nervously. "Come on don't be like that. I'm a friend!" Billy pleaded.

The dog barked and leaped at Billy. It wasn't as weak as it appeared because he leaped high enough for Billy to slap the dog in the face with the sandwich. Meat, lettuce, cheese, bread flew everywhere. But the dog was not phased by the attack, it was instead preparing for it's next one.

"Oh come on. Please don't do this please!" Once again Billy was crying. The dog leaped and Billy moved out of the way fast enough to only get a scratch on his arm. Before he could even complain about his new wound the dog dashed at his left leg and clamped his jaws down on his knee. "NO!" Billy began panicking he didn't want to thrash and have the animal's teeth rip his knee to shreds, but he also didn't want to wait for it to get worse. He remembered staying up late on night watching a bunch of dog videos online. He remembered in one video it said someone had to get behind the dog and choke it in some way, or cause a gagging effect, so it will release it's jaw and be pulled away. But Billy was all alone, no one would or could come to his rescue.

The dog began thrashing it's head from side to side, it whipped Billy's knee back and forth causing him to fall. The dog's teeth were digging and causing Billy excruciating pain. He had to do something fast. His hands scrambled for his belt. He struggled to pull it off as the dog continued to torture his knee. Billy was screaming and crying which was clashing with, and being drowned out by the dog snarling and growling. Billy finally got his belt off and tried whipping the dog. He was ignored. How embarrassing, how terrible Billy felt. The dog simply ignored his aggression? Billy continued whipping the dog, which only made it bite down harder, and in turn made Billy cry out louder. He was going to lose his leg. No, even worse, he was going to be eaten alive by this dog.

"I can't! I can't!" Billy yelled. He finally had another idea. He leaned up and wrapped his belt around the neck of the dog and started tightening it. "Let go you mutt! Let me go!" Billy continued to tighten the belt until the dog's jaws finally opened and it began choking. As Billy scrambled to his feet and released the belt and wobbled what he felt was a safe distance away. He positioned himself behind the counter again, watching the dog regain its composure. "Oh god." He whispered, he almost peed himself, because he knew the dog would come running back, but he didn't know what exactly he'd do to survive this time.

The dog finally back on its feet, snarling again, Billy tried backing up, only to be met with the counter occupied by bread, a grill, and the meat slicer. The dog leaped up onto the counter across from Billy, bared it's teeth and jumped straight for Billy. Who gave in to his leg's wishes and collapsed to the ground.

But the dog never came hit the ground after missing. Billy waited with his head down. But still nothing. Eventually Billy got up and looked toward the counter and saw the dog, alive but not well. The dog landed very heavily on top of the round meat slicer. The blade was lodged deep inside the hound, but unmoving as the machine was turned off. But not deep enough to kill the mutt, who was still growling and snapping.

"I'm so sorry." Billy said. He reached over carefully and plugged in the meat slicer Then turned away as the mechanical whir began, and the dogs growling stopped. Billy rushed away from behind the counter and out of the store. Suddenly he wasn't so hungry anymore.