Finding Solace

II

Slicing my hand and snagging my shirt on a barbed wire fence wasn't really how I imagined my day going. I expected to drive, find food, maybe check into some rundown motel so I wouldn't have to sleep in my car again. Trespassing wasn't really on my bucket list either so things weren't going as planned.

Tugging on my shirt that was still stuck on the metal wire, I was awarded with the sounds of the threads snapping, leaving me with a four inch rip going up the side. I signed and tugged the shirt back down my abdomen.

"This is what I get for trying to be good samaritan and an animal lover." I muttered, stepping over shards green tinted glass that was lying in a pile of mud, or what I hoped was mud. Tattered black and blue tarps covered unidentifiable objects, most likely heavy farming machinery by the looks of it. Sheets of rusted scrap metal were haphazardly strewn across the yard, a safety hazard for myself. Just rubbing up against one of them could easily slice open my skin and give me any disease that it carried. The random objects and trash that served as a tripping hazard didn't help my situation either, I was clumsy enough as it was.

As lightning streaked the sky and the dark clouds covered the sun, I quickened my pace. Peering beneath the piles of trash, I searched for possibly injured animal. Pursing my lips together, I clicked my tongue as if I were calling for a cat.

"Come on." I muttered, uneasy as the storm grew closer. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Walking around to the back of the house, a small, decrepit, barn of sorts was sitting. The roof had caved in, leaving exposed nails and boards dangling from the ceiling and those that had fallen were lying on the floor. The wooden walls were warped and caved in, the structure about to completely collapse. The cobwebs that were covering the place made my stomach drop; I hated spiders with a burning passion.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I decided that the barn would be saved for last if I didn't find the animal sooner. Moving the branches of a small bush, the sound of metal slamming on metal sounded behind me. Spinning around, I watched as on the of the metal sheets fell and the thing I was looking for being pinned beneath it, the creature letting out a cry.

Approaching it slowly, I was afraid that the thing would leap out and attack me, possibly giving me rabies that would inevitable lead me to my death since I was no where near civilization or hell. Now that I had a closer look at the animal in question, it appeared to be a huge rodent. I yelped at the sheet metal moved as the rodent tried to get free.

"Great." I signed, wiping the still pooling blood from my hand onto my already ruined shirt. "I've been wasting all of my time on a giant mutant rat." Looking around, I picked up a slightly bent rod, serving as my weapon if the rat decided to attack me after I save it. Taking deep breaths, I grabbed the side, building my courage to flip it over.

"Okay..."I said apprehensively andwent to free the thing being pinned but instead of a squeak, I was met with a small, high-pitched whimper. Confused, I crouch down, not caring that my knees were sinking into the moist ground. Pushing the scrap metal upwards, I was met with my mutant rat.

"... A dog?" It whined at me again, laying on the ground as if it were hurt badly. Parts of his body had long, wispy, thin fur that was matted with mud while the rest of his skin was exposed. The poor dog's body was covered with scabs and I could see the fleas crawling on its skin.

"Oh my" I gasped and gently picked it up, afraid that I would hurt it further. Cradling it to my chest, it curled up further into my warmth, licking my arm with its small tongue. Giggling, I pulled it closer, not caring that it's skin was rough and that dirt was now coating me like a second skin. It was smaller than I thought it was and smelled much worse.

"Oh, you're just a puppy." I said, my heart breaking. How could someone just abandon a puppy, or treat it this badly? Standing up, I headed towards my car. I planned to wrap it up in one of my sweatshirts, give it some water and call a vet and see who would take it in.

It squirmed it my arms as soon as I began to walk. Slipping through my hold, it dropped to the ground, making me gasp. "Hey!" I yelled as it began to run. I was afraid that it was injured from such a high fall.

"Get back here!" I yelled after it and began to follow. "I'm not going to hurt you!" The puppy ran behind the house and slipped between the boards of the dilapidated barn.

"You have got to be kidding me." I mumbled, pausing at the front opening, the doors barely hanging on to their rusted hinges. I took in the dead grass that surrounded the barn, the only grass around this entire yard. Chips of red paint added pops of color to this otherwise dull place.

"Come on. Come here." I called from the entrance, hoping that it would come back and I could get out of here as quickly as possible. After a few minutes and no sign of the puppy, I knew that I would have to go in there and get it out.

"All I wanted was a hamburger." Eying the giant spider that was crawling on the wall, I shivered. "But I'm not so hungry anymore.

Walking in, I was overwhelmed with the musty smell. A bucket surround by flies reeked and I was afraid of what was inside of it. It was very open, the walls of what looked like horse stalls had fallen long ago. Even though the structure was missing the roof, it was dark and hard to see, the grey clouds now complete covering the sun.

Tripping over a piece of wood, my leg scraped the side of a pitch fork, drawing blood from my skin. Biting my cheek to keep from crying out in pain, I didn't want to scare the puppy in to hiding. A whimpered sounded from ahead of me, the puppy appearing from the shadows to stand by my side.

"There you are." I signed in relief. Scooping him up in my arms, I unsteadily stood up and the wound in my leg burned.

"Let's get out of here." Looking up, around to walk, I was met with a whiskered snout directly in front of my face.