Canid Undead: A Dog's Story

1 - Once Upon A Time

A Note From The Author: this book was written long ago. Since then, I've greatly improved my writing style (so yes, I'm saying this isn't written as well as it could've been). I've improved all of the chapters many different times. You can only do so much, so I've moved on. Though it's not the best, this book is something I'm proud of, and it's necessary that I keep it as is. I hope you can enjoy Canid Undead: A Dog's Story nevertheless. As a forewarning, the beginning is slow, and there are some chapters that aren't as good, but I can say that it may be an enjoyable experience for you. This was a passion project, and maybe that can be your takeaway. :)

Thinking back, I saw myself, a pup in the big forest. For a short time I had siblings and a mother.

I don't remember what happened in-between, but I do recall joining a pack of dogs and wolves after some time, during snowfall.

After settling into the pack and asserting myself, a much more powerful pack had injured many of us during an attack. I fled, finding myself in a place of many felines and canines, those like me.

A human took me there, to this strange place, after finding me near the streets, in the rain, limping... to find shelter, food. Maybe another pack. Maybe I could join the pack that'd attacked us, I thought.

After awhile, the same human who found me had later given me to two other humans.

A year passed.

I returned to the same place I was in. Not the exact same, though. This time, I wasn't there but a day. Felines and canines were being picked off by humans in suits. Eventually, I was taken out of my cage, too. I missed my human.

But now I'm here somehow, navigating this cold, dark cage. Bumps in the weight beneath me bounced me about. My claws gripped onto the cold, metal flooring beneath me. I believed I was in something moving, going through dirt, or something similar.

Countless other animals in the cramped vehicle sat in their cages. Before I knew it, I and another dog were taken out from our cages by a human. A muzzle laced our snouts. A stick-thing with a circling wire squeezed our necks. I did not resist, as exhaustion had overcame me.

She'd converse with another human, said other human forcing us to and inside an unfamiliar building. We were lifted from the ground, the human removing the... stick-things from our necks. Gently, we were sent into another cage inside the building (the human pet my head before closing the door to the cage. I wonder what this was for), against a wall, where several other cages were aligned from left to right, bottom to top. Many animals occupied them, usually those that could be given to humans at those places that steal or harbor us. It was strange, I thought.

I remember much that has lead up to this moment. But I'd rather not think about the details.

He sat at the back of his cold, metal cage, the bars in front of him being the only exit; the only entrance.

Thankfully, the cage was pretty spacey...

The cold metal of the cage touched his tail, sending a shiver down his spine. A bowl of kibble sat under him.

He nibbled at the bowl's kibble.

I remember talk of where I am. The animals here talk about certain tests the humans would perform. Usually harmless ones. On occasion we could hear echoes of angry dog growls or cat's yowls.

Sometimes we would see humans carrying horribly wounded or dead dogs and cats into the facility. A lot of the animals would have vests on them. Ones to signify their title. Others would sometimes be plain house pets or strays.

The experiments were usually simple and almost always the same but slightly different each time. The things I went through for the few weeks weren't too bad. It never hurt. Others went through worse, supposedly, by accident. Some others went through less than I did. Some were killed, but never on purpose. They were always the weaker animals - the ones that'd died.

A cat above him mumbled. "...won't be taken away."

He heard only the hushed conversation of the animals that surrounded him, in their cages. One said how they "can't wait to go under the sun again".

His eyelids drooped, the husky falling in and out of sleep. His especially brown fur jumped at the sound of the shrill screaming of a human. His ears perked up. What could that be? Is a human in danger?

Squishing his snout against the bars of his cage, straining his eyes, he tried to see down the hallway. Howls erupted from the end of the hallway and from inside of the main section of the facility. The room of "lab", or test place.

There was an eerie silence.

A deafening alarm blared, all of our cages unlocking with a small "click".

The alarm still blaring, innumerable amounts of animals left their cages. I did, too. Like an ocean of fur, we darted for the exit.