Canid Undead: A Dog's Story

3 - The Husky

I was on my own for a short while after leaving that cage.

Aimlessly, the husky searched for a sheltered area (a hole, a cave, anywhere) that he could hide in to both eat his dinner and to escape the extremely unhappy canines that chased after him.

Why were they angry? He'd stolen their prey, of course.

In a whir, his eye caught a glimpse of a towering tree. The bark was peeling off; he could tell this tree was elderly. An opening in the tree trunk revealed itself to the frantic husky. He flew through the roots, landing underneath and inside a cool, fairly dark and sheltered, almost cave-like area. From above, he heard the dogs speeding past, their paws thrumming through the dirt. Swallowed in darkness, he quivered.

Maybe this is some sort of abandoned den. The walls were of sturdy dirt. (I don't smell any)

An unknown animal shrieks from behind me. Setting my prey down, I follow the sound. A few interesting characters reveal themselves.

"Shut your trap, Tez. It's just a dog," mumbled a canine. She was just slightly shorter than the husky; she had white fur with cream spots, and a curled tail. And, to the husky's bewilderment, wings. And horns that stuck straight up.

The one who shrieked, Tez, looked like a race dog - limber, lithe. She had long fur with a blue tint to it.

The third one was another dog. She hadn't spoken yet. She'd one erect ear, one floppy, her fur of a solid white.

"Oh. Hi there." The third dog's eyes lit up.

Tez's eyes reflected a strange anxiety within them. She turned to the one who spoke.

"Another survivor!" The third dog exclaimed. She sniffed the husky.

The winged dog groaned. "What are you doing? This is a stranger. He could be a murderer for all you know." The third dog scoffed.

The husky could hardly believe his ears. His heart skipped a beat or two, fear fueling its rhythm.

The winged dog sniffed the husky cautiously. She stepped away, glaring at the husky. The third dog introduced the winged dog as Kyan and herself as Merli.

"Don't put but a paw out of line, stranger dog," Kyan spat.

Something clicked in his little dog brain, which told him that possibly, if he did put but an inch of fur out of line, he would not like the outcome.

I introduce myself, questioning them.

"..my name is Tom."

I ask if they know what's happening - what, with all the undead Buddys and Mr. Whiskers slugging about.

They didn't tell me much, as they did not know much about what was happening either. At least, that's what I think. They may be wary to open up to me, since we just met and all. Tez and Merli tell me basic information (which was not much at all) as I chow down on one of my squirrels, offering the other to them. Kyan rejects it.

They know about the lab, they say. They said no more - Kyan only glared at Tez and Merli when they mentioned it.

Tez and Merli were in a higher-up laboratory, created for the sole purpose of servicing humans as support dogs. Service dogs. Kyan was in a likely department. She worked with the K-9 unit. The three dogs did not disclose this information to Tom.

Kyan informs me that she calls those creatures deadheads, or Ferals. No more information had been disclosed to Tom. Though eager to welcome Tom, Tez and Merli did not trust him fully. Kyan's glare did not trust Tom at all.

Tez withheld her knowledge of several existing labs.

Tom looked out from the roots of the tree's opening as the sun went down, the few silhouettes of decaying lycanthropes slugging about in the far distance.