I heard a screeching howl and realized it was me. I was by the back door. I scratched at it, but it was closed. Granny was inside the main house with her pregnant daughter.
I ran to the bathroom and climbed up on the toilet seat then onto the tank and promptly slipped off and onto the floor with a thud. I stopped for a second and listened, my shoulder throbbing from where it had hit the tub.
I heard Shen's voice on the television "...and that is why we must have all of your help. There is obviously something wrong with them. It may even be contagious. We recommend not approaching but reporting it to your local authorities so that they may take appropriate action in apprehending the suspects, uh animals and anyone else that appears to be helping them evade the authorities. It's obvious from the trail of death and destruction in their wake, if the far-fetched claims are even half true the best course of action may be to act in the interest of the safety and welfare of the public at large and terminate them. What if there is something viral? We don't even know for sure what they have? They could be test subjects that have escaped from a lab and carry some horrible virus. I would recommend special precautions for anyone with a compromised or limited immune system, like the elderly, and children. They would be at the greatest risk of infection."
I caught my reflection in the mirror, and felt a surge of horror. What was the creature staring back? I couldn't see anything human as my eyes traveled up. I saw no curves, only fur. Till finally I saw my eyes. My eyes, blinking back at me and I knew somewhere deep inside there was a part of me that was still there.
The rights activist got into the discussion, "Well this really brings the question of rights to the forefront. It's obvious that it's more than just dumb animals we're dealing with here. Do they have any rights at all? Should they have rights? Should they have the right to opt out of testing? What level of intelligence qualifies them as able to choose whether or not to be test subjects?"
Chip Danville jumped in aggressively. "You're all nuts. Haven't you seen what this has spawned in the media, children believing that dogs are people. Setting up shrines to worship them. They're not people. We need to kill these monsters for the children. The Bible says that we are to rule the earth, not some half-dog. Listen we let in all you people, all of them, and gave them handouts, they get more handouts than veterans. What do you propose that Fido should get free health care too? You want to kill children to save a dog?"
I turned back and carefully scrabbled up the toilet tank to the ledge. I nudged the window open with my nose and crawled through the window. I landed on the damp ground in the gathering dark. My joints sore from lack of use. I picked a direction, away from the main house and straight for the dark woods.
