My Short Stories

Dang it, Gary

"Here we go again," I sighed as I stepped out into the empty air. "Gary's gone and killed the neighbors again. I just re-cloned them all last week!"

I step off my porch and walk out into the road.

"Gary!" I shout, trying to locate him.

A joyous husky comes trotting along towards me with his tongue sticking out and leash wrapped around his face. He trips and rolls face first towards me. Sprawled out, he looks up at me with a cheerful smile.

"Seriously, Gary!?" I scold him. "I just fixed this since you did this last week and now I have to do it again."

He rolls over onto his back exposing his red and white belly. I lean down to rub his belly.

"I assume you had a good lunch then?"

He just smiles and closes his eyes. Lightly, he pats me with his paw.

"Let's get you home so I can clean you and hopefully start the cloning process."

He jumped up and trotted along with me as we head back into the house. After a thorough scrub, Gary helped me get the cloning machines ready. Each person required some hair, skin, and blood to clone them, which I had a safe stash of each.

"I can't believe you've done this," I chuckle to myself, "especially so soon." Turning to him, "Am I not feeding you enough or something? 'Cause geez dog, you can't just keep eating the neighbors. You'll get fat." He was already looking kind of chunky.

Gary gave me his best offended look a dog like him could give.

"It's true though," I tell him.

He got up, fell on his face, got up again, walked over to his bed, and huffed down on the pillowy surface. I ignore his grumpy face and continue the cloning.

A few hours later, the neighbors were restored and I laid on my bed, exhausted, and wished the same wish I do every night. "Please don't make me do this again." Of course, it never comes true. I always wake up one random morning with a suspicious emptiness in the air. I'll get up, walk out the door, and mumble the same words I always do, "Here we go again."