existence within extinction

rot and rabbit's blood

{note: this chapter contains gore. if this makes you uncomfortable, i'd advise skipping xx}

sailor finally got up. her nails, worn down and unkempt from almost two years of chasing things, of scraping the river stones that huddled at the bottom of water bodies, of limping out to the grass patch separated from her home by a river of rocks, pierced the eerie silence as they clicked against the floor. her nose twitched. everything about her home was different. instead of the warm, welcoming scent of her family, of the humans she'd grown up with... there was nothing. it was a strange, stale cleanliness. the fur on her neck slowly rose, and that on her spine quickly followed. it was already evident that, whatever strange thing had happened, it had taken everything away from her. this building was no longer her home but merely the empty shell of the last chapter of her life. a pang of regret shook sailor's body. how short that comfortable chapter had been. however, now her throat was parched and she needed water. swallowing, she picked up her head, and headed down the hall, strange and void of life, to her water bowl. yet, when she finally came upon it, there wasn't a single drop of water within. sailor began to worry. taking a breath to steady herself, she reminded herself of the quiet trickle of a stream that she'd retreated to for quiet. there was always water and greens to be found there. the only problem, it seemed, was the way in which she would get there. perking her ears, she listened for a faint breeze, some sort of give away that perhaps a door had been left cracked or a window open, enough for her to find a way outside without risking the injury that came with broken glass. however, attempting to dig her way out would waste energy, and there really was no other way. squeezing her deep brown optics, she retraced her steps from the hall to a large, square room. this room had a stand with a dark box that often would light up with colour, showing strange people or animals. this box seemed heavy enough, and was far enough from from the wall for her to grab hold of the cords connecting it to the wall. yet, if she were to pull just hard enough at just the right angle and sprint the other directing just in time, she might be able to shatter the window and avoid getting cut up. her fur prickled at the thought of the thin window glass digging deep into her skin, slicing into her body. shaking herself, the dog braces herself as she gripped a few of the cords in her jaw. they tasted horrible, like fire and metal and dangerous things. all she wanted was to cower in the corner, and yet that was far from possible if she ever wanted to get out. a dry patch in her throat made her feel shaky and yet determined at the same time. as though in a spasm of fear, the small labrador yanked the wires as hard as she could, and quickly let go. before she knew it she was sprinting around the stand holding up the box and away. not fast enough. a fiery pain exploded in her back left leg, right through the skin between the two halves of her calf bone. her leg buckled and she went sprawling across the floor, crying out as though she'd been shot. when she finally hit the wall and rolled over onto her back, she was breathing heavily. sailor lifted her neck, shaking, and observed her cut. it was clean through her leg, which would've been caused by the force with which it was flying, and only about half the length of one of her nails. it'd heal okay- so long as it didn't get infected. but it'd significantly slow her down and possibly attract unwanted attention. grimacing, she reluctantly stood up, holding her injured leg close to her stomach as she limped across the room. carefully navigating her way through the field of glass covering the floor, sailor made it to the window sill, where she blew the small glass shards off before clambering out the window. thankfully, below the window was rocks, and the crevices between had swallowed up most of the glass. however this meant that the glass that was there was barely visible. and because of this her rough pads were cut and bleeding once she'd made it out onto the grass. the grass was damp and cool, a relief on her cut and aching pads. shaking herself roughly, she sucked in the soft, warm early summer air. birds called to one another from treetops, insects leaped from grass stem to grass stem or fluttered lazily in the breeze. it'd have a been a beautiful day, if it hadn't been full of such foreboding and fear. limping lightly on her damaged leg, sailor made her way around what was soon to be her former home to the side fence, termite-infested, damp, and falling apart. the gate itself no longer latched and was hanging on only one hinge. wincing, the canine pushed it open, and the rusty, squealing protests of the gate sent a flock of crows hurdling into the air. they'd been fighting over a carcass, and one managed to steel a strip of bloody, stinking meat, before taking off into the air. this had likely been left out for a while, as it was sour with the scent of rot. and yet, when sailor ventured closer, she recoiled and closed her eyes tightly. before her was not a carcass. it was a rabbit. a live rabbit. it was struggling to breath, split open down the middle, slowly bleeding out. blood leaked from it's body, staining and matting its fur and the grass beneath. and yet, the rabbit was going bad before the dog's terrified, half-opened eyes. its skin and insides had rotted, turning a strange colour and reeking of sickness. maggots squirmed from underneath the small creature's fur. holding her breath, sailor limped away, towards the car path. she was shaking violently at the gruesome scene she'd stumbled upon. as she turned to look back, the crow that'd taken a strip of meat fell from it's tree, hitting the ground with a heavy thump. it screeched and cawed, choking on it's own saliva as feathers and skin fell from his body, rotting just like the rabbit it'd eaten from alive. sailor turned and pelted away, as fast as she could on her injured leg, which wasn't at all quick. her paws felt heavy against the car path, and her tongue felt dry. something was terribly wrong.