Forgotten

Chapter 2

"What the hell?" I asked myself out loud, as I sat up.

It sounded like a dog's cry. Or maybe it wasn't? I shuddered at the thought of it being a lone wolf. Dad had warned me not too long ago that they were spotted by a few neighbors in the area.

I lifted myself up from the floor, deciding to investigate. Whatever it was, it sounded hurt. Surely, if it was hurt, it wouldn't be of any harm to me. At least I thought so.

I quickly climbed down the wooden ladder, gripping the step above me as I went. Once I reached the floor, I scanned the area around me, looking for a large stick of some sort, in case I needed to protect myself.

I picked up the biggest one I could find, and stood still, listening.

I could hear the faint rustling of dry leaves to my left, not too far from me. I turned, ready to head towards the direction, but stopped when I heard another weak cry.

It definitely sounded like a dog. I ran towards the sound, kicking leaves behind me as I went.

A dog. A large, dirty brown dog came into view as I approached the scene. I gasped when I noticed that it's paw was caught in an old rabbit trap.

The trap had its jaws shut tightly around the dog's hind leg, blood dripping down from the wound.

He stopped struggling when he saw me. His ears swiftly raised up, but dropped flat against his head just as quick as they came up once he noticed how close I was to him.

His mesmerizing golden eyes widened as he stared into mine. He was terrified. I stared back at him, in shock. I hadn't been this close to a dog in such a long time. Dad had forbidden me.

The dog's brown fur was long, but matted. His coat was filthy, with hundreds of burrs buried deep within, causing it to be extremely tangled.

I glanced back down at his paw that was caught in between the rabbit trap. I needed to get him out of it.

I stepped closer to the injured dog. A deep growl escaped his throat, which caused me to quickly back away.

"Hey boy.. it's okay. I just want to help." I said softly, staring into the dog's fearful eyes.

Keeping a dim voice seemed to soothe the dog. He stopped growling and dropped to the ground, a whimper coming out of him.

I took this as my chance and got on my knees. I scrambled towards the trap, and looked closely at it.

The dog raised his head and looked back at me. I sat still, waiting for a reaction. Surprisingly enough, he uncomfortably turned back and laid his head down again.

I got to work. Using both of my hands, I grabbed a lever on each side of the trap and stabilized the bottom of the trap using my palms. I used my fingers to pull the lever towards me, and the trap's jaws pried open.

I couldn't help but feel proud of myself as the dog rapidly stood up, and lifted his paw out of the trap.

I got up from the ground, wiping the excess dirt off of my jeans with my hands. The dog sat a few feet away from me, licking his wound.

He was a large dog. He had to be a mix of two breeds. Perhaps a German Shepherd mix, as his coat was a golden brown, just like his eyes. He didn't have a collar on him.

In fact, he didn't seem to belong to anyone. He was for sure a stray, and I could tell he has been one for a long time.

I got closer, reaching my hand out to pet the dog. He jumped, and stood up, his hind leg lifted off of the ground. He clearly needed some to be checked out by a veterinarian.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you.." I muttered.

The dog tilted his head, and looked up at me.

"Maybe I can get someone to take you to a vet. I would do it myself, but dad would kill me.." I said.

I shook my head, taking a step towards the dog. I just wanted to pet him, to remove all of the burrs that dug deep into his fur.

The dog backed away, and in less than a second, he turned and frantically limped away.

"Wait, no!" I called, but he had disappeared into the woods.
- - - - - - - -
By the time dad returned home from work, I had already eaten dinner.

I was curled up on the couch, deep in thought, wondering where and how the dog was. The television was on, but I wasn't watching it. I just stared at my dirty shoes that were across the room from me. I hadn't noticed the blood spot on one of them. I must've stepped on the dog's blood at one point.

"Avery, if you're not watching the television, turn it off please."

I blinked, turning my head to look back at my dad. He was seated on our kitchen table, his tired eyes staring down at his plate full of food. He was still wearing his greasy work clothes, the blue uniform stained from all of the oils that he worked with at the car shop.

"Yeah, sorry." I replied, grabbing the controller and shutting off the television in front of me.

Silence filled the house. I furrowed my eyebrows, staring down at my hands.

"How was work, dad?" I finally said, breaking the silence.

"Good. Did you eat already?" He questioned.

I nodded my head, but realized he probably didn't see that, so instead I replied, "Yes, I did."

"How was your day? What'd you do all day?" He asked. I could tell he was trying to stir up a conversation with me.

I wanted so bad to tell him all about my day. To tell him about the dog I had found in the woods, and how I managed to get him out of a rabbit trap. How I looked for the dog for hours after I had last seen him.

But I couldn't. I knew that bringing up a dog would only spark painful memories for my dad. It would shut him down for the rest of the night.

Instead, I simply replied with, "It was good! I did the usual, I cleaned, did some of my homework, and watched television."

"That's my girl. Stay on top of your schoolwork, you know how important that is."

"Yes, I'm well aware." I said, as I stood up from the couch, walking into the kitchen with my dirty plate.

"Glad you get it." He said, with a soft chuckle.

I gave him a small smile as I set my plate into the sink, and then gave him a kiss on the cheek as I was on my way out.

"Goodnight, dad."

"Goodnight, Avery."