This is a longer novella, edging into novel territory. Perhaps it doesn't warrant its' own release, but being completed and ready to go, I didn't want to shove it in a drawer somewhere for however long until I decided to either a) extend it a full length novel, or b) write three other novellas so I could do a collection like Stephen King does. Likewise, it didn't feel right for Spatter. Spatter is mainly short stories, a novella or two, but at a point a collection becomes too large. This story doesn't belong in Spatter, for that reason and others. It also felt different from the rest. It was still gory and of splatterpunk/extreme horror nature but it felt like it was something else. It felt more personal, as well. My own dog, one of them at least, is a Pitbull-Terrier, though his name is not Brutus, and like Brutus, he is an absolute sweetheart. My dog sat next to me as I wrote this, and he, more than anything was my inspiration for it. In that regard, this story was far more painful for me to write than anything I've written to date. Firstly, because it personally hit me, given that the dog in this story is a mirror image of my own. Secondly, because I love animals- all animals- dearly, and when they are hurt, it hurts a part of me.
This novella was also written based on a prompt I was given. That prompt is the blurb/description for this story. Simple, workable, and....haunting. This story, short as it is, took me several days to even develop a first draft for, because it was difficult for me to find a way to introduce such sensitive content in a way that didn't feel too pushed, and it probably feels that way as is.
Man's Best Friend is also heavily inspired by two of Stephen King's novels, Cujo and Pet Sematary, and you will see that as you go. Oddly, though, it was inspired by another novel, Brian Keene's The Rising, where he introduced the ideas of zombies talking. Now, whether or not Brutus is a zombie in this story is debatable, but what I am emphasizing is the idea that he can talk. And that, I felt, made this story haunting in a whole new way. And finally, yet another novel served as inspiration, though only in a very small way that may not show, and probably no one would ever have noticed it had I not mentioned it, but I feel obliged to do so anyway. That novel is Jack Ketchum's Red.
When I began writing Man's Best Friend, I had just finished The Rising, and I thought the best aspect of that novel was that the zombies could talk. That alone took a novel that was another generic zombie story and turned it into a clever, even more haunting tale. So when writing Pooch, I decided to incorporate that idea, but with a dog that has come back.
I've always wondered: if dogs could talk, what would they say? But better yet, if abused dogs could talk, what would they say? More than anything, that is what I explored here.
I think, really, the reason I'm releasing this on it's own is because I feel that this story might be overshadowed by other "better" stories if it were part of a collection, and I don't want that. I want this story to get the attention it deserves. Maybe that sounds conceited; I am in no way suggesting that my own work is soooo good that it deserves massive amounts of attention. Merely, I'm saying that if a person were reading through my work, I would want emphasis to be placed on this story. Because this story is important to me.
I dedicate this story to my aunt, who will almost assuredly never read it. She loves animals as much if not more than I do, but has a softer soul, and could not bear to read it. I dedicate it to her because she is the reason I love animals as much as I do. Perhaps this story isn't very good, but if not for my aunt, it would most certainly be even worse.
-Lars Wallace
9 August, 2020
Sanford, NC
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Man's Best Friend
HorrorA family dog runs away from home. He returns a year later to the delight of his family. But there's something different about him. Something demonic. And he knows things that could tear the family apart....
