101 Reasons Why

Oddball

My headlights finally flashed to the dark form of the warehouse and my tires crunched on gravel, breaking the eerie silence. I stepped out, my long strides accompanied by the jingling of the keys I had slipped out of my pocket. I unlocked the door and entered the grimy, caliginous building, heart pounding, floorboards creaking beneath my feet with my every step. I shivered, my shoulders quaked. Every little sound echoed in the cavernous expanse, and I crept warily forward, one hand trailing on the damp, mildewed wall.

Click-click...Click-click…

I froze, my eyes wild, my chest heaving with anxiety at the sound. Something about the noise triggered my mind. My childhood fears came flooding back, but this time Speckles wasn’t there to save me. Memories flashed through my head and I shook with fervor. Being laughed at, made fun of, abused… But my sweet Speckles, always by my side…

The dark magnified my fear, blowing it out of proportion. I shuffled a few more steps forward, laughing at myself inwardly. I had nothing to fear anymore. All that was left to do was shut out the memories dancing in my brain and do what I had come here to do.

I made it to the next door with haste, but suddenly, I stopped, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. I spun around indignantly, expecting to see Jasper or Horace. Instead, two angelic blue eyes peered up at me through the murk. I drifted towards her, wading through the inky blackness. I picked up the puppy, and gently moved her into a beam of moonlight peeking through a sloppily-boarded window. My suspicions were confirmed. She was pure, snowy white, like a dove. Her dangling collar charm announced her name, Oddball, in sparkly, slanted script. A small, tear rolled slowly down my cheek, and Oddball carefully reached her head forward to lick it from my face. I sniffled, remembering how Speckles had always done the same. My heart writhing in my chest, I set Oddball gently on the cool boarded floor and took a deep breath. I’d almost done something I knew I would have regretted for the rest of my life. I had to make up for it in the only way I could.  I would set the puppies free. Oddball at my heels, I journeyed deeper into the warehouse, snapping open cages as I went. The joyful yaps tailed me down the corridor to the glowing emergency exit. I turned to look once more at the sea of spots surrounding me, my eyes finally resting on Oddball, the one puppy that had changed it all. I leaned down to her and kissed her downy, white head.

 “Thank you,” my whisper was barely loud enough in the clamor of the chattering dogs, but I knew Oddball heard it. I hoped Speckles did, too, somewhere. And with that, I shoved the door wide open with a clang and let the sea of wagging tails and flying paws engulf me. The emergency alarm blared its warning, but as I watched the puppies run free, I suddenly didn’t care. I was finally at peace with the person I’d become, and the sirens sounding in the distance didn’t faze me. I’d done the right thing and saved the puppies, turning myself into custody in the process. My ignoble actions had gotten me into this mess, but the puppies are the 101 reasons why I’m in jail.