Bloodsport

Danny was a lost teenager until he found his purpose in his newly adopted pet. Their bond becomes one of tragedy and possession. Not all love is beautiful.

School was almost upon him and Daniel Bailey couldn’t feel worse. He’d spent the better part of the

summer holiday as he had spent his year, searching. One morning Danny opened his eyes to

something other than the morning light shining through his curtains. He woke up to find himself

dissatisfied, empty and most of all purposeless. He was a frequent reader and amidst his books he

found the emotions, the thrill for life that he now eagerly yearned for and Danny decided he wanted

to find it. He didn’t know where to start especially since he didn’t know what he was looking for.

Danny became depressed and the more he searched the more the inability to find the answers

became clear to him. He didn’t take this too well which lead to more distancing from people and

more melancholy.

He woke up the next morning determined to do something other than laze around the house

moping or force himself to do tedious housework (which was a way of keeping his mind busy) but

then again he still was not better. After the usual morning routine where he was just annoyed at

everyone and everything they said and did, he left suddenly to visit his old friend Bob. They had

been good friends for a long time and Bob was one of Danny’s only friends that truly understood

him.

“Hi Danny” said Mrs Palmer with a smile” You’ve been scarce”.

“Good Morning, Yeah been really busy with school and all”

Danny didn’t feel like responding but gave a wry smile and just replied, it may have been somewhat

true but it felt like a lie. He and Bob liked each other’s company and were always close but they did

not feel the need to see each other or people in general all too regularly. When they were kids they

saw a movie where people were talking about their ‘Happy Place’ and both of them made their

happy place their rooms where they had privacy and would venture other worlds. So walking

through the Palmer’s house naturally Danny found Bob in his room where he was watching the Xgames.

They just looked at each other

“You look like crap man” said Bob

“Really cause I feel awesome” answered Danny

Bob always found Danny’s sarcasm hilarious so both of them just fell back and burst out laughing

until their stomachs hurt. Danny missed this feeling. He sat down next to Bob and watched a 13 year

old boy do a skateboarding trick with a name so long he didn’t even bother acknowledging.

“Ben’s really sick man” Bob’s face turned hard and sombre “I was about to take him to the Vet”

“Mind if I tag along”

“Be my guest”

Bob loved his dog, he bought him about two years before and they had become inseparable. While

driving to the local animal clinic Danny noticed that Bob looked tired and Danny could see that he

hadn’t shaved in a while either. He knew then that it was serious. He parked his pick-up right next to

the clinic and the two started helping Ben out. It was clear that Ben didn’t have the strength to walk

himself into the building so they carried him instead. Ben was a Thai Ridgeback which was a very

rare breed thus Bob’s concern over his condition. Danny looked into his brown almond-shaped eyes

and cringed at how drained they looked. His black figure was spread out over the back of the truck

and Danny slipped his arm around Ben’s body his coat was smooth and Danny noticed his black

tongue was hanging out of his mouth. By the time they got inside Danny’s arms were starting to

ache he suspecting Ben must have weighed about 50 pounds. The clinic wasn’t that full as he had

expected so they were second in line. Danny took this opportunity to go site seeing; he walked

around the adoption portion (or holding) of the building to look at all the strays. He saw some cute

looking puppies and cats that were very skinny and dogs that looked like they had been in quite a

few fights. He walked right to the end of the room when he saw a cell that looked different from the

rest, it was a little polished it seemed reasonably new unlike the others. The walls inside was full

with scratching and when he looked closer he could see some stains of dried up blood. That

particular cell had barely any light. It all seemed to happen really fast and in a matter of seconds he

was pushed up against the gnawed up bars and saw a large figure slumped in the dark corner of the

cell. It stood up on four burly legs with broad paws that looked like they could put him in a coma

with just a little flick. It walked towards him and Danny was on his knees he had hadn’t even realized

his body was moving on its own as if in tune with the figure coming towards him. The first thing

Danny noticed was its sized it was large but moved elegantly for its sized. Danny could not see any

colour or distinctions until it was right in front of him, its long muzzle so close they were almost

touching. Danny could feel its breathing through its black nose against his face. He knew this beast

was dangerous and he ought to have been scared but he was not he felt calm.

“Excuse me …. Sir”

The beast pulled his mouth back into a snarl to display its vicious triangle shaped teeth

“Sir……hey buddy”

and just above Danny was lost in shimmering pools of amber.

“I wouldn’t do that if were you” The boy yanked Danny away from the shadowy figure. Danny did

not know how long he had been having a staring contest with the animal but got up. He saw that the

young boy with a nametag that said ‘Hi my name is Peter’. Peter looked fairly young and he was

watching Danny with an astonished look.

“Not a lot of people go near that wild thing”

“Why not….what’s wrong with it?”

“Didn’t you see that thing? No one really tells me much around here but that’s some kind of mixed

breed but not the normal kind or something like that”

“What are they gonna do with it?”

“I don’t know but I wouldn’t want it ….when it got here they said it had hurt its previous owner

pretty badly, I think it even killed someone.”

The creature didn’t stop looking at Danny but as Danny turned to walk away it slowly crept back into

the corner where it lay motionless in the dark. Bob had already loaded Ben back into the truck when

Danny went outside looking for him.

”Did you get lost or something” Bob said happily “Come on lets go” he looked a little better.

Danny ran around the truck and got inside. The Vet told Bob that Ben had Dermoid Sinus which was

common to those types of dogs. Females Ridgebacks could be treated with folic acid but Ben would

have to go for surgery where they would remove it. This new piece of good news seemed to lighten

Bob’s mood and he couldn’t stop talking. Danny enjoyed the conversation and the jokes but in the

corner of his mind he couldn’t get the image of the wolf or dog or whatever it was out of his head.

Bob dropped him at home and Danny said he’d visit again soon.

At home Danny lay in his bed exhausted. He did not know what to make of the beast. He had felt an

unearthly connection towards it and now he tried to make sense of it. The thought troubled him but

also thrilled him. He liked the feeling although it was unknown it still felt good. Danny went to sleep

locking those thoughts away and knowing sooner or later they would come back however much

worse. It was sooner rather than later and Danny saw the animal again, he was in a field hidden in

the shade of an aspen tree its head low and body crouched. Delicately and slowly it moved forward

with the hairs on its head right down to its hind legs all standing up straight. THUMP THUMP THUMP

Danny felt his heartbeat rising steadily as black lips revealed fangs that were coated in dripping

saliva. That’s when he looked up and saw an elk it was feeding on some grass oblivious to the

predator that stalked him so avidly. It moved one paw in front of the other slowly without making a

sound and crept gradually headed for the elk. THUMP THUMP THUMP. Out in the open the wolf

sprang up and committed to an all-out attack on its prey, the elk moved swiftly but the beast was

agile and moved to fast that the elk could not evade it. It was as if the beast knew what the elk was

going to do before it even did it and now the snarl looked like a smile. It was only toying with the

target it was playing with its food. THUMP THUMP THUMP. The beast leapt forward and brought its

enormous paw with monstrous force down on the elk and knocked it over making it tumbled in the

lush grass. Battered and bruised it tried to get back up but just as it moved the beast sunk its

ferocious teeth into its jugular seeing that it was wide open. It did not wait for the elk to stop or fall

into catalepsy but instead pulled its head back displaying its red blood-stained muzzle in the air and

flesh between its teeth. THUMP THUMP THUMP. The beast stood triumphantly over the lifeless elk

while blood dripped from its mouth. Danny was looking at the elk at his feet his heartbeat was

steading and he was breathing heavily. He felt euphoria he’d just had his first hunt. Danny did not

wake up screaming or in a pool of sweat he knew it was a nightmare but it felt more like an

awakening. It meant something and he wasn’t going to dismiss it as simply a dream, as far as he was

concerned it was a sign. It was Saturday and Danny usually slept in but he didn’t this particular

morning. He couldn’t his blood still boiled, he ached for something what that actual thing was, was

beyond him all he knew is that it wasn’t in his bed so he got up. He showered and got dressed all the

while making plans. It came together easily like things usually do when Danny put his mind to it

which was what teachers used to say about his schoolwork. He came downstairs to find the whole

family having a hearty breakfast in pyjamas. His mother always pulled out all the stops on Saturday

mornings

“It’s 9am and Danny’s looking sharp” exclaimed his mother

“You know what they say about the early bird” he replied

“Where are you off to?” asked his father “got a big date son?”

“Maybe with another book” added his sister and he just laughed at her. Danny enjoyed breakfast

with his family. They always seemed to get along well at these times and that was the case this

morning too. “I’m gonna adopt a dog at the clinic” Danny thought it a good idea giving everyone a

heads up first

“Yes get a cute little puppy” yelled his sister delighted

“Are you sure about that Danny?” his mother asked very concerned

His father had a very business-like expression and turned to Danny. “So you’ve got everything in

order and you are taking full responsibility?” he had always treated Danny like a grown up and

trusted him, they had a mutual understanding.

“Yes sir” Danny replied very sternly

“Well son I’ll leave it to you then”. When Danny said he had already decided on one and it was a full

grown dog his sister was dissatisfied and called some unsavoury names. Danny’s first thought was to

ask Bob to accompany him but he decided not to. He wanted to take care of everything on his own

so he got into his old corolla the one his great uncle had left him when he suddenly passed away two

years earlier. Danny remembered being grief-stricken as he was very close with great uncle Steve.

The man truly understood Danny and when he’d visit Steve they would sit on his porch and talk for

hours. Danny hadn’t really had anyone like that again so he was happy with the broken down corolla

Steve left him. The long scrape on the driver’s side was from the first time Steve gave Danny driving

lessons. The car was filled with memories Danny treasured so he loved it. He got behind the wheel

and wanted to go straight to the Vetinary clinic before something happened to the animal in their

darkest cell. He slowly backed out of the driveway and elected to get all the necessary things for

owning a wild animal (only he knew how wild it actually was) first. The local market would probably

do. It was a large building that had more than a few aisles where you would find all sorts of things.

He had been there several times with his mother but never paid much attention to the lay-out or

what they had to offer so when he pulled into the parking area he wasn’t sure if they had a blood

thirsty canine section. They did in fact have a pet aisle and Danny walked along rows of doggy toys

and equipment that he couldn’t imagine being used on any pet let alone the one he had in mind. He

went to the front of the store and got a basket that he filled with two leashes and some dog food, as

he threw the food into the basket he remembered his dream he thought it would perhaps be better

to drive it out to the nearest farm and let it have its way with the livestock. He giggled with himself,

added some dog shampoo and powders for fleas/ticks and some other things then went to the first

cashier and paid. His soon to be pet had already taken a sizeable bite out of his savings but he

couldn’t care less. Before he left the cashier told him that they had kennels at the far end of the

store and Danny only laughed leaving her to stand perplexed as she watched him leave. The food

was the heaviest of the goods he had bought so he threw them all the on the backseat and raced off

to see the beast that haunted his dreams. Danny didn’t see the road or houses or any landmarks

everything just blurred by and he was lost in a different world. Danny pulled up to the clinic and

absent minded walked into the building past the front desk heading straight for the corner cell.

Surprisingly enough no one stopped him, three minutes after getting out of the car he was staring

into the dark bared, scratched up and bloodied cell. This time the beast did not move it just lay there

and Danny knew this although he could not see anything. It was more Danny sensing it than seeing it

and it lifted its head as if sensing Danny’s presence. The only thing Danny could see was its eyes and

they looked at each other for a while as if they had something to say to one another but couldn’t

find the words. Peter wasn’t there to bring Danny back this time so he backed away and walked to

the front desk. The lady in charge of adoptions was really friendly when Danny stated his intentions

up until he said which animal he wanted to adopt then her entire demeanour changed and not for

the good.

“Are you sure about that kid?” was the first thing she said and Danny just nodded his head politely

“That’s thing’s really dangerous and I don’t much know why anyone would want that thing” she

exclaimed. She would have said more if not for the look of irritation Danny gave her and she

recognised she was rubbing him the wrong way.

“Well if you’re that eager” she said cynically “however there are a few questions I need to ask you

and some paperwork you need to fill in then feel free to take that horrible mutt off our hands”.

The woman asked straight forward questions and Danny gave concise and cordial answers. The

questions all ironically regarded the well-being of the animal. The paperwork was there for Danny’s

particulars and terms and conditions he had to agree to. He signed barely grazing over the words not

because of excitement but just wanting to get this entire thing over with. The lady called a rather

large man from one of the back rooms to unlock the cage and to present Danny with his not so long

awaited pet. The man was broad with a full set of hair which stunned Danny because the man

looked quite old he was wearing a rolled up shirt and underneath was bulky scarred arms. Danny

supposed he was the one that handle the more tempestuous animals.

“The one at the far end” the lady screamed at the large man

“Really? ….You sure it’s the cannibal” the man asked. Danny assumed the name came from the

rumour Peter had formerly told him

“Yep this kid is some kind of nut”

Danny didn’t take any notice of them and the man soon lead him down the corridor to the ominous

cell.

“You are one brave kid” the man turned around to look Danny in the eyes saw the sombre look in

them and chose rather to let it go. He had a long rod with a metal ring attached to the end and

slipped it around the animal’s collar and directed it out of its cell. He gave the rod to Danny after

unlocking the cell and showed him the backdoor

“I think its best you take out that way” he told Danny uneasily “Good luck to you kid… you’re gonna

need it”. Danny gave him a thumbs up and slowly steered the animal out of its cell and towards the

door. Danny got a lot of frightened looks from the locals when he walked his new pet to the car. He

didn’t care about any of that it wasn’t his first after all he had always been an out of the ordinary

kind of boy. He thought it would be difficult to try and get the animal into his car but when he

opened the door and gestured to the seat it strode forward and simply set itself down there. Danny

pushed all the things he had bought onto the floor of the car, luckily it was quite spacious. He did not

know what the next step was even so he barely followed all the things he was doing. He walked

around to the driver’s side and took a quick look at the beast that sat in his car and it had filled the

entire back seat. Danny looked in his rear view mirror and he could not see a single stretch of road

only his new pet looking intently at him. He slipped the papers the clerk at the front desk had given

him with details about the animal onto the passenger seat and started driving. He got home with no

trouble and was delighted to see that no one was home, he guessed they went to the mall it was still

Saturday after all. He pulled into the driveway and quickly got out almost forgetting to turn off the

car, he wanted to use all of the time alone that he had as it was not that often that it happened.

Danny grabbed hold of the rod and very gently tugged it making the animal step out of the car. His

first thought was to take it up to his bedroom where he could examine it but thought it would be

better to familiarise it with the place it would be staying. Walking on the driveway to the backyard

that looked like a drawn out piece of land compared to the rest of the yard that was filled with plush

grass that coated everything else except for some small trees and exotic plants that his mother (to

the disapproval of his father) bought off the internet for quite a price. Danny loosened the metal ring

around its neck and slowly took it off. He sat in the middle of the lawn and watched it walk around

first on the edge of the grass and driveway then casually walking all around as if inspecting its new

stomping ground. Danny took this opportunity to thoroughly examine his pet since they were no

longer in a dark cell. As it walked he noticed that it must have been 6 or 7 feet long and he wasn’t

really good at guessing weight so he didn’t try. It had a shaggy coat of fur with grey below and brown

filling the top. It first passed Danny and he noticed its rounded ears were short but was pointed up.

Its bushy tail was hanging straight down as its long muscled legs were moving slowly. It walked

straight toward him and he saw that large and blocky muzzle again just not drenched in blood this

time. Danny’s head was down when he set his eyes on the long spread out and triangular shaped

toes on its front feet right in front of him. Danny hesitantly lifted his hand up to its mouth and pulled

it back, he expected a growl or even to be attacked but it just stood there absolutely still and there

were those inch long sharp teeth, they were slightly curved but even so they looked just as he had

seen them in his dream.

“What will I call you” he said considering various names. Danny slipped his hand into the unkempt

fur he moved it around the back of it and lost his hand in brown hairs. He felt something stirring up

inside him as he moved his hand between the bristled hairs and gently pulled on it. Danny did not

hurt the animal but it seemed to be roused. It felt as if they were someplace else.

“What the hell is that!” his sister screamed and Danny had not heard his parent’s car pull up. He

slowly turned in the direction of the sound and his pet followed. His sister was standing next to his

mother who looked confounded she had her hands raised to her mouth and could not manage to

comprehend what she was seeing.

“You are so weird, did you really buy that thing?” she added

“What’s all the commotion about?” his father came around the house and was taken aback to see

his son with his hand on what looked like something that should be in the wild forests. They stood

there seeing the uncompromised look In Danny’s eyes as he just stood there immobile with the

animal beside him as a result they were too intimidated to say anything. Danny tugged ever so

gently on the hairs again and this time the beast raised its head to the sky and let out an ear splitting

howl that could be heard all through the small town of Dexys.

Danny had taken a long bath and found himself mentally exhausted at the happenings of the day as

well as the fact that he was fixating on any reason he could possibly have for going through all this

trouble and future turmoil he would have to encounter for this animal. He had spent most of the day

in the back yard where his parents had fearfully left him and became even more attached to his pet.

He did not want it to wander off in the middle of the night as they did not have a fence around there

house, he supposed it could stay up in his bedroom with him but considered the fact that it would

most likely not fare well in a confined space. He had stood at the edge of the driveway and yelled

“NO” at it until his throat hurt he didn’t know if it did the trick but it was worth a shot. For the sake

of the panicky locals he had slipped both leashes around its neck. He had put on a collar earlier when

he was ‘training’ just to be sure it would somehow be traced back to him if lost as he had some of his

details printed on a little paper inside a flap that was attached to the collar, not that anyone would

dare get that close to it so they could read the information. He had walked only up until the end of

his street, it had been quite easy no complications. He chose to not tempt fate any further and since

it was their first day he awarded himself the option of being lazy so he turned around and went back

home. No one had spoken to Danny since they found him and his pet roaming the lands of a

different world just the two of them and he hadn’t bothered to explain himself, so now he sat on his

bed. Before he went to bathe he collected the pages from the passenger seat he’d left there

surprisingly he had not for one minute forgotten about them, he wanted to know more about the

animal so he opened the folder that held the information he so desperately yearned for. Danny did

not specifically read the entire report (although it was relatively short, two pages to be exact) but

paid careful attention to certain words. Female surprising that he didn’t mind even though he had

thought himself a male dog kind of guy since he’d only had male dogs but the good part was that she

would no longer be an ‘it’ in his head. 90 pounds. Brown which he already knew. Descent unknown

this was actually the part that really interested Danny. He wanted to know its history and that was it

all the information that the Dexys clinic could muster. The next and final page had a not so detailed

family history only one family seemed to have given an account of what the dog did before they

brought her to the clinic. Her appearance particularly her age suggested that it was impossible that

only one family had been with her (unless she was in the wild the whole time) he put that idea out of

his head and kept on reading. Jenkins family adopted dog two months prior to incident. Dog was

passive and non-violent for the greater part of that time. Owner was the 17 year old son Tim Jenkins

and would spend most of the time with dog until dog started gradually displaying aggressive

tendencies towards him before eventually assaulting the boy. Tim sustained broken rib and was

bitten on arm and torso. He had a claw-like wound in neck it appeared to have been inflicted by the

dog’s paws. Danny’s face had turned into a mask of utter disbelieve and disgust, he knew she wasn’t

an ordinary dog but to attack its owner, especially since he had spent most of his time with her. He

considered the notion that Tim might have felt everything he felt towards her and it was some kind

of curse that was passed on from one person to the next until her hunger for chaos and disorder was

satisfied. Extremely dangerous was untidily sprawled right at the bottom of the page in ball point

pen and Danny didn’t want to or couldn’t believe the concrete evidence he had just read. He closed

the folder hurriedly and slid it next to some books he had long since and never would read again

with the intention of not having to see it once more. “That can wait I’m not in the mood” his voice

sounded distorted. He felt a sensation in his stomach and in these circumstances he assumed it was

probably something coming back up, what he read would ordinarily make a normal person throw up

but instead he was hungry of all things. Danny watched his food rotate in the microwave before

going to enjoy his dinner in the company of his family while they sat around the television. A new

game show was on and a single mother was attempting to answer which country hosted the 2008

summer Olympics. Everyone answered Beijing and Danny decided to join in and keep himself

distracted if only for a little while. It did help him and upstairs Danny was dead to the world as soon

as his head hit the pillow. He didn’t dream that night but that itching feeling he had before was gone

for now.

“Wow what’s gotten into you Danny” his mother asked taken aback by her son’s sudden behavioural

alteration. For the first time since being taken into the church Danny had gotten up early and was all

set in his suit and raring to attend early Sunday morning mass.

“I just felt like going to church, it’s been a while.” Was all Danny could really come up with however

the real reason was that he was unsure about what he had so impulsively done the day before. He

was consumed by an overwhelming force as if he were a puppet being manipulated by a malignant

puppeteer and when he finally succeeded in cutting the strings he had already put his entire family

in danger. So now he wanted some guidance but could not go to anyone. Although he had never

been the most pious Christian he figured that praying couldn’t hurt and it would kill some time. It

was time away from her and he wanted to see if he was still under the curse of the beast. He

believed that it was a good thing learning the truth about her but he couldn’t help feeling regret. He

would burn those pages later but for now he needed to get going. The service went by really quick

for Danny’s liking it might have been because he was preoccupied but nevertheless he was leaving

after having received plenty of kisses from the older ladies of the parish that hadn’t seen in a long

time. He even saw Faith, she used to live next to Danny’s and they would play together all the time

when they little. Apparently they were joined at the hip according to their parents and now he stood

next to her while his mother caught up with the rest of the mothers that had been forced to go to

church without their husbands or the rest of their kids.

“….. these days?” Danny turned to look at her because as usual he was off in his own world and

asked her what she had said.

“I said what you have been up to these days?” she asked politely just raising her voice a little bit to

get more of his attention. He looked at her properly this time and saw how grown up she become.

She had long chestnut hair running over her shoulders and she was wearing an inky blue dress that

just about went over her knees. He hadn’t realized how beautiful she looked but not in the

conventional way and that’s what fascinated him with her.

“I haven’t done much, how about you ?” he asked , usually he couldn’t care less about other

people’s affairs even if they told him but he wanted to know this he wanted to see if there was any

brains behind all that splendour. They used to attend the same school but she had switched school

suddenly a few years prior for reasons unknown to him.

“You’re still so secretive Danny” she looked pleased that he had taken an interest in her and

answered with a brimming smile “I’ve been working over at old Mary’s bookstore. They have some

nice works down there something a book worm like you would enjoy” her mother called her name

and waved her over they were about to leave and she turned back in Danny’s direction.

“You should really come by some time, it’s been nice catching up with you Danny “ then she ran off

towards her mother only briefly glancing back at him as he stood there with a bemused look on his

face trying to smile at her. He waved sluggishly and walked back to the car when she passed the last

crowd of parishioners and couldn’t be seen anymore.

“Maybe church isn’t all that bad” he said in the car and his mother just smiled at him as they made

their way back home. Coming up the driveway Danny looked at the results of the theory he had

tested. He’d left for church to see if he’d feel that discomfort, that feeling of wanting to go to her. It

wasn’t all bad but it was not good either Danny didn’t physical want to go to her that gravely but he

had thought of her most of the time and if it hadn’t been for Faith he’d have had her running around

in his head the entire time.

“Thanks for coming to church with me, it was nice” his mother looked genuinely pleased with her

son’s deed.

“No problem mom” Danny surprised himself with how honest his answer was, he might have

actually enjoyed it.

“Okay I’m going to go start lunch” she leaned over and kissed Danny on his forehead softly and gave

him one last smile before heading inside to start the laborious task of cooking the Sunday meal.

Danny did not follow her but instead headed straight up the driveway to the backyard where she

waited ever so eagerly for him. He tried to convince himself that he wasn’t under the ‘curse’

anymore but as he could see it was not true. The only positive he could draw from this was that it

wasn’t as intense anymore. He could pull himself away now but it was tiring and Danny wanted to

see her today. He found her leisurely wandering between the small trees. Danny knew his mother

would not be happy with those huge footprints all over the soil that she planned to cultivate into a

little Eden. The dog had even stepped over some of the plants and they lay flat in between the grass.

He put one foot onto the lawn and she started toward him. She never ran and he found this a little

strange but as soon as she got to him she pushed against his leg and he slipped his hand onto her

back and into her brown fur, this had become a habit of theirs. He stayed there for a few minutes

longer just petting her until he was forced to go inside. “That dog’s gonna get hair all over your

clothes go change before you play with it.” Was what his mother yelled at him through the back

window. He reluctantly did as he was told. Danny didn’t really have a plan for what to do once you

do get the dog although all the plans to get the dog came to him pretty easily. He sat his in his room

racking his brain on things to do with a new out of the ordinary pet. A walk seems to be appropriate

thing so he slipped the leashes onto the collar once again. He thought that it didn’t matter if she

wanted to she could either break the leash without even breaking a sweat or turn around and knock

him unconscious with one of her paws nonetheless he still put them on her and began walking her.

They went around the block easily enough but he felt that they could do a little better than that so

he kept on walking. Danny let his mind wander off as he strolled without a care. He wondered if she

was up for playing a game like fetch and as he stopped at the corner he noticed that he was on the

corner of Bree Street and Walmer. If he followed that road it would lead straight to Bob’s house. He

hadn’t realized how far he had gone and thought it would be a good idea to check in on his old

friend especially since the last time he had seen Bob he wasn’t looking that good. He had known Bob

a long time and they had seen each other many times but now when he tried thinking about his

friend he could only see that strung out wreck that he had been the week before. Danny rang the

Palmer’s doorbell and waited to see Bob open the door looking pretty much like himself again and

this delighted Danny. They shared grins and Bob became aware of what was accompanying Danny

and look a little startled at first then laughed. He stepped away from the door and the three of them

stood on the white porch of the large two storied house.

“That’s one helluva monster you got there with you” he said still chuckling casually

“I saw her when we took Ben to the clinic. I don’t know man just had to get her. “

“Oh so you fell in love with a monstrous wolf?”

“Something like that. So how’s Ben doing?”

“He’s looking a little better the vet gave him some pills but we’re just preparing for sugary then all of

this will hopefully be done.” Bob still looked a bit anxious as he told Danny this latest piece of

information.

“Good luck then. It all seems pretty straightforward so you probably don’t have anything to worry

about” Danny didn’t like the way Bob looked when he said that and that was as supportive as he

could get in this situation.

“Yeah that’s what they say” he didn’t seem too convinced but appreciated the effort nonetheless

“So you wanna come in? We’re about to watch the football” this was a Sunday tradition in the

Palmer residence and Danny had joined them on more than one occasion and thoroughly enjoyed

himself too.

“Thanks but I’m gonna have to take a rain check, maybe I’ll come by later”

“its fine” Danny turned in the direction of the road “You two love birds enjoy your day”. Danny

smiled and without looking back flipped a middle finger at Bob who with thunderous laughter closed

the door.

Danny still had not come up with a name for her and took on this mammoth task in his head while

the two of them coolly walked home. He wanted one that had meaning one that was the name of an

important animal in the past but could not think of any so as all of this had come to pass he decided

to wait on a sign or for it just to come to him somehow. He went with Sam short for Samantha and

as everything pertaining to his pet had done before this name just came to him. He was looking

down talking to the newly named Sam when he roughly jerked his head up as if sensing danger. He

did not analyse his reaction at the time but rather just went with it and before he could look around

he heard movement, a footstep leaves cracking under someone’s foot. Across the road slightly

behind them was a dog. When Danny tilted his head slightly he saw that it was George Adler’s

Alsatian the local bully’s hound. Danny felt blood rushing all around his body as the dog across the

road starting growling at him. It moved forward slowly with aggressive intent but also cautiously.

Danny had stopped moving and stood there still facing forward with Sam ahead of him slightly

veered in the direction of the dog. It started barking and some of Sam’s hairs was standing up Danny

let go of the leash and slipped his left hand onto her back moving it through her hair while his other

hand was clenched so tight it wasn’t long before his knuckles would turn white. The dog kept barking

and Danny’s excitement kept rising. Again he and Sam was in a different world only this time they

had company and it wouldn’t be long before they took care of it. Sam was just starting to move her

lips back when a boy, he was chubby not to small so he seemed just bigger than average starting

running towards them. It was George Adler he stopped as soon as he saw the scene and for a minute

stood motionless as if paralyzed by fear but regained his composure and moved to block off their

line of sight thus yanking Danny back into the real world. The boy pulled the dog by its collar and

turned it in the opposite direction. While walking away he stopped and was about to face the two

crazies that wanted to pick a fight with his dog but before he could get a word out Danny already

had his back to him and was walking. He watched them and felt a little scared of Sam like everyone

else but that paralyzing fear did not just come from the dog but rather from being swept up in their

killing intent. Danny put off dealing with what had happened he knew it was bad and didn’t want to

handle that right now so when he got back home he filled Sam’s larger than normal bowl with water

then checked that she had eaten all of the food he had given her the previous night. He didn’t know

what to give her so it was a combination of dry chunks and some canned dog food. They were all

gone but he didn’t fill it again later tonight would be better so Danny cleaned up after her and

thought he’d get some reading done.

“That was quite the walk Danny” his mother said immediately when she saw her son dazedly

entering through the back door. He looked at the old clock that stood on the wall next to the

refrigerator and saw that it was just past one. He hadn’t even realized they had walked that long

since he they came home from church round about eleven.

“I went to go check in on Bob” said Danny and helped his sister set the table. Since there weird and

not so wonderful meeting they hadn’t really mentioned Sam or anything concerning her so when the

topic came up during lunch he was quite surprised. He was surprised but wasn’t totally

flabbergasted as it was his sister and she was never one for diplomacy.

“Why’d you get a big old dog like that dummy?” there was a mocking undertone in her words which

Danny did not appreciate.

“I don’t really have a reason” he had a sympathetic expression on his face when he looked at her

”When I saw her I couldn’t just leave her there”

“You couldn’t just leave her at a pet adoption clinic?” she looked puzzlingly at Danny this time.

“I just wanted to get her out of the Dexys penitentiary” His sympathetic appearance and line of

reasoning earned him some sceptical looks. They went on eating and the spotlight came off Danny

when his mother informed them on the entire town’s latest gossip which Marge Wilkins so

graciously had told her earlier that morning. She even told on Danny about his reunion with Faith

and when he blushed the exact second his mother said Faith’s name the entire table burst into

uncontrollable laughter. It was funny at the time because it was unlike Danny’s typical robotic

personality. They enjoyed desert in front of the television after the extensive meal and Danny took

his time enjoying all of it. He found most of his ice-cream melted by the time he stuck his spoon into

the now bubble-gum liquid. Part of the reason for this was that he wanted to end the day as soon as

possible, it wasn’t a bad day but the earlier events had kind of put a damper on it also it had scared

him a little bit and as you might have expected he wanted to put off thinking about it (it had become

a regular thing now for him especially when it came to Sam). Danny filled Sam’s bowl with the daily

nourishment she required, not that dog food really did the trick and looking at her he got a sick kind

of feeling that she needed something else, she needed something more. He finished by filling the

other bowl with water. He looked down at her and she was rubbing against his leg like she always

seemed to do which meant Danny would put his hands onto her back and slide his fingers all through

her brown coat of fur and before he could even get the thought out he was doing just that. In the

course of this he felt somewhat ashamed of himself because of the fear he had previously felt

towards her especially since they were so attached from the very beginning. He sat with her a while

combing through her hair with one of his sister’s hairbrushes (she would not be happy about that)

and as all the fur smoothed out with every stroke of the brush Danny felt slight relief maybe because

it felt as a kind of atonement for his prior actions and thoughts too. Everyone had pretty much gone

to bed by the time Danny came walking wearily through the backdoor. He wanted to go clean

himself up first but when he put his head onto the pillow of his bed that looked exceptionally

comfortable tonight he instantaneously fell into blissful sleep. He did not dream and slept like one

that just got home after pulling an all-nighter at the factory the day before.

Danny awoke to a smothering feeling, he could not get his head above his blankets there was a

powerful force pushing down on him and it was making it difficult for him to breathe properly. After

what seemed like too long a time to be struggling with blankets he managed to get his head out and

found that the reason for all his early morning troubles was that Sam had made herself comfortable

on top of him. Her full 90 pound body was spread out all over him. Having just woken up he was still

dazed and a little weak and could not free himself but was only able to move his head. He was

getting annoyed because this was not the most ideal way of waking up but felt it all slip effortlessly

away when he saw her torso moving slowly up and down she seemed so tranquil. He stayed there

immobile for a little while longer and would have stayed that way for who knows how long if it

wasn’t for his bladder. He used most of the energy he had at his disposal and turned his body onto

its side thus pushing Sam of the side of the bed. Usually she knew what he wanted and would do so

without much trouble or a gentle nudge in the right direction would make her obey but it seemed

this time she was enjoying herself too much to comply with Danny. She was in the motion of falling

when she pushed her hind legs off the bed to gracefully land next to it and just glanced at Danny

before turning around to casually stroll out of his room. He pushed the blankets off his body and

lowered his legs onto the floor they had become stiff and in the process of rubbing his legs trying to

lessen the discomfort Danny wondered just how long Sam had been using him as a sleeping pad. He

got up and pulled on the slacks he had worn the day before and made his way downstairs only after

finishing his morning ritual of going to the toilet, brushing his teeth and washing his face he went to

the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for himself. He was pouring milk over the chocolate cereal he

had loved since he was in third grade when his mother came walking into the kitchen, as soon as she

saw Danny she seemed to develop an annoyed expression on her face

“That dog’s not supposed to be in the house Danny” she said and she wasn’t just telling him this

latest piece of information but rather scolding him for breaking some kind of sacred rule.

“I didn’t let her in”

Her ticked-off expression broke for a second as she realised she had forgotten that her husband’s

daily routine before leaving for work was to go out the back to get to the garage but it had become a

nasty habit of his over the years to never close the back door behind him and it didn’t hurt anyone

before but now they had a new four legged friend. She didn’t want to apologise for the finger

pointing because even though it was not Danny’s fault she still felt uneasy about Sam sleeping so

close to them.

“Either way Danny I’d really appreciate it if your dog stayed outside” her face had relaxed and she

gave the impression of talking to him instead of reprimanding him but her voice still sounded tense

and hostile.

“Will do” Danny replied and didn’t look into his mother’s changed attitude.

She left not long after and Danny just assumed she had gone shopping. He took his cereal and spent

the rest of the morning watching T.V. Sam had slipped through the open door again and joined him,

cuddled up at his feet. The day was starting to get away from them and Danny thought the walk

around the block was becoming repetitious so going to the park would probably be the next step.

Danny had bought some toys in anticipation of his guest and he now took the rubber ball and the

leashes once more and the two of them made their way to the local park. Danny was happy to see

how empty the park was as this would cause him less hassle if something were to go wrong. Sam

rubbed against his leg and dropped the ball next to it, he was surprised by the fact that she seemed

so normal-dog-like and actually participated in their games. Danny had left the house earlier with

only a rubber ball in his pocket together with Sam with her usual double leash attached to her collar.

They had managed to get through most of the neighbourhood danger zones (places that might

contain unwelcoming animals) without much trouble before spotting a cat just across from the park.

Danny didn’t feel anything, not a trickle of excitement so he just ignored it. The walking part was

done and now time for the playing, fetch was the only game he knew that seemed appropriate so

Danny dug his hand into his pocket and waved the ball in front of Sam trying to fascinate her. He

drew his arm back and threw the ball considerably far. Sam bolted after it he was amazed at what

great speed she could move so quickly but it seemed as if she was showing off because immediately

after that she broke into what seemed like a light jog. She retrieved the ball and dropped it next to

him by her body language he knew what was next he slipped his hand onto her back and they sat

there, him petting her before he got up and threw the ball several more times. Sometimes she’d

chase after energetically and other times she’d coolly stroll back and forth whatever the case may

have been they succeeded in having a good time. That was the highlight of Danny’s day and it all

went uneventful for the rest of it. The next day was pretty much the same and Danny had spent the

majority of his day in the company of Sam. He knew he had to enjoy as much time as he could with

her because it was the last week of summer holiday and as school was looming Danny already

started dreading it. The rest of the week went by quickly and again Sam consumed almost all of

Danny’s time except when he went to go see a movie with his sister. They had a nice time and they

even saw Faith there, she was walking with a slender boy but Danny didn’t pay much attention to

that because before when they left he had noticed that dark clouds were rolling in and he was

wondering what he would do with Sam when it rained and better yet what would he do when winter

came. Friday he checked in with Bob and found him in the most pleasant mood he’d seen him a long

time. Ben had his surgery and was pretty much healed; he was only recovering now and was moving

quite freely. Danny petted him and immediately noticed the difference between Ben and Sam. First

it was the feeling he got from caressing Sam which wasn’t there for Ben even though he had gone to

the park with Bob and Ben many times before and felt affection toward the dog. Second it was the

hair and that was an obvious one. Then the fact that Ben didn’t want it as much as Sam, not to say

he didn’t enjoy being rubbed behind his ear he just didn’t need the physical attention that Sam so

willingly craved for. Danny was really happy for them , to see them up and about all excited again he

couldn’t stop himself from being swept up in there joy and now Danny could relate to Bob feelings

towards his pet ( although the connection between Ben and Bob is very different from Danny and

Sam). They had made a play date for their pets and Danny thought Sunday would be a nice day for

them to go to the park together. Danny didn’t see much of Sam on Saturday he was forced to go

back to school shopping with his mom. He bought all the necessary things he would need for

another miserable year of school and his mother did all her shopping that took just long enough to

put Danny in a very unpleasant mood. They had even gone to visit Danny’s aunt; to him it was an

annoying and unnecessary stop. By the time they pulled up the drive way the sun was just about

coming down over the large oak tree in the Walker’s backyard across the road from Danny. He

helped his mom unpack all the things they had bought and when he opened the backdoor Sam was

already there waiting for him. He fed her and sat with her till the moon shone bright in the dark

starry sky. His mother had grown used to Danny’s separation to the rest of the world but today it

was different. He didn’t just want to come home or avoid spending time with relatives it was as if it

hurt him to be with her. He didn’t just look annoyed or upset he looked pained and on a few

occasions she heard a sense of urgency in his voice that worried her. Now she peered out the

kitchen window and saw a beast of a dog in the arms of her son, he was putting a brush through her

hair and she couldn’t bring herself to believe that Danny’s behaviour was because he wanted to

brush his dog’s hair but even so she felt a chilling unease come over her.

Danny didn’t wake up early this particular Sunday morning to go with his Mom but instead slept in

pretty late. He finished everything he needed and now prepared Sam for a walk that would end with

a visit to Bob before heading to the park. He was a road away from Bob’s house when he saw

George Adler and his dog walking far off in the distance, he didn’t want to ruin his day before it even

got started so he quickly gave Sam a gentle tug on her leash and moved on.

“Sam short for Samantha doesn’t sound like you put a lot of thought into naming her” Bob said.

The two of them were standing at the edge of the grass watching Ben and Sam chase the balls the

two of them were pitching. That had gone on for a while after which Ben was just tackling Sam

relentlessly but without much success, she would just slide away or push him aside. She was bigger

than him and bulkier not that he was a slouch. They were playfully taking turns at attacking each

other now and Danny and Bob were sitting on the nearby benches catching up. Danny told Bob

when he met Sam for the first time and adopting her. He told him that the family before was scared

of her that she might have seemed a little aggressive to them. He didn’t tell Bob about the attack or

the connection he felt toward her. He didn’t really know why he had lied to Bob and it was new, they

were usually very honest with one another and that is why Bob could easily see what Danny wasn’t

telling him. “Is this all you do when you get a dog?” Danny asked light-heartedly but he had a hidden

agenda.

“Ben and I just hang out most days. Other times we go to the park or beach”

“So he likes just doing those things”

Bob turned to Danny now. “All dogs are different I guess but if he or she is a domesticated animal

that’s about all there is.”

Danny listened intently to Bob and took in everything he said. He knew Sam was different but he

didn’t know what she wanted or if he was just seeing things that weren’t there nonetheless he

would just keep on doing what he was doing. The sun seemed to be right in the middle of the sky

and a few clouds floated by now and then. Bob and Danny had joined in on the wrestling match and

Bob found out just how strong Sam was. Danny was surprised and happy to see that Sam had taken

a liking to Bob and Ben and playfully rammed her head into Bob’s side when he had Danny pinned

on the ground. Danny and Bob had to use all their strength to overpower Sam before Ben came to

her rescue, jumping onto Danny’s back. The afternoon was drawing to a close and they were starting

to get hungry. They made their way back home first Bob’s house and they were standing on the

same porch they had been on just one week ago. Some kids were gawking at Ben and Sam and their

owners just laughed. Danny said his goodbyes and headed home to have another family feast with

the rest of the Bailey’s. At lunch he filled everyone in on the fun time he had with Bob.

“Samantha is a lovely name Danny” said his mother and everyone else had their own little thing to

add on although none of what they said was bad. Danny fed Sam before he finished up all his beforebed

affairs. He wanted to go to bed after all he was going to have to get up early the next day. After

the day he had he wasn’t in a rush for tomorrow so he sat with Sam, not too long and headed to

bed. Danny arrived at the school still tired. He hadn’t realised just how much the time at the park

had taken out of him. He looked at the school and saw all the same kids, nothing had changed at all.

By the end of the day he had a light work load and the school day wasn’t that bad but wasn’t quick

enough either. He walked home and thought he’d just sleep till tonight then find something to do

before going to bed again. He didn’t have the energy to play with Sam but when he got home, after

having his lunch and filling in his mom on the first day he seemed to be up to the task. First he just

ran around the backyard with Sam then they went for a walk. The walk was meant to be leisurely but

Sam was more energetic than usual. She had after all spent the whole day cooped up at home. It had

become a regular thing for him to sit with Sam and watch the stars before he went to bed.

Sometimes he’d comb her hair but mostly they’d just sit in silence enjoying each other’s company.

Nights seemed to go by really quickly Danny thought to himself. The next day he ate lunch with one

of his school friends Tim. Tim talked too much for Danny’s liking but he was a nice kid so Danny just

sat and listened. He was telling Danny all about his summer and how he had gone abroad to visit his

cousins. Danny didn’t have any stories to tell so he just prompted Tim to keep rambling on. None of

the classes really stood out to Danny except English where they would get their new reading

assignments. So Danny made his way home, walking a little faster than the day before.

He only popped in on Sam the previous afternoon and only spent the evening with her so he felt like

going for a walk today before calling it a day. The school day looked as if it would never end. The

final bell eventually went and Danny couldn’t help sighing with relief (and joy). However he did not

rush to get away from the building he’d wanted to get away from the entire day. When he got to the

front of the school he saw everyone was crowded around something. He hesitantly walked toward

all the commotion not wanting to draw any attention to him. The children had formed a circle and

were staring at something murmuring among each other. Danny quietly walked between two juniors

and when he looked into the centre of the ring he saw Sam just standing there. He was immediately

alarmed for Sam but mostly for those kids because he was afraid they would do something to set her

off. He calmed himself down and Sam looked up as if sensing his presence. He didn’t call out to her

or make a big fuss as this wasn’t Danny’s style. He simply turned around and slowly walked away. He

glanced back once and saw some kids were moving away from the circle, making an opening. He

turned back around and made his way back home. He’d taken only a few steps and Sam was already

at his side. He gave her a pleasant smile and the two of them walked on while a large group of

children was staring in amazement at them. They did not go directly home but didn’t go to the park

either instead Danny just kept on walking. He didn’t take the turn off into his road he just kept on

walking and eventually reached his destination. He gave Sam some water and only then did he snap

back to realise just how long he had been out of it. It was much later than his usual time getting

home and his mom without any delay set about asking Danny a million questions but he told her he

had stayed late for academic reasons and some other things along those lines. Recently Danny had

noticed everyone’s anxiety in matters concerning Sam so that was why he didn’t tell her the real

reason or that Sam had come to pick him up from school. He did everything he needed to do, ate

alone and spent the remainder of the evening laying on the grass star gazing with Sam. The next day

seemed better than the day before in terms of speed. It just flew by, something Danny was really

grateful for but the only downer was that he had received a lot of attention during the course of the

day. When he walked down the corridors some kids would whisper to each other and stare. It wasn’t

a lot of kids but already too many for Danny’s liking. When he walked home he heard his name being

called from a distance. He turned around and saw a Boy running towards him; he had seen this boy

before but couldn’t remember where.

“Hey that dog yesterday that was yours wasn’t it?” the boy asked

“Yes” Danny replied questionably and his face said it too.

“Oh my name is Mark” he said “I heard about you from Tim after I saw you walk home with that dog

yesterday.”

“Okay what do you want?” Danny was getting irritated because he wanted to know what this boy

wanted with Sam.

“I just wanted to tell you about a way you can make some money” the boy said

Danny was merely looking blankly at him now.

“You can’t tell anyone but you know the old high school?” A few years ago the local high school had

a large fire and most of the building was now in a state of disrepair. It was never rebuilt or repaired

and its biggest use now was being used a hide-out for juvenile delinquents and place for other to do

drugs without being seen or caught.

The boy started getting excited now. “Well some kids have dog fighting matches there”.

Danny immediately felt his pulse rise, irritation had become anger. The boy saw Sam as a monster, a

tool to be used to make a few bucks but Danny didn’t.

“They have bets and the winner gets a cash prize” the boy said this with real enthusiasm.

“Not interested” said Danny while in the motion of turning away from the boy.

“Come on” the boy pleaded. “Just come check it out”

The boy took Danny’s silence as a Yes.

“It’s Friday nights on the old field at the school”.

This time Danny didn’t break stride and just kept on walking. The boy looked as if he wanted to

plead his case some more but Danny’s body language put him off entirely. In his angered state

Danny wouldn’t even consider it. He got home having run this through his head several times and all

of them just kept saying that it was wrong. He however didn’t take everything into consideration and

he knew that if he did he might question his decision. The world around him just passed by and

before he knew it, it was time to sit with Sam before heading off to bed. He sat there not looking at

the stars tonight, not brushing her hair but rather wishing she could speak. He had convinced himself

that he had already made a decision but here he was now still intently mulling it over. Danny had

calmed down from the day before and still slightly thinking about what the boy had said. He saw the

boy during the course of the day but because Danny still had a scowl on his face the boy just looked

at him them passed right by him. It was a Friday so he didn’t have to wish for school day to end

really quickly as it always did so on this day. He didn’t have plans for the weekend so as soon as he

got home he took Sam for a walk (since the incident at school Danny didn’t bother putting the

leashes on Sam anymore) and headed for the park. They did the usual which to them was the best

time ever and made their way home. School didn’t take that much time away from him seeing Sam

so he spent some quality time in front of the television before dosing off. Danny did not dream but

woke up like he was just visited by some wise spirit that showed him the way. He only had one

intention now and that was to go to the school. He had to see for himself if he was being silly or if

this was the thing he and Sam had been waiting for. It was much later and the sun had already

started setting over their small town. He gave Sam some food and sat with her in an attempt to

spend some time with her as he knew he wouldn’t have any when he got back. Danny was about to

leave after inventing a facile excuse that he gave his parents. He decided it would be best if he went

by himself now, just to make sure everything was fine or if he didn’t want any part of it. He was

about to walk to the school when he realized that although it may not be that cold now, the

temperature usually dropped as the evening progressed so taking the car was the better option. He

drove up the hill past their church; it had been surprisingly easy to get the car started and running

smoothly as he hadn’t driven it since the first day he brought Sam home. He could already see the

old ramshackle building up ahead and there were three other cars parked there. It wasn’t obvious to

associate them altogether as one stood next to the road in front of the school the other in a side

road beside a house. The last one was a large truck that seemed to have floodlights attached to the

back and was standing by the field. Danny assumed that was to be used when they needed some

light. He parked in front of a house situated just across from the school, their lights were off and it

didn’t seem like anyone was home or if they were they certainly wouldn’t notice. The truck had gone

in through double gates that were connected to the fence that surrounded the entire school. Danny

passed the rusted gateways and didn’t want to wander near the burnt building. As soon as he got

onto the field he saw a large group of people assembled at the far end of the field. He made his way

over there and wasn’t noticed since everyone was occupied with their own mischief. The truck had

made its way over there and parked next to other cars that had their own crowds surrounding them.

It was clear to Danny that this place was a mecca of immorality. At one part of the field people were

selling and smoking drugs. He didn’t know much but it smelt of marijuana. He saw couples

passionately caressing one another that would probably be getting some good news in a few

months. He didn’t need the hassle of jail time now and was about to leave when he saw a young boy

not much younger than him stepping out from behind his posse with a light brown dog that clearly

didn’t want to be on a leash. The dog seemed wild and the boy handed a man some money that he

placed into a red hat he took off his head. The boy and his dog made their way to the centre of the

party. The man with the red hat was walking across the circle and waving at someone that Danny

couldn’t see. A different man came into the circle with what look like Bull-terrier with red bandana

tied over one his hind legs. The bull-terrier was moving aggressively but low to the ground not as

wildly as his opponent. Danny had unknowingly made his way back towards the commotion and

stood absolutely still; eyes fixed on these two gladiators approaching one another. The fawn dog

sprang wildly at the terrier and was pulled back by its owner each time. The bull-terrier was

assertively walking around the dog now slowly, cautiously. It was clear to Danny which one had done

this before, but he did not know if experience would win over enthusiastic madness. The lights were

shining on them and the crowds were cheering which was only broken by the sounds of intense

barking coming from both dogs. The dogs were free from their chains and were wildly snatching at

one another. Danny’s heartbeat started rising when he noticed that the bull-terrier’s calmness

seemed only a ploy to draw in his opponent and now he was on his hind legs with all the force of his

upper body coming down on the side of the brown dog. He burrowed his teeth into the body of the

dog and only let go after the brown dog had wriggled extensively to free itself. He was losing blood

and had fallen over but got up and staggered back towards his adversary. Danny unzipped the jacket

he’d put on when he left the car, wondering whether it wasn’t that cold tonight. He scratched the

terrier once before he had his neck struck by the terrier but he didn’t seem to hook his teeth into the

dogs flesh this time and it freed itself. For some reason he knew what was next, it was time for the

finishing blow. It did not happen so and the owner of the brown dog was screaming and waving his

arms madly. The bull-terrier was chained by his holder and dragged back to the car that they had

appeared from. In the midst of the anticlimactic finale Mark had made his way over the Danny and

first just stood and watched him afraid to say anything as Danny’s fist were clenched tightly

together. He saw not only a look of disappointment in Danny but also anger.

“I told it would be good” said the boy “look at you I can see you’re enjoying yourself”

Danny slowly turned to face him and didn’t know but had had a gruesome smile of chilling

exhilaration on his face. He looked blankly at the boy that just kept on talking as if urged to do so by

Danny.

“The Champion won again. You saw him, he was amazing wasn’t he?” Mark was moving about

excitedly as he spoke. “They say no one can beat him and I always win when I bet on him but

everyone bets on him so it’s not that much money. That’s why I was thinking that maybe if you

brought that dog of yours maybe?”

He saw the look of frustration quickly come to Danny and quickly tried to divert it.

“Only if you want to” he raised his hands apologetically as he said this. “Just come over and talk to

some people”. Danny left with the boy that was so eagerly trying to persuade him into joining this

horrific sport.

He woke up the next morning still worn out from the night before. So much had happened last night

and for the first time since experiencing all of that he was starting to grasp it. He thought about

Mark and it was clear that he was trying to lure Danny into the fights for his own personal gain.

When Danny was watching the champion he felt both envious and hatred then, all at the same time.

He was disgusted at his own interest and the delight he had taken in everything that happened last

night. He didn’t look into his entire behaviour but just felt general aversion toward himself and

everything. He raised himself up from his bed and looked at the time and he’d spent almost the

whole morning in bed. When he got downstairs everyone seemed to have spent the Saturday

morning in bed too. They were eating breakfast and Danny was assaulted with angered glares.

“That stupid dog kept me up all night” started his sister.

“Son you’ll have to do something about that” his father sounded reasonable but if you looked

closely you could see his irritation. Danny only looked impassively at them at the time he thought

they might be blowing this thing out of proportion.

“The neighbours came over to complain this morning Danny” his mother told very sympathetically

“Could you please try to fix it”. Everyone was taken aback by his mother’s reaction and after a while

Danny just nodded his head and sat down for breakfast with everyone else.

Apparently Sam had been howling and whimpering the whole night. Danny asked a few questions in

between their debriefing and it hadn’t happened immediately after he’d left they placed it at about

a half hour after he was gone. It happened suddenly and Sam was running around wildly in the

backyard. She was whimpering at first but as time went on it turned into a blaringly mournful howl.

When they went to see if anything was causing her to do this she became hostile towards them.

They said it seemed like they were interrupting something and that at the time she was very agitated

because she growled at them amongst other things. They didn’t stay for the rest and frightfully

retreated. This curious behaviour carried on for most of the night and just as it had started it

suddenly stopped. Danny did not know what to make of this and as the afternoon dragged on he

went walking with Sam to get a grip on what they were talking about and in the process check and

see if she was okay. He still wasn’t fully convinced thus not bothering to slip a leash onto her.

Everything seemed to be in place and he returned home puzzled. Although the weekend had been

both terrifying and excited he wanted to slip back into routine now. Danny brazed the chilling winds

and sat with Sam till he felt he needed sleep badly enough. Danny was back at school and the week

seemed to monotonously pass by just like the one before. He saw Mark a couple of times at school

but only talking twice and both times Mark asked insistently about Danny entering Sam into a fight.

It had been in Danny’s mind all week long and the only reason he wasn’t excitedly looking forward to

Friday was because he was a little bit afraid. He felt a sense of concern toward himself and his

unexplained behaviour as well as Sam’s. The other thing was what if Sam got hurt, he didn’t feel like

he could live with himself if he forced her into that situation and she had to pay the price. He’d

looked at it from every angle the whole week long and dreaded having to make a decision. To him it

wasn’t something he could just pass by; he felt he had to make a decision. Either he does it and see

how it goes or say no and never take part in any of it. There was a gnawing in his head and it sent

images into mind. The image of the champion having its teeth sinked into the other dog. There prefight

psychological fighting and the victorious feeling he knew the champion felt. This is what drove

Danny insane because he knew that was the worst reason for him to want to do it. There was no

logical reason and he’d always based all his decisions on logic, on reason but now he felt it. He felt

like he already knew what he was supposed to do and he didn’t know why he was just going with his

gut so much lately. So when Friday came he was preparing himself to leave although his mind wasn’t

just uncertain, it was leaning towards no but Danny just blocked it out. Danny’s mind was racing

while he was leaving the house Friday night. He wasn’t thinking about what he was doing but instead

arguing with himself, trying to stop him. He was already in his car about to leave. Danny was

reversing when he heard howling and growling from the edge on his driveway. He got out and saw

Sam running toward him, she wasn’t running like she usually does at the park it seemed more

urgent. Danny stopped in his tracks. He felt a weird sensation in his stomach and yelled No at Sam.

He didn’t like this feeling and he took it to mean Sam shouldn’t be accompanying him. He was

directing her back toward the yard. She was walking back but turned around and looked at Danny

with woeful eyes and he didn’t even need to see them to know they were there. It wasn’t just so she

could come along but Danny felt like they needed to do this together. He didn’t want to say “What’s

the worst that can happen” but he couldn’t say No to her anymore. He turned in the direction of the

car while Sam was still standing there looking at him. Danny reluctantly opened the backdoor and

Sam automatically approached it. She got inside and Danny closed the door. He stood there with his

hand on the door handle just looking at her. He slid behind the wheel and the two of them made

their way to the old School. Danny was grown up enough to not have to give proper explanations as

to his whereabouts and when he left, all he had to say was “I’m going out”. They were a little

concerned about what he was going to do regarding Sam. It was last Friday when he left that Sam

had gone berserk. So when they saw Sam leave with him they were pleased. All except his mother,

she still didn’t care for Sam and the more Danny was growing closer to him the more she became

uneasy. Danny didn’t take a leash or anything with him so when he saw the school coming up he

wanted to turn around and go back home to get it. He knew what happened last week to him so he

was a little scared as to the influence it would have tonight especially since Sam was with him. Also

the reaction Sam would have and to top things off he didn’t have both leashes there to try and

control her. Danny settled after he realized that if Sam were to go on a rampage two leashes

wouldn’t be able to stop her. When Danny got to the old school he thought that it would be a good

idea to drive his car up to the edge of the field where everything would take place. It was actually

meant as a precautionary measure. He would leave Sam in the car until he felt it would be okay to

let her out. The large gates were open as Danny approached the school. He drove straight up,

followed the path for a short while then turned onto the grass toward the crowd. Danny parked his

car away from all the others and just sat until he saw some of the guys he’d met the week before. He

got out and joined the small group. He didn’t really want to be part of a group but they knew a lot of

things about the fights among others. Some of them had bred their dogs to be fighters. These guys

didn’t care about their dogs seeing as the only thing they did for their dogs were to make them

better fighters. One of the fellows he spoke to said that this was his fighting dog. The reason for this

was that the previous two had lost their fights and the first one was sold as he could make a good

profit and the other was killed. Danny could not stand some of these people and left in sheer

disgust. He was leaning against his car when he saw Mark coming for him. Mark saw Sam first and

the biggest smile came across his face. Danny could only make out little bits of what he was saying

through all the excitement.

“Come on, why’re standing here?” He screamed at Danny

“I didn’t bring her here to fight” Danny wasn’t sure if he was lying or telling the truth.

Complete disappointment befell Mark. “I’m begging you, just one easy fight. I’ll ask them to put you

up against another newcomer”

Danny just stood and looked at Sam while Mark slipped away. He was still a little disappointed but

left looking like a man on a mission. The masses were getting bigger and the party was starting. The

truck could be heard approaching and Danny saw it pull up to the same spot it’d been standing in

the week before. As it was coming to a halt Danny saw Mark talking to the man in the red hat. From

what Danny could see they were talking attentively and when he looked closer he could see Mark

handing the man in the red hat a considerable sum of money. A while later Mark made his way back

to the car where Danny was standing with his hands on Sam’s back. He felt a sudden uneasiness

about Mark who was walking hesitantly since he saw Sam out of the car and next to Danny.

“Rogan says he can get you a fight with an amateur” said Mark with a pleased smile.

“So you already entered us into a fight” Danny said between gritted teeth. “I saw you hand that guy

the money”.

“Yeah… the other dog’s weak; you can take him so I just figured…” Mark was looking very nervous

as he could see Danny losing his patience and Sam looking at him. Danny grabbed him by the shirt

and yanked Mark towards him. It was unlike Danny’s taciturn behaviour to initiate a fight but tonight

he did. Danny stared down Mark who looked like he was about to wet himself. He felt pity for the

boy and let him go. The crowd was gathering around and forming a circle and the floodlights from

the truck was coming on. In the distance Danny could see the figure of a hardnosed dog jumping and

pulling on the chain that his owner was holding. In just a matter of seconds it was as if Danny was

transported into the week before. He instantly felt everything he’d felt the first time he saw the

fights. Sam’s bent legs became rigid as she stood straight up turning in that direction. Danny pushed

Mark away from them and mechanically walked toward the centre as if hypnotised.

“I already set everything up; just go ahead it’s an easy win” Mark yelled nervously as he saw the

strange sight that was Danny and Sam. They stepped in between the crowd that quickly gave way to

open a path to the centre. Rogan stood with his red hat in his hand pointing at Sam and gestured to

Danny to bring her closer. They slowly made their way to the centre where Danny saw the other dog

wildly springing and barking. It was a strange looking dog with a large head and muscular build. It

had smooth white coat with patches of red. Rogan announced that it was an American bulldog and

that was the only thing Danny heard. He didn’t respond when he was asked what kind of dog Sam

was or what her name was. They went on with the show although they knew nothing about Danny.

The bulldog was drooling and its brown eyes moved all over the place. Sam was a giant compared to

it but it still looked like it could do some damage especially since all the other dogs here were

trained unlike Sam. A spellbound Danny stepped away from Sam. He left her in the centre with her

hairs standing on edge and stood a few metres away watching fixatedly. The bulldog was taken off

its leash and immediately tackled Sam. It dug its head into the side of her Body. Danny winced and

Sam made use of the fact that the bulldog was this close as she turned her head and brought down

sharp teeth into the back of its neck. The bulldog froze for a minute. It might have been through

shock and Sam pulled back her head. She didn’t really hook her teeth into the flesh of her opponent

so when she pulled back there wasn’t any meat in her mouth. Sam had made a few long and deep

slashes in the neck of the bulldog. It immediately jumped back warily but still eager to go, the dog

was moving for another attack. With a deep growl Sam leapt forward, placed her paws onto the

shoulders of the bulldog that straight away went down under the sheer force of Sam’s mammoth

body. She was holding the dog down but it still trashed not as avidly as it did before but nonetheless

persistently. In the background a hideous laughter could be heard coming from Danny as he slowly

walked forward waiting for Sam to provide the knockout blow. She was face to face with the bulldog

that was lying flat beneath her great paws. She exposed her fangs as if taunting her opponent (that

seemed more like prey now). The dog may have been prepared for what comes next but its owner

was not and before Sam could use those daggers to finish it off the owner had already thrown in the

towel. Danny was walking when he saw Rogan come an interrupt the fight. He was moving in trying

to draw Sam’s attention while the owner of the bulldog was trying to find a way to get his dog out.

Danny could not accept another fight ending like this and was going to call to Sam to finish the dog

off when Mark came running toward him. Danny’s pulse was already at an all-time high and he could

feel himself taking care of these people on his own. When the owner of the other dog grabbed

Danny by the coat and looked to be doing the exact thing Danny was about to do, it stirred a sudden

reaction from Sam who jumped off the dog. The other guy was screaming at Danny who was only

now starting to snap back to reality. Without intending to do so Sam’s body weight alone had

seriously hurt the dog that she now released. Sam barked once in Danny’s direction and the owner

let go tautly and ran to the aid of his dog. He helped his dog and it was limping as they finally made

their way through the throngs of people. A lot of people were shocked at the way the fight ended

rather than the fight itself. The champion usually won his fights that quickly and the by looks of Sam

almost everyone assumed that it would go in a similar direction. Not everyone shared that view

though as Mark told Danny when the three of them were walking back to the car. He’d given Danny

a substantial amount of the money but the majority of it went to him. Danny wasn’t feeling himself

and didn’t protest to tonight’s arrangement. Mark had paid for Danny and Sam to enter the contest

so he took his share of the winning and a “finder’s fee”. Mark had come prepared that night and put

quite a lot of money on Sam winning. Danny was still burning up when he slid behind the wheel of

his car with Sam breathing loudly on the backseat. He didn’t respond to anything Mark had said and

only dismissed him when they got to the car. He rolled down the window and let the cold air blow

through his face until he got home. Danny parked the car, fed Sam and climbed into bed. Not since

arguing with Mark before the fight had Danny thought that night. He’d simply reacted even now he

unthinkingly got into bed. The slow drive home and the cold air had worked. He felt perfectly calm

now so sleep wasn’t much farther.

The following morning came upon Danny with a shocking surge of soreness. His head was pounding

in his skull and the right side of his rib cage felt tender and bruised. He stayed in his bed trying to

remember what had happened and if he’d done something to hurt himself. The night before came

to Danny in a bizarre sort of recollection. He didn’t remember it like he always remembers things. He

couldn’t analyse what happened because it was all just a series of images and no emotion. It was like

watching a movie from only one influenced viewpoint. Danny saw Sam and what she was doing to

her opponent, he saw the other owner trying to pick a fight with him. He had to think long and hard

to remember the other things like Mark and the money, all that just seemed trivial to Danny even

though he didn’t mean to look at it that way. When he thought about the night before he only

vividly saw Sam beating that dog. To the rest of the world it happened so quickly but to Danny it was

in slow motion. He could see every tiny little part of the assault. He saw Sam’s canines ripping long

lines through the dog’s flesh, her weight knocking the wind out of the bulldog. Danny saw Sam rip a

huge chunk of flesh from the bulldog and after she finished that she came over to tackle and

mutilate the owner of the dog that had his hands on Danny. Although all of that did not happen he

wanted so badly for it to be real. If Danny had seen himself at that moment, The sickening laughter

the sadistic smile and the blood rush he’d got, he would been very scared now but he didn’t so that

that bit he added to the events was only a funny little trick his mind was playing on him. There were

no complaints and only happy faces when Danny came down for breakfast. Sam’s reaction to him

going to the fight alone the week before must have really done a number on them. His mother was

immediately concerned with his discomfort as Danny couldn’t hide the pain very well. He popped a

few pain pills in his mouth and went to check on Sam who was doing much better than him. She

easily walked to him when he came out of the house. Danny only watched her and although he had

seen a beastly part of her he felt no different if not more attached. Danny spent the most part of the

day indoors recovering after going on an early morning walk with Sam. The mulling over he did in

bed the morning was the only thinking about the night before that Danny was going to do; he let

everything go now and only concentrated on next week. It was already decided before he even

spoke the words that they were going to fight again. Before going to sleep late Saturday evening

Danny took some more pills and welcomed a familiar drugged sleep. Sunday went by in blur and the

only thing Danny did was contemplate whether he ought to go to Bob and tell him about the fight.

Danny’s recollection and attitude toward the entire business was not natural and he knew it so he

decided against it. Back at school and Danny spoke to Mark about what was to happen this coming

Friday. The next day he gave Mark all the money he needed to enter a fight and to place a bet.

Danny only had to use a small amount of his own money as the rest came from the winnings of the

previous fight. He placed a bet because he thought it would help if he get some money for the next

fight and just as the plans came together when Danny adopted Sam, it came together effortlessly

again now. The rest of the week was consumed by plans for the fight on Friday and only once or

twice while running a comb through Sam’s hair had Danny doubted himself and what he was doing.

That Friday the school day ended quickly and Danny made his way to the supermarket and although

it wasn’t as intense as it was before he was simply just reacting to the coming events. He walked

through the pet section to check if there wasn’t any medical equipment or boosters for Sam to take.

He didn’t find what he was looking for and thought about going to the Dexys Clinic to get a

professional opinion but thought against it. He left the store having only bought one thing and

choosing to spend the rest of the afternoon with Sam at the park. Watching Sam chase the ball and

after sitting with her under the warm afternoon sun Danny couldn’t help but feel guilt at what he

was about to do. They did not walk home casually as they usually did but Danny was hurriedly pacing

ahead of Sam. He was guilt ridden and slowly fell into a state of anguish. He did not know what to do

now and time was running out. Danny had supper with his family hoping they would say or do

something to help him make the decision. As he opened the freezer to get a soda he saw the two

steaks he’d bought at the store earlier today. Danny took them out of the freezer and took them to

Sam. He removed the steaks and threw the blood drenched meat into Sam’s bowl. She immediately

devoured them and Danny for the first time ever watched her eat. As Sam was lapping up the last

bits of left over juices Danny felt a weight being lifted off him. It was if he was blind the entire time

and now he was not only seeing but seeing clearly. He instantly got ready to leave and as everything

was already set it only took five minutes before the two of them were on their way to the old school.

While driving Danny thought back to his inability to make a decision. He was going to dismiss it but

just then he thought that the doubt may have been a good thing. The whole week long he was just

doing. Why had he paid Mark all that money? , Why did he go to the store earlier? , Why had he

bought those steaks and fed them to Sam? Especially since she already had a diet. Sam had her face

turned towards Danny on the backseat and he could feel her breathing on the back of his neck as he

brought the car to a stop on the field. Danny’s mind switched off, it was like losing conciseness to

him and he just reacted to everything around again. He arrived a bit later than he did the previous

weeks, everyone was already there and a fight was at present underway in the centre of the well-lit

circle. He got out of the car and walked over to catch a glimpse of who was fighting. He did not

recognise the fight and this particular night he just didn’t feel like watching. Danny eventually found

Mike who was talking to some others guys (probably about betting and money). He had already

arranged everything and the cherry on top of the cake was that Danny was to go up against the

Champ himself. Danny who was already revved up to go before he’d even gotten to the school was

ecstatic now. He sat with Sam in the back of the car before Rogan came around to call the two of

them. Things were a little different now and the crowd was bigger. Some sections had small fires

going as it had started drizzling earlier and looked to turn into and all out downpour of rain soon.

People were whispering amongst each other as Danny and Sam came walking through and instead

of Sam getting the strange glares it was Danny this time that had to suffer the burden of it now. The

usual announces were made and the Champion slowly appeared from behind the truck with its

floodlights focused on Danny. He could already feel the blood rushing through his body and he was

done fighting against himself, he was done questioning it he only stepped back and let Sam do what

they came here to do. The large bull-terrier did not change one bit and slowly circled Sam who did

the same. The attacks began with Psychological warfare. Barking and growling were the only sounds

heard as the crown was silent. The Champion moved in now, he jumped at Sam who didn’t budge at

all and the bull-terrier quickly retreated. Danny couldn’t help but remember what he’d heard

someone tell him about the Champ. He was perfectly bred to be a fighter, the said that he did not

have an “off” switch. Danny was already gone and wasn’t sure if he heard the owner give a

command but the bull-terrier seemed to give up all pretence of prolonging this fight and moved in

for the kill wanting to finish it now. It got closer to Sam and as she was moving in quickly to ward it

off, the bull-terrier grabbed her leg between his teeth. Danny did not know how this happened but if

it wasn’t for the size of Sam’s enormous legs and the fact that the Champion didn’t have enough

time to properly bite, they would have been in big trouble. She moved away quickly and found her

right leg hurting as Danny was screaming in the back. If the bull-terrier had properly brought down

his powerful jaw it might broke her leg so they were a little cautious now. The bull-terrier wanted to

do the same thing to the same leg and as he moved to attack Sam’s leg, she grabbed him by the neck

just as she grabbed her opponent the week before. This time she got her teeth hooked correctly and

with a swing of the head she flung the Champ across the field. He was bleeding heavily and in flash

its owner was there. Danny was about to go off the deep end because he thought they were

throwing in the towel. Instead the owner placed a big piece of cotton on the wound and rolled some

bandage over it followed by some sticky tape to keep it in place. The rain started coming down

heavier now and it washed most of the blood from Sam’s muzzle as she stood now with her paw in

the air, breathing heavily. Danny came closer modelling that horrific facial expression that seemed

accustomed to him at these fights. The bull-terrier seemed to be well versed in the art of fighting as

it didn’t come at Sam’s legs again and instead leapt at her. He clawed at her face and got her once

and upon landing didn’t waste any time at ramming his head right into the Sam’s body which was

wide open. Danny screamed at Sam, not in anger but rather vocalising her frustration. She staggered

once and as the confident Champion came again she threw her arm across her body, hitting him

dead centre in the face. The Champion was thrown on his side and Sam moved toward him, she

could not move properly as her injured leg wouldn’t allow her to. He was dazed and Sam thought it

was over and as the Champ moved slowly trying regain his composure Sam swiftly charged forward

biting into the under belly of the bull-terrier. It was softer than the neck region so she was doing

some damage. The Champion lashed wildly at first and realizing it wasn’t doing him any good bent

his head difficulty down and bit Sam on the ear as this was as far as he could reach. Sam

immediately let go and cried out in pain but her screams couldn’t be heard over the champion’s

cries. As Sam was staggering back Danny was suddenly next to her running his hand over her rain

soaked back. The two of them watched the Champion slowly trying to get up and in doing was

causing him to lose even more blood. Danny wondered why the owner wasn’t throwing in the towel

and he remembered that the Champion was said to have the best “dead game”. Dead game was the

most valued trait in fighting dogs. It was the willingness to fight to the death no matter the severity

of its injuries. The Champ stood up and the heaps of blood coming from his wound seemed to slow

down to drops as Sam ran her tongue over her teeth, licking away the last of her opponent’s blood.

The owner finally gestured to Rogan that he’d put his pride in his pocket and was prepared to

relinquish his title but it was too late. Danny and Sam slowly made their way forward, they would

not settle for another interrupted fight. Rogan, the owner and the entire crowd displayed the

identical expression of complete terror. The owner of the bull-terrier fell back and stared with teary

eyes as he understood there was nothing he could do but Rogan would not have this at his fights and

moved to block them. Danny shoved him out of the way as Sam leapt upon a retreating Champion.

She strained her wounded leg but it didn’t matter, she growled in pleasure not loudly but to herself.

She was on top of him and the bull-terrier’s resistance was weak. Rogan froze in his spot and a good

number of the crowd looked away as everyone saw Sam’s intentions. Danny urged her on with

frenzied cries as she brought down her muzzle in lighting speed and dug her teeth into the exposed

lower neck of the bull-terrier. His body thrashed violently and stopped suddenly as the last bit of life

was seized from him. Danny laughed triumphantly as Sam tilted her head to the sky having thrown

the last bits of flesh to the side and let out a deep howl. They let the rain pour over them but their

celebrations were interrupting by heartbroken screams.

“What’s wrong with you?” the owner of the former Champ was crying and only managed to get

those words out.

“Get the hell outta here before I call the cops and don’t even think about coming back you

physcho.” Rogan screamed at them and it was as if the act of killing the bull-terrier had given Rogan

the courage to tell Danny to move on. More people were screaming lots of other things but the

sounds didn’t reach Danny.

They did what they came here to do and the thrill was magnificent so Danny didn’t protest and

simply strolled happily toward his car. He still felt excited and Sam hadn’t calmed down either as

they drove out of the school and in the rear view Danny could see people giving him disgusted looks

but he didn’t care, he was just enjoying thehigh he felt right now. The drive home didn’t do much for

them and in the backyard Sam and Danny laid down on the grass letting the rain wash away the

stains of blood on their bodies and their sins all at once. Danny turned to Sam and couldn’t believe

the happiness he felt toward this dog. She had given him everything; his search had come to an end.

He didn’t know this was what he wanted but tonight he felt like she was sent to him and they fell

asleep together under the cloud covered full moon.

Danny woke up damaged more so than he did after Sam’s last fight. He didn’t understand why he

was in pain but didn’t attempt to find out either. It was much later than usual so breakfast time with

the family wasn’t an option today. First things first he had to take care of Sam. She might have

dominated the fight with the Bull-terrier but she didn’t come out of it unscathed. Sam was lying

under the make shift tent Danny had made for her the night before. When Danny first woke up after

falling asleep on the grass, he threw a water resistant sheet over the trees and clothing line to keep

a small portion of the lawn free of rain. Sam was now lying in the rain free part and Danny

approached her. She was breathing normal; no cuts or bleeding but her leg although healed looked a

bit swollen. He ran to the kitchen and got an ice pack. No one was around to ask questions so Danny

grabbed the other steak and offered it to her. Sam tried getting up and moved awkwardly to him.

Danny moved the food closer to her and she ate, slower than she did yesterday and Danny didn’t

think this was just because of the injury. He kept the ice pack on her wound for a while and tested

her ability to walk. Sam failed and the afternoon walk would have to be put off for another time. He

went upstairs, cleaned himself, got dressed and after eating he left for the supermarket again. He

skipped checking the pet aisle for anything helpful and went directly to pharmaceutical products.

Danny found and ointment for bite wounds and some bandage and made his way home again not

wanting to leave his patient on her own for too long. Sam wasn’t making a big fuss about the injury

but Danny kept the ice pack on it again then rubbed on the ointment and bandaged her up. They

were alone so he done this in his bedroom and for the first noticed that most of the rain just washed

off Sam’s thick coat. They watched TV and he couldn’t concentrate; again the night came back to

him in flashes of pictures. Danny saw everything (except himself) and didn’t feel anything. He was

logically considering everything. He didn’t feel bad about being thrown out and banned from the

fights or Sam killing the Champion. After all it was a deadly game they were playing and that was the

price, so the Bull-terrier was only a casualty or merely collateral damage. He was only focusing on

the last night and didn’t even want to start thinking about what they were going to do next. He

realized he didn’t get any money from the win but didn’t care either way. He didn’t need more

money and he had enough to take care of Sam. He saw the owner crying over his dead dog and

other people coming to comfort him and all of them asking the same question, Stephen are you

okay? .Even though he justified killing the dog he still couldn’t help feel sad for its owner because if it

were Sam, he immediately put that thought out of his head. The owner was crying and he had to

consider that, he could press charges against Sam and Danny for killing their dog even if it was in dog

fight. Before he could panic he remembered the other things, that everyone was smoking and

dealing drugs, that they were betting and illegally gambling and that Rogan banned them because

they were bad for business and that he cared enough for business to stand up to a dog that just

killed another in front of his very eyes. The whole operation was too precious and lucrative for

everyone to just throw it away over one killing. He calmed now and knew that there were other

things to take into consideration to back his argument but what mattered now was that they were

safe. All they had to do for now was heal up. When his parents came back Sam went back to her tent

and the day just went on until they left again to go have supper with the Anderson’s two houses

over then Danny Sat with Sam in front of the TV holding an ice pack to her leg. When Sunday came

Danny felt all healed up and went to look if Sam felt the same way. She was walking around the yard

he looked carefully and couldn’t see any discomfort. They went for a walk before his mother came

back from church and everything was back to the norm as far it they walks were concerned. The

steaks seemed to have satisfied her pretty well as there was still some doggy food left in her bowl so

he gave her some water and let her be till tonight. Danny was happy to see her healed up but what

really pleased him was that he didn’t have a gnawing in his head anymore, he didn’t feel anything

lacking any more, he was fulfilled now. Danny was weary at supper while everyone was chatting

leisurely. He was partially listening. They had asked what he and Sam were up to and he thought

about telling them about the fights. Obviously not the gory details but still they might not take to

well to it either way, coupled with the fact that it may incriminate him later. Although Danny didn’t

think when he was fighting he made sure to review everything the following day and he’d seen

enough movies and read enough books to know that it might not end well for either of them. That

was all over now anyway and he wouldn’t need to worry about covering his a*s for any more fights.

He was still satisfied with everything as it was at that moment so he couldn’t imagine wanting

another fight. While watching T.V the day before Danny saw something on the local news about a

hooded stranger attacking people in the park at night. He didn’t look much into it as he was still

recovering (not only physically). His mother had heard some rumours at church that morning. Marge

Wilkins wasn’t the most reliable source but what his mother was saying and the little bits he heard

on the news corroborated. His mother was pleading with him to only take Sam on early morning

walks and in the school week that they should not go to the park at all even if the assailant was only

said to attack at night. Danny told everyone about the fun they had at the park and that no one

would think to attack him when they saw Sam at his side. This is what slightly worried her. That Sam

would hurt someone and in her frenzied state would hurt her son. Little did she know that Danny

and Sam both shared a similar appetite for destruction. No one else at the table saw Sam in that way

but his mother was intuitive enough to know that Sam was different, which she took to be evil.

“Your mother has a point son” his father stepped in seeing his wife’s distress. “For the past two

nights you’ve been going out late, with that dog.”

Danny just looked passively at them and nodded his head hoping they wouldn’t pry any more.

“Where do you go anyway?” his sister said, she was always annoyingly snooping about Danny’s

affairs.

“We just go for a drive around town that’s all.” Suspicious eyes fell on Danny and he knew he’d have

to come up with something more to sell it to them. “We go for walks and we go to the park all week

long, so I try to divert from the monotonous routine by taking a long drive with Sam.”

Usually his mother would say that’s sweet or have something positive to say but whenever Sam was

even remotely involved she’d get cagey. Everyone let it go after that and Danny knew that had done

the trick. When Sam was finished eating Danny sat leaning against her sturdy body staring off into

space wondering what the future had in store for the two of them.

Monday school came and went insipidly. Routine settled in again and Danny took Sam for walks and

for the first couple days they went to the park every day. Since Danny had let himself go at the fights

the connection between him and Sam seemed not only to become stronger but they become

inseparable. They understood each other as if they shared a consciousness. Some days Sam would

even sleep beside Danny on his bed even though his mother had become increasingly infuriated at

this new arrangement. Friday came and although Danny wasn’t aching to jump back into the ring but

he still wanted to find Mark just to make sure he couldn’t get him and Sam a little action. Danny’s

eyes met Mark’s and he immediately moved in an attempt to run away. Only now did Danny realize

that Mark had been avoiding him all week long and now he wanted to run away again. The only

thing Danny could think of was that Mark was avoiding him because of the money he took but he

still caught Mark before he could get away.

“I don’t care about the money, can’t you get us into another fight” Danny asked straight-faced.

“Are you insane? I had to pay Rogan off just so he wouldn’t kick me out with you and that damn

dog” although he still showed signs of fear for Danny he managed to puff out his chest pretty well

now. ”You were crazy at that fight. Your dog didn’t need to kill the Champ, you took things too far

Danny”. His reaction seemed real and Danny was rethinking his actions. He knew what he did might

have been wrong or a little excessive but he couldn’t believe that in the time they were fighting

nothing like that had ever happened.

“He was a fighting dog, they can find another. That’s the point of having dog fights”. Even though

what Mark had said annoyed Danny he still stayed impassive.” How much is it gonna cost?” he

asked.

“Even I couldn’t get you back in there Danny. I don’t think I want to, I think you have a problem.”

Danny stared blankly into the face of Mark that wanted to have his say and leave as quick as

possible.

“You really were crazy. You laughed while your dog killed another dog. People were crying but you

were happy.” He looked at Danny quizzically quickly stepped aside and strode away into the school

building.

Danny hadn’t moved an inch and for the first time he saw himself laughing at the pain of the other

owner, he could see his veins bulged as the blood rushed through his body, he urged Sam on telling

her to finish off the Champ; finally he saw the sadistic smile that scared him to his core. He washed

his face in the boy’s toilet and sat absentmindedly in class waiting for this horrid day to end. The

doubt came back and he not only welcomed it he sought it. Danny walked home and knew he was a

monster, he knew that what he did was wrong and the fact he hadn’t denied it before but just

accepted it as if it were just some little thing made it even worse to him. He hated himself and tried

to find the root of all his latest troubles but couldn’t find it. He was scared of himself and a little

scared of Sam but he didn’t blame her. In his mind he was the mastermind, he was pulling the strings

and although he felt a great deal of affection toward Sam she was only a pawn. He was in a complete

state of Melancholy now and earlier in the week Danny had planned to drive up to the old school

building alone and see if the fights did something to him but now he just sat at home in a pit of

despair.

Somewhere between stocking up Sam’s food supply and buying some inconspicuous clothing items

(which he immediately hid in his car) Danny ended up at the bookstore. There were a few new

paperbacks that piqued his interest. Danny scanned through most of them but there was something

else or another reason he’d had the bookstore in the back of his mind, hidden amidst a mountain of

other conversations and events. Danny put down the book he was leafing through that he knew he

wouldn’t be able to buy not with his new unpredictable expenses.

“You’re the first person I thought if when I saw that book”

Danny turned around so he could see the face that belong to that soft, sweet sounding voice. Faith

was standing behind him with her hair tied back showing the contours of her face and for a moment

Danny could feel his whole body tense up, the only thing he was able to do was stare.

“I told you to swing by, knew it’d be worth it” she said smiling lightly

Danny quickly tried to control himself. “To bad I spent all my money on Sam”

Faith’s expression suddenly and faintly changed “Girls usually take a chunk out of your budget

Danny, you gotta be a gentleman” she said in an attempt to make up for the minor disappointment

she was hiding and also jokingly but there was a high-pitched unease in her voice.

Danny was casually laughing “To be honest this particular girl is my entire budget”. He was still

chuckling with himself “Sam’s my dog” explained Danny.

“Oh Silly me then” Faith started laughing in unison with Danny. “I go on break now, why don’t we go

take a walk” she knew Danny well enough to know that she could and had to initiate any social

protocol. In the centre of Dexys ‘Business district’ was a small park, it had a fountain in the centre

with benches at each side. The pet clinic, bookstore and other small business were all situated

around it. This was the place they had chosen to rest after their walk and Danny walked over to a

man with a small cart and bought two ice-cream cones. He handed one of them to Faith she

graciously thanked him and when she smiled at him for his sweet gesture he almost let both of them

slip out of his hand.

“I must say this is very nice Danny” Faith said and she might as well have sat on Danny’s lap as she

(not for the first time) pushed her body closer to his.

“It’s like you read my mind. Should’ve done this a long time ago huh” Danny quickly replied smiling

and looking ahead as she rested her head on his shoulders and Danny breathed in her warm

fragrance. No words needed to be said as the silence added sparks to the already wonderfully

blazing ambience. Both reluctantly parted ways after an extended lunch break of conversation, hand

holding and sheer merriment. Danny walked home savouring this feeling and instinctively taking it

with both hands. He knew that once this passed he would be back to being the guilt ridden baddie

he was before Faith appeared.

Sunday was around the corner and again Danny had his strength and his desire drained from him. He

got up early for church on Sunday morning he felt he needed to somehow do penance for what he’d

done , for what he’d become. Danny listened intently to every word the priest said and wasn’t very

excited when the theme of the service was Forgiveness instead of what he needed.

“The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to

forgive and comfort him. So that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow”. Father Donald

was a burly man and his voice thundered through the pews and filled the large building.

Danny was amazed at his mood swings as of late. How he was easily influenced by various things.

Some unknown force had convinced him to fight in a deadly battle, at the time he mistook it for

Mark but now he knew it was something else and now Father Donald’s words were reaching him. He

did not want to just let it go but those words sounded as if they were meant for him and him alone.

Danny was tired of fighting and just gave in to this wisdom, he felt invigorated and full of purpose.

He knew what he needed to do next. After church Danny took Sam to the park where they

thoroughly enjoyed themselves. He paid a visit at Bob’s and found him as happy as ever, Ben was

still in good health so they left subsequently. The rest of the day passed by and Danny was too

focused on his task to think about what they could do to break away from the routine.

It was a cold and dark Monday evening and Danny sat with Sam in the park. He had a black coat on

with its hood over his head concealing his face. They walked slowly around the grounds Sam always

a couple steps ahead of Danny. He was to be the bait in this scenario, if it all went to plan. They did

this for an hour and nothing happened except a few older ladies that hastily passed them after

suspiciously glancing at Danny. Danny sat down under one of the many trees in their park and

surveyed the area carefully. He thought about what he was planning on doing and this wasn’t

another dog fight so he couldn’t just be controlled or just react he needed to think. He considered

the consequences and knew that he didn’t want to get caught so he left the park. He felt that he was

underprepared and after an hour and a half the first attempt had come up fruitless so back to the

drawing board. The next day Danny came back from the supermarket with a pair of black gloves. The

two of them would probably be prime suspects so he wanted to make sure they couldn’t prove any

more than a lot of rumours. They left again just as the sun set in Dexys and walked swiftly to the

park. Tonight Danny thought about taking the car but that could turn out to be an unnecessary

complication so they left it behind. Tonight seemed to be another bust until Danny heard a soft

voice in the distance. It came from behind a couple trees that grew almost on top of one another to

form a perfect covering. He motioned to Sam to stay where she was and he slowly crept toward the

noise. There was a scrawny boy that Danny recognised from school standing in front of Mary-Anne

Green. She was one of Faith’s friends and Danny immediately knew who she was. He wanted to

move in because she was softly saying No over and over to the boy as they were kissing. It didn’t

seem too dangerous to him but he didn’t want to take any chance. He didn’t come out here tonight

to look for trouble but it was a nice girl he knew so he needed to do something if she was in trouble.

The boy backed off after the girl shoved him and as Danny turned to walk away he stepped on a

branch and the couple nervously left the other way. Danny was not hindered from his objective and

kept coming to the park every night even though the incident with Mary-Anne was the only notable

thing to have happened the whole week. His parents asked questions as to where he was going in

the evening and he’s say for a walk or to Bob or make something up on the spot. The plans were all

in place and now Danny knew the time had come. The attacker had gotten another girl the week

before and she barely managed to get away. Danny had heard through the grape vine that he was

about to sexually attack her when someone drove by and heard her screams and that was what

startled the attacker and sent him packing. Danny wasn’t scared of him as it sounded like he didn’t

know what he was doing and he might just have a craving like Danny had had when they were in the

dog fights so he felt that he needed to help this guy or just put an end to his evil deeds. He’d

forgiven himself for what he’d done to the Champ and for his influence on Sam but what he was

planning on doing tonight was what he needed to do and it felt right, at least that’s what he thought.

They walked through the park, Sam a couple steps ahead of Danny. He had decided to use the car

and prepared a bag that he left in the trunk, he parked the car near the park but in a section not a

lot of people would see it at that time of night besides even if someone did see his car it would be

difficult to pick out his because of the frequency of it, he just hoped that whoever saw it wouldn’t

write down his plate number. The attacker showed up the last Saturday and it was quiet now.

Naturally this would’ve been a very good thing for Danny but he couldn’t understand why no one

was there. He knew that the local police was especially lazy in Dexys but this was just ridiculous, they

thought that if they gave one warning that everything would just be alright. Danny let that go and

tried only to focus on the task at hand although he still kept an eye out for any officers. He slipped

on the black gloves and covered his face with the hood; they had spotted a skinny man a few

minutes prior and were slowly following him. Danny seemed to have gained the art of successfully

stalking someone overnight. He did not make a sound, he knew how far to stay behind the man, he

knew just how to walk to not be heard, he didn’t lose track of him either and Danny waited for this

man to make his move. The man stood on the path under a lamppost and Danny, watching him from

behind a tree not too far away saw that he was wearing a jeans and only a sweater, he had long

shaggy hair that was covering part of his face. The man looked extremely fatigued that seemed a

little intoxicated. He just stood there and quickly turned when he heard footsteps, the man’s hands

were shaking and Danny knew that he was the attacker on the news. Danny had been coming to the

park every day since Sunday and knew he’d find him here. Danny couldn’t believe that someone was

actually walking through the park at this time of night though despite all the warnings. It was

unlucky for this lady to be coming from work this late. That’s what it looked like to him, she was

wearing a pants suit and her heels could be heard all throughout the still summer evening. The man

moved away from the light post and slowly started walking away from the lady. She saw him but as

he was walking ahead but not straight ahead she didn’t seem to take much notice of him. She was

catching up to him and seeing how dodgy he looked started slowing down not wanting to turn

around now. It was already too late she was in his purview and he was ready to pounce. Sam wanted

to jump in at that moment but Danny just tugged on her hair as his hand moved slowly up and down

her back. The man had his arms around the business lady and she was wriggling and tried to scream

but was stopped by putting a sickly hand around her mouth. He was herding her out of the light and

in between the tress surrounded by bushes, as poorly as the man looked he seemed to have the lady

subdued under his strength. This was the right time and the two of them were too preoccupied to

see Danny and Sam step into the light. The man was lost in the dark and the woman’s stifled cries

were the only thing that could be heard by the two make- shift vigilantes. Danny let go of Sam and

she trotted forward but stopped when Danny turned around. He wanted to walk away; Danny knew

how this night was going to end although they had already come to the conclusion that they were

doing a good thing. Danny could feel that cursed exhilaration bubble up inside him and he knew it

wasn’t all God’s work he was doing but rather feeding his fixation.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against

the cosmic power over the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly

places” He heard father Donald’s words ringing in his ear. It didn’t matter why he wanted to do it; he

had enough reason to do it. Danny followed this feeling, it didn’t matter what it was he was doing or

whatever ulterior motive he had for doing it. He gave his body, his mind and his will over to his

animalistic instincts. Danny smiled at Sam and she immediately darted toward the darkness, Danny

reached them a minute later and found Sam tackling the man violently. The woman was still in his

grasp and she too was seized but he suffered the brunt of the challenge. Danny took her by the arm

and pulled her up, he wanted to get back to the real action where Sam had her front paws on the

attackers chest with the exposed teeth flashing in his frightened face. He yanked her upright.

“Just get the hell outta here.” Danny looked angry at her for being a distraction and was about to

leave.

“What?....Hey” the woman was disoriented and trying to grasp the situation through constant tears.

Before she could say any more Danny was shoving her toward the road. “Just go, run lady” Danny

had lost all patience and yelled at the lady as a final attempt to save her from becoming traumatized

at the massacre that was about to occur. She finally came to grips and ran, she didn’t look any

further and didn’t even see Danny face before she was running madly into the street. The man found

himself in the same state as the woman and stared fearfully into Sam’s eyes. Danny was standing

behind her and found that the staring was making him even angrier, he became more aggressive.

Sam barked loudly right into his face and this woke him up, the man suddenly moved his arm across

Sam’s muzzle in an attempt the free himself. She quickly gripped it in between her teeth and he was

writhing in agony. Sam brought her teeth together and Danny could hear a crunching sound come

from Sam’s muzzle and knew what that was. He smiled and yelled at her. “Do it” Sam moved her

head left then right hard to tear the man’s arm right out of its socket. Blood squirted over Sam’s face

and over Danny’s chest as the man’s eyes became even bigger. He had a delayed reaction to the

severing of his limb and after it landed in the bushes when Sam let go he started screaming in pain.

Sam freed the man from her hold and let him roll against the tree. He propped himself up and was

crying while large amounts of blood followed him leaving a clear trail. Danny was chuckling with

himself and Sam’s tongue was hanging out of her mouth as she licked her muzzle clean of the

attacker’s blood. This wasn’t a fight and Danny’s mind wasn’t just hypnotised in the fighting mood,

he looked at the man and thought about how he was going to do it. It was a sickening thought and

this wasn’t the time for self-doubt and he knew that that would lead to mistakes and they couldn’t

afford making mistakes now. The man was screaming at them, he was swearing, cursing then

begging them to stop. Danny had Sam at his side and they were slowly walking toward the man. He

watched these two killers coming for him and true horrific fear came over him as he could see his

fate. Danny loved this part; it was the build-up the finale. He could feel his insides want to burst

from sheer exhilaration. There weren’t a million thoughts running through his head as they usually

did but only one. That they were going to put an end to this criminal’s wretched existence. He was

going to do what only God did. He felt the power and it felt amazing. Danny wanted to see the

ending properly so he nudged Sam to go on ahead and do what needed to be done. The man was

crying and losing more blood but with his other arm he reached out and tried to find something to

fight back with. That plan didn’t come off so good so the man tried getting up in an attempt to climb

into the tree he was propped up against. He was too drained to even get to his feet let alone climb a

tree and Sam was in front of him again. She growled at him as a final humiliation before killing him.

With his outstretched hand he quickly grabbed Sam head, before she could position her mouth

properly to tear off his other arm he moved his thumb down to her eye. He was about to dig his

thumb into Sam’s eye when he was sent tumbling onto his sides. Danny had seen his intention and

surprised himself by how quick he got to the man. He dug his boot into the side of the man’s

abdomen and sent him flying. The man lay on his side and coughed continuously. They didn’t stop to

talk or explain or even give him a chance to react to what was happening. They were merciless but

not only because of their killing nature but Danny was scared that in the struggle that the man would

grab some of Sam’s hair or their clumsiness in not immediately killing him would lead to their being

caught. Danny’s initial reaction was one of outrage but he couldn’t maintain it; he felt a surge of

ecstasy even greater than the one before. Sam raced to the man and bit into his side; she released

and bit into the same place again and again and again. Danny came up to him and pulled Sam back;

he didn’t have to struggle as she already knew what he wanted. Danny kicked into the wound, more

blood came out and the man had already stopped moving after Sam’s second assault. He’d lost far

too much blood and Danny stuck his boot into the wound over and over mutilating his body even

further. It felt good to join in the hunt but that wasn’t Danny’s intention, he wanted to disfigure the

part of his body that Sam had bitten so that his discovered body would leave any clues to his

attackers. Danny stepped back, put his hand onto Sam’s back and looked at their handy work. The

dead man lay in a pool of his own blood which he and Sam was also covered in. There were trails of

blood all over the grass, bushes and against the tree. They were standing there for a few minutes

more and started making their way out before someone found them. Danny took off his shoes not

wanting to leave prints because his left boot was covered in blood. Sam wouldn’t leave prints but

there would be tracks and as it was an animal park Danny didn’t care if they found dog tracks at the

scene. He picked up the man’s arm and although they hadn’t planned for the disembowelment of

tonight’s victim it was a factor Danny could easily fit into his plans. They walked carefully and made

sure they didn’t leave any incriminating evidence behind. It was quiet all around the park and Danny

opened the trunk of his car and took a plastic bag from the case he’d prepared. He put his shoes in

there, then his shirt and lastly his pants. He took fresh clothes from the black tog bag and got

dressed quickly, he would have to make do without shoes for now. Danny had slipped the arm in

between his clothes in the plastic bag and now took out a large sheet which he wrapped around Sam

before she got into the back. Danny got behind the wheel of his car and looked around to see if

anyone had seen them. He surprised himself at how thorough he was, like who had done this before.

No one was around for miles and they drove home. Danny took the long way home as this way

passed through an empty alleyway. He left the car in the street and got out alone. He took the

plastic bag from the trunk and emptied its contents in a trash can that was in the alley. After taking

the arm from the bag he shoved garbage over his bloodied clothes to hide them deep in the trash

can. Danny walked down into the darkness of the scary alley and threw the arm aimlessly in the

darkness. He knew that this particular alley attracted lots of stray dogs which would hopefully nibble

on the arm and if it were to be found nothing could really point anyone in the direction of Sam. They

drove home now and both Danny and Sam had calmed down. The thrill was amazing and it

quenched a thirst the both of them had but now they were happy and rational again. It was the wee

hours of Sunday morning and he knew he couldn’t make too much noise and attract attention but

luckily he had make preparations, seeing that they had staked out the park all week hoping to find

the man. The hose was lain out on the lawn and a bucket filled with shampoo was placed at the

backdoor. Danny drove up the driveway and parked his car. Sam got out and they immediately got

to work. Danny hosed Sam down but not on the grass, he wanted to make sure he washed the

bloody water down into the street where it would run into the drain. Sam had a ruffled coat and

most of the blood washed off easily but just to be on the safe side Danny poured shampoo over her

and washed some more before rinsing. Sam was clean in a matter of minutes and his boots was

next. Danny washed the rest of the water into the street making sure all the blood was gone. Danny

sighed heavily knowing that their mission was accomplished, Sam looked at him and it was clear to

him that she felt the exact same way. She was shaking back and forth drying her body and Danny

moved over to the car. He opened the trunk and lifted the piece of plywood board that was the base

of his trunk. His spare tire and tools were held there and that’s where he put the cloth that had

stains of blood on it now. He would get rid of it some other time in a way he thought appropriate

and slipped the board back into place covering up everything below it. Danny checked the car and no

blood was found, he walked into the road and no blood their either. He checked himself and Sam

and besides the blood the man hadn’t put up a fight so they were fine, not a scratch on them. Danny

filled Sam’s bowl with water and he had given Sam her before fight steak so she was good. He sat

with her enjoying their triumphant moment and just as he felt after every other fight he felt a great

deal of affection toward her. She moved over and placed herself almost in his lap and Danny knew

that she felt the same way. All of a sudden he was extremely exhausted and crawled into his bed

falling asleep instantly.

Danny woke up tranquil Sunday morning he didn’t feel guilt or a queer sense of pleasure. Danny still

believed they’d done the right thing. He played everything over in his head and everything they did

seemed acceptable to him; even the ecstasy he got from it. When he thought about that part of the

attack he could feel his heart beat faster. Danny replayed everything because although the act of

purifying his town of that villain was right to him it was still illegal and he knew that. All of it seemed

to go as planned and Danny was double checking everything now. It seemed as full-proof as it could

have been but still he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. It might have been guilt or

fear whatever the case may be he couldn’t place it so he finished up everything he needed to and

prepared to take Sam on a walk. In the shower Danny watched the last drops of scarlet rinse down

the drain as he found some of it had splashed onto his skin. It wasn’t much but only a few smears on

the clothes he’d put on afterwards so he took care of those himself. Everything was officially clean

and dealt with and Danny watched Sam bask in the sun before disrupting her nap. They picked up

Bob before they went to the park and he gladly joined them on their walk. Bob found Danny

delightful as he wasn’t pre-occupied by thoughts of distress for him, his dog or whatever

mischievous deed they were doing at that particular point in time (although Bob didn’t know those

were the thoughts that occupied Danny’s mind). Danny gave Bob a different excuse when asked

what he and Sam were doing for fun. When they got to the park a police car was standing at the far

end of the path with a large area around it covered with yellow tape to block anyone from getting

closer. The whole area was surrounded by people trying to find out what happened or trying to get a

better view.

“Let’s go see what happened” Bob said.

They made their way over and Bob asked a few spectators what happened. Apparently a dead body

had been found. That was the only thing most of these people knew. That wasn’t enough for Danny

and they kept on asking question to random people amongst the crowd. He found out that the arm

was missing and that was about the only credible pieces of information that crowd had to offer.

Other stories were spreading around that the man was shot with a shotgun at close range; that he

was butchered by someone or some people but one thing that was apparent in all their sources was

that almost everyone judging by his appearance believed that man was the infamous Dexys park

attacker. The police didn’t really put a lot of man power or energy into this particular investigation.

The officer posted at the crime scene told a few of the people that got there early that the police

department thought that the man was the attacker as they compared him with very rough and brief

descriptions of him and this was music to Danny’s ears. He knew they wouldn’t put much effort into

finding out who did it because they were lazy and prejudice. He really wanted to know what the

preliminary cause of death was or what clues and suspicions they might have uncovered thus far but

clearly he had overestimated his local police force. Danny didn’t stay too long and after playing

around with Sam and Ben for a while the four of them made their way home. It was almost time for

Sunday afternoon lunch when they got home and this was really what Danny was waiting for. He

made sure to not sound suspicious when he told everyone what he they had seen at the park and he

was especially careful when he asked his mother what the gossip was around town. The body was

found early Sunday morning by a jogger running through the park. Early Sunday morning wasn’t the

ideal time for rumours to spread so Danny didn’t get much news from his mother. The only good

thing about what she’d heard was that there was no speculation about any dogs or animals unless

you count the birds that were found pecking at his open wound. Sam was lying on Danny’s bed as he

was doing his homework at his desk. It was late afternoon and Danny was happy as he didn’t have a

care in the world at this particular moment. Contemplation and doubt would come later but for now

he enjoyed the victory, the feeling of job well done. It was a chilling evening and Danny made a small

fire in the backyard to warm him up. He stood with Sam for their late night ritual of start gazing and

tonight, the addition of staring into red and orange flames. A strange smell came from those flames

as the last of the white cloth burned away. Danny and Sam stared entranced at the blazes while

Danny thought that this was good, that they were being cleansed by fire.

School, walks to the park, staring at the stars while brushing through Sam’s hair was the recurring

actions that occupied Danny’s life. A monotonous routine was starting to settle into their lives. They

loved what they had, their habits and system but still they couldn’t stay like this forever. Danny

hadn’t thought himself to be an adventurer and although he always thought there was more to life,

he never yearned for extraordinary feats. However with Sam by his side now he could barely keep

from exploding with intrepid intensity. They would walk the park grounds late at night in the

footsteps of the late attacker hoping to find something but all the while not expecting much. They

drove to their neighbouring towns on weekends hoping to find illegal dogfights or even for someone

be it human or animal to seek out a bout with them. As time went on their situation became more

and more dire. They had this foreign intent, this energy bubbling up inside of them with no means of

release whatsoever. Danny was so agitated at home and at school that if anyone spoke to him or

even touched him he would overreact immensely, assaulting people with cold stares and if they

didn’t back away(which everyone did)Danny would ready himself for a fight. He had in fact

ostracized himself at home and at school. His mother was teeming with grief for her son and her

pleas fell on deaf ears and in her heart she believed that it was Sam that had done this to her son.

Deep down Danny still remembered his first or true nature not the person he seemed to be

portraying now and it was at these time or in the midst of the battle between good and evil within

him that he hated himself the most. Danny would run away for a day or two, just drive and stay in

solitude away from Sam and the rest of the world. Danny would contemplate and grieve for himself

and Sam, whichever him it may be the outcome always scared him. Sam too would run away at this

time of trouble between the two of them. Sometimes she would run after Danny, not tiring one bit

but she was never successful in tracking him all the way. He would always get away from her but in

the end they would always find each other. Neither of them knew where the other was going or

what the other was doing when they were not together and it never bothered them either. This

went on for a long while and it was about this time that Danny noticed that Sam seemed different all

of a sudden. They went for a walk and she felt distant. Danny had always somehow shared a

consciousness with Sam but now she felt a little remote, not completely though but Danny could feel

something was amiss. He dismissed this as there was no way of explaining their connection in the

first place so trying to understand what the problem was now would be senseless. He was fine with

it until Sam started walking with a pallid limp also she didn’t eat all her food like she usually did, her

eating pattern became erratic and some days she was completely drained of all energy. This

tremendously troubled Danny and after the vet (scarcely and hastily) examined Sam and found

absolutely nothing wrong Danny became overwrought with fear. He knew the diagnoses wouldn’t be

completely reliable judging from the vet’s unwillingness to help. He still needed to find out what was

wrong with Sam. Her condition stayed the same which was good and bad and as Danny became

more and more worried, he eventually became depressed. It all happened so suddenly and it was as

if an envelope opened inside Danny’s mind and he saw his instructions. He finally knew how to help

Sam or at least he thought he knew. Proceedings around town had settled back into the straight and

narrow lifestyle that Dexys had come to be known for, since the attacker’s death that is. More and

more people were seen out late at night. Danny couldn’t wait for the school week to slip away and

as Friday night came he slipped on a warm coat and walked the streets of his serene town. Unlike

the other times they walked late at night Danny didn’t hope to find a sparring partner but rather

only observing the habits of the various people. Most of them went to stores, friends’ houses and

any other place by means of a car which wasn’t really what Danny had in mind. He was looking for

the ones that were eager enough to walk around town unsuspecting. He needed to find someone

soon; the urge was there but not as strong as it would be in a few days or so. However at that time

Danny didn’t think that Sam had a few days to spare. The most successful prospect and what

seemed like his solution was the local watering hole. Delinquent drunks and some scruffy looking

men walked home after kicking off their weekend with a couple after work beers. It wasn’t the

perfect plan or reasoning but that didn’t occur to Danny and even if it did he probably wouldn’t care.

He had a life to save and that came first. As he walked home he tried making plans following the

same process as he did when they went after the park attacker. But his mind was scattered and he

only came up with half, sloppy ideas on ways they would do it and how they could get away safe and

free from any consequences. Sam was walking and looking more or less like her old healthier self but

Danny could see she still wasn’t functioning at 100% yet. Saturday morning he went to the store to

buy a fat steak to try and prepare Sam’s sick body for the evening events. There weren’t any new

rumours spreading around town since their first attack in the park so Danny and Sam were home

free and no one would even think to suspect them now. This is what gave Danny overconfidence in

their abilities and in their cause. He thought they could follow the same plan but he made

preparations hastily and foolishly. He didn’t account for the change of locale or the fact that they

hadn’t studied the person they were going up against, that he/she might be more experienced. The

other thing was that someone was killed not too long ago in the town so citizens might be on alert.

Danny wasn’t thinking clear enough to be making such risky decisions for that kind of operation.

Nevertheless they proceeded without caution, the prospect of doing the one thing they guiltily

relished excited both of them long before the sun even set. Again Danny packed a bag with things

they might need and the two of them got into the car and rushed to the tavern. The particularly jampacked

tavern they had chosen to stake out was one the corner of deserted streets, this was the part

of town you wouldn’t want to be caught in after dark. They parked the car in front of a ramshackle

house that looked as if it had been abandoned for a long time and walked the short distance toward

the pub. Sam looked to be in good spirits and Danny knew she would feel better as they got closer to

the inevitable. They stood across the road for a while and watched people leave one by one and

sometimes in groups and others in pairs. The one thing they all had in common was that no one

seemed to come out clear-headed, it was clear that this was the place you come to when you want

to have a good time. There were only two cars and one motorcycle left in front of the pub now and

Danny knew that the time was ripe for them to make there move and with the addition of Sam’s

raising hairs caressing his fingers as his hand moved on her back he sprang to action. Danny started

toward the drunken slob that stumbled out of the door. He didn’t see them as they approached;

Sam was a few paces behind Danny. He didn’t have to tell, it was as if they had rehearsed this a

thousand times and now it was just like another show to them and they were playing there parts

perfectly.

“Excuse me sir, do you need some help?” Danny wanted to lead the man further down the road so

they could all be alone.

“Why thank you boy scout, but I think I can manage on my own” the man laughed as he answered

Danny.

The man’s sarcastic remarks angered Danny all of a sudden and he couldn’t control his rage. He

lifted his foot and kicked the sprawling man square in the jaw. The man looked to have gone straight

from work to the pub as he still had overalls on that were now stained with drops of blood coming

from his mouth. He laid on the side of the road for a couple of minutes and Danny watched him as

Sam slowly approached. This was his hunt and Danny would make the first move tonight. Danny’s

foot was throbbing from that blow and he was surprised to see the man get up steadily. The man

spat a mixture of saliva and blood in the direction of Danny and came quickly at him with cruel

intent. Danny tried to react quickly but this man knew a thing or two about fighting and as Danny

swung his arm heavily around in an ill-fated attempt at a right hook the man simply lifted his arm

and absorbed the brunt of the shot. Danny was left wide open as he realized too late and found the

man’s very own right hook to be devastating. Danny was thrown back and fell over still not fully

recovering from that last blow. He was getting up but the man was already on top of him, the man

kicked him in torso lifting Danny’s entire body up with the momentum of his steel-toed work boots.

The world seemed to slow down around Danny and he could feel the excitement rising in his body.

Sam wanted to join, she was foaming at the mouth and Danny knew just how badly she wanted to

but he was enjoying this even though he was taking a beating. It was part of the hunt and Danny

spat out the blood that was filling his mouth and rolled away from the approaching man to get back

onto his feet. Danny still wasn’t seeing straight but he managed to make a taunting hand gesture at

the drunken man that drove him into an enraged state. The man charged at Danny and he looked at

Sam, in a flash she was at the man’s side. The three of them had drifted further away from the

streetlights but Sam’s eyes were designed for nights (or night time hunting)so that didn’t slow them

down. He was so shocked by her sudden appearance that he froze. It didn’t take him long to register

what was happening and he was about to attack Sam instead of Danny as he thought she had come

to help him. He was wrong as Sam was merely the diversion and the man felt the wind getting

knocked out of him as Danny tackled him to the ground. Danny didn’t waste any time in jumping

onto the man’s chest and delivering a barrage of right and lefts fists at his head. The man managed

to block some of them but he realized they were together and they had planned this. The man had

lost his previous self-confidence and was about to scream for help but Danny’s continuous blows to

his face was making it hard and his mouth was filled with blood and a few of his own teeth. Danny

took advantage of the man’s scattered mind and kept on assaulting him. Danny didn’t tire and

started laughing as the man’s hands dropped to his side. He couldn’t fight back anymore and Danny

was overjoyed but he knew he had to be quick; he couldn’t present a dead prey to this particular

Alpha female. He stood up and as he backed away Sam was at the man’s side. He was breathing

heavily and as Sam took a bite into his open neck his screams echoed through the midnight skies. His

face was already covered in blood from Danny’s assault and now the blood seeped out of him from

Sam’s assault. He quickly clapped a hand onto his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding and in a

miraculous burst of energy the man sprang to his feet and slowly started running. With drops of

blood dripping from her mouth Sam watched the man zigzag down the road and Danny was looking

at his crimson hands which astonished him at the time. Sam barked and the two of them began

walking after the man. He had already lost a large amount of blood and Danny knew he wouldn’t get

far. The man had fallen over next to the road not too far from the bar and as they approached Danny

and Sam could see he was breathing although laboured which wasn’t a good sign for him. Danny

stopped and immediately started running back to the car, Sam followed as if she had just gotten the

same idea he had. Danny reached the car in a matter of minutes without feeling the effects of

excessive running which he usually felt; he knew Sam wouldn’t tire from running any time soon as

she was born to run. He reached into the back and took about a small blue bottle, he checked the

nozzle and it was still sealed so they made their way back to the man. When they got back to the

man they couldn’t tell if he was alive just by looking at him. Sam wildly tore her teeth into his face

without hesitation and Danny could still feel the familiar high that accompanied these pursuits of

theirs, the man didn’t make a sound and only jerked roughly one last time. Danny didn’t have to

check the man’s pulse to know that he was no longer with them and Sam pulled her muzzle away

from his face. He started emptying the contents of the bottle onto the man. After he soaked the

man in lighter fluid he stood over him. The man’s neck was being held together by a small piece of

flesh and his face was covered in cuts. He took the box of matches from his pocket and lit one; he

didn’t think about it and knew he would only consider all of this after he had lost some of the high so

he just dropped the burning match onto the man’s lifeless body. The body burst into flames instantly

and Danny could feel the warmth on his face and backed away. They stood there watching only for a

few minutes; although Danny hadn’t put much thought into this killing he wasn’t going to take any

unnecessary chances so they crept into the shadows and made their way back to the car. The roads

were quiet and the man seemed to have of the last people leaving the pub so this cremation

wouldn’t be discovered presently. Danny changed clothes and beside the swollen jaw and aching

ribs he was clean. Sam on the other hand had her face painted in red. He used his sweater to wipe

her down but couldn’t get all of it off. He drove to the alley where they had dumped the arm of the

park attacker and Danny got out. He walked into the darkness of the alley and tore his clothes into

little pieces of cloth and dumped them. He got into his car and drove home. The experience of

leading a hunt felt surreal to him and he didn’t care what would happen next. Someone would find

the burning body; they would find his clothes none of these things mattered now. Danny opened the

tap they had in the backyard and he washed the blood from Sam’s face. The blood soaked onto the

lawn and left a bland red stain in it. He would make up something to cover that but now not even

that mattered to him so he went upstairs. Danny lay in his bed and replayed the events of the night

over and over in his head. Unlike the last time Danny wasn’t checking to make sure they had cleaned

up properly he was watching his new favourite experience as if it were a movie he could enjoy a

million times. This was what they needed, everything would be all better now.

The elated joy had left him and so did the immense fear which now just seemed like slight concern.

So Danny didn’t wake up and run out into the backyard to check on Sam. Instead he finished up

everything he needed to do and leisurely made a cup of coffee and walked out onto the dew

covered lawn to meet his beloved pet. He did all these things slowly, not by choice but rushing

anything or exerting to much force hurt his extremely wounded body. He had a purple bruise on the

side of his face and all over the side of his upper body which he now hid carefully. He was curious as

to the condition of Sam as he had taken a beating last night he wondered if she had gotten any

knocks too. He was frozen with a crushing kick in the teeth as his idea of how this scene would look

was shattered. Sam didn’t look better at all as a matter a fact she might have been looking worse.

Sam was lying on her side breathing irregularly; looking at her Danny could not only see but could

feel something wrong with her. He did not know what to do and stared haplessly at her. His mother

came out of the house and tried questioning him but he was unresponsive.

“Danny…Danny what’s wrong?” she looked concerned at him

His face was twisted in a horrible expression. He looked like he was witnessing the most sickening

thing one could see. Danny felt sick to his stomach. He could or would not believe what was

happening right in front of him.

“Danny you’re scaring me” said his mother. She tried to grab his arm in an attempt to comfort him

but Danny broke free and ran to Sam’s side. She was clearly in pain and Danny somehow knew it was

not injuries from the night before. He could not understand mainly because their connection (if

that’s what you want to call it) he usually knew what Sam was experiencing and the two of them

would usually have similar effects from the prior evening’s activities. This was different and although

Danny couldn’t sense exactly what was wrong with her he could feel that it was different and a little

bit worrying. He tried giving her raw bloody meat, brushing her hair but to no avail, she was still

suffering. Danny sat in hopelessness staring at Sam and hated himself and the fact that he was

powerless nauseated him even. The entire day had passed with Sam in that heart-breaking state and

Danny couldn’t bear the sight of her like looking that. His distress had alarmed his whole family now,

not only his mother.

“Can’t you get her checked out again?” his father asked as Danny was leaving.

“No, they’d just barely look her over and say everything is fine” Danny’s voice was strained as he

explained himself. He got into his car and left before anyone could ask any other questions. He drove

for hours, only stopping twice to fill his tank and use the toilet. Danny still felt horror-struck and it

felt like he was already grieving although Sam was still there. He knew she was he could feel her

presence even if they were miles apart. Through tear stained eyes he peered beyond the darkness

barely being able to see while he drove erratically further and further away. All of it was too

overwhelming for him and Danny parked his car in an empty parking lot and closed his eyes. He saw

the two of them together in the park and as images flickered through his mind it all became too

much and Danny was soon lost in oblivion lying quietly alone in his car.

Danny was standing in an empty field; the grass was a lovely shade of green, blooming and luscious

all around except in one spot. Right in the centre of the field was a circle of dried and dead grass and

in the middle of that circle was a large piece of stone sticking out, it was a gravestone. Danny slowly

approached it, he had to find out more even though deep down he already knew. Tears trickled

down his face as he felt that familiar sickening feeling enter him.

Daniel Bailey

the gravestone read his name boldly and terrifyingly. Relief wasn’t the first thing he felt although he

was happy not have seen Sam’s name but finding his own didn’t bring any comfort. He stood over

his own grave that was bare, no flowers, no dates or any other inscriptions, only death all around it.

He felt the earth move and saw the ground where the grave would naturally be start to move.

Standing before his own burial-place desensitized him against any fear so he stood firm. Something

was digging its way out from beneath the ground and Danny watched, waiting to face his

reanimated corpse. Instead what he saw made him scream in agony. A large paw clawed its way out,

Danny had immediately recognised it but it had soggy earth covered fur over it besides the fact that

it looks putrefied. Danny closed his eyes, he wouldn’t look and he wouldn’t see her like this, this was

even worse than seeing her in pain. It made that familiar whimpering noise that Sam would make

when she wanted Danny to run his hands through her hair. He reluctantly opened his eyes and

before him stood the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen. Sam’s burly carcass looked ghastly, she

stood on three legs as her hind leg was bloodied and hanging awkwardly aside. The soiled fur didn’t

cover her entire body and in patches of rotted flesh was horridly exposed. She opened her mouth

trying to make a sound that would convince Danny to caress her. Her whites canines (or what used

to be of them) and her entire mouth in fact was covered in a black oozing fluid. The black sludge

escaped from her mouth endlessly and as much as Danny tried to contain it he couldn’t deny the

disgust her felt towards this abomination. He was painfully weeping and Sam took this opportunity

to gracelessly stagger toward him. Danny felt the life being sucked out of him and he fell to his

knees. Through all the pain and disgust he stretched out his arms reached out to the grotesque

corpse. Just as Danny touched her decayed flesh the miasma took him over too. The black goo

poured from his mouth and he could see his flesh start to decompose right before his eyes. Sam let

out a deep and mournful howl as the two of them suffered the same horrifying fate.

Danny woke up covered in sweat and tears. He vividly remembered every second of the dream as if

he had lived it himself. His car was stale with vapour and he slowly slipped out to let the cold

morning air properly wake him up. He stretched his limbs which had cramped tremendously

overnight and rubbed his hands over face. Danny checked his phone and saw a multitude of

messages left for him from his parents but most of them were from his sister.

“Where the hell are you?”

“Danny this looks serious, I know you’re stressed and worried but you have to come quick”

“I’m gonna try to take care of this but you have to get here soon Danny”

All the messages his sister had left said practically the same thing. Danny feared the worst must

have been over by now but despite that he still needed to get home now. The image of Sam’s

zombiefied corpse was stuck in his head along with hundreds of terrifying thoughts. He tried hard

and just scarcely managed to compose himself again. His sister and one of her friends had managed

to get Sam to the clinic when things had gotten even worse. Danny drove steadily to the clinic now

he could feel that horrible dream had not become a reality, not just yet. He knew Sam would be

there but he didn’t know in what kind of shape she would be in. When he pulled up to the clinic he

felt déjà vu, maybe the circumstances were different now but it was similar enough to the first time

he had come here to get Sam. The concern and the need to be close to Sam was just as

overwhelming then as it is now. When he got inside his sister was sitting in the waiting area and

nervously talking to a skinny looking girl. The girl’s appearance was concerning but Danny couldn’t

bother with that now, she must have been the friend. Danny couldn’t even begin to imagine how the

two of them succeeded in getting Sam into a car.

“Where the hell were you?” his sister yelled at him.

“Sorry, I had to get away, what happened?” asked Danny.

She could see the off colour condition her brother was in and knew it was because of Sam so she

wasn’t her usual obnoxious self and just helped Danny. Sam had become even more ill in Danny’s

absence, he didn’t care about the details and when his sister informed him that she was all better

now he stopped listening entirely. The young volunteer that Danny had met on his first visit to the

clinic was speaking to his sister now. Danny had calmed down by this time and felt both relived and

delighted but all he wanted to now was to take Sam and leave.

“They said she’s gonna have to stay for a while, maybe a month” said his sister. For the first time

she looked serious and spoke with genuine concern so Danny wholeheartedly believed she cared

about the well-being of Sam. He didn’t question her any further then; she must have had a tiring day

already.

“Thank you for everything sis” said Danny “I really appreciate all of it”

“You owe me big time” she said with a tired smile.

Hours, days then finally weeks went by agonizingly slow but eventually the month was over and Sam

was back home. A second murder in their town had everyone buzzing and throwing around their

very own theories. Danny and Sam seemed to be in the clear although this time there was evidence,

nothing that could implicate the two of them though but nonetheless suspicions had roused that

involved the beast of Dexys. The addition of so much lighter fluid had started a blaze that was easily

spotted, the flames was put out to early for them to burn away all the atrocities done to him. It

wasn’t completely clear but some officers that was on the scene recognised the bruises on his face

as an animal mauling although in their town or any town in fact they couldn’t imagine what kind of

domesticated animal could do such damage. Burt as he was known was a regular at the pub and by

his clothes he was easily recognised by the bartender there that night. The place where the original

fight had started was found with lots of blood and luckily for Danny the police assumed all of it

belonged to Burt so they didn’t bother testing it. Lastly the most damning piece of evidence would

be Burt’s final screams, it was a quiet night and someone had heard them and peeked out of the

window to see a figure they assumed a person, running away although that was all they saw of that

person but a few minutes later they saw a blaze of fire coming from the quiet road. This would have

been very troublesome for Danny if anyone besides his family had noticed the change in behaviour

or the fact that he was Sam’s partner in crime so if you’re looking for a wild animal and a human

side-kick you’d be immediately looking at Danny. The informer had only seen that and wasn’t really

sure about what he’d seen so Danny didn’t bother finding out more about him. His other concern

would be the people from the dogfighting where he’d killed the champ. Only Rogan, the owner of

the champion Stephen and Mark would think of Danny when it came to these murders. Only they

saw the look on his face and heard the laughter and only they could see the killing intent in both

Danny and Sam. Only Mark knew Danny’s name and would be the only on there that could give any

real information on Danny but he knew Mark wouldn’t, he knew Mark was shady ,too smart and too

scared to mess with Danny especially after seeing what Danny could do. Unlike Danny the rest of his

family was concerned with the rumours and his mother went as far as to stop Danny from bringing

Sam home. She was dubious of Sam all along and wanted Danny to leave her at the clinic but he

wouldn’t have any of it. His father and sister had joined her side but Danny had threatened to leave

with Sam and move along as he put it and they soon gave up on the idea of separating the two.

Leaving was something he had said in the heat of the moment but with Sam now back at his side he

thought it might be a good idea. Somehow he would make money to support whatever little things

they would need but most of all they could do whatever they wanted without any fear of

consequences. This was what appealed the most to him, that they could drive and pillage (or their

own sadistic version of pillaging) any town as they went along. With the weight of the earlier matter

of life and death of their shoulders, Danny and Sam both felt the urge now. Danny thought more and

more that a nomadic existence was perfect for the two of them. He still didn’t have a plan but that

didn’t stop him from making at least some preparations and to him it felt particularly liberating

doing it. In these last few weeks Danny had left school indefinitely, to him it was merely a hindrance

right now. He found an acceptable job taking scraps and any other junk to the dump for Ed, the local

mechanic, repair man and all around jack of all trades. It didn’t pay much but beggars can’t be

chooses and Danny knew that. He worked diligently so he and Sam could start their trek as soon as

possible. All the other things they used to do fell back into its customary rhythm and the two of

them spent their free time at the park and at night they would vigilantly walk the dark and hollow

streets of Dexys. This custom may have been new to them, Danny didn’t really know why they were

doing it but for some unknown reason it just seemed like the right thing to do. During the day at the

park Danny always had a creepy inkling feeling that they were being watched. He assumed it was

people staring as the two of them seemed to attract a lot of attention as of late but at night it

became worse and in dark alleys Danny could swear he saw a shadow or heard footsteps but he

simply dismissed them as paranoia although it always stayed in the back of his mind. This was not

the most ideal time for them to be thinking about fulfilling their sinful urge. All those people that

gave them or Sam in particular fearful gazes now looked suspiciously at them. As soon as word got

around that the cause of death for Burt may have been a wild animal mauling, eyes immediately

turned to Sam. Danny stayed calm and paid no attention to these rumours as the duo just kept on

having a good time together at the park and sometimes in the company of Ben and Bob. If you saw

Sam and Danny together at the park, sometimes playing fetch other times wrestling or even just

lying on their backs watching the clouds gradually fly by all your uncertainties suddenly vanished and

you would still feel ashamed for just thinking it.

Spending so much time with Danny and Sam was intoxicating, their affection infected you and this

was exactly how Bob felt. He rolled alongside them on the grassy plains of their local park, him and

Ben just as jubilant as the others. As the two dogs chased one another Danny would occasionally say

eerie things and ask strange questions. The relation it had the current events in Dexys and the

conversions they had didn’t seem to occur to Bob at the time. It may have been because of the

happiness he felt with them, it was a sensational feeling and he loved the way they made him feel

just by being in their presence.

“Do you ever think that if something ever happened to Sam or in your case Ben that you’d just lose

the will to carry on?”

“I don’t think the attackers killing was so gruesome, it might have even been just deserts for him”

“If we left it would make everything perfect, it would all work out man. We wouldn’t have to be so

careful and afraid, we could be judge, jury and executioner, hell there would be no right or wrong.”

Recalling some of the more fear-provoking things Danny has said scared Bob a little. This was not

the soft-heated taciturn Danny he knew and loved. He loved Ben but what Danny felt for Sam was

something different, it was too much, it was wrong. His views on the macabre things that were

happening were repulsive. Bob didn’t know what to do about his friend’s new mannerisms. He knew

about Danny’s home situation and the fact that no one would be able to stop him. Danny had always

been independent; he’d always been able to come up with a plan for just about anything. So what

was he supposed to do? Was he supposed have a chat with Danny or stop him? .He thought about

following Danny because although he felt and knew his childhood friend was a different person all

of a sudden he still didn’t think he was capable of such horrible things as murder. He tried looking at

it as Danny’s mother did, that it was all Sam’s fault but he was with Danny and Sam during their

good times and even he felt a certain kind of fondness for Sam. Besides even if they did do it (which

was a big maybe) he wouldn’t tell anyone about it, this wasn’t shoplifting or some other petty crime

this was unlawful death, would he ruin his best friend’s life even if he was guilty of a horrendous

deed? . He started spending more time with Danny to try and persuade himself that he was making

a mountain out of a molehill and if he was right, to try and turn back the clock and bring back the

old, the real Danny. It was clear to him now that Sam was an influence in Danny’s behavioural

change but not in the unruly way people thought. He knew that Danny needed something or

someone, that something was missing in his life and now Sam was filling that void. He was happy

that his friend had found that special something he needed. So that would obviously change one’s

perception but he couldn’t see how it or she would turn Danny corrupt.

Stephen lay in his bed, restlessly tossing in his sleep. Since his encounter with Sam and Danny he’s

had the same dream every night. Tonight it’s the same, it’s all darkness around him and he feels

cold, no not just cold but as if he were in the depths of a mossy hole of despair. This feeling alone

makes his skin crawl. Then in the darkness somehow he manages to see them. The large eyes, amber

eyes that pierce him like daggers. Below them he slowly sees canines as white as snow and as large

as knives. He’s mesmerized by the combination even though they scare him stiff. His eyes adjust to

the darkness and he sees his beloved Champion, he sees Alexander’s lifeless body thick with blood

unmoving under her large paws. He knew who she was the moment the light hit that wicked figure.

He is immediately overcome with the grief when he sees Alexander. He doesn’t miraculously gain

courage like before but is instead frozen in one spot even though he wants to be by his long time

dog’s side. First she barks and Stephen’s eyes snap back to hers. She growls and the saliva drips from

the exposed teeth like water from a tap and you don’t need to be inside her head to know what that

means so his heart starts beating fearfully fast, his chest starts aching too. He falls to his knees in

agonizing pain and as everything becomes dark again, the last sounds of her howling take away the

heartache. This was when he’d wake up, breathing heavily and feeling miserable. Stephen sat in his

bed sorrowfully weeping, he did not have the strength to fight it tonight and after weeks of torment

from his subconscious he finally broke down. He loved Alexander and his feeling toward his dog may

have been as intense as Danny’s for Sam although he did have that particular bond with Alexander

as Danny and Sam have (no one does). He had gotten him as a puppy and cared for him his whole

life (as short as it was). Stephen did not intend to raise Alexander as fighter but he was gifted in that

department nonetheless. He loved seeing his dog dominate others; they didn’t crave the fighting or

the thrill of sparring but enjoyed the victories however. He would give up any feeling of power or

achievements if it meant never meeting Danny and Sam. Having been fighting for a while and being

of average intelligence he saw the distinction in Danny and Sam, that they weren’t ordinary but he

couldn’t have known it would be that grave. When Danny and Sam walked away that miserable

raining night he immediately ran over to help Alexander. He along with everyone in that place knew

that it was already too late but he couldn’t believe that it all could come to an end so quickly, that

the great Alexander could be killed in seconds in front of his incredulous eyes and the reason he was

fine with his dog fighting was because he could throw in the towel at any time but now that wasn’t

enough. Rogan tried to pull him away but Stephen just brushed him aside, he knelt beside Alexander

lifting him onto his lap. The courage he gained from confronting Danny still pumped strength

through him. The blood was spreading onto him and the rain washed it away in an endless loop.

After everyone had left and the light of the truck had disappeared Stephen still sat in the rain crying

holding the now dead Alexander wishing, begging God to bring him back. He wouldn’t fight another

dog, he would be a saint and all he wanted was for this unbearable night to never have happened.

His father helped him bury Alexander after he mustered all his strength to drive home with

Alexander’s body on the back seat and cleaning up the blood the following day made him weep all

over again. His melancholy was innocent; he didn’t have feeling s of vengeance or anger but only

wanted his dog back. He wished he could reanimate him or put him six feet under in some ancient

burial ground only for him to appear alive the next day. It was only a dog but he loved that dog and

maybe if Alexander had died of old age he would have felt better about it but witnessing his murder

with his own eyes plagued Stephen and with the addition of these haunting dreams each night,

drove him even more insane. Crying in his bed changed it all, as badly as he wanted it he couldn’t

have Alexander back and the only retribution he could gain now was getting the people that had

done him so menacingly wrong.

The weekend had arrived and Danny had just enough money to pack his bags and hit the road. These

were to be his final days at home. Ed had asked him to stay another week (apparently the work load

was at an all-time high) so Danny decided to make the following week his last in the small town of

Dexys. He planned on telling everyone about his plans just before he left but because of his

(suspicious) behaviour everyone was snooping around his things. His mother soon found all the

camping gear, food (not a lot though as Sam would probably get her food the old fashioned way)

and other things that implied he would be going away for a while. She confronted Danny and he

decided to tell them about his preparations and arrangements for the future. Talks did not start off

all too well but then again Danny did not expect them to. He tried pleading with them at first but

saw that it wasn’t getting him anywhere and he was lying, he didn’t care if they were against the

whole idea.

“I left school, I made enough money and I’m leaving” Danny said aggressively, he and Sam had been

staking out the streets at night but have come up short since Burt so Danny was agitated beside the

fact that this confrontation was just making it worse. “I’ve already made my mind, this heads up was

out of courtesy, so please don’t try to stop me or plead your case”

He was starting to breath heavy and outside Sam started barking which alarmed everyone in sight.

His parents were shell-shocked, everyone at the dog fight might not have been but this was the first

time his parents had seen this intense, alpha behaviour from their son. After the initial shock his

mother started crying as she was the first to realise that they were truly powerless. Danny looked at

her and immediately calmed, everything became quiet and through the tears he could see the

sadness in her eyes. It melted him, it evaporated all the tension, anger and compulsions and he felt

awful for what he was doing and what he had said. It was then that Danny thought it would be

better to give them some false hope rather than none at all.

“I wanted to take a break from school; I have a job lined up when I get to Ridgemont with Bob’s

uncle. I’ll just be away for about two months and if I don’t feel differently I’ll go back to school and

just focus on academics”. He could see that they believed it. The words surprised him, not the fact

that the lie came to him so easily but the choice of words. How could they believe that so easily? It

was clear to Danny that those words were what they wanted to hear, that he wasn’t completely free

of their influence. He hugged his mother and she instantly forgot about everything and was just

happy to have back the son she’d come to know and love. His sister had noticed the changes earlier

than anyone else and wasn’t surprised at Danny’s performance tonight unlike her father who was

still shook up at the presence of his son.

The idea, at least the one they believed had sunk in for Danny’s family and they didn’t just accept his

decision now they even felt a sense of happiness for him and his endeavour (all of it except the part

where he leaves school). To Danny’s displeasure his mother made her mind up to give him a going

away party and against his better judgement he reluctantly accepted. Danny dreaded it but when

the party was underway it wasn’t that bad. It was a small affair and only fifteen minutes was spent

on Danny with everyone giving him their undivided attention. When that was over everyone was left

to their own devices. He knew his mother had arranged for it that way and he suddenly felt a great

deal of tenderness for her and a smidge of guilt for lying to her. Sam on the other hand was exiled to

the confines of the garage as people would probably feel a little tense with her prowling about in

that animalist manner of hers, at least this was the excuse Danny’s mother gave him. He didn’t fuss

or look into it much after all this was a one-time thing and soon enough they would be in each

other’s companionship, alone on the road and everything would be different. Finally Danny was

done with all the formalities and catching up with everyone he hadn’t seen a while and was left

alone in the kitchen moving his fingers through a creamy piece of cake. It was then that he

remembered he had to feed Sam and he would do that soon, just after he said goodbye to Bob. For

some reason his mother thought the setting of a starry sky was far more ideal than a Saturday

afternoon. Bob couldn’t stay too late so he was saying his goodbyes now, he knew most of Danny’s

family given that they were best friends since they were kids (much younger kids) and he just passed

through the door when Danny caught up with him.

“Great party man” Bob said

“Yeah I’m glad you could make it” replied Danny

“By the way I saw Faith somewhere inside there, she’s sure grown up” Bob said winking at Danny

with a broad smile on his face.

“You can say that again” said Danny equally as pleased as Bob

“Well I guess I can’t say see you later anymore” Bob exclaimed, he still had the smile but his eyes

were steadily fixed on Danny and he knew why, Danny suddenly realised that somehow Bob knew

his true intentions for leaving or at the very least that he never planned on coming back.

“I guess not” Danny answered and waved as he turned around in his doorway.

Danny made his way to the garage with a bowl filled to the brim with dog food in his hand, it didn’t

look like the fanciest feast but it would have to do for now. Sam didn’t need to jump up or look and

see if it was in fact Danny. She was already at the small door on the side of the square garage when

Danny entered. He put down the food and she just nibbled at it and slowly strode forward toward

Danny who was sitting on the cold floor with his back against the wall. Sam laid herself down

between his propped up legs and Danny caressed her furry figure. Sometimes when the urges got

really bad, just lying under a star crossed sky with his hand stirring through Sam’s hair was enough to

quench this particular thirst, at least for the time being. Now it was doing that very thing, he felt

every doubt, every fear and anxiety fall away and sink like an anchor and serenity overcome him.

“Soon Sam, real soon” he said absent-minded to her.

“Yep, I heard that you were leaving” a soft voice from the doorway said.

Danny’s heart seemed to stop in that short time and he turned with wide eyes to the door. Again

the fact that he and Sam were in their own private world made Danny oblivious to his surroundings.

He started breathing again when he saw Faith although he wasn’t quite right yet.

“Uhm… yes” Danny replied incoherently. The sight of Faith’s olive skin with chestnut hair like silk

loosely hanging over her shoulders didn’t help Danny with composing himself.

She graciously sat down next to him, pushing her body right against his “so where you off to?” Faith

asked.

“I don’t really have any particular destination in mind” he answered

“So just traversing the globe, Dexys did always seem like to small a place for you. And you were

gonna go without saying goodbye you jerk.” She tenderly punched him on the shoulder as she

spoke.

Danny laughed softly “Yeah something like that and I threw a whole party just to say goodbye to

you”

Both of them were giggling now and Faith took Danny’s hand in hers. ”I’m going to miss you” she

spoke softly and Danny could see a sincerity on her face “I know we haven’t seen each other much

but I always liked you and I always thought we’d have the time eventually Danny”.

“So did I, I need to leave Faith, for the first time now I feel like I want to stay but somehow it still

just isn’t enough, we can’t stay here” Danny felt close to tears as he rejected Faith’s affections, he

was not lying he felt a sudden desire to stay.

“I’ve spoken to your mom and Bob and they all say you’ve changed so I won’t try to persuade you or

say anything about your dog, I’ve been advised not to. I just wanted to let you know how I felt”.

Danny looked into her eyes and at that moment he felt like he could deny Sam, he could deny

anyone and everything although he could not understand why. Also she was right about Sam being a

sensitive topic of conversation for Danny but now he couldn’t get angry at her even if he wanted to.

“I see what they mean about you changing but I still see the old Danny” she moved her face closer to

his and whispered “the one I fell in love with”.

Danny was experiencing a completely new and unfamiliar feeling. His entire body stiffened and he

could feel his hands tightly grasping hers. His heart was beating faster although not with the same

speed as when he and Sam were doing their thing. There was a throbbing sensation in his temples

but not so strong that it really hurt him. He thought the most intense and pleasuring feeling he could

get was when he and Sam were fighting but this was different even if it wasn’t as ominous or

extreme as satisfying the urges he still relished it.

Danny could feel her warm flesh against his “I didn’t know, I always thought that you didn’t” Danny

stuttered most of what he was saying. They were face to face and he saw tears slowly trickle down

her cheeks. He moved closer to her, his eyes only fixed on her ample lips that for some reason were

always pink. Danny slowly pressed his lips against hers, they kissed and she knew her feelings

towards him were reciprocated. She had stopped crying and was smiling at him now. Danny’s mind

was scattered but he would not deal with the conflict of interest and the conflict of emotions now.

He put his arms around her and she rested her head on his shoulder and for the first time ever,

Danny spent the night with his arms caressing someone other than Sam.

Danny did not know what the next step was. He sat on his bed looking out into the sparkling sky that

once was a reassuring and enchanting sanctuary for him but it seemed that tonight the crescent

moon’s smile was only taking a perverse pleasure in his misery. He’d already taken on the task of

getting Faith home safely and it was not a nuisance because to Danny that particular drive was one

of the best he’d ever had in that rust bucket. Faith’s soft angelic voice next to him while he was

driving felt like he was being serenaded. Her lovely scent filled the car and Danny made sure not to

roll down even one window. When they got to her house they could not bring themselves to depart

from one another and just sat in the car a couple metres away from her door and even this was all

mind-boggling to him. These were all trivial things but they made all the difference to him, this

whole evening felt surreal. He kissed her goodnight, she shut the door behind her and while Danny

walked back to his car he saw his future a new future with her and it was fantastic, he could not

fathom the sudden happiness this girl gave him. While he was in this joyous state he thought it

would be a good idea to spend some time with Sam. Danny thought that Sam would feed off this

happiness as they usually shared a peculiar link. He was dreadfully mistaken this time; she did not or

would not feed off loving emotions he had gotten from someone else. When Sam approached him

he slid his hand onto her back like he usually did but this time he felt that dark attraction she

instilled in him. He did not know why it felt wrong now but it did. His face was impassive but he had

gooseflesh all over his body and he’d started shivering. Danny looked into Sam’s eyes and still felt

the affection, the good kind, the innocent kind. For the first time he had something to compare it to.

Danny had never felt anything as strong as he did for Sam in such a short period of time but now his

uncertain feelings toward Faith might just start rivalling them. Sam could feel the imbalance within

Danny, she barked at him but not angrily. She was just as confused as Danny and he left her and

bolted straight for his bed. The reason for his turmoil was that although the feelings for Faith were

pure, innocent, good he still wanted the unhealthy and seductive influence that Sam gave him. He

felt like he was betraying Sam’s affections but at the same time he knew that the emotions they

shared was evil. He thought back to what they’d done and how could he have thought that their

cause was in any way just. Somewhere deep in his mind he knew that Sam wasn’t to blame; before

he could point the finger he knew that it was him. For Sam this was survival of the fittest, she was a

wild animal and all of this was natural to her. He was the one that tainted all of it, the thrill, the urge

and the organised fights those were all his maniacal pleasures deflecting off Sam but they weren’t

bad guys he had reasons for what he did and his intentions were pure even if the act was coldblooded

and ruthless. It must have been there all along, deep inside of him there was this dormant

killing instinct, more than an instinct a lust for blood, a desire for power. He knew what he was doing

while he was doing it, he planned the killings and he made preparations it wasn’t as if he wasn’t in

control of himself or that he didn’t remember any of it but he was conscious and sane, was he a

Psychopath?. Danny didn’t hate Sam he didn’t think this was all her doing but something in his head

kept yelling she started it, from the first time you saw her and the first dream you knew she had you

under her spell. He couldn’t look at her let alone spend time with her all he wanted now was Faith.

What was done is done and all he can do now is move on and he wondered if he was permanently

twisted now, all the while he still didn’t cancel the preparations he’d made before. From past

experience Danny couldn’t help but think that these doubts may only be a phase, a chapter that

would soon pass and Sam would be there as she always was but then again this time it was different.

Sleep on it that was the best idea or the only idea Danny could think of for the next step. After

eventually managing to dose off Danny turned restlessly in his sleep and sometimes keeping his eyes

tightly shut not wanting to expose then to the moonlight knowing that if he allowed himself to fully

wake up his mind wouldn’t allow him any rest from the nerve-wrecking dilemma that was weighing

down on him.

When he woke up he still hadn’t chosen a side but he felt less anxious now. He could do something

today and just try to sort through the feelings, ideas and thoughts while he was it. When Danny

came downstairs he was amazed to see his mother hadn’t left for church although he wasn’t sure if

he’d just slept in really late. His father and sister were already at the table both with their own bowl

of cereal. His sister was wickedly smiling at him when he filled a bowl with cereal and milk and sat

down at the kitchen table to join them.

“I love you Danny” she said mockingly in a high pitched voice “I love you Faith” this time she made

her voice sound deeper as if emulating a male.

Danny kept his face impassive although he could feel it becoming blush red. His parents were

giggling happily not only at their daughter’s performance, which was now rubbing her arms together

and teasingly making kissing noises.

“Hey stop that I think it’s sweet, I always did like her Danny” interjected his mother

“You weren’t the only one” said Danny’s sister.

This went on for most of the breakfast but amidst the mocking Danny got the idea that everyone at

the table was truly happy for him and was definitely rooting for the two of them. Although she had

already accepted the idea of her son leaving, Danny’s mother couldn’t have asked for this romantic

intervention at a better time she hoped that it would be enough to make Danny stay home, little did

she know that it just might be. Despite being the bud of this morning’s jokes Danny had thoroughly

enjoyed breakfast with his family. He found that for the first time he welcomed the enjoyment of

company so with that frame of mind Danny headed for Bob’s to go and see his friend maybe even

for the last time.

As surprised as Bob was to see Danny he was still happy to have some private time with his friend.

Bob had thought about it for a while and he wasn’t going to let Danny just leave especially knowing

the truth or at least some of it. When Danny arrived at his door it was like a message from above

telling him that what he was doing was right.

“Thought I wouldn’t see your ugly mug again” Bob couldn’t hide his satisfaction a seeing Danny.

“The party wasn’t my idea; I always planned to come by before I left.” Danny laughably replied.

Despite the laughter and his jolly appearance Bob could see that Danny wasn’t fine. He saw that

look in Danny’s eyes the one he had before Sam the one he had when he was lost. Bob closed the

door and just started walking and Danny followed. Bob didn’t say anything he knew Danny would

talk when he was ready but besides that he was thinking of a way to convince Danny, he hadn’t

really come up with a plan yet.

“Faith wants me to stay” Danny could feel his face turn red and he kept his head down.

Although not completely shocked Bob was still surprised but pleasantly and amusingly so “So she

told you everything huh” he was laughing heartily now “you were the only idiot that couldn’t see it

after all”.

“I guess so” Danny smiled at his friends delight then his face reverted back to its gloomy state “wish

I’d have got the message before Sam”

“So she hasn’t changed your mind then?” Bob calmly asked but hid (very well) his joy that Faith

might have done his job for him but also desperately hoping that she did.

“Not exactly but she’s got me thinking” Danny couldn’t hold all of his emotions in anymore “I’m

starting to think that what we did was wrong, what we’ve been doing might not be right but what

am I supposed to do?”

Nothing exact was said but somehow Bob knew what he was talking about. He read between the

lines of what he thought Danny was saying except he couldn’t imagine Danny doing what he did.

“Go back to your old life, at least try to fix or carry on with what you’ve got here” Bob spoke calmly

not wanting Danny to see his words for what they really were, pleas.

“It’s too late now we’ve already started and I know even If I did or wanted to somehow it’d just

come back. Faith might not be enough but Sam is always gonna be there I just know it” Danny was

animatedly speaking straight at Bob.

Bob was confused for a moment. The way Danny said that Sam would always be there sounded as if

he somehow hated and feared the idea that Sam would always be around. He understood Danny’s

dilemma , the fact that he thought he’d found his ideal partner and chosen to leave but now finding

his true mate and being torn but he did not understand this power Sam had. He had been noticing it

for a while but now he truly grasped the idea that there may be more to Sam and Danny’s

relationship that they might have entered into something dangerous, something evil.

Bob kept the coded messaging “Danny whatever was done is done, you have a chance here Faith is

your chance and if she isn’t enough you have to make her enough for you, enough to fight… her”.

Danny looked wide eyed at him. Bob knew that Sam was off limits but he didn’t just mention her he

down right condemned her. Danny knew that the only person that might have felt a glimmer of

affection for Sam beside him was Bob so when Bob said that he couldn’t believe what he heard. His

mind quickly understood that if Bob, Sam’s only other friend was dooming her then Faith must be

the good option. Yet he couldn’t abandon her, he also realized that he would not find the answers

with someone other than himself.

“Okay Okay”. Danny smiled at Bob a tired smile and Bob knew that it was over. Maybe just for now

maybe forever but this particular fight was over.

“You know I’m gonna ask Faith out when you’re gone” he told Danny with a stern face.

“You know I’ll come back and kick your a*s pal” the two of them laughed cheerfully forgetting the

arguments and troubles that loomed just around the corner. They had walked all the way to the park

and were about to make their way back home as the purpose of this visit was fulfilled. It must have

been some kind of sense-memory that lead them there, from their countless visits with their animal

counterparts.

Danny thought that they might not have been the only ones partying the night before because the

town or at least the part of town they had been walking in was completely deserted. That might

have been why Danny could hear a car starting up off in the distance or it might have been his new

sophisticated hunting skills. The car started toward them and Danny stepped onto the path that ran

through the park Bob followed and the two waited cautiously for the car to pass. The car turned off

the road onto the path and drove straight for them.

“What the hell is this guy doing?” Bob yelled at Danny as he moved off the path and onto the grass

towards the trees that he supposed he could use as a cover or protection.

The car stopped a few metres away from Danny who had recognised the driver and now stood firm

waiting for him. Danny didn’t know what to expect but he still expected something. He watched

Stephen step out of the car, he slowly opened the backdoor at when he closed it he had a baseball

bat in his hand.

“Whoa man what the hell?” Bob said running to Danny’s side.

“He knows what this is all about” Stephen spoke directly to Danny.

“Don’t worry about it Bob, go on ahead I’ll catch up” Danny turned and looked reassuringly at Bob.

He backed away slowly but he wasn’t going to leave.

“You killed my dog after I begged you to stop” Stephen’s voice broke as he screamed at Danny with

tears flowing down his face.

“It was a dog fight and both of us knew what we were getting into besides they’re dogs when they

fight no one can stop them” Danny clenched his teeth as he wanted to laugh at the last few words

he said.

“No…no you and that animal knew what you were doing, both of you killed Alexander” he waved his

bat around as he sobbingly spoke.

“And now you want revenge?” Danny held out his hands arms. Bob looked at Danny and saw

someone else, he’s demeanour displayed someone much more powerful and ominous than the

Danny he knew.

“No not only revenge” Stephen swallowed hard before speaking again “I know it was you I just

know it. Those people I know you and that dog did it”

“Who told you that?” Danny smiled at him as if it were some crazy accusation.

“I don’t need anyone to tell me or evidence or witnesses I know it was you” Stephen said as he

pointed the bat at Danny.

Bob couldn’t believe what he was hearing but everything inside told him that what this boy was

saying was true, Bob couldn’t move he just stood motionless watching.

“It doesn’t matter you’ve already pinned everything on me besides what are you gonna say? You

know it’s me because we took part in an illegal dogfight” Danny started giggling “and that you feel it

in your bones”

That pushed Stephen over the edge and he charged at Danny pulling back his arms with the bat

gripped firmly in his hands. He swung and Danny put up his left arm he blocked and threw a punch

with his right at the same time that landed square in the face of his opponent. Stephen fell back and

Danny look at his arm, it felt like his arm had been broken from only one swing and he clutched it in

pain. Stephen wiped the blood from his mouth and got up and started swinging wildly at Danny. He

was about to put his arm up to block but the pain stopped him. Danny quickly backed away but

slipped and before he could stand up he felt the bat land with tremendous force into his ribs then

again and then in his gut knocking the wind out of him. Danny looked up and saw the positioning of

the bat and anticipated the next blow to be to his head. In a flash Danny saw Stephen covered by a

black figure. Sam leapt onto him and tore at his face, her teeth slicing into him effortlessly. Stephen

fell to the ground holding his face crying in agony. Stephen was thrashing back and forth blood

gushing from his face and Sam just slowly stepped away from him and stood at Danny’s side. Danny

sat up leaning against Sam’s mountain of a body and smiled not maniacally or menacingly but

understandingly. Sam was here she would always be there and things wouldn’t always be good but

that didn’t matter to her she would be there and this made Danny happy and for the first time in a

long time he didn’t see the monster Faith had opened his eyes to, he saw the beautiful creature that

gave him pure happiness. He reached out his arm onto Sam’s back and moved his hands through her

furry covering.

“Come on we have to get him to a hospital, help me” Bob put Stephen’s arm around him and

started lifting.

“We can’t do that Bob. People might point fingers at Sam and others might come after her. Things

have already gone too far.” The great and powerful Danny spoke calmly and stern which scared Bob

but also the fact that he could speak about killing someone so easily sent chills down his spine.

“What are you talking about we can’t just leave him here” Bob screamed up at Danny while still

trying to lift the crying and bleeding Stephen.

“That’s not what I meant. Bob I get this might be hard to understand but we just can’t take that

chance so leave him and go back home” Danny stretched out his hand for Bob to take it and his

advice.

Bob looked at Danny with wide unbelieving eyes “What… Danny was all those things true… how

can? … Danny you can’t you couldn’t” Danny could see tears fill Bob’s eyes he knew Bob just grasped

the situation but not only that Bob understood what this whole thing had been about, why Danny’s

been changing and finally, why Danny’s leaving.

“I know man I’m sorry but it’s not bad it wasn’t bad. The reason’s was there, the right reasons”

Danny knew that he wouldn’t be able to convince Bob. He looked pleadingly at him trying to at least

convince him to leave. “Bob you have to go I’m begging you just go” Danny stood next to Sam and

let go off her. Sam slowly moved forward grimacing, not for the kill this time but for Bob she and

Danny both didn’t want Bob to be collateral damage. Bob didn’t move because he wasn’t going to

let Danny cross that line also partially out of fear but Sam still moved they had crossed the point of

no return and she had to do what needed to be done. She was almost close enough to silence

Stephen’s unbearable screaming when a loud explosion stopped her in her tracks and Sam’s hind

legs gave way. Danny worryingly looked over his shoulders and saw the local police officer with both

hands on his pistol that was pointed directly at Sam. Danny stood dumbfounded he could not

understand how this man could be here; it couldn’t just be some coincidence.

“Danny I didn’t know, I thought he was gonna hurt you I just dialled the number. I didn’t even say

anything” Bob said

“Those calls get tracked I was patrolling the area. Hey kid did that… is he okay? ” before the officer

could finish his sentence Danny leapt at him fist swinging wildly. The officer put his right foot

forward for the proper balance and pistol whipped an on-rushing Danny who felt the butt of a

service weapon slam into his temple. Danny fell to the officer’s side and before he even touched the

ground Sam was upon him. She knocked him over and went to work on his arms. She was about to

tear it off when he punched her in the side that was already bleeding from a gunshot. Sam lifted her

head as she whimpered and Danny tried moving but everything around him was hazy. The officer

tried with all his strength to push Sam off his body but it took too long and before he could make any

real progress he felt teeth cut into his neck like finely sharpened daggers. Sam didn’t bite into his

neck but instead went to work slashing and tearing at his face, arms, legs and abdomen then went to

Danny’s side once again. The officer laid bleeding, choking on his own blood and experiencing death

by a thousand cuts. Danny had landed face first into the concrete path and felt blood fill his mouth

as Sam ran to his side licking his check and the trickles of blood dripping from his temple. Danny

turned his head and looked into Sam’s eyes which were gradually becoming two and rubbed her

mane which was soaked in blood and this worried Danny as he felt her laboured breathing and a

steady flow of fresh blood cover his hand. He would deal with decision making later although now he

knew the course his future was going to take. Danny very slowly tried getting up “Let’s finish this

Sam”

“No no Danny this is wrong” Bob stood next to the officer. Through tears, fear and sheer

astonishment he yelled at them and held the officers weapon shakily in his hand pointing it directly

at Sam “I know it wasn’t you Danny this isn’t you”

“Hold on a second Bob just calm down. These people tried to hurt us they had it coming” Danny

stood up straight now adrenaline masking the pain.

“Dan… I don’t know what or why but it can’t go on like this, Look at all of this” he waved the gun at

the officer and Stephen who was lying on his back with his hands still covering his face. “Bob I don’t

have time to explain but don’t be stupid man just put the gun down” Crouched Danny moved slowly

toward Bob holding his arms out and hands up but his tone became harsh and the powerful Danny

gave way to the angry. Sam picked up on that and she turned to Bob and started moving alongside

Danny.

“I’m sorry I just can’t” Bob closed his eyes and used all the force available to him and slowly pulled

the trigger. The force from the shot sent his arms flying back and Bob fell onto his back. When he

opened his eyes to the scene before him he threw his face into his hands and cried he laid back and

cried because that was all that was left to do, that was all that could be done.

All of this had been moving frame by frame before Danny’s eyes like many of the fights and assaults

he and Sam indulged them in. When he saw Bob close his eyes he knew what was coming next and

moved to the side somehow covering Sam’s monstrous figure from the line of fire. He knew that

even Sam couldn’t survive another gunshot wound although she wasn’t really fairing all too well

with the one she already had. He heard the ear splitting bang of a close up gunshot and after the

ringing in his ears started subsiding he felt the white hot pain in his gut push him back. Danny knew

what he had done but still couldn’t grasp it and quickly put his hand to his stomach closing the

wound, lifting his blood soaked hand before his eyes and staring unbelieving at it. As corny as it was

from seeing it happen in every movie it was still the only thing he could think to do. Danny fell over

onto Sam and even she couldn’t keep the two of them up and her legs crumpled to let the two of

them fall to the ground. Danny lay next to Sam, feeling her breathing directly on his face like the first

time they met in the darkened corner cell of the clinic. He was becoming sleepy and he knew what

that meant and as blood poured from his stomach he could feel the warmth of his body go with it.

He lifted his arm one last time and stretched it onto Sam’s side, he couldn’t reach her back but this

was enough. Danny moved his fingers into the wet fur and Sam let out one last howl that put a smile

on her owner’s face. In Danny’s mind he saw Faith’s beautiful face with all its wonderful qualities

and his heart became warm one last time, in his ears he heard the familiar and unique howl of Sam

and in his hands he held the comforting and loving flesh of his favourite and only pet. To the smiling

Danny this wasn’t a back way to go out and he turned his head to the sky that had for a long time

been the one scene that he and Sam loved to watch together.

Standing in front of the clinic was heart-breaking and she could feel a nauseating turning unsettle

her stomach but she felt that she had to do this no matter what she just had to. They had found her

brother next to the dog he’d cherished and now the only thing left from the two of them was inside

this place. She stepped inside and was greeted by Peter. No one knew Danny but the news of his

“accident” spread like wildfire and now she was in for another “I’m so sorry”.

“Hi Uhm I’m sorry for your loss” Peter tried to take her hand as he gave his sympathies.

“Thank You” she didn’t break stride as these now recurring and infuriating pitied looks just made

her angry. She stepped to the counter and saw the not so helpful clerk that had bothered her

brother at what seemed like a very long time ago now.

“I’d like to adopt a puppy” she said as she saw the clerk immediately recognise her.

“Hey I remember you, so you want one from that time that you were here” the clerk asked.

“Yes” she breathed deep and lifted her broad smiling face to the sky “I’d like to take one of Sam’s

puppies”.

-End