THE YARD

Chapter 30

"Stop fighting." She turned towards Jax. "Every dog. White Dog is dead."

Jax was quite still for some long moments. His pupils shrank down to half their size as first shock, then terror seized him. The young bully breed high-tailed it towards the smooth wooden backs of the dog houses, kicking up dirt as he then looped around to the front of them. Flare watched Crow with steady eyes, waiting for the silence to be broken. She knew it would come.

Jax didn't howl. Instead, he had a drawn-out whine of disbelief in his throat. She could hear paws shuffling, and pictured Jax nudging White Dog's still skin.

Flare's heart clenched with utter pity. I can't believe it either, Jax. Flare had been acutely aware of old White Dog's sickness, but no one could have predicted that he would be dead so soon. And it wasn't the sickness that killed him. It was you.

She kept her gaze on Crow, and wondered whether he deserved to be punished further or not. Based off of his stubborn stance, her immediate thought was yes. But at the same time, Flare knew that the closure had to come. She needed it to- she felt a tug in her gut for normalcy. For less fighting, and death, and more carelessness and freedom.

She was breathing too fast and shallow. A panic attack? A nervous breakdown? She didn't know- but Flare continued sort of guarding Crow. She hardly knew what she was doing at this point, but in her shock she stood and flattened her ears against the sounds of grief. The other dogs were whining, pacing, and dealing with turmoil right behind those dog houses.

Crow broke away suddenly. He paced in a tight knot and then stamped his back legs in a takeoff, as if he couldn't bear to hear the effects of what he'd done anymore. He only made it four bounds before being violently yanked back and thrown against the ground by the chain.

Such a coward. Flare turned away. Crow dissipated from her mind quicker than fog on a sunny morning. She agonizingly made her way across the Yard towards the others.

Jax was speaking as Flare approached, and the gentle pitter-patter of raindrops began their thrum upon the ground. Flare was not eager to approach her fellow dogs alongside White Dog's curled, stiffened form- but she did so anyways.

"I'm so sorry, White Dog. I'm sorry I wasn't your friend for such a long time, and I regret it. I wish you were still here, because I'd play with you gently, in the way that you preferred while you were sick. And we would still be friends again. And-" Jax became so choked up, he stopped speaking. There was a pause as he let the raindrops trail down his whiskers without licking them away. His pelt was still wet from the light drizzle.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I never got to say goodbye." A sob escaped from Jax's throat, and he choked back a second. Another stabbing ache of hunger pains rolled throughout her belly, just a distant feeling among the tide of others. Her fur felt itchy between the shoulders, where it was more wet than the rest of her body.

Shadow was across from her, but between her and Jax, so she couldn't reach him for comfort right now. Plus, his eyes were glistening with pain as well as grief. Shadow's injured leg trailed just above the ground, not even his toenails touching the grass. The once-red stream of blood on his haunch was now turned pink from the rain, and hardly showed against his thin brown fur.

Poor Shadow. Poor White Dog. None of us deserved any of this.

"White Dog was great, and truly wise. I knew he was sick, but... For him to die this way-..." Shadow gulped and lowered his floppy-eared head solemnly. When he opened his muzzle to speak again, his voice was a pained, emotional tone.

"I am sorry as well, White Dog. I'll never forget you. None of us will." Flare felt as if the conversation immediately fell flat after that. Didn't Shadow have more to say about White Dog?

But none of the other dogs shared her grievances. Grey Dog spoke up about how long he had known White Dog, since nearly puppyhood. He spoke of spring after summer after fall after winter of sharing The Yard with White Dog, and seeing the male in his youthful strength.

By the time Jax spoke up again, Shadow had collapsed onto his side with a quiet whimper of relief. He had his injured thigh turned upwards towards the rain, avoiding any pressure against it.

"White Dog was my best friend. I betrayed him." Jax's body began to shake uncontrollably, and his voice contorted so much that he had to stop speaking once again. Flare had the impulse to press against him, to let Jax know that he was not alone.

But Grey Dog was already doing just that. The large, stocky male had his head low as he scooted his haunches into a sit beside Jax, then leaned his side against the quivering male.

"You didn't betray him. You were White Dog's best friend. We might have respected each other, but-... Well, you two loved each other."

The other dogs gave soft woofs of agreement, including Flare. After that,
it was a long time before any noise occured- besides the sound of raindrops smacking against the mud and grass. Jax cleared his throat, then flopped forward and curled up between White Dog's legs with a huge whine.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

Grey Dog's rumbling tone was gentler than Flare had ever heard it before. Even Mocha hadn't be spoken to with such softness and open heartbreak.

"There is nothing to do. We just wait out the rain... And then we go to sleep."

Flare patiently waited for Grey Dog to further his sentences, then began to grow impatient despite herself. He had a thoughtful but solemn expression on his face. Then, he quietly said;

"I want to leave this Yard, though. No more fights. No more heedless drama, and sneaky tricks from Black Dog," Grey Dog almost snarled, but he seemed to quell his temper. Flare turned her head towards Shadow as she heard him scramble upright.

"We can all go. It's what White Dog told us to do."

With another glance at Shadow's injured leg, Flare gave him a pained look. "But your leg is-...." Her words trailed off as she fought to find the right word. Horrific or horribly wounded would've sufficed. Was it too harsh-sounding? I'd rather not make Shadow even more aware of it.

"It's all right. I can still jump the fence. And after that, it should heal on it's own." Shadow's voice sounded more hopeful than believable. Nervously, Flare shifted her paws. She couldn't quite believe that a wound like that would heal itself shut as the ear one had. And back then, the male dogs had help with their wounds! Flare recalled. When that sweeter-smelling human used to come...

"Alright. We can leave tomorrow, then. Let it be known; White Dog, we honor you by honoring your wish. We truly hope that we will find better things out there than in here." Grey Dog's head was lowered close to Jax's as the smaller male laid. He didn't lift his head as Grey Dog spoke.

I am so sorry that your life held little to no enjoyment, White Dog. Something seized Flare's heart with a burning singe, and her throat was so constricted that she knew she couldn't speak.

But I know that we need to change ours, now. You shouldn't have died in this Yard, and because of you.... None of us are going to.
__________________________________
Flare