A Gang of Our Own

Chapter Twelve

"Avery!" Malissa called out. I had my head set on giving that excuse of a man a piece of my mind. I walked through a gap in the fence and marched right up to him. He had scruff all over his face and a beer belly. His hair was greasy and matted and sticking out everywhere. He looked filthy, like he hadn't taken a shower in months.

"This is private property, kid." He said in a rough voice. I ignored him and walked to the dog.

"You're breaking the law." He grumbled.

"So are you." I hissed as I gave him a chilling glare. I walked to the dog and slowly bent down beside it. I undid the chain around its neck. The dog was too hurt to move.

"That's my dog, kid." He said as he started stalking over.

Matt ran out beside me. "It's illegal to abuse an animal." He said with a demeanor of authority.

"And it's illegal to tresspass." He snarled.

"Then how about a little wager?" I suggested as I held up the chain. "Besides me, there's three other people that saw you kick this animal. The glass and this chain is easy evidence to convince a jury that you abused this dog."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. I'm making you a deal. You either force us off your property. We have witnessed your cruelty and will take this to the authorities. Or, you give us the dog, and we leave quietly. No cops involved."

The man glared at me. Malissa got out of the car. "Kids! In the car now!" I ignored her and look back at the man. "Your time's running out." I said as I backed away.

"Fine!" He spat. "Take the mutt! She's good for nothing anyway!"

I ran up and scooped the dog up in my arms. She was so light, I could carry her by myself. I hauled her to the dart and placed her on my lap. Malissa and Matt seemed furious, but DJ was curious about the dog.

"Avery, you need to start using your head more! One of these days you're gonna do something stupid, thinking that you can handle it yourself, but you're gonna get hurt!" Matt ranted.

"No, I'm not, Matt. You guys were right there. If you weren't, I would've been more careful."

"Avery, do you remember what those guys did to you at school in a matter of five minutes? Imagine what the grown man could have done to you!"

"Matt, shut up. Your yelling is making the dog nervous!" I said as I stroked the animal's face. She whimpered in my lap.

"The dog is-"

"Mathew, leave her alone. She has a point. Until we get the dog to the veterinarian, we need to keep it quiet." Malissa said, her voice tense.

And it was quiet. There wasn't a single word spoken until we pulled up to the clinic. I got out and pulled the girl out with me. We went inside and set the dog on the ground.

"Do you have an appointment?" Asked a lady by the desk.

"No, it's an emergency." Malissa explained. The lady looked at the shepord and frowned. "She looks bad." The lady walked into a room behind the desk.

"Dr. Kramen is open, luckily. You can take the dog back there."

I gladly scooped the dog up again and carried her to the room.

"Hello." Said the doctor as I placed the dog on the table. "What happened?"

"An abusive owner is what happened." I said.

The doctor frowned and stroked the dog's head. She began to examine her stomache and looked concerned."OK, I'm going to get started. Is there anything you can tell me about the dog?"