Forever Loyal

A Short by 84

You stopped playing with me one day. Your sweet smell turned old and rancid. The world I knew, changed. The one full of sun and green, turned to one full of darkness and fear.

We were playing at the park. You threw my favorite toy, Achilles, the blue teddy bear with the missing eye, further into the forest. When I ran back to you, with Achilles dangling out of my mouth, you looked distressed almost fearful. You stared at your phone.

You stuffed the thing with the orange case, the one I had chewed as a puppy, back in your pocket. I had gently placed Achilles on the ground, studying your look of anguish.

You looked up at me as sirens went off, you grabbed my grey collar and dragged me across the ground. I fought back because I left Achilles on the ground. You ignored the fact that it caused me pain for you to pull me in that way. You lifted me off the ground, holding me close, running like it was the end of the world.

You ran like that because it was. I watched as we got further from my little blue bear. I whined in your ear, but you evaded it. You kept running. You ran past my favorite fire hydrant. the place you always went to get to get the brown liquid that smelt sour. The place that has all the cats. The alley with the rat that gave me the turkey. You just kept running.

When we arrived home you put me in the cage that I came home from the war in. you closed all the doors and windows, you boarded up every entrance. You pulled my cage into the living room where you pulled out your guns from under the couch. You blew off the dust from the Tikka T3. You loaded the pistols and put on the camo uniform that you hadn't worn in almost five years.

You sat on the couch turning on the loud screen that you called the 'TV'. You put on the 'news' the one you normally watched while you consumed your brown smelly liquid in the mornings. Only this time I sounded a lot louder and more urgent, a lot like when I used to get orders from you when we used to fight together.

I pawed at the cage door, desperate to comfort the scared young lady that you were. You looked at me, but soon looked away when there was a loud bang at the front door. Then a bang from the window above the sink in the food room. Then one from the back door. In only a few minutes there were bangs and scratches coming from all directions. My hair stood on end as I growled into the stuffy air. You tensed.

A crash came from the bathroom. You stood, aiming in the noises direction. I perk my ears to listen closer, only to hear the vexing groans of the undead.

A new smell flushed through the air. It was rotting flesh. I only know that smell from the stench of the dead bodies that were on the battlefield. The dark, bloody flesh of the rotting thing fell to the floor along with the boney fist it laid upon.

A human-like creature crawled into the hall as other boards were knocked down from doors and windows. Smell became stronger, it irritated my nose, messing with my focus.

I looked to you. You shook with fear. More fear than ever before. You aimed the rifle at the head of the flesh creature, a kill shot.

You gripped the trigger. Before you could take the shot, light shined through the now open window. More flesh creatures broke in and climbed through.

You dropped the Tikka T3, and backed against the wall. You were surrounded. I barked and lashed, growling at the new threats. With being locked in that cage there was nothing I could do, but watch.

I saw you try to defend yourself, but there were more flesh creatures than you had bullets. You tried to fight, you screamed, crying for help, reaching to release me, but you had barely twisted the lock when you fell to the floor. As the flesh creatures left, leaving my unscathed hide and your bloody corpse behind.

I pushed open the door, it being barely unlocked. I walked to your cold wounded cadaver, I licked your wounds clean, I laid next to you waiting for you to wake, waiting so we could finish our game of fetch, so we could go back and get Achilles. I kept watch for you, keeping you safe. Days past, and you never moved. But nor did I, I was destined to keep you safe.

Your skin turned dark, your eyes turned bloody, and you smelt like the flesh creatures.

One day, You stood, I wagged my tail to show my joy, but you limped out the front door, without even acknowledging me. I assumed we were going back to the park. But you hobbled in the wrong direction. I barked, perking my ears and tail awaiting your change in direction, but you continued to overlook me.

The days went by. I followed you. You went to the homes of your friends and my friends, some were still alive, but not for very long, for you would do the same that the flesh creatures did to you. The people who weren't alive, you gnawed on their carcasses.

Your skin fell off chunk by chunk. Every night I would like your lesions clean when you slept, no matter how putrid it was.

While you searched for the food that you desired, I searched for the meals that you and I savored before you changed. I would drag pieces of chicken or ham to you but you continued to masticate the decaying meat.

Everyday we did the same search, everyday you gave me the cold shoulder. We searched and searched, never finding anything new.
We were searching that day, I stood atop an old car, sniffing for some food. For the first time in a long time I smelt life, and, a gun. I don't think I could ever forget that smell. You crawled on the ground, pulling apart the cadaver of a little boy.
I looked around the perimeter, searching for the source of the smell. I stopped. I was looking dead in the eyes of a human. This man was aiming a rifle at your head.

He pulled the trigger, I surged in front of you, moving faster than ever before. I felt a sharp twinge in my side. When I hit the ground, I could feel the blood oozing out of the wound.

I took the bullet for you. And I was prepared to lose my life saving you, even if she didn't care about me anymore.

I felt a hand on my head, petting me. When I opened my eyes I saw you. Tears rolling down your decaying cheeks. I saw you smiling for the first time in a long, long time. You pet my head the way you used too. You leaned over to rest your head on my side, only you didn't.

You grazed your teeth over the bullet hole, peeling my skin off. My adrenaline was still high, I couldn't feel the pain. You bit chunks of skin and muscle off my sore bones, tears still running down your face.

Then, it all went black.

When I woke up I felt different. I felt no pain. I was in the house where you changed. You staggered into the living room, carrying my old metal dog bowl, full of fresh meat, chicken, beef, human, pork, and mutton.

I ate quickly, you watched from the couch. When I finished, you left the house, and I followed. You faltered down the road, and into the forest. We came upon a small overgrown path that I recognized from the past. The air was fresh here. It had no rotting smell like in town, it smelt like life.

We walked down the path and up ahead, there was a little blue object. I looked up at you and wagged my tail. You nodded at me with an encouraging smile. I ran to the blue thing, my tail wagging without end. I pulled the half buried bear out of the ground. Achilles was safe. I ran back to you. You took the bear from my mouth and tossed it.

We can finally finish our game of fetch. And to you, I will be forever loyal.