I opened the front door to find my mother standing there with her arms open.
"Aden." Her face scrunched up and she dropped her arms to her sides. "Good heavens. You smell terrible."
"Thanks, Mom." I shuffled past her to the stairs. "Dad made sure to remind me all the way home."
"Quint?" She looked at my father. "Are you sure this is healthy? I don't want him getting sick."
"We're building character, Karen." He wrapped his arm around his wife.
She sighed. "Aden, hurry upstairs and take a shower. Dinner is almost ready."
"On my way." I trudged up the stairs to the bathroom and stripped off my clothes. After tossing them in the hamper, I stepped into the tub. I turned the water on as hot as I could stand and just stood there. Today had taken it out of me.
"Aden." My mother knocked on the door. "Hurry up, sweetheart. Dinner's ready."
"I'll be there in a minute." I grabbed some shampoo and quickly washed my hair. Examining my skin, I found little red bites everywhere. The mosquitoes had eaten me alive. I was going to be itching all night.
I finished washing up and turned off the water. Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around my waist and hurried to my room to throw on some clothes. I was still wrestling my shirt over my head as I walked down the stairs. My parents were talking in the kitchen and I distinctly heard my name. My mother gave me a concerned look when I took my seat by the wall.
"Your father told me." She patted my arm. "You need to be more careful. Some of those dogs may bite."
"I will."
I dished myself some noodles while my mom started to tell us about her book club. I guess they were reading a romance novel from the early 1900s. Chris and Katy hooking up behind my back had left me feeling rather bitter toward that topic of romance, so I wasn't listening too closely.
"Aden?"
"Hmm..."
My mother glanced at my plate. "You need to eat something."
"'kay." I had been stirring things around for the last couple of minutes.
She kept eyeing me until I took a couple of bites before she went back to explaining the complex love triangle to my dad.
"Aden, are you finished?"
I nodded. "Yep."
"Do you mind taking Demon for a walk for me?"
"Mom," I whined. "It's your dog."
"Please, Aden." She piled up the dishes. "It would really help me out."
I scowled at the animal in the corner with its face buried in a bowl. "Fine." I stood and marched out of the kitchen to the entryway. After shoving my feet into my shoes, I turned to see my mom holding Demon.
"Here, he is." She clipped on his leash. "Make sure you don't bring him back too soon, or he'll leave me a little surprise to clean up in the morning."
"Got it." I put on my jacket and zipped it up.
She held him out to me.
"He has legs."
She placed him on the ground and kissed my cheek. "Thank you, Aden. I really appreciate it."
I let out a sigh. "It's fine." I took the leash from her and opened the door.
Demon bolted and nearly ripped it from my hand.
"Stupid mutt." I stepped outside and slammed the door.
He dragged me down the road by our neighbor's cow pasture and started sniffing. At least there wouldn't be landmines all over the lawn. I grew sick of his constant tugging and unclipped him. The puppy raced around my legs for a moment before running off to smell a bush.
"Hurry up." I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. "It doesn't take this long to piss." I bounced up and down to keep the blood pumping.
Demon circled the area, making sure to smell every rock and blade of grass. If he didn't hurry it up, I was going to tie him to a tree and come back in twenty minutes.
Two bright lights came toward us. I closed my eyes as a car zipped past.
"Come on, Demon. You've had long enough." I looked down and saw nothing. "Demon? Oh no, Demon!" I had lost my mother's dog. "Demon, come here, boy." I searched along the fence. "Demon, where are you?"
A soft bark sounded from up ahead. I jogged over but couldn't see him anywhere. "Demon!"
He barked again. Dropping to my knees, I pushed back the long grass to reveal a small hole in the fence and just on the other side sat two beady, little eyes.
"Demon, come here." I reached through and tried to grab him.
He nipped at my fingers and stayed barely out of reach.
"Demon, now." I slammed my fist on the ground.
The stupid little dog turned tail and trotted off into the field.
"Get back here!" I sat on my heels. "This is just great." I rubbed my forehead, trying to think of how I was going to tell my mother I lost her dog.
I searched for a way over, but Demon had to choose the one field that had fences to keep the deer out. A large rock sat a few yards from me. I hurried to it and started to awkwardly climb over. I flipped to the other side and fell to the ground, landing straight on my back. Groaning, I rolled to my stomach and rose onto my hands and knees. I was going to kill that dog.
"Demon, where are you?" I coughed, rubbing my shoulder.
His collar jingled as he walked toward the middle of the field.
"Stupid mutt. You can forget me ever taking you for a walk again." Slowly standing, I jogged after him. "Demon, come here, now."
The little dog stopped and looked around.
"Now you listen," I sighed, kneeling down to grab him.
He darted away from me. I dove for him, but Demon escaped and ran off toward the fence.
"Demon!"
That was it. The mutt was on his own. I personally hoped a cow stepped on him. The ground started to rumble. I watched the herd run for the barn.
"Great." I stood and dusted myself off. "Now the Andersons are going to yell at me for scaring their cows. Demon—" I turned around and froze.
A giant animal stood there with its teeth bared. Its red fur stood on end as it let out a low growl.
"Oh my god." I backed away.
The mutant wolf jumped forward and knocked me to the ground. Swearing under my breath, I curled into a ball. This was it. I knew that it would be a canine that would finish me off. I closed my eyes when it probed me with its nose. It started to pace around me before stopping with its muzzle inches from my face. I could feel the heat of its breath on my skin. A soft whining silence the wolf's growl. I peeked over my shoulder to see the monster stepped to the side as another one appeared.
I hated dogs. I hated them so much.
The black-colored one nudged my cheek with its nose and started to lick my face. I didn't understand what was going on. Why wouldn't they leave me alone? The black one made a weird noise to the other, who then jogged off toward the farmhouse.
The remaining wolf sat down and cocked its head to the side. I rose to my knees and wiped my face. This seemed like some cruel game. Its tail started to beat the ground. What a strange animal. I glanced to the side to find the fence was about a hundred yards away. I slowly stood and watched the wolf for any movement. It just sat there with its tail wagging.
Holding my hands out in front of me, I backed up. "Stay."
It rose to its feet and I stopped.
My heart was pounding. "Please, stay," I said in a shaky voice. "Stay." I took a step back and when the wolf didn't move, I ran for it.
Making it to the fence, I skidded to a stop and dropped to my knees. I slammed my fist against the boards, searching for a way to get out. Footsteps sounded behind me. Slowly turning around, I saw the black wolf was standing feet away.
I pressed against the fence. "Please, go away."
It dropped to the ground with its tail still flicking back and forth.
I scooted down the fence line, feeling behind me. My hand slipped through a hole, and I felt along the outline. It was just big enough. Flipping onto my stomach, I army-crawled through. I yanked my legs out of the way right before the space was filled with the wolf's muzzle.
Taking a deep breath, I sat up on my knees. I was still alive. Somehow, I was still alive.
Something scraped against the ground. The monster had started digging! Cursing under my breath, I leapt to my feet and raced down the road. I tore across the front lawn and threw open the door. Slamming it shut, I turned the deadbolt into place and rested my head against the wood. I made it.
"Aden," snapped my mother, looking over at me from the living room couch. "Was that really necessary?"
Gasping for air, I didn't move and waited for my heart rate to settle.
"Aden, what's wrong, and where's Demon?" She put her book down.
"Aden," said a deep voice.
Two hands grabbed me and I bit my lip to stop from screaming.
My father turned me around. "Aden, what happened?"
"There's this thing in the Anderson's pasture!"
"What do you mean?" asked my father.
"I don't know." I gasped for air. "It looked like a wolf, but not." I clasped my forehead. "They were these giant demon creatures. It was all black and there was a red one, too."
My mother hurried over and pressed the back of her hand to my face. "I think you've had a bit of a traumatic day and your mind is playing tricks on you."
Scratching noises sounded from the other side of the door. My dad reached for the handle, but I blocked him.
"Don't open it! Those things could've followed me home."
"Aden, that's enough." He grabbed me and moved me to the side. I hovered around the corner and watched as he unlocked the door. It swung open and little Demon trotted into the house.
"Demon!" said my mother, relieved. She picked him up and kissed his head. "You naughty boy, did you scare Aden?"
My father peered back at me with a raised eyebrow.
I gave him a repulsed expression. "That thing was a hundred times the size of that stupid dog."
"It is dark, Aden," said my mother, bouncing Demon in her arms. "Your imagination could've gotten the better of you." She scratched the puppy between its ears.
He barked at her and licked her cheek.
"I know what I saw."
"It could have been a cow," suggested my father, walking into the living room with my mother.
"It growled!" I stood in the entryway and glared at my parents. "I know what I saw."
"Aden, I think you've had a long day." My mother set the dog on the ground and took me in her arms. "Maybe you should go to bed. I think it might have been more than just motion sickness." She brushed my hair off my forehead.
I took a deep breath and slowly released it. "I guess."
She kissed my cheek. "You'll feel better in the morning. Goodnight."
Nodding, I turned to the stairs and dragged my tired body to my room. I went to the window and checked the lock before placing a chair under the door handle. I'd rather be overly cautious than wake up with a giant wolf in my room. After changing into sweats, I slipped into the bed and tried to forget what I had seen.