Blaze raced through the lit streets of Maine. The first few stars observed as he gave chase to the criminal scum.
Hot on his heels, Blaze locked his sights to the robber's flailing arm. Widening his sturdy jaws, he emitted a loud, menacing snarl.
Lunging, he clamped his jaws around the burglar's arm, his sharp canines sunk into warm flesh beneath ragged, old leather. Hot, sticky blood dripped into Blaze's mouth as the convict screeched before beginning to kick and batter him, but the Doberman refused to release his tight grasp.
Using all his force, Blaze dragged the dirty thief to the ground. Adam, the dog's partner, locked silver handcuffs tightly around his wrists. The canine finally freed his arm.
Blaze wrinkled his nose at the stench of human blood around his chops; human flesh had a certain taste and smell to it that he hated.
Back aching from where he'd been beaten, Blaze held up his chin - though he was in pain, he was proud that he'd stopped the criminal from doing anything worse.
Patiently and intently, the police dog sat and watched as Adam, with two of his colleagues, practically threw the fresh prisoner into the Police van before slamming the door and watching his colleagues drive the van away. Returning to his dog, Adam smiled and took a sigh of pride.
"Good job boy," Adam took a bone-shaped biscuit out of the pocket on his black uniform and fed it to his four-legged partner. Blaze gently took it out of his hand and swallowed, barely even chewing the little treat; it tasted bland, like an over-cooked chicken with a slight tang of raw vegetables. Not exactly the best treats he'd been given in his life, but he was too tired and hungry to complain. "Come on Blazey, we've got one stop before home," and with that, he clipped a lead onto Blaze's black police harness and escorted him to a silver car nearby.
Blaze didn't bother trying to thank his owner for the compliments, the treat and closing the car door for him, he knew that Adam wouldn't understand. His throat was too dry to bark anyway, he just wanted to go home and flop in his bed before getting up to work again the next morning. Of course, before anything, he'd make time for his girl - Rose. Adam's daughter was the sweetest thing, she was five years old and the one thing Blaze cherished more than anything. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he ever lost her. He felt the urge to protect her in all ways possible; if that meant getting rid of every convict in the whole of America to make sure she never gets hurt, then so-be-it. He wanted to make sure Rose had the longest, happiest, most fulfilling life, and he'd make sure that it happened no matter the cost.
About twenty minutes after Adam had driven off, they arrived at a large building. It almost looked like a big, grey, abandoned warehouse. Once they entered, Adam started talking to the person working at the counter. While he was busy, Blaze spotted a bowl of water nearby, he trotted over and lapped at the clean liquid. The big warehouse was loud inside, the sound of howling and barking rung through each and every hallway. As Adam returned to Blaze and took off his lead, the dog followed his partner into one of the doorways that lead into a huge, long hallway. The walls inside were scattered with hundreds of cages.
Blaze knew why they were here.
A while ago, there had been a Dogo Argentino named Boss, he had been Marcus', Adam's brother's, dog. However, his brother had passed away due to lung cancer, and Boss had never been the same since. Adam had him living with Blaze's family for a while, but Boss was just getting worse by the day. One day, on a walk, he lunged at an elderly man with a child and without warning started snapping his jaws and snarling at them, scaring them to death! Fearing for little Rose, Adam's wife, Amanda, insisted they send Boss to a rehabilitation kennel to see if they can help him. Blaze and Boss had been best friends from pups, they were like brothers, and the Doberman could do nothing but feel sorry for his old friend.
As they plodded down the corridor, Blaze didn't dare to look into any of the other cages along the sidelines as he feared he might see dogs in ways he had never wished to see - besides, the sounds of the distressed growls and howls was already enough to unnerve the police dog.
After a while of strolling side-by-side, they finally arrived at a cage right at the end of the corridor. The light above was flickering and this cage was the only one that was in darkness. Gulping nervously, Blaze padded up to the bars and peered inside. It was pitch black inside, and smelt damp and reeked of rotting meat, as if something had died in there. The Doberman feared the worst for his old friend. Seeing if his eyes perhaps would adjust to the dark, he stared inside for a few long moments more.
Suddenly, a loud clatter of chains sounded from the shadows and a massive, white, muscular dog sprung at the bars. Staggering back, Blaze watched in shock as the white canine bore his teeth, snarling and foaming from the mouth. Standing tall, he powerfully rose to his hind legs as he snarled at Blaze. The chain tightened and yanked at his throat, choking him. Blaze barely recognised his old friend!
"Boss! It's me! Calm down!" the copper pleaded with him.
Blaze felt Adam tense behind him, but thankfully he didn't involve himself.
Boss relaxed slightly, but his deranged eyes told Blaze that he was still out of his mind. His hackles remained upright and his teeth still bore, but Boss did return all four paws to the ground.
"Blaze!" the dog spat, "you have some nerve coming here... I swear the moment I break out of these bars, I'll rip your spine out! Along with your damn humans!"
"What? Why?! We took you in.. We cared for you! I've been there for you since Marcus and Adam adopted us!" Blaze had been taken aback by Boss' harsh words. He'd never known his friend to ever turn against him!
"This is all your doing. All of your doing! If I hadn't met you, I'd be free, living my own life!" Boss snarled back.
"If you're blaming me for Marcus' death-"
"No!" Boss howled, refusing to allow Blaze to finish his sentence, "no... I don't need humans, never did! I couldn't care less if Marcus is dead. They're all horrible beasts, all of them! They were a natural-born mistake. They shouldn't be in this world and neither should you!" Boss snapped his jaws loudly at the Doberman, drool splashed onto the copper's face. This time, however, Blaze didn't even flinch.
He felt insulted.
He crashed his head into the bars, making them rattle. Despite the fact that he felt as if his brain was juddering inside his head due to the collision, Blaze glued his broad head to the cage. Staring into Boss' eyes, he bore his teeth and let out a brooding snarl. Boss' ferocity faded ever so slightly and he shrunk back by an inch.
"How dare you?! How dare you bark so nastily about the people that love us! They care for us! And now you insult them? Call them beasts?! I know for a fact you loved Marcus. You would never say a single bad thing about your owner!" Blaze sternly lectured his old friend.
"You know that, do you?" Boss chuckled, "you don't know me at all..." He turned his back - and with a sinister glare over his shoulder towards his former friend, a small crazed giggle sounded beneath his breath before he engulfed himself in the shadows again.
"Boss!" Blaze called out, "Boss!! Listen to me!" Adam clipped the leather lead onto Blaze's harness and began to tug him away. "Wait, no! Adam, please! Boss!" his owner began tugging harder and ended up basically dragging Blaze across the wooden floor as he barked and whined.
No matter how much he pleaded with his owner, Blaze knew it was impossible for Adam to understand what he was saying.
"Blaze! Heel!" Blaze pulled and yanked in despair, "Blaze! Come! Now! What's wrong with you?" his owner raised his voice. Normally, the cop dog would instantly submit and heel, but this time, he was too desperate to get through to his past friend.
Blaze whipped around and snapped his jaws around the leather lead. He glared up at his owner and growled in a deep tone.
Fear flashed across Adam's eyes briefly, but he locked his glower with Blaze's.
It was the first time that Blaze felt like Adam was lost in what he should do in a situation like this - he usually always knows what to do.
Out of nowhere, he took a piece of sausage from his pocket and waved the smell on Blaze's nose, in hope it'd make him follow orders - it wouldn't work.
Blaze tugged at the lead, trying to signal to his owner that he wanted to stay.
Adam didn't take too kindly to it.
"No Blaze!" Adam took a black muzzle from his side bag and grabbed his dog's collar.
He moved the muzzle towards Blaze's snout.
The Doberman avoided the muzzle and lunged downwards, latching onto Adam's trouser leg with his teeth, being careful not to catch his skin accidentally.
"Blaze!" Adam screeched, shocked.
Abruptly, a loud rumble made them both jolt in surprise. Blaze immediately let go of his partner's leg and held his head up straight, ears pricked. The rumble vibrated through the ground beneath them, making the police dog's legs quiver.
"An earthquake?" Adam murmured.
All of a sudden, sirens sounded outside. The sound of people panicking and rushing around outside merged with the variety of dogs in cages howling and yelping in shock.
Blaze was alarmed by an unusual smell that suddenly filled the room.
Glancing up to his owner, he noticed Adam was suddenly blank and seemingly unresponsive.
Blaze whined, trying to get his attention...
No reply.
Instantaneously, Adam began to gasp and choke. He dropped Blaze's muzzle and, releasing his grip on his collar, he crashed to the ground. Writhing, he began to heave up huge clumps of blood along with what he'd eaten earlier in the day. Adam desperately tried to gain a grasp of oxygen but failed to do so. The air was suffocating Blaze's owner!
"Adam?" Blazed yelped, "Adam!"
Adam gradually stopped choking, his eyes were red and bulged out of his sockets, and his face had turned purple and swelled up. The veins on his head had popped out profusely. White bubbly foam started pouring out his mouth as he took his last breaths. Then, he stopped any twitching, and just lay in his own vomit and blood. Adam lay still, and any life had entirely left his body by now.
Blaze nosed his owner's limp body, but he just lay there, still as a statue... The world seemed to have stopped spinning for poor Blaze. What was going on... And why does it have to happen to Blaze's family?!
Suddenly, a familiar chuckle behind him brought him back.
Boss.
He glanced over his shoulder in horror and stared towards the dark cage.
Thoughts sprinted through his mind like a whirlwind, but then, all of a sudden, he realised something crucial.
The sirens... The death of Adam... The weird smell... The sound of panicking outside... This couldn't just be happening to a single person...
Rose!