1
Wirewick loyally laid at the boy’s side, so he would not die alone. The boy’s life slowly drained out of him as he laid on the cold cement sidewalk.
The men who shot him, laughed and joked around as they continued to unload a truck.
The men had a bad smell, which they tried to cover up with a layer of sickly sweet perfume. The scent was similar to what the boy’s mother wore, but not as strong.
Even with this artificial layer added on, however, the men could not hide their stench. A smell that spoke of death and violence against their fellow men.
The boy gasped.
Wirewick raised his head.
The boy’s hand reached out and petted the dog’s head.
Wirewick wagged his tail, hopefully. Perhaps it would be okay. Perhaps other men would come, the ones who drove in their shrieking cars and flashing lights. They would save him. One of them had passed by when he and the boy had gotten lost in their exploring.
It was a false hope...
The boy died.
Wirewick did a foolish thing, but his actions were driven more by instinct than sense.
He lifted his snout into the air and howled. Crying out at the boy’s passing.
“Shut up you stupid mutt!” One of the men called out.
“Yeah! You’re going to bring the heat down on us!” Another one of the men cried.
“Kill it.” The third man whispered to the other two.
Wirewick’s ears perked up, as a gun clicked.
The gun was the same one that had taken the boy’s life.
The dog’s lips pulled back into a snarl, flashing his teeth to warn the men away.
He cringed back as a loud boom scared him. A boom that reminded the dog of thunder.
Wirewick had always hid under the boy’s bed during the thunder storms that plagued the hot summers.
Wirewick yelped as something hot and metallic clipped one of his ears.
He again smelled the heated metal and heard a sharp buzzing sound as a second projectile sped toward him.
Wirewick turned, but not quick enough, as the heated metal scraped across his side, drawing blood.
His survival instincts kicked in, and now the dog turned tail and ran.
The men laughed at his retreat.
The dog’s heart ached, having to leave the boy behind.
The boy’s mother and father would worry about the boy and blame him for the abandonment. He was supposed to be the boy’s protector.
But Wirewick had these men’s scents. He would find them again.
And when he did, there would be no mercy…
