Dog Gone (13)
Dog Gone (13) By Roofles
"Biscuit, stay." Twister said pushing the dog back. The entrance was right there and once more the husky was helping me walk up those flights of stairs. Going up them wasn't as bad as going down had been. With my leg strength I could almost leap to the top. Or I felt that anyways. But stripped of the dog next to me I felt once more like a newborn wanting to hold onto its mother for support.
I looked at the husky dog who had his ears back and the biggest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. I swore they grew like three times their size when he did that. His paw slowly slipping from mine. I wasn't sure why we had been holding hands...kind of holding. More like he was holding my wrist that ended up with us holding hands. Yet it pulled at my heart strings letting go and seeing him now. It was as if I had adopted a puppy dog from the pound and at the end of the day brought him back. And that the puppy dog was just now realizing that he would never see me again.
"I'll be back, I promise." I shrugged my shoulders as if this whole business wasn't important. That it didn't matter. That it didn't hurt to part ways with him. "It'll only take a few minutes. Bring me another biscuit, Biscuit." I stuck my tongue out at that and got a tail wag in response.
"Call if you need anything, I'll...just be right here...I guess." He muttered looking around for a good spot to sit. In the end he just chased his tail around in a few circles which made me laugh as the iron door shut between us. Air gasping around the seams before sealing us off from that world. The gears turned and locks locked. An for the first time I could remember, I felt fear.
I stood in the small box in front of the door. Double doors. One behind me and one in front, that was opened still. As if this place had some flood warning. Even beneath my feet there were several holes that could be used for a drain. And on that note I smelled water above me. And felt a drop land on the end of my muzzle.
The door in front of me slammed shut and I found myself trapped in the small space. Water began to shower down on me as if one of the pipes had sprung a leak. I was already pounding on the door behind me shouting for Biscuit. But I only heard the sound of water in reply to my cries.
The water was warm and I had to close my eyes to stop the world from spinning. Claustrophobia, the fear of having no escape or being trapped. I breathed heavily outside the spray of water looking to my left and right until my eyes locked on the door before me. The panels and gears were showing like the inside of a clock. I traced each one as the water rose up around my ankles and crept up my legs towards my knees. It felt like I was in a damn washing machine.
I gripped one of the bars that should connect to the wall and pulled with all my strength leaning my back into it. It creaked and groaned, protesting loudly before pulling back. I shook my hands as the water crept up to my thighs. If the door wasn't so old this may have been a problems. I pulled the second back. Slowly it creaked...before snapping and the connective piece fell down into the water that was over my groin now. It seemed to be rising much faster now.
I felt the door several times before I had a good idea and layout of it under the water before taking a large breath and dunking under it. I dug my heels into the corner and my toes into the ground. Gripping with both hands on the bar and pulled, gritting my teeth. Shouting in my mind for it to open.
The latch was pulled back and the door swung open. Water poured out around me as I breathed heavily staring at the room in front of me. I took a step out glaring at the dalmation.
"Woops. Did that thing break again?" He said rather monotone looking past me as water filled the room. "I'll fix it." He walked over to one of the control boxes and pulled the lever down. I didn't need to look over my shoulder to hear the water draining behind me.
"What. The hell. Was that?" I shook waving my arm behind me. "I could've died!" But I regained my cool the next second after a few steady breaths.
"Now, now. Your being way too melodramatic. There was a release valve inside and a saftey device. If the water filled up above your waist the drain would automatically open." I held my tongue. It was up to my chest by the time I managed to open the door. "Alpha likes to have a clean environment." He turned back to the panel and pressed a rather bland black looking button that shut the door behind me. It sealed mostly, missing the middle handle and all. I had half a mind to shove him inside and see how he liked it. But that wasn't what I was worrying about. This 'accident' had seemed far more like a...test.
Something was fishy about this, and it didn't smell fishy either. The latches had handles to grab onto and the layout for the door looked far more complex than was needed. A mouse in a maze waiting to get the cheese at the end. "Right." I wiped the water off of me as I stood up tall again. I wouldn't shake myself dry. I wasn't a dog or their pawn.
There were two other dogs here and one behind a desk. Two bodyguards and the Alpha, a large german shephard that had enough battle scars to have gone through both world wars. Several papers were laid in front of him and he was looking over a set of blueprints. He had a drafting compas in one hand and a pencil in the other, standing over the paper as he calculated things out. "Take a seat," he spoke and I saw the other three dogs almost sit down before they realized he was talking to me.
I wasn't about to just do as I was told and at the same time didn't want to be disrespectful. So I took my time sitting down. Rather than rushing to it like the others would've. The seat was an old beat up leathered chair like the one the Alpha had. The scent on it was not his though. It might've belong to this omega though that Biscuit had mentioned. I sat down in it and the dalmation fur stood on end. He reached out as if to pull me from it but kept back as the german shepherd looked up. His eyes centered on me. They were as black as coal. But a smug smile crossed his face as he took a seat as well.
"Biscuit brought you in, then?" He asked yet it was clear he knew. "You look good in that chair," he added making a shiver run down my spine. So this is what fear felt like.
"Yes." I answered the first question without dignifying the comment.
"What do you think of him?" An eyebrow rose at that.
"He's not bad. Simple but not bad." I said honestly. No need to lie. It would be easier later on to do so if need be if I kept it truthful for now.
"What if I told you this whole Society of ours had been double what it is now?" His eyes never left me as he watched me as a sheepdog would his flock. Every sign or trace of facial expression I showed would be captured in those eyes. While he showed nothing at all. Almost robotic...like the dogs outside my cage...when I was human.
"I would say that its for the best now, as sad as such a loss might have been. Your supplies are stretched as they are now and if the population was doubled then I doubt you would have room let alone enough food for everyone." I replied looking back and out that window. The glass was thick and fogged up. It did feel rather hot in here. Yet that thought lingered. I remember seeing those dogs outside my cage. A husky was one of them. Biscuit...I wish he was here now.
The Alpha blinked several times then laughed. "That is the first time someone had answered in such a way." He shook his head. "Cold." He said. "But smart."
"No, its common sense." I replied turning back. Again the dalmation flinched. I didn't exactly backtalk to him but I guess it could be seen that way. "If you have X resources and Y population then X and Y need to be equal in the sense that X can supply Y with their basic needs." I held up my hands as if to gesture them both...something Biscuit would've done. I wouldn't make sound effects though. "However if Y is larger than X then in time Y would fall to the point where X could once more supply Y with its needs." I had laid it out in my mind but explaining it made me sound rather...dumb. It made sense to me anyways. I looked up into those eyes. He showed no reaction to my words. He would've made a good politician.
"I see. So that Y is now half of what it is, your saying, is a good thing?" He asked again not really as a question. I don't even know how you could ask a question with clearly not asking one. And it wasn't rhetorical either.
"In a sense, yes. That's not to say that the Z, the half of Y that went missing, isn't a loss. If nothing else a W would've been needed to supply those that X couldn't so Y and Z could once more have their needs met." But there are always more variables than there are answers. What if some of the food went bad or the water pipes stopped? If everyone started bringing dogs back then the number of W would need to be higher. Space would also become an issue. The bunk rooms that Biscuit and the other dogs had were small enough as they were now. Most the cargo buildings were full and the walk ways were crowded enough as it was now.
"Now what if I told you that Z was removed so that X could once more fill in for Y?" Just another problem a math teacher would give his students.
"That would depend on what you meant by removed." My ears folded back and I looked at him. It was impossible to read his body language. So cold and stiff like a statue. Yet I had caught the meaning behind those words. The other three dogs didn't even seem to notice...or maybe they didn't care?
He smiled as he looked at me before leaning back in his chair and place his paws behind his head, kicking his paws up on the desk perfectly even apart. "Well what do you think of this place?" He asked looking around clearly changing the subject.
"Its a dump." I said fatly. My mood was growing sour talking to him. He had dodged the question yet it felt as if he didn't need to answer. As if I already knew the answer to it...
"Agreed. I can't stand it." He looked at one of the pitbulls to his left and then the one on his right. He sat back up a bit pulling his feet from the table. "Filthy place." He pulled a bottle from the desk drawer and began scrubbing his hands with the clear fluid. "No matter how hard I try. It's still filthy." It was the first time his face or body showed any sign he had emotions. He scrubbed his paws fiercely and I couldn't help but look at my hand. Paw pads, fingers and fur. It was...kind of disgusting. I was. But the dog waiting for me out front wasn't. Yet that thought was lost on the dog in front of me who continued to scowl at his paws. Trying to scrub away something that was part of who he was.
"Its better than it could've been. I didn't expect this place to be so neat and pristine. Inside here I mean," I looked around. The walls had been washed and the floor as well and the dalmation was busy moping up the water. Everything was neat. Perfect and even the guards behind him stood at equal distance apart from the chair in the very center of the room. "It really is nice. In here." I said once more. He looked up at me and smiled smugly.
"Yes it took some work but I managed to get it to the way it was. Before..." He kept talking. Talking about the previous owner of it. Some lab rat of a human that was so nose deep in his work he didn't even notice that his trusty assistant stabbed him in then back. As he talked he fixed the chair several times, repositioned the pencils on the desk and the lamp in the corner with the note box in front of it. Even the garbage can filled with crumbled papers needed to be adjusted. A serious case of OCD.
Biscuit said that half the dogs didn't survive the change. Some went feral and others weren't mentally stable. Was this a trait of him when he was human? Or after becoming the dog he was now. A side effect?
"I made The Society the way it was. The labrat," he kept calling the scientist in charge of this project. "Had the initial idea but not the means of doing it. So I took his plans of making a self sustaining bunker that we could live in. The walls are fortified already and the doors are stronger than any bank vault. We manage the air flow and water as well as food supplies, only needing to go out when we choose too. Which is only after its been approved." He noted looking up at me now. He had been picking the same spot on the desk for the past few minutes with his finger...and had gone back to picking at it. "We have laws here. Rules to make sure The Society stays the way it is. Soon we won't even need to leave here once our food problem is solved."
No growth? No development or taking risks? Securiting without moving forward. A dystopia all with the idea of being a utopia. I wondered...what seperated him from the smucks outside. This plan of his or rather the scientists sounded more like something you would do during a war. To protect civilians until the war was done. But he had planned on making it their permanent home and locking the doors afterwards.
"Everyone is equal. No matter what job you work you get the same reward as everyone else." So if I worked to become a doctor, brain surgeon, rocket scientist I would be making the same as a janitor - the same respect as well? Didn't seem worth the trouble. "Every job is laid out and you do as your told. When something isn't working out we can switch you until you find that right thing. Right place for you on our chessboard." Maybe in a perfect world. "We don't have titles here. The jobs are as they are." Except that your the Alpha. "We are a little short on space so like the others you'll be rooming with another. We will pick them out." So I can't even choose to be with Biscuit then? And I bet this Alpha roomed alone.
He made my decision far more easier. "I was wondering." I leaned forward a bit. "Have you seen a certain dog named Brutus?"
That caught his attention. I was hopeful that it was the name. Maybe it was just the fact that I asked.
"Brutus? Hm..." He motioned for the dalmation who was already next to to him just waiting for some signal. "What did he look like?" The dalmation asked turning towards me. The Alpha was busy picking at that spot on his desk again. His face scrunching up as he did so.
"Don't know."
"Height, weight at least?" I shook my head. "Breed then? No? Well...I'm not sure then. We usual name them when we get them."
Did that mean they only take freshly turned dogs in...isn't that the same thing the people on the outside were trying to do?
"I got his scent." I offered the scarf up a bit but kept it wrapped around my neck. The dalmation reached for it but I didn't give it up so he walked around and bent down to sniff it.
His nose wrinkled a bit and I could see the gears turn in his head. "Oh yes, we had a dog pass through a little while ago." I got up at that but he didn't continue so I walked over to the window as if that had been my plan the whole time.
He was lieing. He knew him. That look that passed his face for a split second was enough for me to tell. He wasn't telling me something...and looking out this window fear began to creep back into me. The 'town' below was positoned in such a way from this window that it looked like a model. Everything was perfectly laid out and symmetrical with the other side. A very large model with living creatures in it. But looking at it reminded me of another model...And the water bowl in the middle of town looked like a tower rising up above everything else. And for some reason that made my shiver.
"Where did you get the idea for this place again?" I asked turning towards the four. The guards looked brain dead. They showed just enough life that they weren't dead. The dalmation was nothing but the Alpha's bitch. And the german shephard was growling now as he picked at that spot. Slamming his fist down he snarled at it before calming down and looking back up.
"Sorry. What was the question?"
"I'm tired," I said after seeing the look in those cold black eyes. "Thanks for letting me stay here and I'll take whatever job you need filled. I'm just...tired right now."
He looked at me before nodding, his finger still picking at that spot on the table. "Twister will meet up with you later today with the details of where you will be staying and your job. I'm glad I picked you out for rescue... Oh, and one last thing." I was already next to the door hoping to get into the water tank again rather than be in this place another second. "The Z population was killed because of Biscuit." The words went in one ear and out the other. Filling me with doubt about Biscuit now? While telling me he had a hand in my rescue. Move my loyalties away from the dog out front waiting for me. Calculated move for a brain dead idiot that followed orders...like a dog, without question or thought. But I wasn't a pawn. I was the king, you idiot.
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." I looked back and forced a smile on my face. Even to make my tail wag. Look the part. Remember and record what he says so I can report it later on...report? That seemed familiar. Somehow and when I thought of it I thought of that face. Black fur, brown markings of a dog that smiled and wagged his tail...but it was still unclear and I couldn't even see the color of his eyes.
He nodded again and the dalmation rushed over to close the door behind me and open the outside one where Biscuit was sitting waiting for my return. Sitting directly in the middle of the walk way facing the door. His ears jumped up as it opened and tail wagged as he saw me.
"How was it? The bath is always a pain." He smiled getting up and offered a hug which I passed by. He followed in my heels. For a few seconds we walked in silence. "Is everything alright? He didn't do anything did he...he didn't...tell you, did he?" The husky stopped and after walking a few steps I did too.
I scratched my chin looking down at the ground. My thoughts were coming more fluidly now. All the different pieces I learned were finally connecting together. There was something more to this place than they weren't letting on. Or the ignorant masses knew. The dogs around wouldn't ask questions. Memories wiped they were now just subservient creatures... Exactly like pawns. And that's exactly what he wanted.
I looked back over my shoulder at the husky.
He wasn't like them. He seemed to have his own mind, his own feelings. And that was a comfort... "You alright?" I asked as his ears drooped and tail curled under his legs.
"I didn't mean to!" He blurted out grabbing my arms and looking at me square in the eye catching me off guard. If a dog could cry, he would've been. "It was an accident. I didn't know I wasn't suppose to lead them that way! They told me to, I think...I swear that was the order but... And then...and then..." He bit his bottom lip and he was looking at me with those large puppy dog eyes again that were watering up. But still. Dogs couldn't cry.
"What? Oh," the light flicked on. I hadn't even really paid attention to the comment. This must've happened before. Dozen of times. That would explain a few things about why the masses hated Biscuit. I would have to look into this population decline... "Don't worry about it. He mentioned it but I'm sure it was an accident and I don't think any less of you as a man. Or dog. Or whatever." I said waving it off. "It's nothing. There's something very wrong about this place and if we don't leave soon I fear that-,"
I yiped as I got another hug. He rubbed his face against my chest as he picked me up, sobbing like a child that had just dropped his ice cream cone.... I was beginning to remember things, but they were the strangest things...like when a child dropped an ice cream cone.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He whined against my chest and I managed to pat his back a bit.
"It's fine Biscuit. It's fine...I don't hate you. Please don't leave me, I want you as a friend forever." I rolled my eyes as I spoke.
"Never ever!" He shook me and it took another yelp for him to set me down. I rubbed my bruised ribs. He dipped his head under my chin and cuddled up holding me tightly. This wasn't the time or place, I flushed. Everything was so clear now. So focused on everything else and trying to solve this riddle, this puzzle... and now this dog was beginning to distract me...
"Run away with me." I said trying to come up with the right words that still held the emotions that I felt coursing through my veins. I breathed in that scent and closed my eyes as I returned the hug. "Let's run away from this place." Fear was a strong motivator and if he came along... I wouldn't be afraid. With Biscuit that cold feeling of fear couldn't reach me. And the second I saw him after leaving that place I didn't feel it. I never wanted to feel that feeling again.
"Ok." No fight, no resistance. Just a dog that looked up at me as he wagged his tail. It was a little awkward seeing as how he was bigger than I was. So stooping over like this looking up at me was...weird. He stood back up and it seemed to fit better when he wasn't a clinging mutt...then again he still had an arm tightly around my shoulders. "Where too?" He asked now looking down at me and I laughed turning us back towards his room.
"Let's pack up everything and just leave from one of the exits. From there we can decide on things."
Things were going smoothly as we packed everything he had away in his duffel camo bag. We had a few cans of food and a can opener. It would last us for a while if we stretched it. Two canteens of water would be enough for now. Not too many pairs of cloths which, again would be fine. Everything would be fine, I kept telling myself as I folded another article of clothing that Biscuit had shoved inside the bag. His cloths were a bit loose and used but I could wear them. And everything would be fine. He had some ammunition and guns which would make things easier if we had to force our way out. Some medical supplies as well. And everything would be fine...
The door behind us opened up. "There you are, Gravy was it?" The dalmation asked walking inside. He had a clipboard and was jotting a few things down, checking them off before looking up and around. "What are you-," my fist connected with his cheek before my knee came up into his gut, hard. He fell to the floor gasping a bit before I stepped on his neck. He struggled against me and I watched as his eyes rolled back up into his head. I knelt down and felt his throat. He was still alive, breathing but knocked out.
Biscuit looked at the dog, blinked a few times before going back to packing. I picked the dalmation up and walked backwards until I bumped into the locker on the wall. I opened it up and tossed the coat racks out and shoved the dog inside before shutting and locking it.
"So...what's going on exactly?" He asked hefting the bag over his shoulder and handing me a pistol. The handle was smooth and had a familiar grip. Maybe the one I had before?
"Something." I muttered making sure a bullet was in the chamber. "Something very, very bad." This feeling...I had it before. When I was human. Closing my eyes I tried to remember. This whole thing was like a town. A model. But why? What about it made it dangerous? It was something in my gut, survival instinct or intuition. And every fiber of my being was telling me to listen to it. "I'll tell you everything I can once we're out of here." He closed the door behind us. I had the blanket wrapped around my shoulders like a poncho and it smelled heavily of Biscuit...
If we stayed here I had a feeling I wouldn't see him again. They knew something about Brutus that much was clear and yet...I was willing to loose that information in order to keep Biscuit with me. Brutus...I knew I wanted him, needed to know more about him. But at what cost? "Why does the Alpha hate you? And on that note...is he the Alpha or is his name Alpha." I turned to look at him before we left into the main room.
He blinked a few times scratching his chin and neck. "Well...I did oppose him on a few things. Mainly about bringing dogs in. And the disappearance of dogs too. I'm not sure about the name thing. Everyone just always called him Alpha."
"And the disapperances?" I pressed the issue breathing heavily.
"Well...we were over crowded before...then my mistake happened..." He rubbed his arms looking away. "Then after that everything just stayed the same. No matter how many dogs we brought in we never had a population problem again. I asked him about it and he seemed to get really mad at me. Said if I can't stop asking stupid question I was going to get kicked out."
Biscuit seemed to have memories left of his old life. It could be a reason why he was prone to ask questions. Humans were curious animals by nature after all. I panted smiling. It felt like my head was a beehive of questions and answers everything was clicking together now. I couldn't be certain but things seemed to finally be making some sense now. "Is there anything else? Strange? Abnormal?" I pressed once more getting a bit closer to him.
"Um...well...dogs on the outside aren't allowed to stay. They can pass through but can't even stay the night. I always thought that was strange...why?" He looked at me curious.Yet happy. He didn't grasp the situation at all. I guess he was a meat head but that wasn't bad. I liked that about him.
"The population should be growing if you guys keep getting dogs unless dogs are dieing for some reason or other." Yet I smelt no blood or death around here. They were distinct things you couldn't miss. It really was as if they disappeared. "Yet, according to you, that isn't the case. Did you ever see these dogs leave?"
"Well I could be mistaken. You might just be reading into this." He said laughing a bit but it was a dry hollow thing. "And no...I never asw them leave. I was just told they had. Like all the others..."
"Biscuit." I turned to look at him and smiled. "I'm asking this favor. Please leave this place, with or without me. But you don't have to come with me. Something bad is happening here. And your life maybe in danger." I touched his arm. "So please. Don't stay here even if you don't come with me. I can understand if you don't want to come." I looked down. I couldn't ask or expect him to just follow me. If I asked he would though...but I wanted it to be his choice to come, not mine.
I felt a warm breath against my face before a tongue licked the top of my muzzle. His grip tightened a bit on my arms. "Where you go, I'll follow happily." I looked up at him and he smiled down at me. And I licked his chin.