Devotion - Chapter 2
#2 of Devotion
The walk home was largely uneventful. As I, my day already started, pulled a small bottle of bleach from my pocket, the city around me slept. Backtracking, following the bloody trail he'd left for me, I poured the pungent liquid on any standing pools of blood, and mixed it gently in with the toe of my shoe to mottle the DNA trail. Occasionally I'd kneel to scrub with my already ruined handkerchief. Hardly foolproof, as were my skimpy gloves, and definitely suspicious, but murder was becoming more and more commonplace as the days grew darker. As long as things were not too incredibly obvious, I'd be left in peace.
I was afraid walking by myself. I hated that city, and a good majority of the people living in it, and not for the last time I found myself longing for Chiot's company. He'd keep me safe, just as I'd do for him.
But the ruined buildings, lost dreams of a heartbreakingly decimated civilization, gave way to...clearer skies soon enough. Skies didn't get all that clear anymore, but the countryside had yet to be completely ruined, and the sun would still shine through the haze on a better day. That day had been one of our best in a while. Day was breaking majestically. Upon reaching the edge of the city, where it opened out into what was likely picturesque scenery at some point in the recent past, I looked for the monster-dog. No doubt he'd seen me by this point, and was staring at me from his hiding place. It was a game he liked to play. A game that terrified me on a regular basis. I didn't like not being able to see him.
"Chiot!" I growled in a terse whisper, trying not to draw the attention of any vagabonds that may be lurking about in case he wasn't nearby. Some rustling in a nearby patch of greenery drew my attention, and kicked my heartrate into dangerously high gear.
I wouldn't go so far as to say my fears were unecessary, because Chiot did eventually come trundling out of the underbrush, but at least this fear was a known one. My shoulders slacked with relief, and I knelt down to meet his approach. The way his swollen, distended belly wobbled underneath him as he crept along, giving him a childish, awkward toddle to each step, was incredibly cute, despite the grisly, digesting load I knew it contained.
"There's my big baby boy," I crooned near his ears, hugging his head against my chest, and stroking a hand down his back. He nearly bowled me over in doggish reciprocation of the affectionate embrace.
"Iz noootta bay-beee..." he argued with little conviction, largely done to save face; given his lack of general knowledge, it often surprised me how he'd react to treatment that'd apparently been utilized before. Heaven only knows what his last master did to him.
"Awwr, buddy, you're MY baby," I teased him, shaking his head from side to side in my arms, and making him growl. "You ready to go home now?"
He hesitated, which caught me off guard for a moment, but then I remembered my earlier promise that he'd be punished when we got back home. That made sense. I wouldn't have wanted to go either. I hugged his head a little tighter in an attempt to assuage these fears.
"You'll be okay. You know why you're in trouble, and you know why you're going to be punished; you also know better than to think I would hurt you beyond what is neccessary. You need to learn to listen, Chiot. We're not going to do this forever," I scolded him as gently as I could, leaving the burden of responsibility entirely on his shoulders, just as my previous medical training had taught. Until HE changed, he'd continue to be punished, and disciplined for his transgressions.
He seemed to accept this, and I smiled happily at his willingness to appease.
"'s gooood..." he growled at me, nodding his head and pulling himself out of my arms. I nodded in return, and started off down the road. While we walked, I slipped my fingers underneath his collar and held him tight, prompting him to move a bit closer to me and ensuring he wouldn't stray very far. An unfortunate accident with an early morning jogger had necessitated this little habit.
A long walk lay ahead of us, but the sun was beginning to shine, and it warmed the rheumatic chill in my old bones. I studied the bleak landscape as we ambled along the dirt road, silently contemplating everything that'd gone wrong with the world, what would be left of it by the time MY life was at an end, and the genetic monstrosity of a dog that lumbered at my side. Who would have thought he'd grow on me so.
It was only when we were halfway home that my ehxausted body gave out. I lurched for a moment before the edges of my vision blurred, my extremities lost all feeling, and I began to experience an alarming, distant vertigo, as if I were watching the events taking place through a funhouse mirror from several yards away. I collapsed in a heap on top of my dog's back, panting and barely conscious. The impact of my knees on the makeshift road was dull, and unimportant, as was the muffled thud of my entire body crashing to the ground. What little bit of consciousness I retained left me after a moment's helplessness. Be it from fatigue, or dehydration, I'd passed out.
The hazy sun warming the outside of my eyelids is what roused me after a time. I was vaguely aware of motion, and something warm pressed against my side, the back of my head, and wrapped behind my knees. When I looked up, blinking blearily through oddly bright daylight, I was amazed to see the underside of Chiot's chin. Things came quickly together. He was carrying me home, cradled in his big, strong arms. I brimmed with pride, and an overwhelming sensation of warmth and love for my puppy.
I dozed in and out of sleep throughout the duration of my trip home, still feeling far off and dizzy, but not to the point of nausea as before. As consciousness began to return a bit more insistently, I took note of the smooth ride I was receiving, and could only imagine what kind of care Chiot was taking to ensure I didn't receive the full amount of jostling the trek would normally induce.
"You really do amaze me sometimes, big boy..." I muttered, my voice weak and drowsy. He only just then noted my awakening, looking down at me with widened eyes and one perked ear. Slowly his lips pulled back into a tense smile, as if unsure of whether or not he should be doing what he's doing.
"You're fine, Chiot. That was a very nice thing you did, and master is VERY proud of you," I assured, which was more than enough to alleviate any of his feral nerves.
"'s gooood," he agreed contently, being quiet, hesitating in his steps for a moment before hopping nimbly up on a boulder atop the hill overlooking my humble abode. I felt him heave with a heavy sigh before we began our descent.
It was awkward going. This side of the hill was littered with broken rocks, and shrubbery rendered sharp and dead from the pollution all around. Flora was starting to acclimate to the nastiness in the air, but smaller, more fragile species had a long road ahead of them. Though with any luck, civilization would continue its rapid decline, and the world would once more know the peace it so enjoyed before the rise of greedy men. We'd destroyed ourselves, and it was only by some mean-spirited miracle that Chiot and I had survived.
"Be careful, Chiot," I warned as the dog stumbled, causing me to squeeze my weak arms tight around him. He managed to regain his footing, though, and soon enough we were at the bottom of the perilous ridge.
"Good boy. Very, very good boy. Now put me down, I can make it the rest of the way." Gingerly, he brought my legs down and situated my feet squarely on the grass to straighten me up. He even gave me a hug around the shoulders, which nearly melted my heart. I reciprocated with a good scratch inside his ear before moving up the beaten dirt path leading to my door. Chiot lingered behind me.
"There's no sense in that, Chiot," I admonished. "Come inside, and we'll get it over with as quickly as possible. I promise." As usual, this worked perfectly, and the hulking beast with a massively swollen belly came trundling up behind me.
"Do you trust me, puppy?" I asked him, turning around with one hand on the doorknob and reaching up to take his chin with the other. "I'm going to punish you. I'm going to hurt you, humiliate you, make you cry...do you believe that I do so for your own good? ...that everything I do is simply because I want you to be a good dog?"
He considered this for a long time, obviously as deep in thought as he could still go, before nodding obediently.
"Yuuuh, does..." he growled thoughtfully, incapable of lying or deceit. He trusted in me with all of his heart.
"Good boy," I praised, shaking his muzzle fondly, before opening the door, and ushering him into the foyer.
He had a long night ahead of him.