-1Kilney ran… never looking back… never stopping once…

The rain stabbed Kilney’s eyes as his body grew tired, exhausted from running. His mind had already failed him, unable to accept the loss and the sight that he had seen. There was no way it could have been real… at least, to him. Why am I outside? Why can’t I go home?

Darkness was dominant in the cold, muddy alleyway where garbage cans waited patiently to be carried off in the morning by dutiful city workers. Their rims overflowed and some had tipped over from a windstorm earlier in the evening. A few black plastic bags were ripped from their clumsy masters’ handling, contents scattered across the ground. Smells of human life and the home filled Kilney’s nostrils as he walked past the garbage cans; smells of where he should have been. Leftovers from dinner, paper, chemicals…

Kilney lost track of time and his body wanted to give out on him, so when he found a cardboard box, laying on its side, wide open and empty, Kilney padded over to it to lay down within its flimsy soaked walls. At least it was shelter from the rain…

The box was soggy and uncomfortable, smelling like old newspaper, but Kilney curled himself up, despite the dampness. The pampered house pet was not used to this kind of sleeping arrangement, but what else was there to do?

Rain pounding on the roof of his tiny shelter, Kilney thought of nothing, and slowly he closed his eyes, wishing for the storm of his nightmare to be over.

--

Clouds began to break and rays of light shown down from the sun above, fighting to bring its light to the shadowed world below. The clouds had occupied the city for far too long; the sun wanted its turn to shine.

The battle between the darkness and light was a never ending struggle: one that could never be won by either side as long as time went on into infinity…

As warmth hit the cold, soaked rooftops of the houses and the wooden fences that marked the territorial boundaries between humans, steam rose steadily, undisturbed by wind or breeze. Water droplets collected on tree branches, slowly sliding down the sides from the force of gravity, then falling to the muddy ground or a puddle below. One such droplet fell onto a small cardboard box that sheltered a traumatized creature from the outside world that he did not wish to be a part of. He had no home, no family, and nowhere to go…

Sleep had been restless… dreams filled with demons and shadows unable to see his light…

A gentle splash nearby forced Kilney to raise his ears since it was a sound far too loud to be that of something as small a water droplet. Somebody is coming…!

Kilney, fearful that it was another dog coming to kill him, didn’t dare look out from his box and huddled as tightly as he could in the far back corner, as quiet and as still as a mouse in danger. He didn’t even bother to breathe as panic began to take him. No…! No…! No…! I’m tired of this nightmare!! Please wake up…!

He closed his eyes, unwillingly imagining how he would die before he could even open his eyes…

There was the sound of a crash of a trashcan falling over outside, forcing Kilney’s stressed emotions to try and hide himself even better, huddling with his paws over his eyes. It probably didn’t help much, but he wished to block out all light that came to his eyes. Little did he know that his sudden movement had caused the box to shake slightly, giving his position to whatever it was that had knocked down the trashcan outside.

There was an awkward silence, followed by the slow, careful footsteps of the being outside… coming closer.

Oh no! He’s coming for me…! Kilney tightened his body up even more.

A splash in the puddle just outside the entrance of his cardboard haven made Kilney stop breathing, though he was shaking uncontrollably out of fear.

This is it… it’s all over…!

“Hmph, so it’s just a runt…”

Kilney’s heart skipped a beat from the cold male voice of another dog, expecting a killing blow at any moment…

…But then none came.

Kilney uncovered one of his eyes as he heard the footsteps of the other dog head back off in the direction he had come. He relaxed, knowing he was still alive, but why? Why hadn’t he been killed?

Curiously getting up onto his paws, Kilney moved towards the opening of the box and looked out into a bright world where the sun had made its claim once more. The outside… it almost seemed welcoming.

Kilney squinted, trying to seek out the creature who had spoken to him and then allowed him to live. He tried to focus on the direction where he had heard the footsteps move off into and as his eyes adjusted, he made out the shadowy figure of a nearly completely black dog. Slowly, he made out the shape of a long-legged, lanky border collie with a shaggy coat. His right ear was erect while his left flopped over and he had no tail. There wasn’t even a stump.

As the stranger went back to digging through the trash, Kilney emerged from the box, watching the newcomer’s every movement, trying to determine if he was friend or foe.

“H-hello??” Kilney called out to the other dog, unsure if it was the correct way to go about addressing him, lacking social interaction with other dogs during his short life living with humans. “My name is Kilney. Can you help me?”

The border collie paused for a moment to look back at the small terrier, barbeque smudged on his muzzle. “First rule of talking to dogs you don’t know: don’t start with telling them your name.” He went back to feast on the leftover meal he had found without a care in the world to what the little dog was doing.

Kilney grumbled, frustrated that another dog could be so rude. “As dogs, shouldn’t we try and help others?? Isn’t it our duty to protect??” he called out at the larger dog. “I need your help! Or if not you, can you at least help me find someone who can? Please…”

The stranger didn’t even turn to look at him when he spoke this time. “I can smell the home life on you. I can tell you’re a pet, aren’t you? So why don’t you go and run along home now to your mama? Go on, scoot, before something tries and eats you.”

The thought crossed Kilney’s mind to turn and run home to at least check if what he had remembered was real, but his instinct told him to not return there alone. “That’s what I need help with…!”

The other dog turned quickly and shot a glare at Kilney, then paced up in front of him and looked down at the smaller dog with narrowed dark eyes. “I’m not here to help anyone, so unless you have a death wish, then don’t cross paths with me. Got it?”

While the stranger had a harsh tone in his voice, Kilney didn’t back down. He wanted, needed, help, and if he couldn’t get it, then he would die trying. “My family is dead! Some dogs came into my house… and killed everyone…! Everyone except me…! I need to avenge their deaths… since I failed to protect them…” Kilney looked down and away from the stranger’s eyes, waiting for the larger dog’s impatience to take over, but once again, death did not come.

The large border collie looked down at Kilney without expression. “You want to avenge your family’s death?” he said with skepticism. “You, a little… terrier crossbreed?”

“I have to! Even if it means I fail I have to at least die trying!” Kilney cried out. “It is my duty as a dog and as a protector! I can’t just let my family die and just… run away!”

“From the looks of it, you did run away, which is why you’re still alive, am I correct?”

Kilney backed away a little from his words, knowing all-too-well it was the truth. “To make up for my sins… I must…” he said softly, dropping his head and closing his eyes, a distinctive and obvious expression of his emotions.

The other dog watched him. “I can read you like a book. I can see your fear and your sadness. You show all of it so clearly… You won’t last a day out in the city if you come across other dogs. Your size… you’ll never make it through a fight, let alone avenge your family.”

“I don’t care…! I have to do something!” Kilney blurted out. “I don’t care what the cost! Just help me avenge them…!”

“You don’t even know who killed your family, do you?”

Kilney froze, trying to remember back to the night before. “There were three big dogs…! Two were… killed by a truck but one got away…” The idea of killing another suddenly sent a shock through Kilney’s system. It was an action he had never thought much about before, or why it happens or what it means. He shook his head, wanting to stay focused on his goal. “I need to kill the one responsible for all this…”

The border collie raised a brow and sat back on his haunches, tentative.

“The purpose of a dog’s life is to do what they can for their human masters… my human masters are gone, so this is all I can do for them now…” Kilney repeated.

“Are you sure your whole family is dead?”

“Yes… the three dogs who killed them broke into my house and slaughtered them in their sleep…” It pained Kilney to recall what had happened, but he felt it was necessary to earn this stranger’s trust.

Suspicious… why would they break into his house? This doesn’t seem like a random act of violence… there was purpose behind this.

“So what do I do??” Kilney whined as he looked up, reality settling in that there was no way he could do this alone. “There’s no way I could take down that murderer on my own…”

This war has just crossed the line. “I cannot say for certain, but it is likely that the dogs who killed your family were members of the Claw.”

“The… the Claw?” Kilney tilted his head, never hearing of the group before.

He’s just a house pet, so he wouldn’t know anything about it, but I need to be careful… “The Claw are a gang of dogs who hate humans and all human activity. If your family had done something against them-”

“My Family would never harm another creature! Don’t even think about it! They were killed in cold blood!” Emotions flowed from Kilney’s words as he anguished over his loss. “I can’t believe you would even consider that-”

“Fine, Kilney. Don’t lose your head over it. You know your family better than I do, so I’ll take your word for it.” he sighed, then continued on, “Despite the Claw’s hatred for humans, I have not heard of any cases of them killing humans before…” The large border collie pointed his head away to look around, leaving his throat open for an attack, testing Kilney’s honesty and whether or not this was some sort of trap. When Kilney did nothing, he looked back at the small terrier who moped in his confused and disrupted mind. “We are near the boundary of Claw and Fang territory. Perhaps this was a declaration of war between the gangs and nothing more…”

“Declaration of war? The Fang?”

“The Fang is the rival gang of the Claw. They are made up of strays who still maintain their loyalty to humans and swear by the code of the dogs to protect them and love them. They have warred with the Claw in the past, but they are supposed to be under a cease fire for the time being…” the dog flicked his ear to fend off a fly who was irritating him.

“Then I need to go and join the Fang. If there’s a war, I can fight for them and kill members of the Claw…”

The border collie did and said nothing to stop Kilney from speaking, finding it interesting that a little house pet would even consider putting himself in that situation.

“I don’t know who you are, but you seem to be understanding enough about this. I bet you’re a member of the Fang. Tell me how I can join them!”

“In this world, don’t make any assumptions. It just might kill you,” spoke the other dog. “I am neither a member of the Fang or the Claw.”

“Huh? But how can you not be on the side of the Fang? They live to help humans! They live by the code of the dog!” Kilney was confused.

Calmly, the dog spoke. “I do not choose sides because absolutes do not exist.”

Kilney tipped his head, unsure of what the dog meant by what he had said. “…Absolutes?”

The dog stood up and walked a few paces away. “Light and dark. Right and wrong. Good and evil.”

“All of those exist!” Kilney puzzled over it. “I don’t know anything about you, but of course there’s light and dark, just look at the sun! And look at the shadows they cast. They’re dark. Right and wrong are real, too. The Fang are right because they follow the way that dogs are supposed to think. The Claw are evil because they killed the very humans we are supposed to protect!”

The dog smiled inside to himself, seeing how naïve this little terrier really was. “If that is what you believe… then so be it. Your thoughts are yours alone. I have no business telling you want to think. Like I said, right and wrong don’t exist, so there is no reason that my words are any more important than yours.”

Kilney ran up beside him, trying to look him in the eye but the larger dog would have none of it. “I’m not going back on what I said about avenging my family and killing those behind my family’s deaths! Don’t try and talk me out of it. It’s all I have left to do.”

“I’m not telling you that revenge is wrong and that it’s a goal that should be given up,” said the dog as he continued to walk down the alley, “All I did was express my reason for not joining either side.”

Kilney continued to walk with him, keeping his tail held high and watching this strange dog’s movements. “So now where are you headed?”

The dog looked Kilney in the eye with proud yet subdued eyes. “I am leading you to the hideout of the Fang. I have good contact with their leader, so I’m sure I could get you in.”

Kilney’s ears perked up at the news, grateful this stranger was willing to help him achieve his goal. “Thank you!” he wagged his tail in childish delight.

“Don’t thank me. I have nothing better to do,” and you will need to learn everything the hard way. “My name is Bonner J.”

“Bonner J?” Kilney said to double-check that he had it right. “Right, Bonner J! Thank you for helping me. I promise not to bother you again after I’m a member of the Fang.”

Bonner J looked around as they walked down the quiet alley as the sounds of the city beyond reached his ears. “Don’t thank me until we reach our destination safely, Kilney. The world beyond the home is not as safe as what you’re used to.” He is still just a puppy, Bonner thought to himself. And little dogs never last long out here…

--

The stench of sewage filled the unlit air in a damp underground tunnel. Beneath the bustling city of the daylight world, rats scrambled for their next meal, hoping to catch a slice of bread that floated down a scummy stream restricted by concrete banks. One rat leapt into the water, effortlessly swimming towards its goal, but once it had come within reach, it was picked up by the large and powerful jaws of a rottweiler. The rat screeched in dismay and struggled to break free, then with a quick crunch of bone, everything was silence except for the trickling of the stream.

The rottweiler continued to chew on his prize, savoring the feel of breaking a helpless body with his jaws. He was far from hungry, however, stealing an unattended sandwich from a child no more than an hour earlier.

Once he was done with the rat’s body, he spat out the broken, malformed shape onto the concrete, eyes bulged out and form nearly unrecognizable. He continued to walk down the tunnel in the dark. Deep down, he hated this place, but it was necessary…

“Rubens…” a calm and casual voice echoed off the walls as the rottweiler entered a larger area that was still as black as night. “Where are your companions?”

The rottweiler, unsure of the direction of the voice from the echoes, stood alone in the middle of the chamber. “They were… unable to return, Icniuhtli. They‘re dead…” he answered.

“I see…” said the voice. “Was the task completed?”

“Yes… but one got away-”

“One got away? Which one, Rubens?” Icniuhtli cut him off.

“…Th-the terrier. He outran us and lead the other two right into a truck…! Please don’t kill me!! Or the others!! I even burned down the house afterward so the bodies are gone!!” Rubens pleaded.

“Oh, don’t worry about me killing any of you. You are all still so… useful. But well, well… it would seem that I can’t get everything done without getting my own claws dirty,” Icniuhtli made a loud yawn. “Besides, I haven’t had much fun in a good long while…”

Rubens looked to his left when he saw a red light in the corner of his eye, but to his horror, it was not any normal light, but an open red eye, looking right through him. The rottweiler could not see any shape beyond the eye and feared he was looking into the open eye of a blood-thirsty demon.

“Don’t worry, Rubens. I have other minions… so why don’t you and your friends take a little break until I get back? Hmm? Let my more specialized underlings do something for once. Jeez, I can’t just keep letting you have all the fun, now can I?”