II

    The sky was still orange red. I recalled the time when I was a pup, and my mother had carried me to a park on her back. The weather was nice, and I could smell the scent of trees and greenery. The sky had reduced itself to a nice shade of peachy blue, and the clouds were light gray.

    While my mother, Yasmin, carried me, she told me about how the sky looked when she was a pup.

    “It was amazing! They sky was blue-er than the uniblue dot,” She gestured to a screen with the uniblue logo on it. “And the clouds were pure white. More pure than anything you have ever seen. And when it rained, the clouds turned gray and the sky growled. Lightning pounced on the earth, and you had to hope it wouldn’t catch you.”

     I curled up on her back and whimpered. “No, it may seem frightening, but the air smelled fresh and wonderful. Cool water would fall from the sky, and me and my siblings would jump and play in it, catching drops on our tongue and drinking till our bellies were full.

    “After the storm would pass, and the clouds were gone, a colorful ribbon would appear in the sky. And the sunrise, it was beautiful. The sun would  chase the night away. The sky would turn purple, and blue again as the sun rose.

    “And the sunset; it was my favorite. Since the sky wasn’t red, it would turn purple, pink and red. It would make clouds look orange, and made the city red. At night, the city would light up in wonderful colors, but the stars looked even more magnificent to me. We could barely see them, but on rare occasions when the city light would die, we could see many stars.”

   I loved to hear her speak of the weather when she was a pup. I could only imagine how lovely it must have been, not to live under a red sky and let dark ashes fall on your pelt.

   “But it may never come back.” Yasmin sighed. Hearing this made my heart fall.

   “The humans are selfish. They do not care about the home they live in; they only want their power and money, and their electronics.”

⭑⭑⭑

        I still remembered that clear day while I walked. I had almost everything taken from my life, and now I was part of the people. Literally. I wished the scientist had never found me. I wished I was dead; it would have been much easier  than having to be in my condition. My left side walked with speed and agility, and it’s mechanical hum was rather quiet. But it was a burden, both mentally and physically. I wanted to turn back and bite that man’s leg off, but I needed to keep moving. I would be just as bad as the uniblue scientists if I did so.

        After about twenty minutes, I saw the ocean. It was dark and murky, and trash was floating all over the top. A large dock about the size of a tennis court was by the shore, and hundreds of people were standing on it. A boat twice as long as the dock was slowly pulling towards the dock, and it let out a loud honk! I scratched my ear again.A board the people could walk across on extended towards them, and a professionally dressed woman crossed it. “Everyone, I will now be punching your tickets. If you don’t have one, They are for twenty dollars at the ticket booth. The time is eight ‘o'clock, and we will return by about ten. This will be the last ferry to go to Liberty Island today, but we will be going out at eight am tomorrow. Please line up!”

        The people did as she told them to, some people donning jackets as they waited. I jogged to the dock and weaved my self between people.

        I noticed the creak of the wooden planks and the crash of the dirty waves below. If my left side got wet, I didn’t know what would happen. There were chinks in the armor, and I could see (When I was visible) gears turning and wires snaking around in them.

        One time I saw a scientist accidentally drop her phone in my water bowl, and it had sparked with electricity and turned black. The scientist was mad, and she couldn’t get it to work after. If that happened to me, what would happen? And even if I was okay, would the dirty water hurt my metal side?

        t think about it too much. I had to walk along with the people or they would run into me. I approached the bridge that connected the dock and the boat. Rails were at the side of the bridge, and blinking lights were on the ridges of the bridge. I walked across and stepped on deck fast the black and yellow line. The floor of the boat was damp, and cold. I walked over to the corner of the boat, suddenly feeling exhausted. The invisibility has made you tired. Electronic side can not charge when invisible.

        I barely understood what the voice was talking about, but I walked over to some large boxes. They were probably just decoration, but I was glad for them. It was a tight fit, but I sat down in a box whose opening faced the sea. It was becoming painful, but I held on till most of the passengers boarded and the ship honked again. We slowly lurched forward, and I let myself become visible.

        By the time I could see myself, I had collapsed in exhaustion. I was panting hard, and until then I hadn’t really seen my tongue. Half of it was just another normal slobbery tongue, but the other half had smooth metal, and lots of sliding plates that made it flexible. It was weird, but I didn’t mind.

        I was hungry, thirsty, hot and tired. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a drink, and the hotdogs I had before only held me out for a little. Out of desperation, I started to lick the floor. I could hear a rat scuffling around, but it wasn’t close enough for me to hunt  it without being seen. Since I couldn’t take care of two of my problems, I decided to tackle another. I turned in a circle on some old damp newspapers, and curled up in a ball on them. The sound of people, waves, and music was loud, but I fell asleep almost as soon as I close my heavy eyes.

⭑⭑⭑

        I was walking down a dark alleyway, littered with bones and barbed wire. I could feel the barbed wire growing and trying to grab my pelt. I could feel blood running down my right side, and my left side ripping open, exposing gears. I panicked, and ran. Blood was running into my eyes, and making py paws slip. The metal groaned and sparks flew. I kept running, but I was now limping even on my left side. Fear devoured all my other feelings, and I just wanted to lie down and let the barbed wire take me. Only adrenaline kept me going.

        I heard a crunch under my feet. I looked down, and realized I had stepped on a dog skull. I stepped out of it frantically, but I stepped other bones; a rib cage. I ran forward, only the red sky to light my way. I was now running on bones. bones of prey animals, dogs, cats, humans, and lots of others I didn’t recognize. The barbed wire wrapped around my paws and brought me down. The bones made a crackle, and I was face-to-face with a huge dog skull. But half of it was old metal, with a cracked electric blue eye. A white paw stepped on the skull, and I looked up. A large black dog with acidic green eyes looked down at me.

        “You can not run, little dog. you can not hide, even with your powers. I will always find you; always catch you. You can never leave; your bones will become my carpet!”

        And with that, hundreds of rats with glowing red eyes came out from the shadows, followed by cats and dogs also with red eyes. They krept to me, and bit into my fur. They pulled gears and wires; not minding the sparks that flew into their face. I stared into the face of the dog with green eyes, till rats covered my face. Darkness mingled with the pain of my fur being eaten.

        I awoke to the sound of the boat’s honk. My head shot up, and I was breathing hard. The newspaper under me was ripped apart, and a box near me had fallen over. I must have done that in my sleep. My throatwas dry, and my stomach rumbled painfully. Luckily, my metal was still intact. 50% charged the voice said in my mind. The boat was approaching the dock to an island with some trees. In the distance a little, I could see a huge green lady holding a torch and a book.

        I really didn’t want to, but I scratched my ear and turned invisible. The falling-through-hot-tar feeling rippled across my body, and I was invisible. I walked out from behind the boxes, and walked along with the people. A screen at the front of the boat came on, showing a man in a captain’s suit. “This is your captain speaking, we will be loading in about twenty minutes. and have a fun and safe visit at liberty island.”

        The screen turned off, and the bridge grew out to the dock. The people walked across, and I followed.

        As soon as I was out of the crowd, I jogged off into the trees. I might be able to find something to hunt. And sure enough, I could smell the scent of squirrel.

        I had only seen squirrel once before; most of them had died or moved somewhere better than the city.

        Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a branch rustle about twenty feet ahead. I had never learned how to hunt, but I had to try. I lended most of my body to my left side, and I quietly walked to the moving branch.

        I could now see the squirrel. It was eating a nut and twitching it’s fluffy gray tail. It didn’t seem to notice me, because it kept eating away and chirping now and then.

        I carefully crept up from behind it, staying in the shadows. When I was about ten feet away from it, I curled my haunches and stared at it quietly. Then, as quick as lightning, I jumped up onto the branch and grabbed the creature in my jaws before it could notice what was happening. I hugged the branch, swinging and hanging on to the jumping limb. The squirrel writhed in my mouth, but I had caught it!

        Before I could admire what I had just done, the branch snapped, and splinters shot up. I fell with the branch about twelve feet till I hit the ground on my ribs, and I heard a terrible crack. Still down, I crushed the squirrel in my jaws before it could get away, and felt it’s warm blood trickle down my tongue and throat. It tasted so delicious, but I almost forgot about it. As I got up slowly, my ribs ached with great pain. I yowled out in torment, dropping my squirrel into the mess of fallen branch. I felt my eyes getting watery, but I blinked back tears.

        I winced as I untangled my body from the branch, and looked up. The branch was now hanging by a few splinters of wood. I yowled as I limped away, and realized I was no longer invisible. When I sat down a few yards away from where I had fallen and observed my right rib cage. My ribs were humming with pain, in a continuous cycle of agony, not stopping to throb. My left side seemed to know what I needed, and I could see black and white-blue images out of my left eye. X-ray vision, perhaps? I looked down at my paws, and saw every bone and the metal pads. It was cool, but I hardly cared.

        I lifted my right paw, ignoring the pain, and observed my chest. I could see a lung moving, and lots of other organs, but what really struck me was my ribs.

        Two of them were shattered, bones broken everywhere. One other was broken in half, and three were fractured. It made me nauseous to look at, so I willed the X-ray vision to stop. My left eye returned to normal. (Well, I guess it wouldn’t be normal for you to have slightly blue tinted vision and little lines fashioned in a circle, but I couldn’t remember having it any different.)

        I hobbled over to the fallen branch to retrieve my prey, and grabbed the bushy gray animal. As I limped to where I had sat before, the pain in my ribs subsided. I flopped down and took a large bite of meat, and I wolfed down the rest before breathing. I wanted more, but all that was left was bones. I gnawed at them, savoring their flavor. The meat had been stringy, and not as good as the hot dogs, but it was food.

        A bush about ten yards behind me rustled, and I turned my head around fast. All I saw was a flash of blonde dart behind a tree. I got up, ignoring the pain in my ribs, and walked slowly to the tree.

        “Hello?” I called, half of my voice mechanic. I didn’t like it at all, but I needed to speak.

        “Whoever you are, come out. I won’t hurt you.” It wasn’t very convincing, with the metallic voice sounding like a meat grinder, but a young blonde she-dog with scared evergreen eyes and long floppy ears. She was pretty, in a way, but fear covered most of her beauty and her left ear was shredded, dried blood hanging on her fur. She stared at me in horror. “W-will you eat me?” She whimpered.

        “No. I just ate.”

        “A dog?!” She yowled, and backed away.

        “No! A squirrel!” I barked, trying to sound kind.

        Her gaze softened a little, and she looked at her paws. “Oh.”

        “Were you watching me?”

        She didn’t meet my eyes. “Yes.” She said weakly. “He said you would come.”

        I perked up. “Who?”

        She sat down, and I could see her face twist in several emotions, including terror, rage, sadness, defeat, and anger. “Doom.” She said the word like it was poison.

        A vague image flicked in the back of my mind. My mother arguing with a big black dog with green eyes.

        I shifted my weight on my paws, and cringed at the pain in my ribs. “Who is Doom?” I asked warily. I knew it would make her upset, but I needed to know.

        She looked up at me, and I saw tears and pain in her eyes. “He is the leader of the rouge pack. He is a cruel and selfish jerk that doesn’t deserve what fate can give him. He deserves worse.” She sniffed in sadness. “He took my family, and killed my brother. His beta, Stone, killed my mom and gave me this.” She held out her shredded ear for me to see.

        I wanted to sit down and cry with her, to share what had happened to my mother and other siblings that hadn’t made it. But my invisibility wasn’t working, and in the distance I could hear helicopter blades.

        “I know you may not trust me, but I can tell you one thing. Doom is terrible, and his whole pack is. But there are people trying to find me. I can help you, but you need to trust me.”

        I waited for her to respond. She opened her mouth like she wanted to speak, but hesitated. “I will go with you.” she said flatly. I could tell she wanted to say more, but she didn’t know how.

        We walked fast through the trees, and I could hear the chop of helicopter blades growing nearer. We talked as we walked/ran. “I didn’t catch your name,” I said.

        “I’m Lucky.” She answered. “And you must be Crisis. Doom said the uniblue company was working on a half machine, half dog war weapon. Is it really you?”

        She looked up at me. Her green eyes were still pained, but she looked more curious now.

        “That’s me,” I said grudgingly.

        “I only overheard this from my guards, but they said that you were being created to serve in the military. Mostly working in China, and North Korea. Those are pretty dangerous countries, even to huge rollers.”

        I had overheard the scientists talking about it too, but I hadn’t understood everything. The war was another reason I had escaped; I didn’t want to be part of the world as it was, let alone fighting for the people who had tortured me.

        “Yeah. I was supposed to be training in a month, but after they put on these pads,” I held up my paw for her to observe. “I bit the scientist putting me away and jumped out a window.”

        “They must have been mad.” Lucky said.

        I let out a breath of amusement. “They were. They started looking for me ten minutes after I left.”

        “Then we should find somewhere to hide quickly!” Lucky barked.

        We found a hole in the ground with the diameter of about eight feet. It came down diagonally, and at the deepest part ended in a point. The ground around it looked like a tap dancer with cleated shoes did the tango with a rake that was on fire. I guessed it had been a bomb that didn’t blow up. By the time we crawled into it, the sun was down and the red sky was turning dark purple. Lucky was so hungry, she began eating worms, flies, and any other bug she could find. She had just snapped up a rolly-polly when I said “You sure do like those…”

        She licked her lips and looked up at me. “Well, fresh mice are my favorite. But flies are always a good snack.”

        Most of the fear had melted from her eyes and all that was left was sadness. I wanted to make her happy, but I didn’t know how.

        “Lucky, would you mind telling me about your family and what happened to them?” She lowered her head, and her expression turned into blank misery. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t want to make you more upset, but I might be able to help you.”

        She was quiet for a while, just staring at a little gray spider crawling in front of her paws.

        “My mother, Lydia, was searching for food while my father stayed at the alleyway with us, showing us how to catch flies. I wasn’t sure what happened, but Stone, a big grey dog and some other dogs and cats came with mom dead in his jaws. He told us to come with him if we didn’t want to end up like her. Dad and my older sister Lila fought him off, but lots of dogs pinned him and my sister down.” She took a shaky breath. “They knocked them and my brother Jacobe out, and pulled me by my ear to their lair. When I pulled my ear off and tried to get away, They knocked me out.

        “I remember waking up trapped in barbed wire that seemed to move, and with Doom right above me. He asked me some questions, like if I knew anything about you or-”

        “Wait, me?” I cut her off.

        She nodded. “Or if I knew anything about the war, or what the Uniblue people were making. I didn’t know much, but he didn’t believe me.” Her voice wavered, like she might cry. Her eyes were so intent, I could almost see the black dog with the white paw growling down at her.

        “He said…” She sniffed. “He would kill Jacobe…”

        She was crying now. She tried to keep quiet, but I could tell it was really hard.

        “I understand.” I said softly, laying down next to her so I wouldn’t look so scary. “You don’t have to tell me anymore.”

        She sobbed out, a howled softly. She kept crying, and I gently stroked her pelt like my mother would with my white paw.

        After about ten minutes, her sobbing resided to sniffling. “You look so much like him.” She said.

        “Doom?” I asked.

        She snapped her head up, and bared her teeth. “Don’t say his name!” She growled. Tears streaked down her cheeks, and rage boiled in her eyes.

        “I hate him!” She put her head between her paws, and her floppy ears covered most of her face.

        I remembered the black dog I had seen in my dream. He looked older than me, but still almost the same.

        “You can not run, little dog. you can not hide, even with your powers. I will always find you; always catch you. You can never leave; your bones will become my carpet!” the dog had said. Was he doom? And if the barbed wire that had cut through my metal had once trapped Lucky, how had she escaped?

        I made a mental note to ask her later, even though I didn’t want to keep making her feel like this.

        “I’m sorry, Lucky. In the morning, we can hunt down some mice and we’ll figure it out. And even though I may look like him, I promise you; I am far from that monster.”

        And with that, I curled up in a ball and tried to fall asleep.