The Black Dog

The whole horizon was covered with a dark cloud and the wind whispered through the trees. The whole town was in an uproar. The clouds threatened rain. All of this provided the perfect setting for the unknown events that were about to unfold.

I knelt in the shadows of an alley, staring at the cause of everyone's terror….Terror that I had brought to them. Through the cage, its yellow eyes, the size of saucers, glared straight at me, as though it could see my soul and all of my deepest secrets. Its black fur swayed with the wind. The cage was hardly big enough, for this animal stood the size of a large horse. I had brought a curse upon myself and my whole town. To have seen this creature means death. As the legends say, if you see this creature, you will die within a 12 month period. You may also lose someone close to you. It goes by many names, but here, we call it “The Black Dog.”

Last night, I had gone out to feed and water my chickens. The night was eerily quiet and a chill ran down my spine as I stepped into the darkness. Ignoring my instincts, I made my way to the shed to get the feed. I turned on the water, connected to the hose that led to the chicken pen. Opening the shed, I stepped inside and felt along the walls for the light switch. When I found it, I turned it on and walked over to the barrel containing the chicken feed. The silence became too much for me to bear so I started humming to myself, quietly. Getting a small bucket of feed, I stepped out of the shed and walked over to the chickens. Even they were quiet. Frowning, I threw the feed out to them and turned away, going back into the shed.

After locking up the shed and turning the water off, I quietly started walking back toward my house. A loud noise in the trees made me stop and freeze instantly. Hesitantly, I turned my head toward the sound of the noise…And saw nothing. Shrugging it off, I started walking again when the sound came once more…But closer this time. “Maybe it’s just a bird or something…” I thought to myself. “It could be a possum or a fox or some other small animal…Nothing to be afraid of.” Convincing myself that it was nothing more than one of these things, I started moving but at a much quicker pace.

I almost made it to my porch when a heart-wrenching howl sounded through the trees, followed by the same noise I’d been hearing. Our small town is surrounded by woods…To hear a wolf is really no surprise for us. But to hear it this close…

I looked toward the trees where I kept hearing the sounds. Deciding to figure out what was causing them; I ignored my fear and walked into the woods. Finding a small path, I followed it, trying to ignore the little voice in the back of my mind that screamed for me to stop and turn around. The noise came from beside me, causing me to jump and I swear my heart stopped beating for a second. Swallowing my fear, I turned toward the noise and quietly sauntered toward it.

I reached out and moved a few bushes to the side and almost screamed before I realized what it was. The startled black cat hissed and disappeared in the bushes. “Stupid cat….” I mumbled.

I was walking out of the woods when a movement in the shadows caused me to stop. Narrowing my eyes, I tried to see what it was. The shadow moved again and my gut twisted in fear. I started to run. I had never been a fan of the dark, really. I could hear something pursuing me and it only made me run faster.

Suddenly, my foot got caught on a vine and I tumbled forward and landed on a bed of thorns. Hissing in pain and biting back a few profanities, I gradually pulled myself into a sitting position and looked up at what was chasing me.  I opened my mouth to scream but I couldn’t even manage a sound.

Never have I seen something so monstrous…Standing a few feet away, it towered over me. Its size was too great to be a wolf…I faintly remembered tales of it being spoken in my town and remembered my grandfather telling me about it when I was a small child.

It stared at me with large, yellow, glowing eyes. I was frozen from fear. My instincts screamed for me to run, but my muscles wouldn’t move. It took a step forward and the leaves and vines crackled under its large paw. Its lips pulled back in a vicious snarl, revealing its large, sharp canines. This snapped me out of my trance. I crawled backwards, away from it and stumbled to my feet frantically. It moved toward me and I turned and started running faster than I had ever run before. I could hear it running behind me.

I tore through vines, jumped over large rocks and dead trees on the ground. Thorns grabbed and tore at my clothing and arms as I darted out of the woods.

Seeing a few lights, I sprinted faster and finally exited the woods. I recognized a small store that stood a few blocks away from my house. A light shined over the empty parking lot. Gasping, I turned around to see if it was still behind me. It stepped through the trees. Without any second thoughts, I started sprinting toward my house. I could hear its paws hitting the pavement behind me.

Needless to say, I obviously got away. Well…I got away from the wrath of its teeth, that is.  I had gathered a few neighbors and together, we managed to get it into a large cage. It wasn’t easy. A few of them had gotten large scratches from the claws and a few had come close to getting bitten. We were lucky. I was lucky. After we got it into the cage, my neighbors called animal control and took me home. Though they tried to stay calm, you could see the fear in their eyes and hear it in their voices. I was unable to sleep all through the night. Not knowing what to do, the animal control people had placed it in the middle of the town for us to decide. And here we are, now….I chose to stay hidden from everyone because even though they didn’t say it, it’s obvious that they blamed me for this curse. 

Now, they’ve all seen it…They all believed they would die. However…It was me the animal had set out for; me that the curse was meant for.

I was jerked back to the present from the sound of crashing metal. I focused on the cage and the animal was struggling. The metal bars were bending with its desperate struggles. The people all frantically backed further away from it. The animal used its massive paw and slammed it against the bars. They immediately broke away and fell with an earsplitting clatter and its eyes locked onto my figure, hiding in the shadows. I stood to my feet tensely and stared at it with wide eyes. The other people were all in panic at this point, but they had no need to be. It’s me that this animal wants.

Rain started to pour heavily and lightning flashed in the distance. A loud crash of thunder shook the earth. With one last brutal swipe, the last bar gave way and the black dog stepped out of its enclosure and lunged toward me with a deafening growl.