"They say love is blind but it knows right where to hit you." — Unknown

The Scrabble box dropped from her hand, little wooden pieces scattering everywhere. I turned to look at her face, it was white with terror. Her eyes bugged out as she stared at me, her lip trembling as she backed away.

Shit. Now she was terrified of me! My eyes pleaded with hers as I followed her steps across the room.Come on Winter! I'm not the one to be scared of! Did you even read it?

She inched backwards until she hit the dresser. "No, no, no!" she said in a breathless voice, putting her hands up. "Don't come any closer."

I felt like kicking myself. What an idiot I was! I should have seen this coming. No one in their right mind was going to watch their family pet spell out something in front of them and not freak out.

"Who—what are you?" She spoke in a small voice, barely above a whisper.

For a second I considered spelling that out too, but the explanation was sure to send her through the roof. On top of that, there probably weren't enough letters in the game of Scrabble to tell that tale. Right then, I was sure she thought I was demon possessed, like something out of Stephen King's Pet Cemetery, calculating the right moment to pounce and rip open her jugular. 

Instead, I set to work on the letters again, lining them up carefully, pushing them straight with my snout. She stood frozen—barely breathing.

IM HERE TO SAVE YOU

I stepped back, looking from her to the letters lined up on the floor.

"How–how are you doing this?" She shook her head, blinking her eyes. "This isn't real."

She stumbled backwards over to her bed and sat down, her eyes glued to me the whole way. I stepped towards her, my tail wagging, tongue out; trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible. Slowly, I sat and pressed my paw firmly on her knee as I stared into her eyes—willing her to understand. She cringed at first, pulling away. When I didn't move, she met my gaze again, her brow furrowed. We stared at each other for a long time until her breathing evened.

"You're here to save me from who? Sheldon?" The last word was no more than a whisper.

I nodded my head, still holding her eyes with mine.

Her eyes flooded, her chin lifting slightly. "Sheldon's not going to hurt me." She shook her head, biting her lip. "It was Jose who killed Barnabas, Pickle. He nearly killed Sheldon last night. He set the refuge on fire—. "

As if suddenly realizing she was reasoning with a dog, she brought her hand to her forehead and groaned. "Oh my god! I'm going crazy! This is not real!"

Time was running out. I needed to deliver the message while I had her alone. Once again I trotted around the room, gathering up all the right letters in my mouth. I dropped them into a somewhat slimy pile and started to arrange them in front of her.

JOSE IS

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. My ears shot forward, listening intently.

He was coming.

With a rush of adrenaline, I rounded the room, scattering the words I'd made with my paws. Winter watched me from the bed. Bewildered, she didn't make an attempt move.

A hard knock sounded on the door, sending a jolt through both of us. We both sat, looking at the wooden letters, neither one of us moving for several seconds. The knock sounded again, this time with a hint of impatience.

"C-Come in." Winter half choked, clenching her comforter tightly in a fist.

Sheldon stepped into the room, his large boot crushing the remains of his name scattered on the floor. He glanced around the room, his eyes narrowing when he caught sight of me. He turned casually towards Winter.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." His words slurred, but his eyes somehow managed to look kind.

He pressed his hands in his jean pockets, swaying from one foot to the other. I watched, terrified as his heavy boots pushed the little letters around on the floor. His eyes drifted from Winter's face to the tightly held comforter in her hand. He frowned." Okay, you were right. I am a little jealous. I'm sorry. I just really don't want to lose you."

Winter looked cautiously from me to Sheldon. Her lips parted dryly. "It's okay," she said. "But, I'm too tired to talk about it tonight. Can we talk in the morning?"

Sheldon's gaze flickered suspiciously at me. He took a step further into the room."How's the other one doing?" he asked. "The white one."

"Winnie? She's still in the animal hospital. Dawson said it will be awhile before they know if she'll pull through." Winter's voice faltered. She shifted nervously on her bed.

"That's too bad." Sheldon's eyes caught mine for a brief moment. I cowered pitifully as an ice-cold sensation penetrated my body. An image suddenly intruded into my head—Winnie and I standing up at the window, a two by four swinging down on us from behind. I shuddered. A very slight smile formed for a brief second on his lips.

He took a step towards the door, then turned, his dark eyes resting on Winter. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem really upset."

"I'm fine." Winter's smile was forced.

He turned back, running his hand stiffly through his hair. Just when I thought he'd leave, he looked down. I held my breath. Although the letters were scattered, they were still close enough to each other to make out the letters of his name. My heart was pounding so hard, I wondered how I was still standing at all. When he stepped out of the room, his face was blank, making it impossible to judge his reaction. Regardless, relief swept over me the instant he disappeared down the hallway.

Shaking with fear, I took a deep breath, forcing myself to pull myself together. Winter's reluctance to tell Sheldon about me was a good thing. It meant I'd planted some doubt in her mind, even if she didn't fully believe me yet. She sensed something was wrong, but her love for him was blinding her.

She slid off the bed and crept over to the door, pushing it shut slowly until it clicked. She turned the lock and leaned against it, her hands trembling at her sides.

Her dark eyes met mine. "Jose—is—what?" she said, the words forced. Her gaze sank to the letters scattered all over the floor.

I turned my ears towards the door, listening intently for any sign of Sheldon lurking about. I knew he was suspicious. I could feel it permeating from him when he left the room. The last thing we needed was for him to overhear Winter—or walk in on our lovely little game of Scrabble.

Satisfied that he was nowhere near, I busied myself with the pieces again, gathering the four I needed and dropping them in front of her. She shimmied down and sat cross-legged on the floor. I studied her, head tilted as she turned the four letters over and lined them up. Her face grew pale once again. There was only one word choice that made sense.

DEAD

"No," she choked out. She hung her head down, her hair covering her face. 

Her breath turned ragged. I watched her shoulders heaving. I couldn't guess whether she believed me or not. But, something told me that Winter was smart enough to know that when a dog starts spelling out things, one can't completely ignore it. 

Unsure of what to do, I scooted closer and laid my head gently in her lap, staring up at her. Silent tears fell onto my fur and rolled down to tingle on my skin. We sat there for a long time—Winter crying quietly, me feeling awkward and useless. After a while, my eyelids grew heavy. I fought to keep them open, but it was a losing battle. I finally drifted off into the inviting peace that sleep offered.

***

I woke, wrestling with what seemed like a hangover, my head throbbed violently to the rhythm of my heart. Sunlight shone like darts through Winter's window, piercing sharply into my brain. Shit. I'd slept all night!

I jumped up onto all fours, causing stars to gather in my eyes. Panicking, I searched the room. Winter was gone. Cursing, I ran to the window and looked out. The yard was empty. What a weak fool I was! I'd promised Winnie I'd protect Winter, then fallen asleep on the job.

The bedroom door was shut and the letters from the night before were gone. I made my way over to the door, ignoring the pain in my head and stood on my hind legs. Without much trouble, I turned the knob and swung it open.

The hallway was dark and vacant. Cautiously, I padded down the stairway, following Winter's scent. Half-way down the stairs, an acrid taste crept into my mouth. I froze, surveying the landing. It was too quiet. The fur stood up on the back of my neck.

Determined to find Winter before it was too late, I forced myself down the last of the stairs, an electrifying sensation of terror gathering in the pit of my stomach. A pungent smell invaded my nose. That's when I noticed it—thick, wet blood puddled on the floor, seeping into the cracks of the wood.

The scent was hers. Oh god, it's too late!

Trailing from the puddle, a thick smear of blood spread past the foyer and into the kitchen. I followed it, my legs moving numbly underneath me. The lump of dread rising in my throat threatened to suffocate me.

Rounding the corner, I spied a foot—dark, almost blue . I inched closer, low to the ground, terrified of what I would see when I entered the room.

The sight of her caused me to let out an agonizing cry. Her body sprawled across the floor—white as porcelain—her lips a deathly blue. Blood stained her white flowered night gown, stemming from the large gaping wound in her stomach. Her brown eyes stared blankly at the ceiling—a  final look of terror cemented on her face.

No! I wanted to scream, to call for help, but all I could do was bark at the top of my lungs. She was dead. I was too late. She was dead.

Consumed with guilt and anguish, I prayed I would die. Get me out of this nightmare; send me back to where I belong!

Staring down, I noticed something on the floor, seemingly floating on a puddle of Winter's thick red blood.

Wooden pieces. Letters. I stepped closer.

The letters shifted on the puddle's surface, creating small ripples as they moved. They rearranged themselves until they formed two words.

WAKE UP

"Winter." Lance's muffled voice called. "Winter, wake up!"

My head rocked up and down as Winter moved beneath me. My eyes snapped open. I was in the same position I'd fallen asleep in, my head resting in Winter's lap.

"Winter."Lance turned the door knob and tried to push the door open, nudging Winter forward. Her weight against it stopped him.

"The detective called." He spoke through the door. "He wants to meet with us as soon as possible. He said he's found something."

Well hello there everybody! Thanks so much for traveling this far in the story! Feel free to click the little star below, it makes me feel special, lol. Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to ammmmanda.
Check out her fantasy story, "Twisted Kingdoms", it's excellent. I'm in the middle of reading it now!