Chapter 3: Din of the Den

At an easy trot, I leave the demoralized feral dog pack behind as I take a short cut through their territory. Following the sparse trail in my nose map, I am not connecting the dots. The general direction of the line of dots is obvious to me. The car I rode in when I memorized or rather I was imprinted with this map of scents encountered, took the fastest route, the highway. The fastest foot path that I’m taking, cuts across city streets and rejoins the trail farther along. If my family is somewhere in between where I deviated and will rejoin, I will certainly pick up their scent. Downwind and no great distance from the track, I’m comfortable I won’t pass them by unknowingly.

A baying of hounds behind me informs me, my recent adversaries have recovered their nerve. An answering chorus in front of me clues me there are two allied groups in this warren of streets and alleys. Listening intently, the voices in front sound more juvenile. Okay, same pack. The seasoned fighter came to me first and now I approach their base or den. Surprise is always the best tactic.

Sprinting forward about forty miles per hour, I quickly close the distance with the younger dogs who turn and scatter in terror when they see me rushing them. Making a skidding turn, I reverse course, racing back towards my pursuers. They are caught completely unawares. Trampling the leader and two dogs behind him, I attack the rear guard, the old dad of them all. A wolfish slash of my teeth, across his throat drops him into a rapidly expanding pool of blood.

Again skidding into a turn, I mediately about face and again accelerate back into the pack which flees all directions with yelps of terror. Only the leader remains before me, undecided to run or fight. Isn’t his decision any longer. Leaping upon him, I bear him to the ground and eviscerate him. His guts spill out into the street as he weakly struggles to crawl away.

Three mangy submissive bitches crawl out of the shadows and approach me, ready to acknowledge me as new king and copulate with me. I reject them and return to my original course and leisurely trot ... They look diseased to me and certainly have fleas. If they were in heat, they might arouse me contrary to my better judgement, but they are about as sexy as carrion and do not appeal to me.

Rejoining the track points on the outskirts of town, I am now on the highway. Something is wrong. No moving traffic. Many stalled abandoned cars, but none moving and no people with the cars or in them. Weird and inexplicable. I increase my speed a little, and proceed down the highway.

There is a rest stop. Several parked cars and semi trucks but no folks. Entering the restrooms, I assuage my thirst in a couple different toilet bowls. The mystery drove me on to explore is why I didn’t drink my fill at just one. Back out on the green, I pee and defecate the find some thick grass to stretch out on for a rest. Another oddity, no lights. Now that I think of it, that town I short-cut through and fought the dog pack in, was entirely dark as well. Humans like lights at night. My best guess is there aren’t any humans is the reason there is no lights. Nobody to turn them on. Something bad is wrong. Tomorrow when the sun risesI take a closer look. For now, a little sleep is a good idea. Tomorrow I will hunt up something to eat, hopefully. The garbage is probably a good place to look and it isn’t going anywhere before dawn. Ah hmmm, yawn. Nap time.

Daylight. Stretch and pee and get a drink from a toilet. Hungry enough to prowl the garbage cans. Slim pickings. No humans means no garbage either. Never quite made that connection before. One last deep drink and hit the road. Going to be a hot day later on this afternoon. Finding a cool spot before it gets too hot is on my agenda. Staying in one place regardless of the amenities isn’t an option. I am desperate to rejoin my family and worried something evil has befallen them. Driven onward by my fears, I trot out the miles.

Goodness, another rest area. How convenient. They seem to be about thirty miles apart. A four hour trot. My hope is this spacing is regular. Checking the garbage provides poor sustenance, some chocolate licked from a gooey wrapper and a few bugs for protein. Plenty of cold water in the toilet bowls thank you whoever provided them. A long nap in the shade during the hot afternoon. Tonight, I plan to travel all night long. Not only is it cooler, but I might find some prey. Yep. It’s getting primitive. Hunting food myself instead of bagged and canned meals served up to me in a dish. I miss my family and our happy home.

Hope you are enjoying.

Yob