| Puppy Drabble Series Finished | [Dec. 10th, 2008|11:45 pm] |
I told ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) xie_xie_xie very firmly that she had to finish posting this or most likely everyone would forget my story and that would make me very sad. So she said she would do it, and I said please do it now even though it's late because your memory is not very good.
And she said I was being unfair and we argued for a little while but of course I won. So here it is. The last part of the puppy story that fixes Season Five. She was going to post it in two parts because it's 22 more drabbles but I said no, for the same reasons of memory and people forgetting that I said before.
If you did forget it, the story starts here and then the rest of it links along after that.
Thank you very much for reading my story of the puppy.
The Search
By Rebel
Michael, Ben, Debbie, and I all took a different direction. I walked up and down the streets near the house, calling him… but I couldn't call his name. I'd never given him one. I just called him "Puppy."
I stopped at Debbie's to see if he'd come home. She'd called Carl, who said he was a homicide investigator and not a dog catcher, but who sent over two cops and an animal control officer anyway. I filled out a form and gave them a photo I'd taken of him at Brian's.
Then they left, and I went back out searching.
The Smell
By Rebel
I smelled Justin then I didn't smell him, so I went back to the smell. Then a car tried to kill me, but I remembered cars and so I ran away. But then I couldn't find the Justin smell again, and I wasn't sure where I was.
Then I worried, because if I didn't know where I was, how would Justin find me? So I started looking for his smell again, up and down the streets and the alleys, just like when I was a homeless puppy looking for some food.
I remembered to be careful about the cars, though.
The Night
By Rebel
My mom had come over as soon as she heard, and gone out with Debbie one last time to look. I went back to the fence where he'd dug out, walking around. Somehow I couldn’t imagine he'd gone far. Most of the neighbors were home by then, but no one had seen him.
I even went to the alley where I first found him, but he wasn't there. I don't know why I thought he would be.
I stood under a streetlight for a minute, and looked up at the sky. There were no clouds, and it was getting colder.
The Cold
By Rebel
I'd forgotten. How cold it could be, I mean. The first time Justin picked me up, I was very very cold, but since then, I'd forgotten.
I dug and dug in the newspapers, and made myself into the smallest size I could, and tried to feel warm. But it was very hard. The wind kept blowing and the ground was wet, and it felt like the wet was coming up through the newspaper.
And my stomach was empty and making sounds. I'd forgotten that, too.
Suddenly it seemed that going out looking for Justin had been a very bad idea.
The Morning
By Rebel
That night, while everyone slept, I made a poster on my laptop. I mailed the file to Kinko's, then walked over there to pick them up as soon as it got light.
I put them up around the neighborhood, and then I went to put one on the bulletin board at the diner. When I walked in, I saw Brian sitting at the counter, drinking coffee and reading the paper.
"Hey."
He looked at me in surprise. "Hey." Then he gave me another look. "Someone's on his way home after a long night."
I nodded, and handed him a flyer.
Still Cold
By Rebel
It got light, but it was still cold. I hadn't slept much, because I kept shivering, and my stomach was empty. I tried to smell again, looking for food and for Justin. I got up and went to the end of the alley, then out to the street, smelling and smelling.
There was a food smell, and I followed it to a paper pushed up against a wall. I ate the food, but it was stuck to the paper so I ate that, too. I wished I had some water.
I went down the street, smelling very hard for Justin.
Comfort
By Rebel
I admit it; Brian wasn't a shit about the puppy. He might have even looked worried, although whether it was about my dog or me, I wasn't sure.
"I can drive you around to look, if you want," he said.
I shook my head. "I need to walk."
He nodded. "Let me know when you find him." Then he added, carelessly, "And if you need anything."
I couldn't think of anything. "I'm going out to put up my flyers, then to the shelter when they open at 9."
He looked at me for a minute, then signaled for his check.
On the Track
By Rebel
I smelled him. Maybe. It was a very familiar smell, and yes, I thought; it was Justin.
Maybe.
I sniffed again, then sneezed very hard, then sniffed one more time. And then I realized it was not the Justin smell. It was something else that I remembered. So I followed it.
I went down many streets, and the smell was always there. I was very careful when I had to go in the part of the street that had cars. I didn't like cars. One hit my mother one day and she never moved anymore. I hated them very much.
No Luck
By Rebel
He wasn't at the shelter. They had my report, and let me put the flyer up on their bulletin board. The woman who showed me the stray kennels told me to come every day, twice if I could, to look for him; they always had lots of black dogs, she said, and they were usually too busy to check the reports and call people. She gave me a brochure on how to find a lost pet, and then I went back out on the street.
I don't know how long I walked, and looked. I just kept walking.
And looking.
I Remember This
By Rebel
I kept smelling, and it was still familiar but I didn't know what it was. Grass and dirt was there, and some broken glass I walked around carefully.
I remembered broken glass. It went with cold and hungry and sleeping on the wet, hard ground.
I remembered Justin, too, and thought I should have found him by now. Why was I smelling this other thing?
But it was all I could smell, so I kept going.
Then I stopped, and sat. I sniffed the air, and tipped my head to one side, and felt my tail thumping on the sidewalk.
What Now?
By Rebel
After a couple of hours, I realized I was going to fall asleep on my feet. So I went back to Debbie's and lay down on the sofa. I didn't even take off my shoes, which she'd have been pretty pissed about if she'd been there.
I woke up and it was quiet and dark. I grabbed my cell phone and looked at the time; five-thirty. The shelter closed at six.
I grabbed my jacket and thought about calling Brian or my mom for a ride, but there wasn't time. I walked to Liberty Ave. and looked for a cab.
This Place
By Rebel
I hesitated. It wasn't a bad place to rest, but not the best place. I thought people might see me. And I smelled as hard as I could but there was no food. So I went across the street and looked for a food smell. I found something and ate it, and it made me not as hungry, but I thought it would be very good to have some water. Maybe it would rain, although then I would be wet.
But I was thirsty, so I curled on the hard spot I found, and hoped that it would rain soon.
Despair
By Rebel
He wasn't in the shelter. I looked all over, again, for hours, and I never saw him.
I wished I'd given him a name.
I found myself back in the alley again, but he still wasn't there. I started at the spot where I'd found him, cold and wet and curled up on some newspaper. I went back to the street, and kept walking. I didn't know where I was going at first, but after a while, I realized I was heading for the loft.
I checked the time; he might be there. But either way, I had a key.
Two Shoes
By Rebel
I was asleep. The wind had gone away and I was against a wall that was not as cold as the night before, so I slept very hard. Too hard, because I was awake and there were two shoes. I jumped up, ready to run.
But then I smelled, and though it was not Justin, I knew who it was. It was that man who had the very big, warm bed.
He squatted down and lifted me up, very carefully. He said something, but I didn't know what he meant, except he said one word I knew.
He said, Justin.
There You Are
By Rebel
Brian was in front of his building, unlocking the door. I started to call his name, then stopped.
He turned and saw me, and his face broke into a big smile.
I took two steps, then one, then I started to run. He put the puppy down and he raced to me, barking and wagging and then I knelt down and grabbed him. He was licking my face and taking little nips at my mouth and ears and hair.
"What… where did you…" I couldn't get anymore out; every time I said something, my mouth was full of puppy tongue.
Justin
By Rebel
I had followed the other man's smell and that is how I had found Justin. He was there, warm like I remembered, and he smelled and tasted very very good. I told him I was thirsty and still hungry, and thought we should go in the house with the warm bed.
So he took me in, with the other man, who had his arm over Justin's shoulder and was petting my head with his hand, which felt very nice. Then he did it to Justin, who made a laughing sound that I liked very much.
And then we went inside.
Puppy
By Rebel
We gave him food and water, and he ate and drank it all. Then I picked him up again, and sat with him on the sofa. "He was just there when you got home?"
Brian nodded, and carried two cups of hot coffee over to the sofa. I took one, and let the hot liquid warm me up.
Brian sat next to me, and petted the puppy's head. "There he was. I was going to bring him in and call you, but then… there you were."
I couldn't stop smiling. "He found his way back here. It's unbelievable."
Brian nodded.
Warm and Safe
By Rebel
I was on Justin, right on him. He was very warm and I felt very sleepy. I was full and not thirsty, and everything felt exactly right.
The man was petting me, and so was Justin, and I felt them start to kiss behind me. I knew this was just something they did; I hoped if they had to go to the bed they would take me, because even though the sofa was warm, I would rather be in the bed. But then I was so tired, I just fell asleep. I knew Justin would make sure I was okay.
And Then…
By Rebel
The puppy was asleep on my lap, and I was falling asleep on Brian's shoulder. His arm was around me, his other hand was stroking the puppy, and I felt warm and drowsy and safe.
I made myself open my eyes. "We should really go to bed."
He didn't move, just let his fingers play with my hair.
"Brian?"
"You realize, Justin, that your puppy wants to live here."
I laughed a little. "Apparently. But we'll have a place of our own soon, and he'll like that, too." I let my hand rest next to Brian's on the puppy's back.
The Bed
By Rebel
I felt them moving around, and almost woke up.
Almost.
I was bumped and carried, and then… yes!... I was put on the bed. I could smell Justin and the man and other good smells, so I just made a little grumbly sound and went back to sleep.
After a while they were making noise and I woke up, but then I recognized it was the good noise they sometimes made, and this time when I fell asleep, I didn't wake up for a very very long time.
When I did, Justin was sleeping with his head on the man.
Good Morning
By Rebel
I woke up between Brian and the puppy. I thought it was entirely possible I'd never been so happy.
When I opened my eyes, Brian was staring at me. "I was thinking…"
"Always a dangerous sign," I said.
"Your puppy needs a name."
I nodded, and yawned. "I was thinking… Hero. Because he was so brave."
Brian laughed. "Like Rage?"
I smacked him with my hand. "Well, like Rage but without the angst."
Brian kissed me. "This is no place for a dog…"
I kissed him back. "How about we try something different this time?"
And then Hero woke up.
A Puppy's Epilogue
By Rebel
And that was my story. Justin took me to a new house, and I lived there with him and our yard. The man came all the time, and sometimes we would go to the house where he lived, almost every night one thing or the other would happen.
Sometime we visited the lady at the other house, and she would always tell me not to run away and then she would laugh. Also, she called Justin by his wrong name all the time. But she was very nice and gave me good things to eat, so I loved her too.
The End |
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