"Home" - Epilogue

Epilogue

It took me a long time to remember everything that had happened. I was able to tell Adam bits and pieces, but most of it didn’t come back until years later - in my nightmares.


Adam told me everything that had happened to him while I was missing, including how he had seen me that day downtown, and had then realized that I wasn’t in control of what was happening to me. He also told me how he finally noticed us going into the basement one night, and then kept watch until he had figured out a pattern to our movements. How he had purchased a gun, but had to wait for his clearance, and finally how he had found a babysitter for Micah so that he could wait for a good time to make his move.


Micah was glad I was finally home, even if I wasn’t quite as happy as had been.

We moved very soon after. I was afraid the other dogs would try and do something to me, since I knew about them. I never did see another dog like the one who kept me, even though I did feel many times like I was being watched.

"Home" - Chapter XIII

XIII.

I was starting to get a sense the dog’s intent.

I was making phone calls, using the data that was being gathered. Making accusations toward the person we were hunting. Doing things to make the person’s life difficult.


I called the authorities on the person, making accusations of criminal activity. I stole bills and other paperwork to create financial problems. I messed with lines running to the house. All of these things done for the amusement of the dog.
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This activity went on for a couple of weeks.


The dog was keeping me heavily mentally encumbered. Although I was grasping for clues underneath everything, I knew it was futile. The dog wasn’t letting me near people. Only out of Eli’s house long enough to do the small tasks required for his pleasure in tormenting me and the other person he had chosen to hurt.


The dog would allow me to steal food from the person’s house, and other than that I was eating the rotting food that had been in the basement for who knows how long. It was making me sick, but many days there was nothing else. I didn’t think I was going to make it much longer with as little as I was able to eat and then as little as I was able to keep down.
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The dog and I were getting back to Eli’s house early one morning, after rummaging through the person’s trash. I didn’t find anything important, and I had almost been caught by someone near the house. I could feel the anger emanating from the dog.


For the most part, other than neglecting my need for food and being clean and sanitary, the dog had not treated me viscously. I was worried that that might change after today. I was getting weak, and now I had disappointed him. I felt as though maybe he was done with me.


I automatically reached down to open the entrance to the basement.


A shot rang out. Then another shot. Then another.


The dog turned away from the basement and looked toward my house.


He started running toward the sound of the shots.


Another shot rang out.


The dog tripped over his front paws and tumbled into a heap.


The fog that had been overpowering my mind lifted.


I looked up to see Adam standing at a break in the fence, holding a handgun. He looked terrible, with huge bags under his bloodshot eyes.

I ran over to him and threw myself into his arms.

"Home" - Chapter XII

XII.

When I finally dared to look up, the room was empty of all of the visitors. My dog was sitting in the middle of the room. He looked larger somehow. He turned to look at me, and his eyes were intensely bright.

He went to lay in the corner again.

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When morning came, he rose and looked at me.

He started walking to the stairs. I stood up and followed him out of the basement.

We again walked toward the central part of downtown. As we walked, I tried desperately to see if I could fight against the constant cloud that flattened my thoughts. I knew that there was no way for me to escape the dog.  He was too fast, and his control over me was too complete.  I felt that he probably had to let me function at a minimum level, and so couldn’t keep my mind completely blank.  I thought there must be some way to break the hold for just a second, long enough to get help.

I could sense that the dog knew my thoughts.  I could see a derisive look on his face.  I could even feel the fog become lighter, then heavier, then lighter again.  He was mocking me.

We rounded a corner, again near the tavern from which the drunken woman had emerged just the night before.  I saw them.  Across the street, there was a man standing next to the tavern, talking to someone.  He had one hand on a stroller, and what looked like papers in his other hand. It was Adam!

“Ad...!” I yelled. The shout stuck in my throat and I couldn’t breath. I felt as if I were being strangled. I fell forward onto my knees, holding my throat, and the fog slammed into my mind so abruptly that I was barely conscious as the dog locked his teeth onto my shoulder and dragged me back around the corner and into a nearby alley.

I then felt myself rise and run with the dog down the alley. I could hear shouting behind me, but it didn’t register as more than just a faint echo in my mind.

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The next few days were a blur as the dog kept me in an almost comatose state of consciousness. One thing I was aware of, though, is that I was doing things that were against my nature.

The dog had focused on someone in particular, and I was being used to gather information on that person.  I would wait on a stoop, or by a tree, and as they left their house in the morning, I would go inside and take things.  I took paperwork, money, and anything else that was lying around.  I would gather information from their computer, writing down various pieces of information.  All of the data and items I collected were brought back to the basement in Eli’s house.

I was also helping the dog feed by finding ways for him to get into and out of certain buildings downtown.

We kept to the shadows and the back alleys, hidden away from possible sightings by passers-by.

We returned frequently to the basement where I would sit down in the same corner and stare into the gloom.  Not thinking or moving until the dog was ready to go back out again.

"Home" - Chapter XI

XI.

I didn't sleep that night. I just stared into the empty, dirty warehouse and waited for morning.
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Eventually, the dog woke up and looked at me. I stood up and walked over to him.


We left the warehouse and started walking through the still-sleeping city. We went past the tavern, and then we were getting close to my neighborhood. I started to feel excited. Maybe I was going to get to see Micah and Adam! At that thought, I felt the pressure again in my mind. The thought disappeared as quickly as it had come.


We turned down a side alley and went one street over. I realized we were heading toward Eli's house, and I recoiled. I stopped walking. Then I felt a stabbing pain in my head, and I stumbled forward to catch up to the dog.


When we reached the house, we went around to the back and I lifted the heavy metal door that opened onto steep stairs leading to the basement.


We walked down into the dank stench, and I started to feel an overwhelming nauseated panic. I looked down at my arm. The bruise from where the dog bit me was getting darker and it was very sore.


I walked across the basement and sat down in a corner on the moist concrete floor.
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The light in the dank basement began to fade to late afternoon, and then evening.


Some time after the room had gone completely black, but for a sliver of light on the floor from the moon coming in a window; I heard the sound of the heavy metal door opening. I then heard multiple pairs of feet coming down the stairs.


The dog got up from the corner where he was sleeping and sat in the middle of the room, looking toward the stairs.


I pressed myself into the corner, hoping that whomever it was that was coming into the room wouldn't see me. The edges of the room were black, and even with the small amount of light coming through the windows, I could see next to nothing.

Then there were green eyes shining out at me from the bottom of the stairs. Then there was another pair. All together, I counted five pairs as they descended. I could also see the shapes of what must have been humans, following each of the dogs.


One of the dogs seemed wary of the crowd gathered in the basement. I could see it turn its head and its green eyes scanned the room. It stood several feet away from the rest of the dogs.


The humans moved to the edges of the room, and I could hear them slide into sitting positions. None of them spoke.


I strained my eyes to see what was happening around me.


The pack moved into a circle around the dog that was standing alone. He showed his teeth and snarled. Suddenly one of the dogs lunged at his neck, and everything became a blur of bodies and a cacophony of growls and gnashing teeth. It seemed that he was holding his own for a while, but then he was taken down.

Just as the dog fell to the pack, one of the humans lunged away from the wall and ran toward the stairs. One of the dogs broke away from the melee and sprung at the human before they made it more than a few feet.

I shut my eyes and covered my ears so that I wouldn't have to see or listen to what followed.