Story Excerpt | DOG DOWN | Chapter 14

Please enjoy another excerpt from my current novel project, Dog Down!

CW: mentions of death, mentions of zombies, mentions of sickness

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“How did you two end up together?” Indigo broke the silence shortly after as she looked towards Sir Squibbles and Milton.

Milton looked annoyed, his eyes half-squinted at her, but Sir Squibbles stood up on all fours, tongue lolling from his mouth as he began to speak. “Funny story, chica,” he started. “Milton’s actually been out here on his own since before the Loud Night. When it all started, I was hurt. Got out of my yard back home, but the dead walkers were on me like flies on shit,” he shook his head. “I got bit, thought I was a goner. But Milton found me. He had a different safe spot at the time. I just sorta… stuck around after that,” he finished, looking over at Milton who had an unreadable expression on his face.

Indigo thought hard about that. She glanced at Zephyr, who had a similar expression on his face. “You got… bit?”

Sir Squibbles’s face changed a bit. “Well… yeah, but I’m good, ya know? I’ve seen animals, sick animals that got bit. Somehow, I was okay. Am okay,” he emphasized.

Indigo shook her head. “No, it’s not that. We’ve just been… really confused about how the dead walkers are spreading their sickness,” she explained. “Zephyr and me… we bit the dead walkers, and Mira, the human we were traveling with, she locked us in a room for three days. I mean… now it makes sense—she was worried we’d get sick.”

Zephyr nodded along with her before he spoke. “That must be how is spreads. You either get bit, or you bite or eat one of them.”

Then Kandy spoke. “My brother Korn ate a sick mouse. He died,” she said matter-of-factly.

“After he tried to attack us,” Zephyr added softly. “The human we were with, Mira… she killed him. He went absolutely crazy after he got sick.”

Sir Squibbles nodded. “Sounds like some of the other animals we’ve encountered. They get sick and then they smell… they smell… ”

“Off, right?” Indigo remarked. “They start smelling off.”

He nodded. “There were a lot of rats that smelled like that in the beginning. Milton told me to steer clear of those.”

“I know bad food when I smell it,” Milton stuck his chest out, which made him look absolutely ridiculous in Indigo’s opinion. She opted not to say as much.

“So… wait a minute,” Sir Squibbles shook his head. “Which ones of us could still possibly get sick?”

It was a good question, and one Indigo hadn’t thought about. “Well… Zephyr and I didn’t get sick. You didn’t either,” she addressed him. “What about you two?” she asked Kandy and Milton.

Kandy shook her head. “I never ate any of the bad mice. And I haven’t been bitten,” she admitted. “So… I don’t know. If Korn got sick, there’s a good chance I could too.”

“I’ve steered clear of the sickies too,” Milton remarked. “So… I’m not sure either, if I’d get sick or not,” he drew his muzzle into a tight line.

“You two are gonna have to stay extra careful,” Sir Squibbles tilted his head. “It would be bad enough losing one of you, it would be worse if you guys turned into dead walkers.”

“Something still doesn’t make sense to me,” Zephyr remarked then, all heads turning to him. “The humans at the complex, they were trapping birds, killing them, I think,” he started. “But those birds don’t eat meat.”

They were all silent until Kandy spoke. “It was a precaution. The humans didn’t know what was causing the dead walkers to… walk, so they killed anything from the outside that wasn’t human. They said that birds carry something, a floo. I think they thought the dead walkers came from this floo. I mean… for all we know, they do,” she finished.

Indigo was about to ask if anyone had any other theories, but that was about the same time the rain let up. The group all stood and started moving down the street again...

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Let me know if you liked this except and if you'd like to read more!!

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