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"WHAT'S it doing?"
Veronica almost tuned out Dustin's question as she tried to search through the fog. At the far end of the junkyard, amongst grime and soot, stood a shadowy figure. It was on four legs, and she could just see that it had a long face. She would've almost guessed it to be a dog, but noticing the expressions on Steve and Dustin's faces, she thought otherwise. The monster continued to growl.
"I don't know," Steve finally whispered back.
The black figure sniffed the edge of the junkyard, where a pile of raw meat sat. Flies swarmed the area, but the monster only paced around the pile. Veronica cocked a brow upward. "He's not taking the bait," she muttered. "Why is he not taking the bait?"
The monster brought its head towards the meat pile again, but only growled at it. Dustin blinked his eyes a few times. "Maybe he's not hungry."
Steve shook his head. "Maybe he's sick of cow."
Veronica slowly turned her head to meet Steve's eyes. She already saw what he was planning, and she mumbled, "No."
He didn't listen to her. Steve was already backing away from them, ignoring Dustin's calls. Veronica sprinted towards the end of the bus, where he was picking up his bat. She yanked on his jacket. "Don't be a fucking idiot, Harrington," she seethed through clenched teeth.
Steve frowned in her direction before throwing his lighter to Dustin. "Just be ready."
She watched him slide the rusty door open and walk down the steps. Veronica appeared at the top of the stairs, exclaiming, "You can't just –" But she couldn't finish her sentence. The door was closed in her face, leaving her fuming. She ran over to the windows and watched him step into the junkyard slowly. Veronica pounded her fists on the fenced windows, screaming, "Get back in the fucking bus!"
Steve ignored her shrieks as he lifted his bat. He heard the growling from the Demodog intensify, and he swallowed hard from nerves. The bat in his hands began to shake. He whistled towards the monster, whispering, "C'mon, buddy."
Veronica stopped yelling out the window when her hands began to hurt from pounding them on the fencing. Her breathing went quick, and her hands needed to be cracked. All air seemed to leave her lungs. She felt the panic rush in as Max lowered herself down on the ladder, exclaiming, "What's he doing?"
"Expanding the menu," Dustin replied.
Veronica shoved her hand on Dustin's shoulder. "Don't say that!"
Outside, Steve continued to call out to the Demodog, who started to step closer to him. "C'mon, buddy," he whispered in a sing-song voice. "Dinnertime." He swung the bat around between his hands, rotating with each finger. "Human tastes better than cat. I promise," he said, digging his sneakers into the dirt.
