The First 30 Days (PUBLISHED)

Thirty-Two - Day 17

     A horrible smell came from the darkness in front of me as I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust my eyes enough to see what was coming.

Backpedaling, I banged into the side of the washer, sending a metallic bang echoing down the hall. The growling continued, but the expected attack never came.

"Bri!" Hands yanking me further backwards, I found myself shoved behind Shawn as he waited for the zombie to emerge from the room with bat raised. The others began rushing into the living room, drawn by the commotion, as I peered around his shoulder, not wanting to take my eye from the dark doorway.

Something about the sound of the growl was nagging at the corners of my mind, but the rush of fear wasn't letting me think clearly. When the low sound cut off, I was still trying to figure out just why the growls bothered me.

"What the..." the bat lowered a fraction as we caught sight of the shadowy form that was slinking into the hall.

"It's a dog."

The dog came into the hallway with cautious steps, head low as he eyed us with wary curiosity. His ears and legs seemed too big for his body, making him look almost comical. I realized why that was a second later. The dog was very thin.

His ribs and hip bones jutted out against the black and tan coat. The limited light glinted off of a chain collar that hung loosely around his shrunken neck. Sympathy swelled inside me for the creature that had been apparently left shut in the dark room for weeks. I had been trying not to think about the fate of so many animals that had been left with no one to care for them, the thought of their suffering made me want to cry every time, but standing in front of me now was the cruel reality of the situation. The most helpless of those around us were suffering horribly.

"Bri."

I ignored the warning tone in his voice as I ducked around Shawn and crouched down. Keeping my posture loose, I held a hand out and froze, offering to let the dog come to me at his own pace. "Hi, Boy. It's ok. You can come out now." I kept my voice even as I coaxed the dog to me. He cocked his head slightly to the side at my voice, but remained where he had stopped. After a few seconds, I looked back to the group that was hovering just behind me. "It's ok, you guys can finish checking the house. The dog and I are going to make friends."

"Are you sure," Maya sounded skeptical.

"Yes. This many people all staring at him will just make it worse."

"Alright." They didn't look all that sure that they should be leaving, but the group slowly started to disappear from my view.

All except for Shawn. "I'm not leaving you alone with that dog. What if it decides to attack you?"

"He's not going to attack me." I was confident in my words. I had grown up with dogs, volunteered at a vet clinic as a teen. The only reason I hadn't owned a dog when all of this started, was we weren't allowed pets in the rental. This dog was scared and weak, and he was defensive. But he gave no indication that he was going to get aggressive. He just needed time to adjust to having strangers in his house.

"Well, I'm still not leaving."

"That's ok. But you need to stop being so tense."

He laughed shortly. "How exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"Sit down. Lean back against the wall and try to relax. And stop staring at him. It's best if you don't look at him at all for now. This might take a while."