Dog Bark by N.D. Graveheart from the DEATHLY AFRAID Collection

Artwork by Breanna Knoth

It lived a block down the street from him. Every day he’d walk home from Peabody Elementary, facing that dog from the opposite side of the street. Only a wire fence and a single latch gate held back the mutt. And much like the mutt, he felt the same need to escape.

After a while the child felt guilty. The dog was always locked behind that rusting mesh, barking at every passer nearby in a pitiful cry. A misunderstood creature, he thought, as he recalled what it meant to be alone. With the child’s parents always away from home, and the few friends they had at school, he was lonely.

One day, he decided to prove himself wrong. To prove that a book shouldn’t be judged by its cover. The black dog he figured, much like him, only desired friendship.

This time he stopped in front of the gate. That pitiful barking, soon quieted into a whimper. From outside the wicked fence that forced metal against a drooling mouth and wet nostril, the canine cried. The child knew what he had to do.

In solidarity, the boy reached his hand over to the latch, easily unlocked. The dog waited, burdened by anticipation, its breath steaming in the cool autumn breeze. The boy smiled, recognizing his good deed, and leaned forward to pet the poor beast.

Unfortunately, the boy had found rage and savagery. As the gate opened, the mutt lunged forward, barking madly as it pounced on him. Its teeth ripped and tore through their young flesh. The child’s screams echoed across the otherwise settled neighborhood. And soon, death.

Dog Bark by N.D. Graveheart from the DEATHLY AFRAID Collection