Dog Will Hunt

Some animals act the same way, no matter what environment they're in. Some, no matter what Skin they're in.

�How about her?� Tony asked Robert, trying his best to look inconspicuous as he ate a hot dog. An older woman walked by the shops on the other side of the street, looking hurried.

�No. No purse but she's got a phone. Looks to be the type that has 911 on speed-dial. I'll let you know when we find the right mark, alright?� The pair had been in the theft business for years. Neither did anything legal when it came to making money. It had been that way for the pair of them since high school. Grackle's Nest wasn't exactly the kinda town that produces Rhode's scholars. They left that place as soon as the population dried up and the meth boom ended in, literally, a series of booms all over the hill country. They relocated to Ironside City soon after their business exploded and were now in a line of work that would occasionally lend itself to robbing a little old lady, or little young lady, or just about anyone with at least two of those three terms who happened by them.

�Well s**t, Robert. I'm sick of sitting out here waiting. I'm gonna miss my shows if we don't just do something.�

�Look, I know what were doing. Have I ever steered you wrong before? I gotta scent for these things.� He snickered as he tapped his nose. Robert was right though. They'd never been caught and they'd never lost a mark when he �caught the scent�. Tony wasn't bright enough to do much of anything on his own, but he was an extra pair of hands and Robert felt obligated to take care of him. Not because he felt sorry for his borderline-handicapped friend, but because if he wasn't around then if something did go wrong it'd all be on him, and two guys are less likely to be pressed as hard by the cops for a purse snatching. And if needed, he could work it out that Tony was the only one pressed. Survival of the fittest at it's lowest level. It was like a pack of animals keeping one sick one just in case a stronger animal needed a snack and picked that herd out.

The two of them sat for most of the afternoon, casing people as they walked by. Too strong, too guarded, too poor, probably a cop, and so on. �Slim pickings, today?� Tony asked as he struggled against the bench, doing his best to get comfortable after sitting for hours.

�Shh.� Robert shushed him as something caught his eyes. �Look at her.� He gestured with a slight nod to a woman about two blocks away still. Young, probably in her mid-twenties. Hair in a pony tail, nice dresser, walking slowly. �She's not from around here. See how she's looking around?�

�Yeah?�

�If she has a phone, it's in her purse, but that's a big purse. It would take her a few seconds to dig through to get to it. And by that point we'd probably have her and the purse.�

�Her? Wait, Robert. After what happened to that last girl...�

�Shut up, idiot. I'm running this show and if I feel like going after a little something more than a few bucks and a twenty dollar purse then I'm going for it, and so are you. Understand me, moron?�

�It's just...that last girl. I don't think she made it. We hit her pretty hard...and a lot.�

�Well sometimes animals die in the woods. Things happen. We didn't hurt the ones that cooperated, did we?�

�No, but...�

�Exactly. Just watch her, we'll figure out where she's going, then head her off and you know the rest.� Robert chuckled to himself as he leaned against a tree providing shade for the bench. The girl was soon across the street, looking somewhat lost as she checked the addresses she passed. Another few moments and she was a full block ahead. That was when they started their plan. Without a word they began to follow her. Enough space was between them that they didn't have to rush her and they wouldn't look suspicious to anyone out as the sun fell below the horizon.

�Stop. Look, she's turning down that block there. Nothing there but the old abandoned ironworks, right?�

�Yeah. There's an apartment complex a few blocks past that. Maybe that's where she's headed.�

�Well come on. We'll get her into the building so no one sees us.� With that they quickened slightly, making it to the turn just a few moments after she had. �She's still walking that way. Come on, while she's by the ironworks.� Robert and Tony then broke into a full sprint. The girl heard the quickened steps and turned to see the two black coated men charging towards her. In what must have been an instinctual act she bolted into the skeleton of the old building. Many of the walls had worn away of the years leaving a partial covered steel frame building several stories high. �This is going to be easier than I thought. Tony, you go in here. I'll head over to where she went in at.� Robert laughed to himself as he crept past the cracked walls into the old building. He knew his way around to an extent. Years before he turned into a career criminal he worked for the old ironworks before the explosion torn the building in half. It was too expensive to tear down the whole building so it was merely secured and left to rot away. The perfect place for dark things to happen away from the eyes of anyone who mattered.

�Please, someone help me!� The girl screamed out from someplace in the building. �There are two men after me! They're in here with me!� Robert laughed out loud.

�Ain't no one here to help you, baby. Just do what we want and you'll walk out of here. Probably tomorrow, but you'll at least get that. Now where the hell are you?� He continued his path over the rubble of the old conveyor system, zeroing in on her panicked screams and cries for help. �We're gonna find you anyway, make this easy and we won't kill you!� He stopped, waiting to hear her again. A few moments of silence and he heard a scuffle well past him. �Tony, if you got her you hold her till I get there!� Then there was silence again until her voice echoed off the old iron framework once more.

�Help me please!� The girl screamed again. �Please don't hurt me, you can have whatever you want, just don't hurt me!�

�Look, just tell me where you are and I won't hurt you. Alright?� He stopped suddenly. �S**t!� The exclamation was brought about due to what he just stepped in. A large pile of dogshit. �F*****g animals...� He pulled out his knife. Didn't want to deal with a dog on top of this. This was his hunt, no room for any other hunters.

�Do...do you promise? Please, mister, I just want to go home!�

�I promise, baby. Just tell me where you are, and everything will be alright. Deal?� He rolled his eyes to himself. How many times had he said that and how many times had they fallen for it over his life? Seemed to be an every time deal.

�I'm...I'm back in one of these old offices. Just please let me go home, mister. You can have my money. I have about a hundred dollars, just don't do anything to me!� He grinned as he started heading through the rubble towards the voice. Something caught his eye through a moon-lit hole in the ceiling. Looked like a dog. Can't have anyone else hunting on his grounds, Robert thought as he walked towards the furry outline in the distance.


�Robert, you still in here?� Tony yelled out. Nothing. �Son of a b***h, he probably already found her. I better find them before...� Something shimmered in the moonlight as he passed it. Blood splashed across an old I-beam. He reached down and touched it. Sure enough, it was still warm. As he stepped away he narrowly avoided stepping into a large pile of droppings. �Big dog, I guess.�

�Please! Don't hurt me, whoever you are! I won't call the cops if you don't hurt me, I just want to go home!�

�Are you hurt, lady?� He yelled out, passing the blood.

�I...I cut myself on some of the rusty stuff out there. I think I need to go to the hospital!� �Okay...okay.� Tony wasn't sure what to do. Robert was the boss, always. This was strange. Robert was yelling before, now nothing. �Robert, are you still in here!� He shouted. More of a statement than a question. Tony just wanted to hear anything. The reason Tony had put up with all the horrible things Robert did to all those women, and all the things he did to people in general were that he just didn't want to be alone. He was afraid of that more than anything. He slipped suddenly. �If that is more dog s**t, I swear I...�. He stopped cold as he found the source of the blood. A shredded black jacket, covered in blood and dog fur. In the dusty floor, hand-shaped streaks of blood lead right to the office door.

�What the f**k...Robert! Robert, where are you!�

�Please mister! I don't know who Robert is!� She yelled out from inside the office.

�You b***h! If you did anything to him I'm going to f*****g kill you where you stand!� He stood back up, dusting himself off as he started walking towards the door. He kicked it roughly, knocking it off it's hinges. �Where the f**k are you!?�

�Please mister...� She stood near an old filing cabinet across the room from him, hands and face smeared in blood. �I don't want to get hurt.� She said through a bloody, feral smile.

�What the...� He caught the whiff of dog again. She took a few steps forward, into the light revealing a chunk of what was once Robert''s face in a large, furry claw. She chuckled as she took another step forward. �You were hunting. Were you?� She asked. Body covered in fur as her face distorted and extended into a wolf-like maw. �How cute is that? So were we. Your friend tried to put up a fight, but he had no clue what he was doing. We waited for you though. Your scent was the strongest.� The creature climbed over a desk, more wolf than woman. �You see...we love the smell of fear just as much as you and your friend did.� For just a moment it made sense to him. When he was a boy his dad taught him about wolves and why they were dangerous for dogs. When the wolves were hungry and their natural food was scarce, a wolf would come out to the dogs. Female, always. She'd lure the dogs away into a trap where the male wolves waited to deliver the kill. These wolves were doing just that, but they adapted to a new environment. Picking off the stray dogs of the city. Tony turned around to run just as a pair of massive, wolf-like forms were on him. Perhaps too late Tony learned that when you lay with dogs, you die like a dog.

Reviews

[.]

That's a neat little story. A good twist at the end. The only real work the story needs is another read through and some clean up. Nothing major, just some words out of place and sentences that aren't quite right. Luckily everything is close to the way you want it so the story is still easily understood. Sometimes you will use a word too much. An example being you use the word building for two sentences in a row. Might want to vary it a little. Other than that good story, very entertaining.

[Sarah Hawkinson]

Wow nifty plot. Didn't see that coming. lol great idea! I got confused trying to figure it out, but I eventually got it when you talked about the wolves at the end.

[Freder Fredersen (aka G..]

Well written. Enjoyed the twist ending.

Cheers!
FF

[.:Naiira Harlow:.]

Neat story and a great ending twist. It was very entertaining and well written. A story where the weakest is really the strongest always catchs my attention. Well done!
-Twilight