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– I hear you! – Alex exclaimed.
Then even more dogs abruptly jumped up, and a few even approached him, standing right in front of him.
– What am I saying, little human? Do you really understand me?
– Yes, I understand… – Alex said in amazement, looking into the eyes of the dog that was staring directly at him. – But how do you speak when your mouth doesn’t move at all?
– Does he understand us?
– How?
– Unbelievable…
– Quiet, everyone! – suddenly declared the dog standing right in front of Alex, growling threateningly towards the others, and then asked the boy: – Who are you, little human, and why do you understand us?
– I guess I’ve completely lost it… – Alex said, suddenly bursting into tears. – Grandpa Remy left me. My only friend just disappeared… Or maybe she was never there?.. What’s happening to me!
– It seems he has some problems… – came from one of the dogs.
– Are you okay, little human? – asked the dog standing right in front of Alex.
– Today my father died while I was walking with, I guess, an imaginary friend. So – no, not everything is okay! – exclaimed Alex, crying.
– Can we help you with anything, little human? – asked the dog.
– Why should we help him, Nay? – suddenly said another dog, addressing the dog that was talking to Alex. – We have enough problems of our own. We still need to get a bunch of food, for example!
– You’re right, Boll… but when was the last time you saw a human capable of talking to us?
– Um… Never! – answered Boll.
– Same here! What if he can be useful to us? We’ll help him, and he’ll help us! – declared Nay.
Meanwhile, Alex, listening to the dogs’ conversation, was just trying to come to his senses, thinking that he was going crazy.
– So, how can we help you, little human?
– Are you with me on this? – asked a bewildered Alex.
– I don’t see any other little humans around…
Alex burst into tears again, saying:
– I must be going crazy!
The dogs looked at each other, and Nay, the dog standing right in front of Alex, suddenly growled menacingly several times in the direction of the crying Alex, who abruptly stopped crying.
– Stop doing that, little human, and answer whether you need help! – Nay declared.
– Help? – asked Alex, wiping his tears. – You can hardly help me resurrect Grandpa Remy. Or at least bury him… Although… He always wanted to be cremated…
– We can’t resurrect people, but we can help you cremate your Grandpa Remy, if you mean burning his dead body, of course, – Nay said.
– But you’ll help us get food in return! – added Boll a little discontentedly – and all the dogs around supported him with their barks.
– Can you really help? – asked the boy.
– It seems only if you help us get food for my pack afterwards, but yes, we will help you!
– It seems that even madness has its advantages… – suddenly, with a sad and uncertain voice, Alex said and finally managed to get up from the carousel seat with difficulty. – Let’s go; I’ll show you where he is! Otherwise, I’m freezing here… – rubbing his shoulders, the boy added.
And off they went down the dark and deserted streets of Detroit. Along the way, Alex continued to listen to the dogs’ conversations, which gave him some insight into their lives. For example, about their nomadic lifestyle because they are constantly chased by some evil humans, or about the fact that finding food becomes worse and worse as winter approaches, and also about how Nay has been the leader of their small pack for three years already.
When they finally arrived at the place, Alex initially had no desire to go back into the basement, where the lifeless body of Remy awaited him. The dogs, almost all of them, entered inside after Nay. One of the dogs that stayed outside suddenly said to him in a female voice:
– Go! What are you waiting for?
After that, Alex looked at the dogs left outside and, finding strength in himself, still went inside.
Inside, the dogs had already settled around the mattress on which the deceased Remy lay. Alex, seeing this, slowly approached them, standing right next to the corpse.
– Wrap him in this mattress and blankets, and tie everything up! – Nay said. – It’s dark and deserted outside now. A perfect time to drag a human corpse through the streets without attracting unnecessary attention!
Alex sighed and nodded his head, slowly starting to fulfill Nay’s request. It was hard for the boy to look into the eyes of the lifeless body, which he had once seen alive. So, first, he wrapped the head in a blanket, and then the rest of the body. After that, Alex took the scissors and the oldest sheet he could find around. He made several ropes out of it. Then he approached the body wrapped from head to toe again and started wrapping it in the mattress on which it lay, simultaneously tying it up. A little later, he finished all the preparations for transporting the corpse.
– Now it’s our turn! – Nay said to Alex. – Let’s go! – he then said to the others and grabbed the mattress with his teeth, starting to drag the wrapped corpse. The rest immediately came to their leader’s aid.
Slowly but surely, and not without Alex’s help, they managed to pull the dead man out of the basement onto the street. However, there was still a quite long way ahead, and dragging the corpse in this way would not be very practical. This prompted little Alex to put another sheet on ropes, with which he tied some of the dogs and also attached them to the mattress at its bindings. This was supposed to significantly speed up the transportation of the corpse to its destination.
In the end, Alex, throwing one of these ropes over his shoulder too, wearily said:
– Well, let’s go towards the forest…
After that, some dogs barked, and the load started moving. So, they moved along the semi-deserted streets of the night city towards its wooded outskirts.
There were very few people on their way, and those who happened to see this strange scene with the dogs and the boy dragging something in a mattress through the streets had long been accustomed to the fact that they sometimes see strange things. Although the dogs could move this load faster, they unanimously decided not to hurry because of the slow little human who initiated all this. Therefore, they spent half the night on the road to the forest, and upon arriving near the cemetery, they spent just as much time gathering and arranging large logs and sticks for kindling. When all the preparations were finally complete, the dawn sun was slowly appearing on the horizon.
– Do you have something to ignite it with? – asked Boll.
Alex looked at the dog and took out a metal lighter from his pocket. He lit it and brought the flame to some papers at the base of the pile made of sticks and large logs, which was literally piled with the mattress-wrapped Remy’s body. As a result, a large bonfire ignited and, a little later, truly flared up.
– Forgive me, Remy… – Alex said, shedding a tear. – I hope you’ll be better in the other world…
For a little while, the pack and the boy watched the blazing bonfire. However, when the sun had fully risen above the horizon, and the fire had almost died out, young Alex, taking a piece of cloth, gathered some ash from the edge of the bonfire. He carried it to a tree and sprinkled it directly underneath, placing a few stones on top. Only after this, already yawning in unison with some dogs, Alex finally headed back to his familiar basement.
After a silent journey, Alex eventually reached his home. Upon entering, extremely tired, he almost instantly flopped onto his mattress – and this time, he shared his resting place and warmth with his new furry friends.
…Alex woke up the next morning at dawn. By that time, the dogs had already created some commotion around, as if preparing for something important. Alex, seeing this, was quite surprised.
– I thought it was a dream, – he said, rubbing his eyes. – What are you doing here? – he asked.
– Getting ready for a hunt! – Nay declared in response. – We’re heading to the forest… Maybe we’ll find something along the way!
– So you get your food by hunting? – Alex asked.
– Mostly, – Nay replied. – But we have special members of the pack, like Max. He’s better at begging because people really like his cute appearance.
– Hm, – Alex uttered, looking around. – I don’t see any… Probably, you mean the one with perfectly clean fur?
– Yes, – Nay answered. – Exactly. He’s already gone to perform his duty for the pack! And we’re about to… and you too, if you haven’t forgotten our agreement!
Hearing this, Alex stretched, reluctantly got up, and said:
– Yes, I remember, I remember…
While the dogs discussed where, how, and for whom they would hunt, Alex casually made his way to the nearest bag containing various grains for porridge.
– Here! – said Alex, throwing the bag next to Nay. – You can cook this in that big pot! It should be enough for all of you! I won’t be able to eat all of this in a year. And you can get more on the way…
The dogs looked at this, and Nay, as their leader, decided to express their collective point of view:
– Porridge is good, of course, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some meat with it…
– Well, you really need hunting for that, probably, – replied Alex. – Or you can steal something…
– Where to steal? – suddenly asked Boll.
– Maybe in some meat store, eatery, or restaurant, probably.
– Can you do that? – Nay asked.
– I can try if you want… But we definitely need someone to distract people because stealing something at night is too difficult due to everything being closed.
– We have Max! – Boll declared, seemingly smiling.
– Yes… Max will handle this very well, – Nay supported him.
– So, we’re robbing a meat shop? – another dog asked.
– The little human says he’s ready, – Boll answered.
While Alex was innocently nodding, one of the dogs asked in a menacing voice:
– So, does it mean that the hunt is canceled today?
– No, Spike! – Nay replied. – This plan may fail miserably, but if we need something, not trying to make it happen given such an opportunity would be stupid. So, some of us will go hunting, and some will go with me and the little human on this adventure! I was just about to appoint you in charge of our hunt today.
To which Spike responded with an angry bark and then went to gather those who were supposed to go hunting with him. Nay decided to ask the boy:
– Do you know any places where we can snatch a couple of pieces of meat?
– Quite a few! – licking his lips, Boll added to Nay’s words.
– There’s one place a few blocks away in that direction! – pointing to his right, Alex said.
– Great! – Nay declared. – While we’re getting ready and planning, Boll, go find Max!
– Okay! – said Boll and quickly ran off.
– Well, are you ready, little human? – Nay asked.
To which Alex, once again, nodded without hesitation.
After some time, Alex, Nay, Boll, Max, and several other dogs gathered near a solitary meat shop located on the ground floor of a four-story building.
«Well… As we agreed… We go in through the service entrance, and you and Max teach these simpletons lessons in acting!» Nay said.
After that, Alex and Nay headed towards an alley between two buildings, while the rest of the dogs went towards the main entrance. Meanwhile, one of the dogs stood guard, and another, holding a broken piece of a mop, ran around the smoking employee in the alley.
«What about him?» Nay asked the dog on guard.
«He’s almost finished smoking,» the dog replied.
«He’s leaving, he’s leaving!» Alex suddenly said.
At the same time, the dog next to the smoking employee leisurely followed him with the stick in its mouth.
«Oh no! No! Yuck! You can’t!» the man said to the dog, thinking it wanted to enter the shop with him. As the service entrance door usually closed by itself, he didn’t manually close it, allowing the dog to cleverly wedge the stick into the gap between the door frame and the door itself, preventing it from fully closing.
«Well done, Tucker!» the dog on guard muttered to himself, standing next to Alex and Nay.
«Excellent, forward!» Nay commanded.
After this command, Nay went towards Max, and then Nay and Alex approached the service entrance.
When they reached the dog named Tucker, Alex immediately grabbed the door and opened it so that he and Nay could enter smoothly.
«Good job, Tucker!» Nay praised the agile dog, to which Tucker nodded as if acknowledging the leader’s words.
«No one’s here!» Alex declared, peeking into the service area of the shop.
After that, Alex and Nay went inside.
«Watch the door!» Nay told Tucker after they entered.
Meanwhile, a real circus was happening at the main entrance. Max, being a rather affable dog, pretended to be the victim of a gang of evil stray dogs, which were cornered. Well, not exactly cornered… Max himself rushed inside the shop, and the other dogs began to bark furiously at him through the shop window. One of the shop employees immediately closed the door, thinking that by doing so, he prevented other dogs from entering the shop after their prey, Max. Soon, the entire shop staff gathered to witness this show.
«Poor little dog,» said one of the workers, stroking Max behind the ear.
