• Scavenger:

    Chapter 1:
    “I saw her… savaged by a beast in the canal’s murky waters, screaming… crying… drowning in muddy water and the blood spilling from her face…

    It was no fault of mine. It had nothing to do with my shouting and shaking. It was just an accident…
    I pushed myself close to the bushes, holding Max tightly by the lead. He walked ahead, pausing to sniff at the branches and the floor. There was somebody in front of us, just a dark, hunched figure leaning against the shadows. They were walking their dog too, another dark figure, pulling closer to the water. Max took no notice, he was far too busy keeping on the scent he was trailing.
    I slowed my pace as I saw the person hold their hips and bend over. They leant with a bag, to pick up their dog’s s**t. They fiddled around on the grass, stroking it, obviously having problems finding where it was.
    I went over to help, to show them the light from my iPod.
    “Get off me!” I heard her cry. An old woman, taking a German Shepherd for a walk…
    The dog was tugging at her leg, growling savagely. Max looked up and growled in return, pulling me, trying to attack the shepherd, snapping his teeth and pulling his lip upwards. I couldn’t stop him. I let go of the lead and watched the two dogs fight, hauling themselves up onto two legs and smashing back down onto each other. Digging in their fangs and ripping away chunks of fur and flesh. I could only watch in horror…
    The old woman too. She was shielding herself with her arm, just in case a dog fell and crushed her light, brittle bones.
    “Max, stop!” I finally yelled. My dog stopped immediately and bounded back up to me. The shepherd followed, still snarling.
    Splash.
    That’s all I heard. Splash.
    Not from the two dogs… no
    From the old woman…
    She thrashed in the water, a flash of white hair and floral clothes. They were sodden, draping down whenever she raised her arms. She was trying to scream, but her lungs with filling up with water so fast… She was drowning…
    I took a step forward but my legs would allow no more. I was a good swimmer… I could save her… so why wouldn’t my legs… why wouldn’t they move…
    “H!” The woman cried, submerging under the water once more.
    Bubbles were flying and water was splashing, lapping up the sides of the canal.
    Splash.
    I heard it again… a new thing in the water.
    The shepherd was gone. True to it’s owner it swam, paddling over to where the thrashing was slowly stopping… slowly… to be nothing…
    Thank god, I thought. The dog was going to save her.
    Growl.
    Snap.
    Snarl.
    I watched only in a trance as the dog attacked once more… the blood spewing from her mouth as it dived down and ripped open her stomach. Blood… rising from her gash, dying the murky brown a dark crimson…
    “Stop…” I uttered, no longer having the energy to shout… Shaking… my lips blubbering.
    Tear.
    The dog was shaking it’s head, tearing away the woman’s arm like it’s own toy, throwing it to one side and starting anew. This time her head…
    The woman was croaking, then shrieking… then there was a silence…
    Her head was ripped clean with a dramatic pull. I couldn’t see in detail… only in the light of the new moon.
    A ball of hair and saggy skin. Open eyes clouded over in death. Her cheeks coated in thick, fresh blood. This time the dog chewed, opening it’s mouth and clamping it shut, bursting veins and piercing old skin…
    It threw the broken head to one side and began shredding the body.
    I couldn’t take it… I had to run.
    I forced it out of me… the remaining energy in my body… to take a few steps and sprint… and keep on sprinting… keep on sprinting home… home was ‘base’ in this horrific night time game…

    Yelp.
    I felt the lead tug in my hand, closing around on Max’s neck, choking the dog before I let go. As soon as my fingers slacked the lead pulled away.
    Snarling, biting, batting.
    The shepherd was back, ripping at Max’s face, pulling on his snout then quickly snapping down on his nose. Their mouth’s collided, open, breathing into each other’s jaws, catching on the other’s teeth, then shutting. Hurling, full strength into their shoulder’s, pulling away and batting their claws into each other’s necks.
    This time I was going to do something…
    I ran over and fell to my knees, snarling as best I could, trying to look big. I shouted Max’s name and the dog let go, tumbling backwards.
    I prised the other dog’s mouth shut and pushed it… sinking it into the water, writhing, biting at my hand. I didn’t let go.
    “Die mother ********! Die!” Tears were streaming down my face, my teeth gritted as I pushed the dog further into the water, watching it’s tail wag in desperation and panic. I heard it’s muffled, drowned yelp of regret as it’s paws spun round, begging me to stop.
    “Die…” I uttered, as the animal stopped thrashing… biting…dying…
    I sniffed, folding back the tears and wiping strays away. I turned on my knees to reach for the leash I had been holding a few minutes ago.
    I fuddled around for it, stroking the grass and gravel, pulling it away with blood and sticky mud caked to my fingers. “Max…” I muttered into the dark.
    I didn’t hear him reply.
    Pulling my paused iPod out of my deep pockets, I flicked the switch to unlock it and ran the light over the ground.
    I found it.
    Wrapped around a mooring hook…
    I followed the rope with shaking eyes.
    Attached to the rope was Max… floating… the chain wrapped tightly around his neck…