[HR] The Neighbor's Dog
I fucking hate animals.
Annoying, bothersome, parasitic creatures that only serve to take up space on this earth until we inevitably hunt and kill them. What irks me most is how apologetic people become when I state the obvious. We’re at the top of the food chain for a reason; the fact that we invite these things into our homes voluntarily astounds me.
If animals are a plague, dogs are a cancer latched deep into the heart of our collective society, refusing to leave no matter how much chemotherapy we pump into it.
After the incident at my last workplace, I was oh so graciously relocated to a new apartment free of charge. A rabid dog bites my right hand off, and I get temporary housing for my troubles. It’s a nice area, though. The kind where theft is nonexistent and the community pools look more expensive than all my organs combined. I try to enjoy the amenities I “earned” through my hard work with the company, but this prosthetic hand feels foreign to me.
Sometimes I feel a sharp ache where my hand used to be, like I’m reliving the moment it was ripped away from me. Blood gushing out like a fountain. Vessels snapping in two. The bones around my wrist following suit.
It hurts.
And unlike most physical pains, this one lingers seemingly forever.
I lie in bed, gritting my teeth at my hopeless situation. The urge to shout until my lungs can’t produce sound is strong, but it’s quickly interrupted by a ring of the doorbell. I sit up and make my way towards the door. More concierge service? I already put the do-not-disturb sign on the door, so I doubt it’s those pricks.
I press my eye closer to the peephole and see two bloodshot red eyes staring back at me. My peripheral vision catches a glimpse of hideously pointed teeth dripping with blood. Bits and pieces of mangled corpses stuck between each tooth. The way it looked back at me.. Was there even a door between us? I stumble backwards with a loud grunt as my heart pounds in my chest.
“DON’T COME ANY CLOSER,” I yell, loud enough to make the stool next to me shake. I grab one of the guns hidden under the stool and burst open the door with my finger on the trigger.
“YOU THINK YOU CAN—”
I cut myself off as I realize what I’ve just done. In front of me is a woman holding her head with one hand and waving the other in front of me, pleading for her life.
“Please don’t shoot,” she says frantically, a lump caught in her throat.
I’m not sure if it was the gun I was pointing at her or the fact that I shoved her into a wall, but her eyes begin to swell with tears as she quietly sobs in front of me. Shit. I can’t afford slip-ups like this after I already chewed out the worker this morning.
I turn the safety back on and tuck the gun behind my waistband. “I am so sorry, ma’am. I thought you were something else.”
The lady seems considerably younger than me, young enough to still have light in her eyes even when faced with people like me.
“W-What the hell is wrong with you? I was only knocking to give you back your pin.”
She holds up a tiny silver pin shaped like Texas.
My face lights up. “I was looking for that! How did you find it?”
“You dropped it this morning while yelling at the front office lady. I was waiting in the lobby and saw the whole thing, but after you walked away, I heard something drop from your pockets and picked it up. I was gonna give it to you right then and there, but you seemed angry, so I followed you here and waited a few minutes for you to cool off...”
Hearing this girl speak makes me realize I really am just an insufferable asshole. But what kind of stranger goes through all this to help someone they’ve never met? I sigh and offer my normal hand to help her up.
“I collect state pins as a hobby. They mean a lot to me, so thank you.”
She seems a bit scared by my strength. I lift her full weight so easily with just one hand.
“Y-you’re welcome. I didn’t mean to come at a bad time. I’ll leave—”
“Here.”
I put a $20 bill in her hand to thank her for her troubles. She looks like the type to live here, so I doubt this money means anything to her. Hell, between her perfectly straight white teeth and the Mercedes keys hanging from the carabiner on her jeans, she probably wipes her ass with twenty dollars.
“Oh. It’s fine, sir, really. I just wanted to help, and my head is starting to form a bump from earlier, so I’m gonna go put some ice on it.”
I put a finger up and signal her to wait there. Thirty seconds later, I return with an instant ice pack. With one swift strike against the wall, I activate it and hand it to her.
“I had a buddy who swore by these. Take it. I apologize for my reaction earlier.”
“Thanks.” She reluctantly takes it from me. It’s clear she’s still cautious. “Are you new here?”
“Yeah. I moved in last week.”
“I’m Miranda. I live next door, so if I ever need help shooting something, I guess I know who to call?”
She chuckles awkwardly after saying that. I don’t find her funny or amusing in the slightest, but in the interest of making myself seem the tiniest bit more approachable, I slug through more conversation.
“Steven. And if you were dealing with a home invasion, your best course of action would be to fight them yourself. You’d probably be killed before knocking on my door.” I speak in an indifferent tone.
“Ah... okay. It’s a good thing I have my guard dog to keep me company!”
My right eye twitches a little.
“Of course you have a fucking mutt... Look, just don’t bring that thing near me, and we’ll get along just fine. I’m not an animal person.”
“Earlier, you said you thought I was something else? What, like a monster?” She laughs a little more comfortably this time. It seems she doesn’t think I’m planning on killing her anymore, which is relieving.
“Yeah. I did.”
“Oh. You’re being serious? Well, I didn’t do my hair today, but I don’t think I looked that crazy.”
I do my best to force out what could only be described as verbal constipation while trying to make it seem like I found her joke at least slightly funny. “Ha... I have some work I need to get done. I’ll see you around, Miranda.”
“Besides the possible concussion, it was nice meeting you, Steven! I’ll make sure Bobby doesn’t bother you.”
She holds the ice pack against the back of her head as she walks away. I smile and wave until she’s out of sight, then lock the door and take a deep sigh of exhaustion. She seems nice enough, but of course I had to live next to a goddamn dog owner. Bobby? What kind of stupid name is that? And more importantly, what did I see in that peephole?
I know I’m not crazy. There was definitely some type of hound at my front door. But how did it disappear with Miranda in its place? Am I just being hysterical? Does missing a hand also cause you to hallucinate imaginary creatures?
I decide to take a shower to clear my head and sleep it off for a few hours.
The following morning, I bump into Miranda again as I try out the complex’s gym for the first time. Much like everything here, it’s about as grand and overly expensive-looking as it could be. The machines aren’t all that great, either. You can tell this gym is for the type of people who work out for a New Year’s resolution and give up two weeks later.
“Morning.”
“Hi, Steven! So you’re an early bird too, huh?”
“Sure, I guess you could say that.” The truth is, the discomfort in my right nub keeps me up at night. On nights like the last one, I don’t sleep at all.
“It feels nice to start the day as the sun rises, right? You get to witness a little miracle every time you wake up.”
“Uh-huh.” It’s at this point I start to realize how irritatingly positive this girl is. She speaks with her hands, causing her long, curly ginger hair to bounce slightly. Her eyes are a strange mix of green and blue, shining brightly as a streak of sunlight drapes across her face. It feels like speaking to a cartoon character.
“So it’s just you and your dog?”
“Yeah, it can get a little lonely sometimes, so Bobby keeps me company. He’s an emotional support dog, actually.”
That actually makes me laugh. “A support dog? You seem young, and I don’t wanna burst your bubble or anything, but the only good dog is a dead one.”
“O-Oh... I didn’t know you hated dogs so much.”
“Don’t get me started.”
As I speak to her, I glance outside the glass wall and see a dog staring at me. It pants like a normal dog. Even sticks its tongue out like it’s thirsty. But it stands on two legs. Like a person.
I pretend not to see it at first. Didn’t need Miranda calling security on the grown man who held her at gunpoint the day before.
“Miranda, what does your dog look like?”
She gives me a confused look. “Bobby? I thought you hated dogs.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything, right?”
“He’s a Cane Corso and German Shepherd mix. He’s a pretty big dog and super smart! His fur is black with a couple white spots near his face, and he’s the cutest little puppy ever.”
Jesus Christ.
That was him.
Bobby is currently staring at me from the bushes outside the gym.
“Miranda... is that your dog over there?”
The second she turns, the dog bolts out of sight, faster than my eyes can recognize. All I see is a faint black blur making its way towards the main office.
“What? There’s nothing there.”
“He... he just ran.”
At this point, I begin checking the doors, making sure each one is locked. “Call 911. There’s a rabid animal on the loose.”
“You’re starting to scare me, Steven. What’s out there, and why are you locking the doors?”
“Miranda, I need you to listen to me. I saw that fucking mutt. The same one you just described in graphic detail was standing on two legs and looking directly at me from those bushes. That thing isn’t your dog anymore.”
“Steven, w-what are you talking about? First, you scream at me yesterday and think you saw a monster. Now, you’re telling me my dog is possessed? Get a fucking grip, dude!”
Now she wants to grow a spine? When I’m trying to keep us alive?
“Miranda, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay here and wait for the police.”
I begin dialing 911 on my phone, only to immediately be met with an automated no-service message.
“Great.”
I grab one of the dumbbells and make my way towards the entrance, jamming it between the door handles to ensure they can’t open.
“I... I think I’m gonna go now...”
Miranda runs to the back exit, and as she opens the door, Bobby walks around the hall and greets her with licks to her feet, rubbing his head against her legs.
“Hi, Bobby! How did you get here? I locked the door before I left the—”
I shove Miranda out of the way and strike the dog’s head with the dumbbell. The wound breaks through the skull as its lifeless body twitches on the floor. Miranda shrieks and stares at her dead dog in tears.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH—”
Before she can finish, a dark figure approaches Bobby’s body.
The color leaves Miranda’s face as she watches the abomination pick up her dog’s corpse and rip it in two, sucking out its intestines and showering itself in Bobby’s blood. As it crunches on the dog’s bones, I finally get a better look at it. The thing copied Bobby’s appearance.
I slam the exit door shut and jam my shoe between the handles. Miranda is passed out in front of me, and I can hear laughter coming from outside the door. My heart pounds its way out of my chest. That wasn’t an ordinary animal. It can’t be. I hear the loud thud of Bobby’s mangled corpse hit the floor, followed by the soggy, bloody footsteps of the creature walking away. I take a deep breath and lug Miranda into the bathroom.
Men’s or women’s? Does it even matter right now?
I set her down inside the women’s bathroom and try to calm myself.
Then I hear a faint tapping on the glass wall to my left.
He’s smiling at me.