Before I proceed on to the supermarket I stop at a gas station to grab some jerky.  Counterintuitive perhaps, but who knows what I will find at the supermarket.  I step into the open business and grab a package of jerky from a display, stepping around the mess a warm ice cream dispenser has made on the tiled floor.  I notice dog snacks strewn about the floor but some are left unopened and I grab them for Cleaver.

When I come back out I see a small pack of dogs, wrestling over an indiscriminate object across the street.  Cleaver barks at them viciously and begins to pursue them but I shout at him and he stops, just standing, hairs on end.  I shake my head I notice that this pale beige truck still has fishing tackle in the back, nestled next to my backpack.  I pull a red-orange can of spray paint out of my pack and decorate the tail end of the truck:

Civilization or BUST

My continual reminder to not get too comfortable here.  Eventually this bumper sticker of sorts will find its meaning, I promise myself, but not today.  Tossing the can into the back I step into the driver’s seat and begin to pull away when I realize two immense black dogs are standing in my way, blocking the road.  I lay on the horn and one of them wanders off almost immediately, but the other starts barking furiously and pointedly at Cleaver.  Cleaver’s response takes on the volume of a banshee’s wail, deafening me and shaking my chest with each snarl.  I watch the hairs on my arms rise as he then sits still, growling ferociously.  After several strained moments the final dog releases a few more sharp barks and wanders off, appeased for the moment.

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Author guidance for This story

My writing mentor (that I call "dad") told me that I need to finish a story. That's the plan with this!

I'm going to finish my line of the story solo, but I'm happy to have anyone drop in with their interpretation to branch off. Please check with me first!

DISCLAIMER: Some passages may contain direct references to other works portrayed as fictitious here. This is only for the purpose of the narrative.

updated Dec 16 '09 by Scheherazade