Chapter 9
Spinning around, I tripped landing on my ass and came face to face with a huge beast. Its black eyes staring directly at me. Shaking my head, I closed my eyes. I must be seeing things.
My eyes snapped open when its growl resonated through the air. Staring at me was a huge dog/wolf, but it was huge, like a small bear. It was easily over half my size, its fur was jet black, its paws were bigger than my hands, its claws looked like they could rip me to shreds, more like a tiger s claws then a dog s paw.
I had never seen something so magnificent and terrifying at the same time. I held my breath as it stalked towards me. I tried to move back, but it growled at my movement. My heart was hammering in my chest. It was going to attack me; I was going to be mauled to death by a huge beast of a dog. I suppose I had a good run. I m sure there are worse ways to go than being eaten alive, right? But really the universe was sure out to get me. First my mother and now this, did I run over a black cat? Break a mirror? My luck can t surely be this terrible.
"Well, if ya going to maul me, can you hurry up and get it over with?" The beast stopped growling and cocked its head to the side like it understood what I said. I raised an eyebrow at it. I quickly stood up, waiting for it to attack, only it didn't. I stood there unsure if I should turn my back on it. The shiny black fur shone strangely in the moonlight; its fur had blue undertones. The colour showing whenever it moved, catching the moon's light.
Maybe it was somebody s pet, it seemed a little too smart and tame. It walked over to me, he sniffed me. Its fur brushing against my leg. I reached down and patted its fur; it was thick and soft and long. The dog pushed its head into my hand, enjoying my touch.
"Aw, you re not that bad. You do look scary though." Great, I was talking to an oversized dog. I really was losing my marbles. Shaking my head I kept walking. The dog followed. I tried to tell it to shoo, I even picked up a stick and threw it hoping it would chase after it, but it didn t. Instead it seemed annoyed at me and whined loudly... giving up I let him follow me.
When I came to the mesh fence that surrounded the storage sheds that held the lockers, I walked along the fence line until I found the spot where the mesh had been broken, creating an opening.
Climbing through, my hip caught on a piece of wire catching the side of my blouse. I felt the sting as the wire cut across my hip, my white blouse instantly staining red. I hissed at the pain it caused. The huge dog whimpered at the noise I made. Spinning around, I stared at it. He seemed intelligent for a dog. When I spoke to it, I got a feeling like it actually understood what I was saying.
"Go on, you can't be here. Don't you have a home to go back to?" He made a noise and nudged my hip with his nose.
"Fine but don't pee on anything," I told the dog with a pointed look. I swear it was like it smiled at what I said like he was amused. I really was going bonkers. I need to lay off the horror books.
Walking up the isles of storage sheds, I found the one I was looking for, number 423. Bending down, I undid the padlock and lifted the door. Boxes and furniture lined the entire place. There was a narrow walkway through the middle that I left purposefully so it made it easier to find things. Walking down the narrow walkway, I found my wardrobe. I noticed the dog followed me and was now sitting next to my feet, observing what I was doing. I opened the wardrobe and grabbed an outfit that was wrapped in plastic. It was a black skirt with a navy-blue blouse and black jacket.
Grabbing it, I put it aside before moving further into the locker. I found a box that said kitchen on it. Rummaging through it, I found a small first aid kit. Opening it, I grabbed out some alcohol wipes and gauze and medical tape. Taking off my blouse, I saw the cut was deeper than I thought. My blouse was sticking to it, and blood ran down into the waistband on my skirt.
Carefully peeling it off my cut, I grabbed the alcohol wipes and wiped it clean. It was slightly jagged, like my skin had been opened with a can opener. Cleaning it up best I could, I placed a heap of gauze over the top before securing it with tape. I then placed the blouse in my handbag before finding a singlet in my wardrobe then throwing my blazer back over the top.
Exiting the storage locker, I placed my outfit down then closed the roller door. The dog looked around curiously and watched as I padlocked the door. Picking up my belongings, I started to walk back towards work. The park was eerily quiet, usually of a night you could hear the insects and night owls, but it was completely silent. The giant dog followed quietly; I had become used to his presence behind me. He resembled a wolf more than a dog. There was something familiar about him. I just couldn t think why I felt that way.
Once back at Kane and Madden Industries, I walked through the car park and found my car.
"You really shouldn t be in here," I said, staring at the wolfdog. He seemed to return a bored look.
"Well, technically I shouldn't be here either," I told him. Opening the door, I hung tomorrow s outfit up on the hand rest in the back and grabbed my toiletries bag. Tom had given me a key to the bathroom on the bottom floor of the car park. It had a shower, a toilet, and a small sink. Tom said it was for the janitors to shower before they left and had nicely given me a key.
Grabbing my stuff, I made my way to the small bathroom cubicle. The dog followed, curious when I opened the door. He walked in and laid on the cement floor. When I started stripping my clothes off, it lifted its head and watched, its eyes scanning over my body. I turned my back to it, feeling suddenly weirded out. I quickly washed. The water in the shower was cold only, which made you want to wash quickly before you froze.
By the time I got out, my teeth were chattering. I quickly dried myself and chucked my track pants on and a huge woollen jumper and some socks. Opening the door to the car park, the huge dog walked ahead of me towards the upper levels.
Once back to my car, I popped the boot, grabbing a half full bottle of Smirnoff Vodka. I also found a leftover bottle of water from yesterday. The wolf climbed up his paws sitting on the opening of the boot while he peered inside.
"I'm not an alcoholic, it was my mums, but it helps chase away the cold," I told him. "And I have no idea why I am telling you this. It's not like you understand what I m saying." I started shaking my head.
Closing the boot, I sat and leaned against the tyre of my car. The dog was too big to fit inside my car, so I figured I would stay out here till he left. In a way I kind of hoped he wouldn t leave. I didn t feel as lonely with him here. Cracking open the water bottle, I held it near his nose and poured a bit out. He started licking the water that was running out, obviously thirsty. I am not an animal person but this one was starting to rub off on me.
Swigging from the vodka, I coughed before chugging more down. The dog seemed to whine at me before stretching out and placing its head in my lap. I patted his head. "You are very warm; you would make a nice blanket." I laughed at my own joke. The dog just lifted its gaze to my face before closing its eyes again. I rested my eyes, but after a few more mouthfuls of the burning liquid, I gave into sleep, snuggled up with some random stray dog.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone