Pepper

(word count - 2500 exactly)



***

"Pepper is gone." Abby cried to her father. "I called and I called, but he doesn't come." He should have been scratching the door to come in, but he wasn't there. Abby cried herself to sleep. The next morning brought no signs of her black mongrel.

***

He sat silent, confused, in the back of the old pickup truck, chained to the floor, with little room to move. That was probably a good thing. If there were more chain, he would have jumped over the side and either hanged himself or worse, be dragged to death at the end of the chain.

Under other circumstances, Pepper would have relished this trip – even with the drizzle of rain on a grey autumn day. But why was he stuck in this situation? The light of day was fading and he should be scratching on the door, asking to come into the warm house for the night. Then cuddle into bed with the girl who loved him.

The two figures in the front of the truck – one tall and skinny and one short and stocky - were paying no attention to him. They were the ones who chained him to the truck floor. They were not like other people Pepper encountered in his five years of life. He never had to fear people before, but these strangers were rough with him. They had thrown a net over him, preventing him from getting away, and then attached a collar around his neck. The black mongrel had never snapped at humans, but this time he tried to bite. For the first time in his life, he felt fear.

"Here we are, Fred, let's get started. Get the guns. Put the mutt on the chain."
"Let's get us some birds. This hound should flush a bunch out. He looks like a natural."

The short man pulled Pepper from the back of the truck, avoiding the snapping jaws. A quick kick to the ribs convinced Pepper to back off.

"Hang tight to the chain and send him in the bush. See if he scares up some birds."

The short one kicked Pepper in the rear and sent him to the bushes. Pepper took this a signal to run, and headed straight for the bush. As he plunged into the bushes, a flock of birds stormed into the sky. A loud explosion pounded Pepper's ears. He jumped at the noise and ran all the harder. But he ended up flat on his back with his head pointing back to where he started. His neck hurt and he coughed.

"I think you got a couple," said the tall one.

"Yeah, but I don't think this stupid dog is going to bring them back. He jerked the chain, and throttled himself." The short one replied, holding the chain in one hand, and a shotgun in the other.

"Reel him in and take a look."

"Geez, he almost strangled himself. What a dunce we picked up. Wanna try him again, or should I just shoot him now?"

Pepper didn't understand the words, but he was afraid. He snapped at his short handler who levelled the gun at Pepper's head. Pepper had no experience with guns, but sensed that he should fear this black stick pointed at his face. He eased backwards, with his teeth showing and a snarl coming from deep in his throat. As the chain slackened, so did the choker around his neck. Pepper edged his head toward the ground and pushed back. The choker slipped over his head and he was free.

"The mutt's loose. He's running away."

"Just shoot him and be done with it. We can hunt without. We done it before."

Another thunderous roar and Pepper could feel a sharp pain in his flanks. The black stick had propelled something into his backside as he ran away. But he didn't stop, he kept running while his backside burned.

Pepper ran for two hours non -stop. As he glanced behind, he could see no trace of the two evil men. He slowed to a trot and listened for sounds. All he could hear was the wind whistling through the treetops.

He stopped to rest. Pepper pushed his head towards his backside. If he could have seen colours, he would have noticed the deep red, covering his black coat. He knew he had been bitten by the black thunder stick.. His haunch stung as he lolled his tongue over the open wound.

After a short rest, and lapping some water from a puddle, he started running again. He had no idea where he was, but he knew he was nowhere near home. He ran all night. As the autumn dawn approached, shedding light across the trees and shrubs, Pepper stopped, stomped the grass in a circular walk, and laid down to sleep. He hadn't slept in two days, and he was exhausted. His eyelids twitched and his paws shook as he slept; he was dreaming of the trauma of the past two days.

When the sun's warm rays heated his black fur, Pepper awoke to the pain in his haunch. He cringed as he stood from his prone position. He gave a soft yelp, and limped ahead. Which way was forward? Or backward? He put his snout towards the sky and sniffed the air. His instinct sensed the direction and he started to trot. The pain eased allowing him to run.

Pepper's stomach started to hurt, as he recognized the pain of hunger. He hadn't eaten since the two humans trapped him and he felt weak, making it harder to run. He stopped and lay on the ground panting. Pepper nibbled on some crab grass near his paws. It wasn't satisfying and made him expel some frothy fluid from his stomach onto the ground between his paws.

He saw a large beetle crawling in front of him. A quick snap and the black bug was inside his mouth. Crunch – Pepper could feel the juice from the tiny animal ooze over his tongue. He swallowed, and felt a tinge of satisfaction. Two more passing beetles gave him the quick energy needed to start moving again. But this rush would not last; he needed something more substantial.

A whistling noise in the distance didn't sound like that which came from Abby's father's mouth. It sounded more like the little animal he chased while out playing in the fields. Pepper saw gophers in the distance. He could outrun them, but they always disappeared into the ground when he got close, his powerful legs digging in the dirt where they disappeared, were not enough to catch the elusive rodent. Today was no different; he couldn't catch them.

The little grey birds looked like they would satisfy his need, but they too evaded him, flying high in the air when he neared. He started to get weak again, as he continued on his journey.

Then he heard squawking, near some buildings distance. Not buildings like he lived in, but grey, weathered buildings. There were animals surrounded by wooden fences and around one of the small buildings were dozens of white birds – walking, not flying. Pecking at the ground.

Pepper hunched low, and crawled on his belly, until he was close enough to pounce. Too easy. The birds tried to escape, but he caught one. He had the white feathers in his mouth and squeezed the life from the screeching animal. The warm liquid oozing from the white feathers made Pepper salivate. He spit the feathers from his mouth, ate the fresh warm meat, and crunched the bones.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" A human ran from one of the buildings towards Pepper, carrying one of the thunder sticks in his hand. Pepper clamped the bird between his jaws and ran back into the trees. The thunder stick exploded, but this time, no pain. He evaded danger, and was rewarded with a delicious meal. It was enough sustenance to allow him to keep running.

He saw more clusters of buildings like the one that had provided him with his meal. He found that if he approached after the sun set, he could retrieve one of the birds without arousing any of the humans that might lurk in the buildings. Thus he found a way to stay strong as he continued his journey. He curled up for short rests in the trees and shrubs, whenever he did not have the strength to continue. His haunches were getting better, as he lapped at the open wounds.

Pepper encountered an unexpected obstacle, as he stopped for his regular feeding at another cluster of buildings. A large farm dog spied Pepper as he approached the chicken coup, and let out a deep frightening "woof", as he sprinted towards Pepper.

Pepper started to run, but it was too late. The huge animal was on him and bowled Pepper onto his back. The snapping jaws aimed for Pepper's neck. Pepper had been in fights before and knew he had to protect his neck. He snapped back at his attacker while trying to keep his lower jaw tucked towards his chest.

The brute outweighed Pepper by twofold, but Pepper was wiry. He took a chunk out of his predator's cheek and flipped onto his belly, allowing him to push free. He knew he couldn't defeat his opponent, so his objective was to escape. But every time he tried to leap away, the farm dog grabbed at his leg, and pulled him back. Pepper would spin and snap at the angry animal's face.

"Dad, Butch caught something. Butch, whacha got boy?" A young human shouted, as he ran towards the two scrapping dogs.

"What's he got? A squirrel?" Another voice belched from behind the young boy.

"I think it's another dog. Butch, kill'm, kill'm." More shouting from the boy.

Butch was distracted by the two voices, and turned to look. Pepper took advantage of the distraction. He bit deep into the side of the big dog's neck, causing the animal to yelp in agony. Pepper let go, as Butch shook his head. Then Pepper ran for all his might, towards the safety of the trees. Butch took chase, but was obviously affected by the pain in his neck, which was now oozing red liquid. He gave up the chase, while the two humans tended to him. Pepper evaded another peril.

Back on the run again, the trees became rarer. Grass and shrubs replaced the thick forest that had provided cover during Pepper's journey. Dirt paths and gravel roads were now replaced with pavement. To now, Pepper had seen few vehicles, and mostly they traveled at low speeds. Now there were more cars, and they drove at high speeds. Crossing these roads, to stay on his instinctive route, proved challenging for Pepper. Several times cars screeched to a halt or swerved out of the way, as Pepper attempted crossing.

One time, Pepper was not fast enough. A speeding car caught him in the back end and flipped him high in the air. He crashed to the pavement, and on instinct he jumped up and ran for the ditch. Safely off the road, Pepper collapsed, lying motionless in the deep wet grass.

Pepper awoke total confused. He had no idea where he was, or what he was doing here. He was surrounded by tall grass and could hear car's zooming above him. The pieces started to come together. He remembered his capture, his escape and his perils. After walking in circles several times, he regained his senses and realized he received no damage from this incident. Nose in the air again, he picked a direction and ran. Time meant nothing to him, he kept running.

Pepper couldn't tell time. He just knew it had been a long time since he had seen his home – the man, the woman and Abby. He whimpered to himself every night as he stomped down a sleeping place in the ground, thinking of the warm, loving home. It had been 25 days since the two men in the truck had trapped him, and taken him into the wilderness.

Pepper didn't know north from west, but as he sniffed the air, he was drawn in a particular direction – east. He ran in that direction every day. He ran until he could run no more. Then he would lap some muddy water from a puddle in the ditch and scrounge some bread crusts and bones, from the cans he pushed over. Then he would curl up and sleep, in the cold night air, until he regained enough strength to do it all again the next day.

At day thirty, he could smell something familiar in the air. The area he found himself in had houses that looked like his own. The people acted like his people. They pushed machines in their yards; they took big scissors to bushes and trees. This is what his people did; he must be close to home.

Another night in the cold air, but he curled up next to a fence much like the fence in his yard. Again, a long day of running. Now things were more familiar, as the sun, slipped below the houses, leaving a faint light in the air.

Pepper saw a fat black dog, wagging her tail – it was Dixie. Dixie was neither friend nor foe to Pepper, but she belonged to his street. Today Dixie, who had never attracted Pepper because she lacked what other females had, looked beautiful - he was home. Past one house, a second, and a third. There it was. He couldn't detect the yellow colour of the house, but he knew the wooden screen door was his. He recognized the scars on the bottom of the wooden doors. Scars from his scratching over the years to get someone to let him in.

He didn't even stop to scratch the door. He leaped as high as he could and yelped. He leaped and yelped a second time, and the door opened.

"Pepper's home." Abby shouted and jumped. "Pepper's home, Pepper's home."

Pepper stormed through the doorway, knocking the Abby on her backside. But she didn't care, she laughed and cried. Pepper's tail wagged so hard that his whole body shook. He ran to Abby and slobbered all over her face with this moist tongue. Plates and cups crashed to the floor as Pepper's tail swept them from the low table. This would normally bring a strong reprimand, but Abby's dad just sat and smiled, while her mom put her hands over her face and sobbed so loud it almost caused Pepper to stop.

Abby ran to the kitchen for doggy treats. But as hungry as Pepper was, he ignored the food in favour of the attention, from his three people. Exhausted, Pepper laid his head on Abby's lap and closed his eyes, as she scratched his ears. The food would be there tomorrow.

A month had passed since Abby cried, "Pepper is gone."