Thud…

I awoke with a jolt as my head hit steel, and the rest of my body slid indirect and crashed against some sort of wire. My paws were numb, my shoulders still paralyzed, and I had this…tag…on my left ear. I could feel the warm blood slowly drip down from my ear onto the tag and my paw, its salty-tang smell filling the air around me and making me flinch. For several minutes, I couldn't see, as if I was in some sort of a foggy daze that immobilized me. But my senses soon returned, as I examined my surroundings. I couldn't think strait, though, or move out of pure shock and terror. My whole body convulsed in a tremor, my mind numb as I observed the things around me. It seemed as if I was in a metal box, with wire on all sides. It was big enough for me to walk around in, but I couldn't move at all, as my legs were tied and bound with rusted metal chains. I had this cover over my mouth, making it hard to see or breathe. Beside me sat two bowls, one containing water and the other containing some sort of brown pellets. My head ached with trepidation, my heart racing, and I felt as if I was going to be sick, and I began gasping as my heart jumped nearly out of my chest. There was a small gap in the cover over my mouth, just big enough for me to drink. Reluctantly I took a drink, and despite how horrid the water tasted, I thirstily lapped it up, soon emptying it.

I was too shocked, too terrified to even dare to move. And then the memories returned, and I began screaming as I flung myself mindlessly against the barbed-edge wires. It's hard for me to describe the feeling I had then…I just find it impossible to describe that sort of terror and traumatization. My mind was warped, scarred, damaged…at this point I felt as if I was going insane, my body immune to the hell that burned so vividly in my mind…the hell that shredded my heart and sucked the life out of my and into the darkness. I then heard the pattering and stomping of footsteps outside of my cage, but I kept on barking and howling with all of the life I had left in me. That's when this…creature…had appeared in front of my cage, peering at me with deep brown-hazel eyes, and that's when I seen an image of myself, falling and lifeless, and crashing to the ground; there was no light, only me. I looked up at the big tan-pink creature and growled, out of fear as well as surprise.

When I was the tiniest pup, I recall the words my mother had whispered to me, her voice as sweet as an angel…or the coo of every dove that's life was taken for the sake of our survival, its blood running cold as we rip it to shreds. She had told me and my brother and sister about these creatures. "Humans… they are cruel and treacherous, heartless as a fox, just as malicious as a bear, as venomous as the bite of a viper…just cold as stone. Their words burn and their greedy paws do nothing but evil, slowly taking away your sanity and the freedom of all you know and live for… Those are the warnings I will give you, and those are the warnings you must heed." Those words seem to make sense now, all of it piecing together as the events unfold in my mind…why mother had those scars…

I flinched, shutting up, as I pressed against the cold steel wires of my cage…the human had this…stick…it was brown, and stained with blood that had soaked deep into the wood…he had whacked the top of my cage, hard, remorselessly…his beady eyes glimmering as bright as a star that has erupted in a vortex of fire…A glint that was so menacing, full of evil…He smacked the top of my cage once again, ruthlessly, as I growled at him. He had this thing in his mouth, and in anger, spit smoke at me, stinging my eyes. The sight of smoke made my body tremor and I howled in indescribable pain; I felt this…jump…in my heart, and deep down inside I knew I was scarred mentally and physically. The truth was that I was truly terrified… growling and yelping in horror…If only they knew the trauma I had gone through before this…Like they would care… He hit my cage once more, this time his using his hands. His fingers managed to slip through the holes in the top of my cage, and almost uncontrollably, I reared up and nipped his thumb quicker than an eagle in pursuit of its prey.

A drop of blood, just small enough to make a sound, hit the ground inside the cage. I screamed in terror as the man kicked my cage, the door flying open and allowing some space…Now was my chance! I took in a breath of air before charging out the cage, ducking and weaving in circles as the man stumbled around holding his thumb, trying to stomp on me...I the leapt up and bit into the nearest skin I could find. I dropped to the floor, gasping and choking on the taste of the man's warm, tangy blood. Laughing uncontrollably out of nervousness, I soon realized that I had made a huge mistake. I turned, not knowing where I was going and half jogged and half dragged my body across the floor. My pelt felt as if it were made of stone, dragging me down with each step…

As I pushed on, I felt as if the walls around me were closing in, like the whole hallway was just another cage…just part of a maze. My mind was whirling, and I was blinded to everything around me… I had to get out, something deep down inside me told me I was in trouble. But soon I began tripping over my own legs, as the meds had not worn of completely yet. I heard the man scream, and the next thing I know I felt something hit my head and redness seeped into my eyes, and slowly, I fell to the ground…they last thing I felt was the stick whacking my side monotonously, and his foot slamming me against the wall with brute force. I went black, coldness seeping over my body, feeling as if the life and energy was being sucked out of my limbs, inch by inch…

For the next few days, I kept receiving these shots in my legs; each and every time I arise from my sleep, they would give a short break where I would be blindfolded and taken outside into the grass to make my dirt or eat. If I refused to do either, they would shock me with their metal stick until I did as I was told…I usually obeyed them, as much as I hated the fact that they pushed me around. But if I made one mistake, they would shock and burn my fur off until they would get what they want… Which is my blood on their hands. Over a short period of a few days, I came to realize that they like to inflict pain. They like to see others scream and yelp. They are not humans…these are monsters. I have never really seen them, but I have heard other dogs screaming in pain far off in the distance…but only when they take me outside. Are there…others…? I wondered, shivering at the thought…at the fact that it is probably true.

Weeks passed, and I began to grow thinner and thinner, but faster and "obedient". The truth is, they not only punished me with shock, as I began to become immune to it, but they took away my food…the only source I have to live on, to thrive on; without it, I felt as if I would collapse, and the horror struck me as I thought of how badly they would beat me if my body gave way. So I listened to their every command as they taught me to do different things. Only once in a while did I get to interact with another "canine". It was done so I would get used to associating with t=other dogs, but, hell, I lived with my brother and sister, who always took advantage of me, so I was used to it. All the other dogs were blindfolded and chained, the scent of blood or rust nearly evaporating in front of my nose. If I made one move wrong, wham, I would get hit with a nail-belt. If the other dog misbehaved or even tugged at their leash, wham, I would hear them yelp as metal or leather him them firmly. But a heartbeat after no more than a sniff, they would lead me back into my cage. And when nightfall arrived, they would take my blindfold and cover from my mouth off, and I would fall deep into the only place I could roam free: My mind. I would often dream of escaping, but then the dream would collapse and I could see myself being beaten and whipped and burned, being thrown back into a cage. The dreams continued night after night, restless dose after restless doze, haunting my every step the next day.

Until one day…one gloomy, stormy day where they had awoken me with their shock-stick…they removed my blindfold, and dragged my cage into a room. Releasing my latch, allowing my door to creep its way open, light flooded my eyes and I blinked. I was beginning to become used to the dark, almost as if I were blind. My eyes stung and watered as light seeped through, allowing me to see. It was all bleary, as if my eyes had not yet adjusted to the light. I still hadn't moved from my cage, and all I could see were blurry shapes looming around. A hand touched my side, and I began to growl, but swallowed my anger, knowing that if I bit them, I would be punished. But instead of the hand pulling my fur to drag me out of my cage, the hand was…gentle. They didn't harm me in any way, but instead lifted me out gingerly, and placed me on the floor. I slid, but quickly used my claws to balance myself. My eyesight soon cleared, and I looked into the eyes of the human that knelt before me. This human was unlike any other of the vile creatures that I had seen before. Then I realized that it was a female, with long black hair and pinkish-red glasses and a vacant smile, as if I was some sort of "prize". She raised a hand towards my face, and I cowered in fear, growling softly. The female then looked at me with an unreadable expression, and the man that had carried me into the room kicked me. The female then stood up quickly and yelled something at the man in a human language, unable for me to decipher.

It wasn't long before the man took my cage out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving me in the room alone with the woman. This odd feeling of being touched so gently calmed me, but I knew I couldn't trust any human anymore, no matter how gentle they were with me or how soft their face seemed. I would always have this …fear of them, after the trauma they put me through. I see the human then walk over to the left side of the fairly-large, white-tiled room, to the counter, a monotonous click, clack, click, clack, echoing off the walls and echoing back into my ears. Above the counter lay a few shelves, and she dragged a small box down. She began to pull something out of the box, but as I was trying to focus on her, this man, what a lean figure he had, with these piercing black eyes and a grey suit like the torturing men that had dragged my cage into this room, walked in and said something to the woman, and turned in order to stare at me. He glared, then left, grasping his shock-stick in his right hand tightly, almost as if saying to me, "Come closer to me and you'll never see the end of it." But as they had taught me with their brute force, I sat still, not darning to even bare my teeth at him.

The woman then slowly slipped this white covering over her hand, and slowly stepped back in my direction. I froze, hoping that she wouldn't touch me. But my hope faded as she bent over and grabbed my sides. I growled, but then cowered away in fear of her burning or shocking me. I felt trapped against the wall, unable to escape the tendrils of fear climbing up my paws and into my heart, inch by inch, with me knowing that they would forever enclose my heart with fear…