Companion

Riccardo had seen what had been done. He saw Daniella, killed in the observatory. He saw all the broken vases, he saw all the damage that had been caused. He saw the nutrient tank, no longer occupied. Maybe she had finally escaped. Not that he cared at all. And, as he walked out onto the castle's front lawn, he saw his last creation, dying. Debilitas lay on the grass in the front, breathing heavily, malnourished and near death. Still conscious, he turned his large, sad eyes on his master and let out a low wail. Riccardo sighed. Slowly, he took out his pistol and carefully loaded it, pouring in the gunpowder he carried with him and packing it down with the rod, then placing a single iron ball in the barrel. He aimed at the man's head. Debilitas just continued to look at him, pain and misunderstanding in his eyes. I owe him at least this much, Riccardo thought as he squeezed the trigger.

The sound of the gunshot echoed through the forest around him. Debilitas' head dropped to the ground, and he lay still. Slowly, Riccardo put the gun away. He didn't know where to start looking, or who to ask. But he knew he had to find her. He had to have her. And he had to punish her for what she had done to him. He started toward his car, noticing the yellow police tape around the whole castle. Yet... there were no police to be found.

"I don't want to hurt you, miss. Just come with me and everything will be fine. I don't want to hurt you."

That man was coming up the ladder. Daniella eyed the door she came in. Why did she have to come here in the first place? She had been walking around the house, just looking at the different rooms and seeing if she could find anyone else, when she had come upon this storage room. Famished, she had decided to come in here hoping to find something that was readily edible. Now she would pay for her decision. She looked over the edge. It was pretty high up, and if she jumped down to the concrete below, she risked breaking a bone. It was probably better than being taken, but what if he got her anyway... He wanted to hurt her, she didn't care what he said. If he got her, it would all be over.

He had made it up to the balcony, and was slowly walking toward her, extending an arm to her. Suddenly, she made her decision. She stood up quickly and vaulted herself over the railing. The man yelled something, but she didn't hear him as she came down hard against the cement. She hit it feet-first, heard something snap in a rush of pain, and fell face down on the cold stone. Something had happened to her left foot, and she could not get up. She lifted her head to see the policeman, and saw him hurrying back toward the ladder. She tried desperately to get up, but it was like the fall had knocked all the strength out of her.

He made it to the bottom of the ladder, and Daniella felt hot tears rolling down her face. He had her. It was all over. Suddenly, she saw a shadow pass over her, and all then the other man was on the ground as well. She looked up and saw that dog from earlier on top of him, snapping at him. The man screamed once, then kicked the dog off him and stepped backward, holding his wrist. The dog circled, then came at him again. The man stepped backwards and ran out the entrance, yelling curses. The dog stood at the entrance for a moment, still growling. Slowly, his growling died away and he turned back to Daniella.

Still terrified and confused at the moment, all she could do was lie there and stare at the animal. It came up to her and licked her face, then sat down in front of her. She saw that its tongue was a strange blue-black color, and... some of the teeth in the dog's open mouth were stained red. She reached out to touch the dog's fur, and stroked its face gently. She was surprised to find that she was crying even harder now than she had been. Suddenly, she grabbed the dog's fur tightly, much to its discomfort, and buried her face in its flank, sobbing. This whole thing... her whole life was just one big nightmare. But at least she had someone... something that was on her side.

The dog appeared to find this whole situation uncomfortable, and tried to pull away from her grip. She let go finally, allowing herself a shaky chuckle as she tried to regain some of her composure.

"Sorry. I've been having a bad day... So... your name's Poppy, is it? That's what that creepy mask guy called you, wasn't it?"

The dog, hearing its name, perked its ears up, but remained sitting at a safe distance. He obviously didn't want to be grabbed again.

"That's kind of a strange name for a dog, isn't it? Well... I've never heard it before."

Something occured to her, and she got up on her knees and crawled over to the dog, then got down and examined its underside.

"Especially strange for a male dog... But... you saved my life. Thank you... My name is Daniella." She pointed to herself and repeated, "Daniella."

He barked, seeming to make his own introduction. Normally, she would feel kind of stupid talking to a dog, but for some reason it was different with this one. She saw intelligence shine in the depths of his dark brown eyes, and she got the inexplicable feeling he could almost understand her. But as she was pondering this, a more urgent thought slipped back into her mind... Was he still out there? Was that police agent waiting for her outside of the door? She shuddered as she wondered what she was going to do next. She decided first on just concentrating on getting up. She rose slowly, her left foot throbbing with pain. She balanced herself on her other foot instead, wondering if this was a wound that would heal soon. She hoped it wasn't too serious.

Daniella looked down at the dog, wondering if it was going to stay with her. She hoped to god it did, because she needed a companion, somebody to help her, to protect her. She knew she couldn't make it on her own. She walked toward the door, but the dog did not follow her. It remained seated in the same place, its brown eyes following her. When she got near the doorway, she turned around and extended her hand.

"Poppy, come!" She said, worried that it wouldn't work, and she'd be stuck all by herself again.

But the dog immediately got up and came to her, walking over with a wide grin on its face, brushing up against her leg.

"Good boy," said Daniella, wiping her eyes, relief flooding through her. "Good boy."