Chapter 3 – The cheeseburgers of angst

Moments later I heard footsteps. The demon walked into the room. The food smell became stronger.

My stomach rumbled. Food.

My tail wagged slowly back and forth. Food.

Stop that.

My ears pricked up. My tail wouldn't stop wagging. And to make matters worse, my mouth started watering.

I was hungry. I wanted to eat.

He sat down on the couch. Something clicked and the tv came on. Paper rustled. The food smell became so strong I couldn't stop my mouth from watering.

I opened my eyes and backed out of the corner. I sat there on my haunches staring up at the back of the couch. I could see the back of the green-eyed demon's head. Heard crunching sounds. He was eating. Maybe he was having a snack before he killed me? Maybe.

I eased over to the back of the couch. It wouldn't hurt to have a look, would it? I raised up on my hind legs, put my front paws on the top of the couch. I looked over.

The demon had different clothes on. They were dry. He had a cheeseburger in his right hand. My mouth watered as he took a large bite. It smelled good. That burger had everything on it. Crispy pickles, onions and bacon slices. Gooey cheese, crunchy lettuce, creamy mayo. Thick juicy meat. A soft fresh bun. With sesame seeds.

I groaned out loud as I sank back down on my butt.

My stomach rumbled. Food. Gimme. GIMME!

I raised up again. Well. I wouldn't mind dying with a full stomach. A condemned man always gets one last meal. I knew that from the stories I'd heard about humans topside. Wouldn't the same thing apply to a condemned hellhound? I hoped so. I already had a bath. Maybe I could get some food too.

The demon held a remote in his other hand. The tv switched from one channel to another. The evening news disappeared and men on horses rode across the screen. Cowboys.

"Hey. Want some?" the Knight said. He turned towards me and held something up right in front of my nose."We're not sweating the cholesterol around here."

Food! My ears went straight up. He had a piece of burger in his hand.

My belly rumbled again. Damn thing wouldn't shut up. I reared back and opened and closed my mouth several times. Meat, bread and cheese. It smelled so good!

"You can have this piece. Don't bite me, okay?"

I leaned forward and gently took the burger out of his hand. I leaned back and took my time as I chewed and swallowed. It tasted just as good as it smelled.

He grinned at me. "Nice work. I've still got all my fingers." My tail wagged madly and I woofed. More, please.

The Knight reached into the white bag on the table beside him. He had another wrapped up burger in his hand. He held it in front of my nose and moved it back and forth. Oh, the food smells made me dizzy! I swayed back and forth in time with the motion of his hand. Then I leaned forward and tried to snap it up with my jaws.

He pulled the burger back out of my reach. "Not so fast."

I blinked, confused.

"These are yours." He pulled another cheeseburger out of the white bag and placed them both down on the seat beside him, one on top of the other. "But you gotta come out and get 'em."

Eat us, the burgers said. You know you wanna, big boy. Eat us. EAT!US!

I groaned out loud. Shook my head over and over again as my legs trembled and I sank back down on my haunches behind the couch.

No. I couldn't go out there. I just couldn't.

My stomach growled again. Louder this time, hard enough to rattle my spine.

FEEEEED MEEEE!

All right then. Fine!

I crawled over to the corner of the couch. Nothing happened. My stomach howled and growled. I hugged the side of the couch as I slunk around the corner. No death from above. Not yet, anyway. So far, so good.

I looked up. The demon reached into the white bag on the table next to him and pulled out another cheeseburger. He unwrapped it and took a bite.

He never looked at me, but I knew he saw me. I raised up and I grabbed both cheeseburgers with my mouth and dropped back down on all fours. I turned and ran back behind the couch.

The Knight chuckled to himself. "Baby steps."

I didn't even bother dropping the burgers on the floor. I sat down and gulped them down whole, wrapper and all.

Ahhh, they were delicious! I licked the grease off my lips.

Good, my stomach rumbled. NEED MORE. NOW!

Damn.

I heard more paper rustle out front, so I crawled back around to the front. When I looked up again I saw an unwrapped burger sitting on the couch. Another burger was stacked on top of the unwrapped one. There was a handful of French fries on the wrapper beside them. And a brown glass bottle next to that.

I sniffed the air. There was beer in the bottle.

I like beer.

I slid around the front of the couch again. When I raised up I used both paws this time. I bundled the burgers and fries up in the wrapper. I picked up the bottle. The glass felt slick and cold against my finger pads.

I stared at the demon the whole time. He ignored me. The skin around the corners of his eyes and mouth crinkled up a little, like he was trying not to smile. He didn't move, didn't try to hurt me. He just sat there eating and watching tv. I saw half naked human females bouncing a big multi-colored ball back and forth over a white net. They were on a beach somewhere.

I cradled my food to my chest with my right paw. I held the bottle in my left. I bent low and skittered on two legs back behind the couch.

My stomach rumbled again as I set my food down. FEED ME! MORE!

I put the wrapper down, pulled the metal cap off the bottle with my teeth, swallowed it and drank the beer fast. It was cold and burned in a good way going down.

Everything was hot and fresh, just as good as the first burgers were. I didn't just eat my food. I inhaled it. Ate the wrapper too.

After I finished I stood up on my hind legs, reached over the top of the couch and put the empty bottle back on the seat. I didn't know if that was the right thing to do or not but it didn't feel right to leave the bottle behind the couch.

The demon still ignored me.

Afterwards I laid down on my belly. I was full. I could face whatever was going to happen now. It was nice and peaceful behind the couch. My body felt like a wire that was stretched out too tight but now I could finally relax. The noise from the tv faded in and out. I didn't lower my head but I closed my eyes. I zoned out.

"Dude."

That startled me. When I opened my eyes and looked up there was the Knight. He was on his knees on the couch facing backwards. He rested his elbows on the top of the couch and he held my empty bottle in his right hand. He looked friendly.

All I could do was stare up at him with my mouth open. Finally I heard myself say, "Are you - are you Cain?"

He shook his head. "My name's Dean. What's yours?"

For a moment I went blank. I couldn't remember. Then: "My name's Hershey."

He laughed but I didn't think he was laughing at me. "Hershey? You mean like the chocolate?"

"Uh huh." I nodded. "My mom named me."

"That's nice. My mom gave me my name too." We stared at each other for a long moment. Was he going to hurt me now?

"Look, the back door's open if you need to answer nature's call. Leave if you want. Stay if you want. The couch is yours if you want it." He shrugged. "Your call."

He pushed up from the couch and walked out of the room. The light clicked off. That didn't bother me. I can see quite well in the dark.

Five minutes later I needed to pee.

I kept low as I slunk through the kitchen. My claws made clicking sounds on the hardwood floors and the tile. I raised up on two legs, turned the knob and the back door swung open.I dropped back down on all fours and pushed the door open with my left shoulder.

The rain clouds overhead had a lot of holes in them. I could see the stars. I lifted my head and breathed in cool air. I walked over to a nearby tree and raised my right leg. After I was finished I sat down.

I didn't know what to think. Did I want to stay? Or go? I still didn't trust any of this. Or that Dean either. He seemed nice enough.

But I'd let my guard down before.

The yard was large. Trees and grass. I smelled water. There was a large pool back there too. It was surrounded by tan stones. The fence surrounding the back yard was a tall wooden one. I could've easily jumped over or smashed through it. I didn't.

One night here wouldn't matter, would it? I could leave in the morning. Slip out the back and over the fence.

I turned around and padded back into the house. I closed the door behind me. My ears pricked upright as I heard light tapping noises. As far as I could tell I was alone on that floor. The sounds were coming from upstairs.

I slunk up the stairs and I stopped when I reached the top. The second floor was carpeted. More rooms. There was a light on in the middle room and the door was open halfway. I cocked my head to one side, then I eased up to the doorway but I didn't stick my head in.

Dean sat on his bed with this big blue laptop on his lap. He didn't look up. I backed away from the door, turned and headed for the stairs. The carpet was soft and thick underneath my paws. I didn't make any noise and that made me feel better.

"Good night, Hershey."

Damn. He knew I was out there.

I didn't answer.

I ran down the stairs into the living room and hid behind the couch again. I curled up on my side but the floor was too hard. I couldn't get comfortable. Funny I didn't notice that before. I tried lying on my belly. No good. I grunted as I stretched out on my side. That didn't work either.

I sat up with a growl. To hell with this. Well, Dean did say I could sleep on the couch, didn't he?

I came out and jumped up onto the seat. Huh. Nice cushions. Not too soft, not too firm. Just right. I circled around twice and laid down. This wasn't bad, Not bad at all. It wouldn't hurt to stretch out all the way, would it? I rolled over on my side. I took a breath, then another. I wouldn't go to sleep. I could stay awake until the morning and when I saw the sky outside lighten up through the windows I'd leave out the back door and jump over the fence.

Well, that was my plan, anyway.

My eyelids were too heavy to keep open. So I closed them.

No harm in that, right? I could rest my eyes.

Just for a moment.

I don't remember much after that.

Next: Hershey meets the neighborhood snoop. Sam comes to visit.