Alpha and Omega

Bolt sat in vigil in front of Victor's grave. He had dug one for his friend in the same park where he met with Mittens. He had not known the old dog for long, but without him, he and Mittens may not even be alive right now. He thanked his friend one last time before leaving.

Bolt padded to the lake to wash his fur, but then saw his reflection in the water. His muzzle still stained with blood.

"So you're just a murderer now?"

He cringed at himself and destroyed the reflection by splashing his paws into the water to wash off the blood.

I'm not a murderer. He repeated to himself. The blood washed off, but he could still picture the blood stains on his face and paws as if they were burned into his memory. He lied on the shore and shut his eyes and began to sob. He felt angry, confused, disappointed as dark thoughts entered his head. He didn't know why he was acting so differently. He wanted to die, but then Victor's death would be in vain.

I should be the one dead, not Victor. Why does he always cause pain and suffering to his friends? Victor didn't deserve to die.

"You can't give her up, Bolt."

His friend's last words echoed and then his thoughts shifted. Mittens is alive. He wondered if she was thinking about him now. Is she grieving for him? Does she really believe he's dead? He wondered if she regrets anything. He imagined her looking at his collar and crying, wishing he was with her right now to comfort her. He wondered if he was right.

Or is she with her boyfriend now, crying in his arms as he comforts her. The thought struck his heart. Isn't that what he wanted? No, of course that's not what he wants, but it's what Mittens wants. How would she react if she found out he was alive? Would she stay with him? Would she realize then how much he cares for her? He wanted to believe it, but he couldn't find out. There was no turning back now.

He stood up and left for the city. He was going to take one last walk through the city.

By now, all the stores were closed and the streets were empty. It was quiet, almost eerie, but it let Bolt hear his thoughts, although suicidal thoughts controlled him. He didn't have anything to live for anymore and he thought it would be best if he could no longer cause anyone any more suffering. First Mittens and now Victor. He blamed himself, even if it wasn't all his fault. This would be his last walk and the last time to enjoy the serenity of peacefulness.

He thought of ways he could do it, something fast and painless, but he struggled to think of a way. Now he was wishing he could have just had his neck snapped by the Doberman.

He let his paws eventually lead him out of the city on a highway. He followed the road and then he saw it, a bridge in the distance. He continued towards it, but as he got closer, he noticed himself took shorter steps. When he finally reached the bridge, he looked over the side. A strong river current ran at the bottom about two stories down.

He went towards the middle of the bridge, mentally preparing himself. But then he saw another figure in the distance. He went closer, and recognized the white bandaging on the cat. It couldn't have been anyone else. Headlights appeared around the corner to cross the bridge from the opposite side of him.

But then suddenly, the car lost control and swerved back and forth. It veered onto the sidewalk. Loud screeching echoed as the car tried to stop, but it was too late. It was going to crash into Mittens. Bolt shouted out to her, but she appeared to be frozen in fear, staring at the car. And then, she jumped off. The car narrowly missed and spun to a stop.

Bolt raced to where she was and jumped after her. His body stung as he hit the water. He struggled to balance himself in the water, but the current was stronger than he anticipated. He swam as fast as his body would allow him.

"Mittens!" There was no reply. He could barely hear himself over the rushing of the current.

He panicked as he spotted rocks ahead of him. He flung his body to try swimming around but the current wouldn't allow him. His body crashed into it, knocking out what little air he had in his body, but he kept swimming with all his strength.

"Mittens!" He was barely able to call out again. He started to lose hope, until something caught his eye. A small golden trinket floated on top of the river ahead of him. It was his collar. He knew he was getting closer. He swam even faster.

Hang on, Mittens!

He finally spotted her. She floated on her back with her head out of the water. He caught up to her and wrapped his arm around her. He kicked his legs, but it wasn't enough to move him towards the shore. He would need all his legs. He bit into her scruff and kicked as hard as he could with all four of his legs. The shore got closer and closer. He finally reached for the grass, but his paws slipped and the two fell back into the river. He tried again and he held on, but his strength was depleting. He wouldn't be able to hang on for longer. He tried lifting Mittens up to at least save her.

But his strength gave out and they were dragged away by the current. He let go of Mittens and they fell under the water and floated as the current carried them. The water was cold. He helplessly stared at his friend as he felt his body go numb.

Is it really going to end like this?

But fate saved them. He felt himself crash into a large rock that stopped both of them next to the shore. He used it to push his legs against it to lift himself and Mittens out of the water. He crawled away from the river and set his friend down. He felt light-headed and eventually vomited some water. Then he caught his breath and examined his friend.

"Mittens!" He shook her to wake her but she didn't respond. He turned her on her stomach and rubbed her back with his paws.

"Don't give up on me Mittens. Don't you dare die on me too." He kept rubbing.

A few minutes passed and still no reply from his friend. His eyes watered with tears, but he kept rubbing.

"Come on Mittens." He murmured. "Please wake up."

Another minute passed and he stopped. Tears fell on his paws. He shut his eyes and sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Mittens. I should have never left you. I should have never pretended I was dead. Then none of this would've happened." He tried rubbing a few more times hoping it would work, but she still lay motionless.

He stopped. "It's all my fault." He muttered.

But then he heard soft groaning. His eyes shot open. Mittens coughed out water and coughed for air. He sat beside her and rested her head on one of his legs. She slowly came to and opened her eyes.

"Mittens?"

"Bolt…" she murmured and softly smiled, "I knew you were alive."

All he could do was smile. And cry. He slowly lifted her up to hug her. She hugged back.

"I'm never letting go of you. I'll never leave you out of my sight again." He whispered.

She licked his ear. "I'm never letting go either."

They looked into each other's eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful. Then he remembered. How much she meant to him. How much he cared for her. How much he wanted to spend his life with her. How he thought about her every night. How much she drove him insane. How he held back his feelings so she would think he was over her. How much it hurt him to see her with someone else. How he looked for the big dipper every night because it reminded him of her.

How much he loved her.

Only this time, he told her all of it.

"Mittens, I love you."

"I love you too, Bolt. I'm sorry, for…" But he interrupted and kissed her. Their first kiss which felt like a lifetime.

"Don't be." He whispered and kissed her again. "All that matters now is I'm with you and I'm never leaving you again."

They soon stopped and smiled to each other. "Take me home?" The cat asked. The white shepherd nodded and the two began their long journey home to spend the rest of their lives together.