Wildlife
"Tick"
Bingo was in her hotel room by herself. Her eyes were wide open. She was sitting on the ground, Holding her toy sniper rifle up to the bottom of her jaw. She shot herself, and the rubber bullet just slightly stung her jaw. She grabbed the rubber bullet and placed it back in her toy gun. And pulled the level to bring back the spring.
"Tick"
She reshot herself; all she could think about last night was how that dog got crushed by the giant truck. She saw her body on the road. In her mind, it was her fault for the pitbull's death. Bingo never even knew her name. For the first time in her 3 years of having a blood addiction. She lost the taste for it. Even though she ate her skin, It still didn't taste the same anymore. She never wanted to see anything like what she saw yesterday ever again.
"Tick"
She put the toy gun down and stared at nothing. Her eyes were still constricted; she had a Blank look. She would have stayed still for hours if not for Brandy coming in and opening the door into the room where Bingo sat. "Bingo come on, we're going to the Florida par-... .. Are you ok". She said, walking up to her; Bingo kept staring at nothing. Brandy picked her up; she stood there for a sec. And then began to step out of the room. Leaving Brandy with a confused look, She didn't say anything and just exited the room.
The four heelers went down to the first floor; Bandit took his phone out to see when their pickup would arrive to take them all to Orlando's Wildlife park. "He should be here in a few minutes, Can't wait to go to the park. Heard they had pythons that can grow over 10 feet. And argentine tegus". He said, smiling while checking his phone; he had a backpack on. Holding equipment for the trip, it had water bottles, snacks, and other supplies for the trip. Bluey was beside her aunt, holding her hand. Each day she got more attached to her, making the red heeler feel more important to Bluey every day. Bingo, on the other hand, stood by her father, looking at her aunt. She did not like the way her sister acted towards her aunt. But then her mind began to wander; she looked in front of the road. Her eyes began to twitch. Thinking about the squished pitbull from yesterday, She remembered what her corpse looked like. Squished organs, bent limbs, brain matter, and an unrecognizable face, she could never forget it.
"BEEP"
"BEEP"
A black van came from the corner of the street, going faster than it should legally be allowed to drive. The tires were bleeding on the road as it parked in front of the four heelers. Dust flew in the air, and they were all coughing. The windows were tinted black, the passenger side rolled down. To reveal a yellow corgi with two black patches on the side of his head. He had tinted glasses on, with a calm smile, And looked at the 4 heelers. "Y'all ready for the ride." He said, taking the shades off and putting them on the dashboard. Bandit and Brandy just looked at each other with a confused look. The corgi opened the car doors with the control on the door. They all got in; it was clean and had a nice applewood smell to it.
"Hola name is Joshua, And it's nice to meet you all. I see your daughter is a biter. But don't worry, I don't judge others for what they did. I just go along for the ride". He said, putting his glasses on the dashboard. "Mints"? He offered while holding a bowl of circle-flavored mints. "Sure?" the blue heeler said, grabbing one of the mints. He grabbed 3 more mints and gave it to Brandy. She gave one to Bluey And offered the last one to Bingo. She didn't keep her eyes off the floor And took the mint. Bandit noticed this And was about to say something until he looked down at the clutch stick. "Wait, this car is clutch; you do know how to drive it, right mate?".
"That's the thing, cap, I've only driven the clutch twice". Joshua said as he put the stick on first gear and hit the clutch pedal. And got the car to start driving down the road toward the park. It was a bumpy ride when the corgi forgot to keep his foot on the clutch, making them all have a quick stop, almost flinging them off their seats. "We have arrived here; I hope you guys have a wonderful time in Orlando Park." The happy corgi said while opening the van's door, Bandit walked out of the passenger side feeling sick. Brandy and Bluey had their nails clenched on the seats. "YOU DRIVE WORSE THAN DAD". Bluey yelled As she and the two red heelers got out of the car. "my mother always said to take negative comments with pride. So thank you, kid; I hope you all have a wonderful day". He said while getting back in the van, And hitting the clutch. Joshua drove about over 35 miles in the parkway.
"He's gonna run someone over if he continues to drive like that." Brandy complained, Causing bingo to twitch her eye, reminding her of yesterday. The 4 heelers turned around to see the woods; there was a trail that led into the park. The trees were tall, and the air was humid; the 4 heelers turned around to see the woods. There was a trail that led into the park. Bandit stretched his back and moved his hips from left to right. "Come on, I want to see if we can get some pictures of the wildlife." He said, while getting his phone out; he began to walk down the trail. Brandy and Bluey followed him closely, with Bingo being at the end of the line, keeping her head down.
"Dad, Junior said that if we're lucky, we could see a cougar. He said they look like female lions but with longer tails". Bluey said while kicking a rock, Florida was known to have cougars, but they were usually rare to see. "I hope we don't; I don't like wild animals that much." Brandy said, looking at the river that was beside the trail. It wasn't big, but it was large enough to hide something underneath it. And it terrified the red heeler. "Is it because you're scared of crocodiles, Aunt Brandy?. You never told us why you were scared of them." Bluey asked with a confused look, Brandy just looked away while scratching her arm. "Bluey, it's not something she's comfortable talking about; please drop it." He said, sounding a bit annoyed; Bluey put her head down, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Come on, Bandit, She was just being curious. Like I said, in time, you will know what…..happened". Brandy said while hugging her sad niece; she went up and lightly punched Bandit on the shoulder. "Ow, you bunghole". He said, a bit annoyed Bluey giggled under her breath. Bandit shook his head and looked around the gravel trail; his eyes widened when he saw two Argentine tegus crossing. "Look," Bandit said while taking a picture. They were black and white, they were both 3 and a half feet long. "Wait, aren't those invasive here in Florida"? Brandy said, observing the large lizards.
"Yeah, Florida is known to have a lot of non-native wildlife from all over the world. These types of lizards originate from South America. The government tried to take them out, but they just kept repopulating. The same goes for the other invasive species like Burmese pythons, basilisk lizards, and…..". Bandit stopped himself when he turned around and saw that Bingo was nowhere to be seen. "B-Bingo, BINGO". He yelled out loud; Brandy looked around in a panic. Not being able to see the little heeler. They all started to shout out her name, not knowing that Bingo was only 20 feet away on the top of a hill covered by trees.
She had to go to the bathroom and went to find some privacy. When she was done, she heard her father call out for her. Bingo didn't bother asking him to go with her. The healer didn't even wanna talk to anyone; she took in a deep breath.
"crunch"
She looked back to see A large brown feline crouching up to her. It stopped walking when Bingo looked at her directly in its eyes. They stood there in an awkward silence. Any dog in this situation would feel instant fear. But bingo didn't feel anything; she kept on looking at the large cat who was 3 times her size. She opened her arms and spread her hands wide. Waiting for the cougar to do something. The large feline began to crouch and walk up towards her. Bingo stood her ground, But the cougar stopped and sat down. It twisted its head in curiosity; why wasn't the young dog afraid of it. The cougar felt strange for the red heeler; it looked to the right and began to walk away from the red heeler, leaving her all alone again.
She dropped her hands and looked down at the ground; why must she suffer like this being alive. Knowing it was her fault that the pitbull died yesterday. She put her head down and turned around, walking back down the hill where the other heelers were waiting for her.
"BINGO" Bluey yelled for her sister again, waiting for a response. "I'm right here, Bluey." The red heeler said, walking down the hill; Bandit and the girls ran up to her. "Bingo, Why did you run off"? Brandy said, sounding very concerned for her; Bingo just ignored her and looked at her father. "I'm sorry, Dad, I had to go use the bathroom; I couldn't hold it." She said, telling only half the truth. "Just please don't do that again, mate; I don't want to lose you, Bingo." Bandit hugged his daughter. The red heeler embraced her father's hug. Brandy felt a bit unhappy that Bingo ignored her. But she ignored it and got up; so did the others.
The four heelers continued their journey down the trail for about 30 minutes, not stumbling around any more wildlife. Until they saw a 10-foot long Burmese python in the middle of the gravel trail. Bandit and the girls kept their distance, Bluey was hugging her aunt, And her aunt was hugging her back. They both hated snakes, But Bandit admired them. "You guys are overreacting; it's just a snack-."
"THUMP"
A large cougar jumped out of a bush and grabbed the reptile by its head. The python tried to coil around the feline's neck.
"CRACK"
But it didn't matter; it had already broken its skull. The cougar looked up at the four heelers, licking its lips from the fresh blood. Brandy and Bluey were beyond terrified; the red heeler had the instinct to run away. But that feeling went away when she felt bandits hand grab hers. He kept his eyes on the cougar, not feeling any fear. "Don't run brandy, it will just go after you. Get down, let's show it that we mean no harm". Bandit whispered to her; she gulped and listened to the blue heeler. Bluey and Bingo did the same. However, the little red heeler recognized the large cat. It was the same one that was stalking her when she went to use the bathroom.
Bandit took out his phone with one hand. and took the flash off his camera. He took several pictures of the large feline as it began to feed on the snake. Bluey felt like she was about to throw up from the scenery. The cougar picked up what was left of the python and ran into the woods. Leaving the 4 heelers on the trail. "That was amazing; cougars are rare to see in Florida." Bandit said while looking over the pictures on his phone. Not knowing that he was still holding Brandy's hand. She wanted to take her hand back, But yet she didn't want to. His hand was so soft it felt right to hold it. She even tightened her grip, Which made the bandit notice it.
She quickly took it back and looked away with an embarrassed look on her face. The blue heeler wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. But he just shook his head and scratched his back, turning a bit red. "Look at the time; it's time to head back to the hotel". He said quickly, walking back where they came from. Brandy stood there looking at the blue heeler, and he continued to walk. Bingo followed her father, not wanting to look back at Brandy.
It was a bit of an awkward trip back to the parking lot. Bandit just couldn't look at Brandy, And brandy couldn't look at him. Bingo noticed this and got annoyed; she didn't want her aunt to replace her deceased mother; it didn't feel right. Bluey, however, had a huge smile on her face. They all then gathered in a group waiting for their ride. "Ok, the guy should be here any second; you're ok with taking care of the girls for 3 hours, right?". He had agreed to go on the alligator trip with Marcus and Theresa. However, the ride only had enough space for one more passenger. Their kids couldn't go, so they hired a babysitter to take care of them. And since Brandy didn't want to go at all, she was gonna stay at the hotel with the kids. "Yeah, I just don't wanna go; plus, I've already seen enough wildlife for one day." Brandy said.
"SSSSSCCCCCRRRRSSSSHHHH"
The same minivan came by the heelers, almost tipping over and falling on them. The window came down to reveal the same yellow corgi with sunglasses. "chispas, I almost fell on y'all; get in the car; I think I almost got used to driving clutch." He said, smiling and lifting his eyebrows at the four heelers. They all just gave each other a worried look.
3 hours later
After going on a joyride with the corgi. Bandit had gone with Theresa and Marcus on the trip to see alligators. It was about 2 hours since they left, so they should be back any minute. Brandy stayed at the hotel; she was outside cooking some burgers in a small coal grill. While Bluey watches Brandy cook.
On the far side of the park, Junior and Hilda were playing baseball. And a slightly large grey dog stood beside them, keeping an eye on the two. Bingo was about 20 feet away from them, playing with her toy gun.
"Ting"
She shot empty soda cans that her family had drunk yesterday. It was about 25 feet away from her. She had good aim. Bingo opened the chamber again and placed the plastic bullet in. She aimed and fired. Taking out the last soda can. She sighed and put the gun down; for some reason, shooting made her feel just a little better. "Hey, Bingo". Said junior, holding two fishing rods; beside him were his sister and Bluey. They were both also holding fishing rods. "Do you want to come fishing with us near the river? We usually always catch something in it". Junior offered her the extra fishing rod; she shrugged, And followed them near the small river. Marcus then proceeded to explain how to use the fishing reels.
"Please be careful, Don't get too close to the water." Said the gray female dog; she had a blue shirt on, and Brandy noticed her. She assumed she was the babysitter that got hired to take care of the kids. "Hi there, you must be taking care of Theresa's kids''. Brandy said to the gray dog; she turned around and looked at the red heeler. "You know her?". Said the gray dog, Brandy picked up the burger with her spatula And placed it on a burger bun that was on a plate. The gray dog licked her lips; the food looked good, and she had not eaten since yesterday. "Care for a burger". Brandy offered the dog; she took the plate from the red heelers hands And sat down on a wooden picnic table near the grill. She sat down and took a bite from the burger; it was so juicy and rich with flavor. "oh my goodness…..this is so good, G-Gracias' '. The gray dog said in a Latin accent as she continued to eat the burger. "Oh, thank you, It's my first time cooking from a grill". Brandy said
"C-could I have one more… por favor? My name is Maria". The gray dog said with embarrassment; Brandy started to add more patties to the grill. They started to have a bit of a small talk while the kids were trying to catch fish. "Yeah, I never really understood why they are so expensive; we need them". Said Brandy as she finished making 14 burgers. "Oh, hold on, I forgot the sodas. Could you look at my… nieces while going get the drinks. It shouldn't take long at all". The other dog nodded, And Brandy went off to walk to the staircase leading to the hotel room.
Meanwhile, the kids had put pvc pipes on the ground and placed their rods Inside. They, however had no luck catching anything, and Bluey started to complain. "Why is it taking so long for the fish to bite''? Bluey complained, Junior shook his head. "All you have to do is be patient, bluey; that's the whole point,". Marcus answered, rolling his eyes. "Well, this is still boring".
"RRRRRRRRRRR"
One of the rods started to drag the line, "BLUEY GO GET IT." Hilda yelled at the blue heeler. Bluey did as she was told and ran up and grabbed the fishing rod. She began to pull on what she assumed was a big fish. "I NEED HELP. " Bluey yelled, pulling as hard as she could, Junior grabbed bluey on her sides. And they both began to pull; it felt like a giant fish. The reel had a loose drag, And it was screeching. Bluey started to spin the reel, And she could feel the fish coming towards the shore. "HILDA GO GET THE NE-
"SPLASH"
It was all under a second; a large reptile jumped out from the water. And tried to chomp down on the two kids, But Junior and Bluey moved out the way in time. All the kids screamed and began to run away from the large reptile. It was green and skinny; it hadn't eaten in months. It was starving, to the point where anything it saw was food. Even dogs, It was a 10-foot American crocodile.
It then began to gallop towards the kid, crocs don't usually run, But they can have a burst of speed. And it was starting to catch up with the kids. "HELP" Hilda yelled, Maria, that was still eating on the table. She turned around and saw the kids running away from the large croc. Junior Bingo and bluey were starting too far from the croc. But sadly, Hilda was far behind, And the croc was about two feet away from her. The little rottweiler turned around and screamed while the croc jumped and tried to slam its jaws on the young dog. But the large reptile missed; Maria had run up just in time to pick up the young dog. Away from the beast's jaws. The gray dog ran towards the picnic table where the kids stood on top of it to get away from the reptile.
The croc was desperate to kill the dogs; it was using all its energy to try and jump on top of the picnic table. The young dogs were hugging, the gray female dog, Screaming in fear, tears were running down their eyes. As the croc hissed and snapped at the dogs. It started to climb on top of the table.
"CLUNK"
They all heard it And turned around. The sound of ice, And sodas falling from a cooler. And what stood behind it was Brandy. She stood there eye to eye with the croc. Her mouth was wide open, And her hands began to shake.
"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"
The croc hissed and got off from the side of the picnic table, and It began to walk toward the Red Heeler. "AUNT BRANDY, RUN!!!! Bluey screamed at the top of her lungs. But Brandy didn't listen. Her heart was pounding. Her teeth were shaking, She was hyperventilating. It was a crocodile, Not an alligator. They gave her anxiety. It was the only thing that scared her to her core. Her pupils were constricted. Tears slowly fell from her eyes as the giant reptile started getting closer. She tried to walk back, But her anxiety made her dizzy. She fell to the ground, staring right at the crocodile. Her breath was getting shorter; She began to cry silently. The croc was right in front of her, just a foot away; it stood there waiting to see if the weeping dog would have tried something. It opened its jaws, Got into a pouncing position, And jumped.
"WHACK"
A bat swung at the croc and smacked it away from the red heeler. It fell on its belly; it turned over to try and see who had hit it. All the reptile did was see a small metal bat in front of its face.
"WHACK"
"WHACK"
"WHACK"
"WHACK"
"WHACK"
"WHACK"
"CRACK"
……………….
Bandit stood in front of the dead crocodile; he had returned from the alligator trip. He was walking down with Marcus and Theresa, But when he saw the crocodile staring at Brandy. He sprinted into action, And grabbed the bat on the ground that Junior had left. He didn't want to kill the animal, But he didn't want Brandy to die. He was huffing and puffing; he used all his strength to break the crocodile's skull; he was covered with blood And Brain matter. The croc's head was completely shattered along with its eyes. "Brandy". Bandit said, looking back at her; she didn't look at him. It was as if the croc was still there looking at her directly in the red heeler's eyes. Bandit looked down at Brandy's legs; she had pissed herself out of fear. He walked up to her to try and comfort her
"It's ok, B-"
"NO, NO, MOMMY, NO, PLEASE, IM SORRY, IM SORRY, I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING. "
She tried to get away from the bandit, But the blue heeler didn't give up. He hugged her tightly and held her head towards his shoulder. Feeling the tears coming from the red keepers eyes.
"Brandy, it's ok; calm down. Nothing is going to hurt you". He said, feeling her arms hug him tightly, Brandy's nails were starting to dig into the Bandit back. But he didn't care; the only thing he tended about was making her feel better. She started to hiccup from all the stress; she continued to cry, remembering the day her mother was eaten by a croc.
FLASHBACK: 11 years ago
"I just don't know what we're gonna do with Katherine." Mort said to his wife; she was a red heeler with long hair and a few orange spots. They were both in the kitchen looking through the window. Brandy was across the river, where she was aggressively drawing on a canvas. She's been out in the sun for 20 minutes with a scowl on her face. As she hit the canvas over and over again with her paintbrush. Katherine just sighed; Brandy was having a small meltdown after her boyfriend had left her at the party 2 days ago. "It's her 7th boyfriend now, And he left her for the same reason as the others". Katherine said, shaking her head, feeling bad for her eldest daughter. "I would feel bad for her, But I've had it up to here with her issues. Everytime you and I try to talk to her, she just cusses us out". Mort complained.
"You know she's been getting more desperate, because of chili. She only dated one dog, And now they've been married for almost a decade. And chilli is pregnant with her……… second baby". Katherine said, looking down, remembering the amount of grief her youngest daughter had gone through after losing her first baby about 2 years ago. Mort saw this and hugged her with his right arm. "It's been difficult for her. Even bandit was crying with chili. I never thought I could see a man like him cry like that". Mort said, shaking his head, Trying not to get emotional. I still should go and check up on her, I just….have too". The red heeler said, walking out to the front door; more just stared at her and shook his head.
He did care about brandy, But she was always a pain to deal with ever since she was 16. She would always sneak out and go to parties with chili, She lost her virginity at 15. Because she thought she found the right dog. But they broke up just two weeks later. And even after she moved out of the house, she would always find ways to get herself in trouble. One time she drove her own car into the river because she thought it would impress her "friends" at her party. Mort sighed; he didn't want to feel angry towards his older daughter. But sometimes, he just couldn't control himself.
Outside, Katherine was walking towards her daughter; she looked at the river and saw that it was sparkling because of the sun. Making it look very beautiful today, Which gave her an idea. She walked up to Brandy, who was still beating the canvas with her paintbrush. "I FUCKING HATE YOU HANK". She yelled, hitting the canvas one more time, strong enough to punch a hole through it. She then proceeded to throw the canvas on the ground and pull on her ears, Cringing in pain. "You always do that when you're stressed out, honey." Katherine said, walking up to her daughter with a smile. "What do you want, mum? Can't you see I'm drawing my EX BOYFRIEND". She said, grabbing the canvas and showing her mother a badly drawn image of a dog getting stabbed in the dick.
Brandy's mother just gave her a blank look And shook her head. She went up and threw the canvas on the ground. And gave Brandy a light slap on her cheek. "First of all, you never speak to me in that tone, young lady. Second, you need to get over Hank, sweetie; please, it's for your own good". She said, holding Brandy's shoulder; the Heeler looked at her mother's hand. She wanted to cry And give her mother a hug. But she hid her emotions deep down to not show any signs of weakness. It was the last thing she wanted to do. Katherine then looked down near the canvas stand; there was one more clean canvas, which gave her an idea of what brandy could draw. "You know, instead of drawing something ludicrous…… You should draw something beautiful. Look at the river; what do you think of it?"
Brandy turned around and looked at the water. The sun was setting, and it gave it a beautiful bluish-orange glow. For some reason looking at the shimmering glow of the water made her calm down a bit. Katherine offered her daughter the blank canvas, and she moved the canvas holder to where she could get a nice view of the water. She grabbed the canvas and placed it on the holder, And grabbed her brush, And paint, as she began to get to work on it. "You know it's not gonna be as good as Chilli's drawings, right? She was always better than me." Brandy complained to her mother; Katherine just patted her back. "She's not better than you hone-"
"BUT…… But it's true; I've dated over 7 men, and I couldn't keep them longer than a month. All she did was ask out some big blue guy, And now they are married…..And about to have a…. Kid…. Why couldn't it have b-b-been". The red heeler was about to have a mental breakdown. "You shouldn't feel jealous of your little sister Brandy; you should be happy for her. You know it's been a few years ...after her miscarriage; this is good for her". Katherine said, wiping the tears off Brandy's face with her finger. The red heeler shook her head and tried to concentrate on the canvas. The drawing was starting to actually look good, So she determined herself to finish it.
After 20 minutes, it was done, it was a painting of the water, And how the sun shimmered on it, She even drew the mountains behind it. The colors were bright and beautiful; even Brandy had to admit, It was probably one of the best paintings she's ever made. "My goodness, it came out great, sweetheart." Katherine said, walking around and grabbing the canvas, Off the canvas holder. Brandy wanted to be angry anymore; she felt a feeling of happiness and satisfaction. She even smiled when her mother grabbed the canvas and walked back closer to the river to show just how good her drawings looked.
"Take a picture of this, I'm gonna put it in the scrap ebook
"CHOMP"
Katherine felt a sharp pain in her privates; everything was in slow motion; she was being turned around in the air. But she was no longer in slow motion when whatever grabbed her slammed her face right into the ground.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH"
The red heeler yelled as her stomach and privates were being crushed by a giant 18-foot saltwater crocodile. She tried to crawl away, but it wouldn't even make a difference. The large reptile had its jaws deep in her skin.
"BRANDY, BRANDYYYYYYY".
Katherine yelled at her daughter as she felt her pelvis and stomach get crushed from the large crocodile. Brandy couldn't move. She was in a state of shock from what was going on. Her pupils were constricted, and her legs were shaking.
"CRUNCH"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
The large reptile did a slow death roll managing to tear the insides and privates, And swallowing it down whole. Somehow the red heeler was still alive as her organs fell from her body. In one last effort, she tried to crawl away, but the last thing she saw was Brandy's frightened eyes. They stared at each other for one last time.
"CHOMP"
The croc bit down on the heeler's head, And began to shake out what was left inside of her. It managed to throw an organ onto Brandys lap. It turned around and returned to the river, never to be seen again. The traumatized heeler looked down at her lap.
It was her mothers heart, and it was still beating. "MOMMY, MOMMYYYYYYY. " She yelled for her mother, who was now deep inside the reptile's stomach.
End of chapter 27