~milksop

i was assimilated into the pack. the mongrels wave their tales while being pelted by rain, still wrestle to their own hysteric delight, even for the mud. the pup gnaws on cow bones; Mark explains

Conrad wants to attract a bear

why?

So he can shoot it.

I nod my head, we get to pulling wet rope and giant spools that were once used to weave commerce sometime after the industrial revolution but before the digital age. I nod-- the wires that actually support us are being tossed to the fields, the wires that fill our hearts empty course through the walls.

The dogs scamper over the remains of buildings and animals, howling sweet mirth as they barrel into me.

do they have a home?

yes, they live outside

what about the rain?

there is a pen on the property.

I muscle one with a shoulder, her tongue lolling to the snapping rhythm of her neck. The biggest, Jake, bares teeth. I relent, baring my frame, and he charges, and I fall into those snapping jaws, and he hovers them prickling against my arm, and the puppy leaps to slather me in ecstasy.