Side Story #1 - Colt - Page 40

Colt had already caught a snake, though it wasn't dead yet. It was just in a trap that he'd laid out yesterday, so Brick definitely wasn't smelling its spilled blood or anything like that. And Alice had just given him treats, too, so he couldn't have been that hungry. What the hell was he sniffing for?

Brick wasn't budging, either. Just standing there, looking at him.

Whatever. Colt wasn't about to get into a staring contest with a fucking dog. He went back to hunting.

And Brick went back to following him.

Hmph.

Colt continued on. He knew several places where he could find some wild blueberries and red huckleberries, but they were a bit far from the cabin. He'd exhausted most of the berry plants that were closer and was currently waiting for more to grow.

After a while longer of walking, Brick ran in front of him and abruptly stopped.

Colt was about to get annoyed when he noticed that the dog's posture was quite rigid.

Brick was pointing.

Colt looked but didn't see anything in that direction. The forest was too dense to see very more than forty meters or so.

Well.

Alright. He was pretty sure there was another group of berry shrubs that way, too, though they were a bit farther than on the other side of a stream. And if the damn dog had smelled or heard something over there, then maybe it was worth a look.

He started walking, at a slower pace this time, trying to be quieter. Amazingly enough, he noticed Brick do the same behind him.

In time, they arrived at the stream that Colt knew was there. And they observed a small flock of freckled ducks.

Hmm. Not bad, Colt thought. Maybe this dog wasn't a total asshole to him, after all.

The only problem now was approaching the birds without scaring them off. A rifle with some birdshot in it would've been pretty nice right about now. He could use his path of destruction as a substitute, but he was moderately afraid that it would obliterate the things so completely that there wouldn't even be any meat left to cook afterward.

A trap would've probably been the most reliable way to catch one, but that obviously required prep work. A net would've been good, if he had one.

The best tactic then, Colt figured, was simply distracting them food and trying to grab one before it flew away. He didn't have anything on him at the moment, but maybe if he looked around for--

Brick bolted into the flock of ducks, snapping at them wildly. They instantly panicked, squawking and flapping their wings like mad. A dozen loose feathers scattered into the air and water as they tried to scramble and fly away.

Colt watched with subtle disbelief at was he was witnessing.

What a shitshow.

All the ducks flew away, of course. The dog managed to get a couple feathers in his teeth, but that was it.

Now that he was thinking about it, Colt wasn't sure why he hadn't seen this coming, really. Dantean Shepherds were not bred for hunting. They were, in fact, bred for shepherding.

The furry bastard had seemed like he'd known what he was doing, so maybe that had gotten Colt's stupid hopes up.

But Brick, to his credit, at least appeared to understand that he'd cocked the whole thing up. He returned to Colt with his head hung low and his tail between his legs.

"Hrm," was all Colt said. He felt a slight tinge of sympathy for the beast and even considered trying to pet him in consolation. Then he remembered when Brick had tried to bite him and changed his mind.

The hunt resumed, but it didn't get much better. They happened upon some quail, but Brick immediately torpedoed that operation, too.

In the end, Colt managed to snag another snake--which he put into the cage with the other one--and then some berries and carrots on the way back to the cabin.

The dog seemed pretty dejected during the return trip.

Colt could only blame him so much, though. Brick was just listening to the instincts that had been bred into him. Hell, it was hard for human beings to go against their instincts, much less a fuckin' animal.

He wondered if they might have more luck finding some critters for Brick to take care of and herd around the cabin.

Maybe not, though. Brick seemed to be retired as a K-9 officer, which would place his age at around eight or so. Pretty old for a dog. Colt wasn't sure how feasible it would be to teach a dog that old how to herd properly, even if the breed's instincts were spot on.

Hmm. Maybe he'd look into that a bit more the next time he went to the library.

There was still quite a bit of day left by the time they made it back to the cabin. As he approached the door, Colt found his paranoia rearing up on him again. If he opened it and didn't find Alice and the twins there... or worse, if he did find them, and Alice had done something horrific...

Wouldn't be the first time something like that happened. The fuck had he been thinking? That he could actually trust her? Why, 'cause she was a woman? Or 'cause she seemed nice? Fuckin' dumbass. He should've--

They were fine.

She was reading to them.

He took a silent breath as she welcomed them back.

Her eyes widened a little when she realized that the snakes in the cage were still alive, so Colt set them outside for later. He made sure not to set them next to her bike--and to double check that the cage itself was secure. No way in hell he was letting those fuckers near the kids.

Brick slunk over to his bed and lied down again. He'd started limping ever so slightly toward the end there, so it was definitely for the best that he went back to resting. His disappointment still seemed clear as day, though.