Thursday, April 17, 2008

The dog. No, cat. No, it is a dog.

Okay, yesterday's blog sucked. A LOT. So I decided to go back to NaNo to get another writing prompt, except there wasn't one! I googled "writing prompts" and came up with "http://www.writersdigest.com/WritingPrompts/" and this is the prompt they gave me:

You're at home watching "CSI" when you hear a faint scratching at the door. Upon opening it, you see a small dog looking up at you. You examine the dog's collar and see a phone number and the message "If you find this cat, call this number immediately." (Yes, that's right, cat.) Against your better judgment, you call the number. Two hours later you find yourself in a basement with two dead bodies on the floor. What happened?

'Cat?' I thought to myself, looking at the animal once more. It was small, but it was definitely a dog. I knew that I would be in a fit if any of my pets got loose, so I decided to give the number a call. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to hear on the other end of the line, but the breathy voice that answered definitely was not what I had anticipated.

"Hello?" a woman answered, sounding almost out of breath.

"Um, hi... This is going to sound weird -" I started, then stopped as the woman made a groaning sound, followed by some heavy breathing. Was she having sex? I wondered, my eyebrows shooting up towards my hairline. "Maybe not," I muttered, half to myself. "Anyways, I've got this dog here, and it had a collar with a phone number, so I was wondering if you lost a dog?"

"Oh, oh!" The woman on the other end gasped, sounding more and more like she was in the throes of passion, and less and less like she was concerned for her pet. "Uh, yes, yes! I mean, yes, I lost my do-o-og..."

"Um, do you want me to take it somewhere?" I asked, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I'm a bit tied up," she replied, and I could hear a deep laugh in the background. My face was burning as I tried not to picture what was happening at the other end of the connection. She gave me an address not far from my place, and I quickly ended the call, hoping that whatever was going on would finish shortly. I walked into my kitchen, the little dog following at my heels. Opening a cupboard, I pulled out a bowl and filled it with water, setting it on the floor. The dog began to drink quickly, and I wondered just how long I should wait before trying to go to the address. If I walked, I could take about twenty minutes to get there, which should be enough time for them to finish... whatever they were doing. Of course, if I took too long, they might have time to start another round. I decided it would be best to go sooner, rather than later, so as soon as the dog stopped drinking, I grabbed a leash from the front hallway and clipped it to her collar. She must have been a well-cared for pet, because she started walking at my heel immediately as we made our way to the street.

My time estimate was about right, and we arrived at the address within a half hour. I looked up at the house - it was a large, Victorian-style home, painted in shades of green with a roomy front porch. The dog seemed to recognize it, and her tail started wagging enthusiastically. Feeling more confident in my decision to bring her back, I walked up and rang the doorbell. Nothing. I frowned, then tried it again. Still nothing. I sighed, assuming that the couple was... otherwise occupied.

I really should have left. That would have been the wise choice. Instead, I reached out to see if the door was unlocked, thinking that I could just let the dog go inside, and leave it at that. The knob turned easily, and the dog rushed through the gap as soon as the door started to open. Still holding the leash, I found myself dragged inside along with her. The cries coming from somewhere downstairs caught my attention - it sounded a little bit like the woman on the phone. I couldn't help myself - I stopped and listened for a moment as the dog pulled at the leash. The woman sounded like she was having a VERY good time. I let the dog lead me forwards, deeper into the house.

"Yes, oh yes!" I could start to make out words as I neared an open door. There was a faint light coming from within, and it seemed that this led to the couple. The dog stopped at the door, then tried to run the other way. I crouched down and unhooked the leash, and she went running off in another direction. Still kneeling, I looked through the door.


That's it for today! I'm out of time, but if you want to see more, come back tomorrow!

No comments: