Spot and Smudge - Book One

by Robert Udulutch

  That smell was indeed horrible, but what they saw inside the cages was worse still.

  Spot risked taking a few steps closer to the kennel, stopping just outside the doors to catalog all he saw and smelled. He sensed Smudge was no longer at his side and he turned to see his sister had stopped a few steps behind him. She stood frozen as she stared at the cages with wide, horrified eyes.

  Before he could get to her Smudge started to whine. It wasn’t loud but the sound of the spraying water stopped and a moment later the veterinarian from the clinic leaned around the corner. The doctor was wearing a paper mask and rubber gloves. She lowered the mask and walked through the doorway, stopping under the roof overhang just behind the waterfall coming off of the roof. She pressed her hands into her back and stretched, and scanned the gravel turn around for a minute before going back into the kennel.

  Spot heard the hose spraying into a bucket again. He slowly got off of Smudge and led her out from under the van where he had shoved her. Smudge was still wide-eyed and shaking, she looked at her brother with a distant stare.

  She could only manage, Why?

  Spot had seen his sister show fear and helplessness only once before, on the day they were separated when Smudge was sick. He nudged her carefully back into the shadows behind the van, led her out through the kennel gate, and walked her up to the knoll.

  As he was calming Smudge and licking the rain from her face, he noticed the vet had turned off the music. A moment later the kennel light went out and she closed the kennel doors. She got into the van and pulled forward to just outside the gate. Spot gave his sister a final head nudge and told Smudge to go on home and get dry, and snuggle in next to Ben. There was something he needed to see and he’d be along shortly.

  Smudge just stared at her brother over the rain running down her snout. Her eyes were vacant and serious, and she turned away and headed up the path towards the river, and home.

  Spot watched her go and then ran behind the van as it splashed slowly through the large puddles. It stopped at the end of the dirt road and its headlights lit up the gravel parking circle behind the little house. The vet ran through the rain, and as she climbed the porch steps she dropped a large plastic trash bag over the railing. She walked into the house, shaking off the wet as the screen door banged closed behind her.

  There were three vehicles in the lot including the van. Doug’s truck was there, and a shiny black vehicle that was still warm and smelled like perfume and smoke. Spot finished circling them and then turned his attention to the back door where a bare light bulb cast a small pool of light around the steps.

  The clouds pulsed again with lightning, flashing a clear picture of the lot and the back of the house for an instant. Spot darted under the van just as the thunder split the sky and rolled off to the south. He thought about heading home. He didn’t like thunder and he wasn’t comfortable without Smudge next to him, but he had an uneasy feeling about this house and needed to find out more.

  Spot could hear music and voices inside and he moved to the shadow next to the porch. He was close to the trash bags and the containers inside smelled like dog supplements from the kennel, but they also smelled like the clinic.

  He couldn’t make out what was being said inside of the house. He moved into the light and then to the top of the porch. Once he was under the overhang and out of the rain he could hear better through the back door.

  He could tell there were three people talking. The one voice he didn’t recognize was a big male, but the music was drowning out what they were saying. Spot was pretty sure they had to be in a room farther inside the house and he pulled the screen door open slowly. It creaked and he waited long enough to make sure they were still talking normally.

  The back door was open just a crack. He leaned on it with his forehead and it moved a few inches with just a slight creaking.

  The kitchen was dark and there was only a small table lamp on in the living room. He could see the vet had curled up on a loveseat with a small blanket covering her. Spot took a few steps into the kitchen, careful to minimize the clicking of his nails on the linoleum.

  He looked around and sampled the air. His nose picked up on the trash can and the garbage disposal, the mud from the vet’s shoes on the kitchen floor, the piece of bread that had fallen behind the oven and the mice that had found it, a myriad of food crumbs under the fridge, and the open box of stale cereal in the cupboard. He couldn’t see Doug or the big guy, but he could hear and smell them clearly.

  Spot lowered himself until his wet underside rested on the kitchen floor with his snout an inch from the living room threshold. The carpet smelled disgusting and Spot almost sneezed.

  Ugh, he thought as he picked through the smells…stale and fresh beer, a variety of alcohol, lots of odd chemicals, female sex smell, male sex smell, fried food, garbage, smoke, and of course a heavy dose of that bad smell from the kennel. He thought it was no wonder Doug smelled like he was dying. Spot had to work to push the bad smells into the background so he could focus on the conversation.

  The big guy laughed and said, “Fucking bitch just trailed off in mid-sentence. Too fucking funny.” He drank something. It was beer. Spot could smell it when he exhaled.

  Doug was laughing, too. “She’s fucking beat,” he said, “Watching a four foot ten girl carry a thirty pound bucket of dog food is like watching a duck walk uphill.”

  “Hey D,” the big guy said loudly. He waited a moment and then tossed a remote control at the vet and it bounced off her large rear end. She didn’t move. Spot could hear she was sound asleep.

  “She’s out,” the man said, and then more quietly, “Larry’s pissed dude. He said you had his guy draw up plans for the development that included both the clinic and that old bitch’s land. What the fuck dude, were you high? It’s going to cost a few grand to resubmit the right plans.” The big guy inhaled something and held his breath. Spot caught a whiff. It was the same thing he’d smelled on Aaron’s clothes, like burning sweet grass.

  “You can fucking tell Larry Cuntvin Davis it was no God damn mistake,” Doug said as he inhaled the same smoke. He held it, and then said while exhaling, “Tell that prick the only way the easement works, the only way we can finish both the factory lot and the one your fat ass is sitting on now, is if we have that old Irish bitch’s place too.”

  The big guy moved and Spot got ready to bolt. The chair complained loudly as he hefted his bulk up and shuffled heavily towards the kitchen.

  Spot crept backwards and considered the back door.

  The big guy was almost around the corner and Spot chose to dart between the kitchen chairs instead.

  The man stepped heavily into the kitchen and turned on the light above the sink as Spot pressed against the wall. He tucked in his tail and lowered so he could watch the man from the shadows behind the chairs under the kitchen table. The large man opened the fridge and coughed a few times. He spat a large wad of phlegm into the sink and then opened both of the beers he had taken out. He took a drink, spat into the sink again, and then walked back towards the living room.

  He stopped at the threshold to turn out the kitchen light.

  At that moment the kitchen filled with a flash of light and an instant later a single boom of thunder shook the house.

  The big guy turned the kitchen light back on, and paused.

  From under the table Spot could see his boots turn slowly back to face him. The big guy took a few steps towards the table and one of the chairs banged against it.

  Spot tensed, ready to pull his flight trigger and bolt for the door. The big guy took another two steps and went past the table. He closed the back door and it snapped shut with a click before he turned out the back porch light. He returned to the living room, turning out the kitchen light again as he left the room.

  As the big guy sunk back down into the creaking living room chair he said, “Doug, how you going to get that fucking old battle axe’s place? She’s not just going to hand it over to you.
Look at how that old man fucked you, and she’s probably the brains of the operation.”

  “Fuck him, and fuck her too, Liko,” Doug said, “I got it all figured. In three weeks all this fucking bullshit goes away.”

  And then Spot listened as Doug explained to Liko exactly how he had it all figured, and what was going to happen in three weeks.

  With every passing minute Spot was getting more worried, and more enraged. When Doug finished he and the fat guy sat for a long while, inhaling smoke and drinking. Spot came out from under the table and paced back and forth from the closed door to the edge of the living room carpet, not paying much attention to the clicking of his nails.

  Two voices were arguing in his head. One was telling him to stick to his plan and the other, louder voice was telling him to dash into that room and kill everyone. With each lap around the kitchen the louder voice was making more sense to him.

  He paused with his front claws on the filthy carpet. His hind muscles flexed and his rear claws dug into the kitchen floor. He planned which throat he was going to rip out first. He envisioned the whole thing, from leaping onto Doug’s chest and pulling his windpipe through his chin, to the spray patterns on the wall from Liko’s severed jugular. He knew there was a gun somewhere nearby. He could smell it. Maybe it was on the coffee table and maybe one of them could make it to the gun before Spot killed them. He didn’t care. Maybe killing just one would be enough to stop their plans. He also didn’t care that there was no way out of the house. He didn’t care that he would get caught. Maybe he’d eviscerate that traitor veterinarian too, and then just try his luck at jumping through the front window. As a dim flash of lightning twinkled through the windows and thunder rolled in the distance he closed his eyes, stretched his neck and shoulders, and got ready to attack.

  He saw Ben’s face. It was clear enough for Spot to reach out and lick, and then Ben was joined by Mimi, and then Kelcy, Dan, and Aila. Spot opened his eyes and thought, Protect the family. Today, and tomorrow. It was what Smudge had said to him as they ran to protect Kelcy from Aaron. When they were darting through the woods she made him come up with a plan that would do both. Spot had wanted to rip Aaron’s balls off right there in the driveway, it was Smudge who challenged him to come up with something better. Maybe he had spent too much time around Ben, and Smudge had certainly spent far too much time around Mimi. His sister even spoke with a bit of an accent.

  Spot heard Smudge. Only Smudge wasn’t floating in front of his closed eyes, she was standing in the rain pawing quietly at the other side of that kitchen door. Spot moved to the door and pressed against it. He could tell his sister was leaning against it from the other side. He could hear her heart beat and her breathing, and she could hear his. Spot listened to his sister’s soft yaps and whines for a moment, nodded, and then went back under the kitchen table.

  A few seconds later the van horn blared a constant, sickly sounding wail.

  At the same time both men said, “What the fuck?”

  They got up and shot through the kitchen and out through the back door into the rain. The horn stopped just as they approached the driver’s side of the van. They yanked open the door and Liko pointed his huge pistol into the cab. The two men looked through the back of the empty van, and out the open rear doors to the black woods beyond.

  They stared at each other.

  Moments later Spot joined Smudge on the knoll. They could still hear Doug screaming in the distance, “You better run you little prick. If you fucking come back here again Aaron I’m gonna put a bullet in your fat fucking head!”

  The pups sat side by side in the rain. Smudge put her paw on top of Spot’s, and he leaned against his sister. He put his head on her strong shoulder and said, Thank you, sis.

  Chapter 56

  The downpour continued for most of that week and Aila was enjoying having Ben home for a few days. After dinner each night she made a point to spend some time cuddled up with each of her kids. As the rain ran down their bedroom windows Aila would bring in tea and Newtons, and the pups had gotten into the habit of shoving over when she came into the room. They would catch up about school and friends while playing rummy, or Yahtzee, or just sitting in the dark watching the lightning.

  On one of these nights Kelcy told her mom about Aaron’s disappearance.

  He had not been in school after the day he’d accosted her. Not only was he not in school but no one had seen him. His brothers had told some of the other kids that Aaron hadn’t been home. His truck was in the driveway, but no Aaron. Mr. Cooper had told one of the coaches he was pretty sure Aaron was just off getting drunk and shacking up with some older woman, and that he was a chip off the old block. His mom had found out that Aaron hadn’t been sleeping over at a bud’s house as often as he said he was. A teacher was also overheard saying he had been fired from some job for fighting with the boss.

  Kelcy had heard Aaron ran off for a few days at a time in the past, but she was convinced he wasn’t coming back this time.

  Aila noticed Kelcy wasn’t upset about Aaron. She was just making a point that she still thought Aaron had been dealt with and that it was her pups that had protected her, and all of them.

  Aila and Dan mulled that over and decided to leave it alone for now. There just wasn’t enough hard information to go on. They didn’t see any value in Kelcy being in the middle of any crap with that crazy family, and when Dan said he hoped the fucker really was lying in a ditch somewhere Aila didn’t argue. She had already pictured him in that ditch, with his severed cock hanging out of his mouth.

  Spot and Smudge couldn’t go out on the nights they stayed at the house on Morgan Road. The basement windows at the Hogan house were locked tight and Dan buttoned up the house each night as if they were still living in the city.

  The pups needed a few evenings in anyway. Smudge was quite happy to stay out of the rain, and Spot needed some time to work on the details of their plan.

  Smudge kept tabs on the family while Spot spent most of his alone time hunched over Ben’s tablet. When the family was around after work and school Smudge would roam from room to room giving kisses and generally bothering everyone. Whenever the family did happen to poke their nose into Ben’s room Spot had mastered switching apps quickly and toggling back to a game. They were so used to seeing Spot with the device they hardly noticed. Smudge had started using Kelcy’s tablet late at night as well. Smudge wasn’t as adept as her brother but she muddled through and found what she was assigned to look for online.

  The pups were both working long hours and neither had slept well since that night at the kennels, but it was Spot who was really burning the candle at both ends. Some nights he didn’t sleep at all and Smudge was worried about her brother. He was obsessed with getting their plan moving. She knew the Doug problem had a deadline but they also needed to be strong and sharp. She made sure he ate and forced him to at least attempt to nap. He complied with most of her mothering, agreeing the last thing they needed was to show up as sick on Mimi’s radar. They didn’t need any symptoms that would warrant a call to Ronnie.

  Smudge also pushed Spot to get in some play time. Kelcy was now just as involved as Ben in coming up with new games and demonstrations for the family. She had some really creative ideas and most of them incorporated some physical aspect to complement Ben’s more cerebral tricks, usually based on a variation of her cheerleading exercises. Smudge found they helped with their coordination and balance which she figured would come in handy. Mostly they were just fun. The pups and the kids usually ended up in a pile that included lots of giggling and growling. Their parents were even at the bottom of the heap sometimes.

  On their last night at home before heading back to Mimi’s the wind and rain was just starting to ease up from the constant drum beat it had been for the past several days. The showers that had run in sheets finally broke into intermittent drops that tapped heavily on the window sill as the pups cuddled up on Ben’s bed.

  Smudge had delivered the piece
s of research she was responsible for to Spot, and she was dozing next to her brother.

  Spot had not looked up from the tablet since Ben had fallen asleep many hours earlier. He pawed in the last few details and scrolled up carefully with a paw pad to save his work. He stretched his stiff neck and then dropped his head onto his sister’s rump.

  Smudge woke with a start and said, That’s it? You’re done?

  Spot nodded.

  Smudge took a minute to lick her brother’s ears and his front paws and then she sat up and leaned over the tablet. It took her an hour to review everything he’d put together, including stopping to ask him questions on some of the more technical aspects.

  When she was done she hid the file in their subfolder and turned off the tablet. Smudge lay down next to Spot and said, You’ve done an amazing job, brother. There’s some pretty radical stuff in there but I agree we have to try it, and fast. It’s bloody brilliant, but I think we still need to secure a mite more muscle, and we need to be able to move around freely out there.

  Spot let out a big yawn. He snuggled up to his sister and rested his chin on her thick neck fur. He said, I think I have a solution for that, too. Before he drifted off into a long, dreamless sleep he added, Sister, I promise we’re not going to be helpless ever again.

  Chapter 57

  The pups were back at Mimi’s and they bolted as soon as Ben’s head hit the pillow. They had both pestered him since he first walked in the door, and Smudge had wrestled with him rough enough to thoroughly exhaust him by bedtime.

  Two hours later the pups were downwind of the coyote’s den trying to decipher what they were smelling. The same female sentry from that first night was perched on her knoll but they couldn’t tell if the hunters were still in the den.