by Shea, Hunter
“What is it, huh? What’s out there?”
Buckeye didn’t know what it was, just that it was there. Right there. Creeping and sneaking, bigger than the two of them and all he wanted to do was protect his master and oh God, there it is.
It crashed through the trees, coming into view. Buckeye continued barking at it, and the thing hissed.
“Holy fuck!”
He felt the leash go slack and looked briefly to see his owner running away, then he turned his attention back toward this new creature. A creature he’d never seen before. Or had he? It looked somewhat familiar to him. Just bigger. It had a bulbous body, with four legs extending from either side of it. Legs that were huge and hairy and made dull thuds in his ears the closer they came.
“Jesus Christ, what the fuck was that?” he heard his owner cry out from somewhere far behind him.
It’s a spider. That’s what it is. He’d chased them down before at his master’s request. Sniffing and squishing them from time to time so they wouldn’t hurt the man he loved.
Get the spider, Buckeye. Get it. Good boy.
Get the spider. Yes, that’s what he had to do. He had to get the spider.
Buckeye growled and snarled and barked, the golden hair on his soft body raised and ready. He drew back, and as the spider came closer he jumped forward as hard as he could, ready to sink his teeth into it. He didn’t care that it was bigger than him. All he cared about was protecting his master.
He soared through the air, feeling the soft breeze course along his fur while his eyes fixed themselves firmly on the large spider. The spider that had eight eyes, all of them looking straight at Buckeye.
Then he felt something sharp pierce his torso, and he dropped to the ground. He’d thought for sure that he would be able to bite the spider, maybe even squish it, but no.
The spider had bitten him.
Now he couldn’t move. Something hot coursed through his body. It stung, and Buckeye felt his muscles contract and stiffen. He tried to shake it off. Tried to get back up and run away. It was only in his head, though. His legs wouldn’t respond. They just sat there, firm and unmoving, and a shadow passed over him as he stared through the trees, seeing his master off in the distance watching him.
Then something wet and sticky began to surround him. He looked down, seeing his hindquarters being wrapped up in it. Buckeye had no idea what it was, just that it came from the tail end of the spider, and that it wasn’t good. He looked out over the wide berth separating him and his owner, David. Images of kisses and balls and snow and rabbits passed through his mind, and he whimpered, knowing that he’d never get to see or feel any of those things again.
This was the end of his life, and as the wet, sticky substance moved higher and higher, wrapping his body, then his neck, Buckeye at least knew that his master was safe.
And for that he was a good boy.
Crazy Eights is available from Amazon here.