GD3: Grave Dog

CHAPTER ONE

A brand new day for the same grand ol' dog. "Obby, you're the best," Raven sighed. "After my truest love and now husband Aiden, of course."

Obby's tail wagged. On a day like today, he was quite happy. As happy as a dog could be, in fact. For what do dogs know of the horrors of this world? Dog know not. Except food, pet, walk. Sometimes kiss from Raven. HEY WHERE

Aiden strolled in wearing the smug grin that had not left his face since his marriage to Raven. He was happy as could be to have found such a wife, and the smugness was a result of the pain it caused ghost Martin, who had long been his secret enime.

"What a gorgeous day," Raven sighed.

"More so with you as a wife," Aiden said.

Raven put a hand on her heart, nearly swooning out of her white velvet lawn chair.

Obby stood and stretched, hopped down into the lush, freshly manicured grass, and trotted into the house through the open back door.

WRITING ABOUT A DOG IS BORING

Shortly after entering the spacious abode, Obby discovered the front door to be--wide open! Obby had never, never never ever been allowed outside without his rhinestone-studded fuchsia harness, held by Aiden and Raven as they held hands at the same time. He knew what he had to do.

He raced out the front door and into the front yard. But he didn't go far. The yard was just oh so pleasant, so green and just the perfect length. The other yards just looked pathetic in comparison. He could never want a life better than the one he had.

A ghostly chill passed by him, rocking him to his little canine core. "Aroooooo?" Whined Obby.

Out of nowhere, a man whose face was wrapped in a black bandana sprang onto the lawn, straight toward Obby. His arms were outstretched. A second bandana man appeared behind him, holding a large burlap sack. They ran at Obby. The first man, reaching the innocent pup, seized him.

"AROOOOOOOOOOO!"

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"Obby?" I bolted up in my pristine white lawn chair. "Obby, sweetest baby, what's the matter?"

Aiden looked up from his novel, a look of puzzlement on his face.

"Did you hear that?" I asked. A silly question, of course. How could anyone have missed it? "Maybe that stupid Virginia stepped on his tail again..." I seethed.

He shrugged, and looked back to his novel. "I'm sure he'll be fine,"

I flipped my hair and stood up, taking long strides across the lush lawn in my billowy cloudlike transparent white kimono.

"Virginia!" I screeched when I entered the house.

"Ma'am?" she came running from the kitchen, a look of trepidation on her face.

"Did you step on my previous sweet baby's tail again?" I hissed.

Her anxiety turned to confusion. "No, ma'am, I haven't seen Obsessionado all day,"

I glared. "I don't believe you," I muttered.

"Ma'am?"

"Get back to work," I snapped, continuing through the house.

"Obby? Where are you, my sweet little sweet sweet baby boy?"

No bark in response? "Where could he be?" I wondered aloud.

Then I noticed the front door was open. "Oh my dearest dear," I muttered, running to it.

From the front porch, Raven saw the most horrifying sight she had ever seen. A big black van was screeching away down the street, and Obby's terrified shrieks were trailing out through an open window. "AARROOOOOOoooooo....." the terrible sound faded away as the van rounded a corner and sped off.

My hands went numb and I heard my rose gold stained glass mug of ginger ale crash to the marble tile of the porch, shattering and scattering all over the place like my heart was doing.

Of course, there was one big chunk of my heart that was dedicated to Aiden, so it didn't crash into a million pieces.

"Obby," my dry mouth said, almost involuntarily. My lips felt chapped and disgusting, a way they hadn't since I had received my inheritance and started paying the finest scientists to specially formulate a top secret chapstick just for me, which cost $600 a stick and was only sold to myself.