THE YARD

Chapter 32

Shadow and Flare's claws clacked against pavement as the leashes pulled them onto a street. The woman was walking fast, seemingly agitated and in a rush.

Flare's eyes and ears devoured everything she saw and heard. Cars were far and few in-between, but they glided down streets at a slow pace, nothing on them appearing to move but the wheels of their body.

She had never seen a car from the outside of it, she realized. She didn't remember a world beyond The Yard. Her ears flicked forwards, then back again as she heard the squeals of car breaks or the whish of the woman's purse sliding across her body.

The grass out here was much thicker and greener, without the acidic constant watering of dog urine to flush out the color. Flare bent her head every two seconds to smell it, but was always jerked uncomfortably by her neck away from the ground.

She began to grow frustrated at the fact that she wasn't allowed to stop and investigate scent-marks from other dogs. There was no chance for her blackened mood to fester, though, because they soon reached a busier road. The cars whooshed by one after another, and occasionally a loud honk rang out. Flare, begging to feel overstimulated, bushed out her fur. She preffered the quiter sounds of side roads rather then a city main-street.

They passed by a human who held a rectangular device in it's hands, not even looking down towards the dogs as they walked slowly past. Flare tried to sniff the pant leg of the new human, excited. It looks like a female. Do all females have scraps? Does this one?

Flare was disappointed when the leash jerked her back to her reality. Whatever this was created for, it does its job too well. I can hardly breathe with this twine around my neck. How do the male dogs stand those heavy chains they always have to wear?

Then she realized, there would be no more chains. Wait. Maybe.

"Where do you think she's taking us? I'm sorry, I know I already asked," she added when Shadow gave her a sidelong glance.

"Well, I've thought about it a bit since then. And she must be taking us somewhere... somewhere, I don't know where, that we'll be transferred over to other humans.

Flare blinked, skeptical. Like to another Yard full of fighting dogs? "Why?" She had to ask.

"I'm not sure why, but humans always want dogs in their control. So, if we aren't The Man's dogs anymore, or in his Yard... it only goes to stand that we'll be taken to a new person."

Flare sighed, knowing she shouldn't have asked. She looked up and realized they were walking in the middle of a throng of happenings. There was bike racks lined up alongside business buildings, food-scents wafting from their whereabouts. A mother maneuvered her stroller around the two dogs, then stopped at a building and pushed her way in.

Along the edge of the sidewalk they were occupying stood trash cans, recycling bins, people and cars. There was no grass far enough that Flare could reach, so for now she didn't have to worry about her head being jerked up when she lowered it.

The shapes of the buildings were different, and some were stone or wood. Others has smooth cement walls or paneling, but they were all fairly close together. Some alleyways showed between the buildings, but they too were shrouded in fog.

Above, the sky was misty-grey. The clouds had no shape to them, but covered the world above in a massive sheet of white.

The two dogs and the woman were an odd sight. The woman had very tight clothing, and the dogs appeared dirty and disheveled. Shadow was even holding his injured leg off the ground. Flare knew that if she asked "Does it hurt?" Shadow's response would be a lie. He'd continuously tried to cover up his injured leg, but now he wouldn't even let it touch the ground.