Dog Season (Discontinued)

Part I: Chapter Three

"Charity? Charity, you alright?" Axle's muffed voice traveled into Charity's ringing ears. The female dog's eyelids revealed her blurry vision and thought she must've hit her head because blood flowed on the cage door in front of her. She rose to her paws, but instantly fell when the cage rotated backwards. Charity turned around to see an elderly black lab with a white muzzle staring at her with concern in her brown eyes.
"Axle?" She guessed.
"Yeah, it's me. You okay?" Axle murmured softly.
"I'm alright. I just hurt my head." Charity lifted a paw toward the pain on her skull. Scarlet blood smeared on her forearm and she lapped it a couple times.
"Now what?" Axle grumbled. Charity turned in a circle scanning for an opening in the cage. A small, dented hole caught her eye, and she rushed to it and stuck a paw in. Charity lifted the wire with all her strength and a creak sounded. The hole grew big enough for her head to fit through. She stuck her thin head into the hole and craned her neck. The wire gridded against the other wire and squeaked. The hole expanded until Charity could squeeze her thin body through.
The female dog realized what she did and howled with joy. "I did it!" She stretched her muscles and quivered.
"Charity, I don't mean to interrupt your celebration but, set me free!" Axle yelped and all the other dogs joined in.
The silken windhound paused and glanced at the old lab. "Right! Sorry."
She trotted to Axle's cage and stared at the black lab uncertainly. "What do I do?" Charity asked cluelessly over the barking dogs.
"Hey! Over here!" A tiny male voice yipped. The female dog jogged over towards the voice to see a scrawny, grey Chihuahua in the cage above her head.
"See that button?" The small dog put his front paws on the cage door and pointed his muzzle to the ceiling. Charity followed his gesture and spotted a red button on the wall two dog lengths above her head.
"Yeah. What about it?"
"That button opens all cages-" Before the tiny dog could finish, Charity sprinted to the end of the walkway away from the button. She took in a deep breath and imagined her pack, Forest, and pups running through the evergreen trees together chasing a large, male deer. The silken windhound dashed in front of the pack after the deer. She bounded faster until the deer ran two dog lengths away from her. Charity leaped with her paws first and landed on top of the deer. Instead of a deer bellow, the buck squalled a loud, ear-piercing siren. The sun became a flashing red light and the pack plowed her over without stopping.
"Charity?" A familiar male voice uttered. Charity turned her sore neck to look into the eyes of Forest. "Forest." She mumbled dreamily.
"Hello? Earth to Charity?" Charity's forest fantasy disappeared and was replaced with the grayness of the dog room. Forest became Axle who stared at her with her brow raised. "Are you okay? You just got trampled by every dog!"
Charity stumbled to her feet and noticed every cage was dogless. "Where'd everyone go?"
"After you jumped almost a thousand dog lengths and pressed the button, they all ran out of the shelter." Axle laughed.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get outta here!" The two dogs sprinted towards the exit and Charity jumped into the door like Forest did before.
The glass door popped open, and moonlight glinted on their pelts. They dashed out of the shelter, straight to the forest. Charity lead Axle through the dark green trees. For a moment, the younger dog though of her dream; the pack galloped side by side with her in the lead. Forest flanked her and followed her every move.
"Why haven't you ever complemented me?"
"What are you talking about? Of course I have!" He sounded a bit defensive.
"We've been mates for a moon and you've never complemented me. Why?"
"I...." Forest began to fade in the wind, turning into dust.
"Why, Forest?!" Charity howled out loud, stopping in her tracks.
"Are you okay?" Axle stared at the windhound with awkwardness in her brown eyes. "You keep seeing Forest, don't you?"
"Yes..." Charity sighed and began to walk ahead. "but this time it wasn't happily ever after..."
"I heard you say 'why, Forest?!' What was that about?"
"Well, when you called me pretty, that was the first time I've heard a compliment."
"Are you kidding me? You're the prettiest dog I've ever seen!"
Charity blushed and pointed her muzzle to the grass. "Once again, thank you for the compliment."
"Charity, are you sure he's the best dog for you? I mean, mates always compliment each other."
"You know what, Axle? I don't even know anymore."
"He could've stayed with you, but did he? No! I think you deserve better."
Charity remained silent thinking about what her friend said about her mate. "I guess when I find him, I'll find out for sure. Well, I dunno about you, but I'm hungry."
"Yeah, we should probably get something to eat. I just wanna let you know, I can't hunt very well because I can't run very fast. Would you mind catching something for me?" Axle mumbled embarrassedly.
Charity smiled. "Of course, Axle." She gave the elderly lab a lick on the ear. "Guess we could find some shelter first."
The windhound and lab wandered through the long grass and stepped into a pond. The murky water rose to their stomachs and eventually they had to swim. Each stroke got tougher as the green algae on the water got thicker.
Their paws finally hit land and they reached a small cave.
They both shook off their wet pelts and sighed with relief. "Thank goodness that's over." Charity breathed while they rambled closer to the cave.
Axle inhaled a breath through her nose. "It smells like a wolf was here. But the scent is old."
"Alright. You stay here while I hunt, and I'll be right back." Charity told her elderly friend and began to trot out of the cave.
Axle gathered a pile of old leaves and burrowed into them. "I'm very thankful for this."
Charity glanced back towards the lab. "You're welcome. I'll be back before you know it."
Without letting Axle respond, the sighthound galloped through the forest with her eyes and nose alert. Before she continued her voyage, Charity marked a spot so she could remember where they settled.
She inhaled a breath and didn't scent a thing, and journeyed farther. Charity came across a burrow that smelled overwhelmingly of rabbits. She dug her muzzle into the hole and inhaled a deep breath. A group of multiple scents hit her nose.
There has to be six rabbits down there!
Charity plunged her white muzzle deeper and her nose felt a tickle of a soft pelt. She opened her jaws as wide as she could in the hole, and her teeth closed around three skulls. Her jaws closed tighter and she heard a crunch. Charity hauled her catch up to the surface and dropped it. She counted three rabbits.
Three more! Like a fox, Charity soared into the air and dived into the hole, muzzle first. She could smell the remaining rabbits, and could feel their velvety coats. The sighthound fastened her jaws around the rabbits and gnashed their bones. She lifted her prey out of the hole and dropped it by the others.
Charity grabbed all six rabbits and sniffed the air for her mark. Right away she found it, and dashed towards it. She leaped over fallen trees and avoided the pond this time by traveling around. It took longer than before but Charity didn't want to swim through the thick water again.
From a distance, she could hear snarling and whining from the cave. Charity picked up her speed, traveling two times faster. When the sighthound reached the cave, the growling became louder. She dropped the rabbits in shock. In the cave, Axle was not alone, she was tussling with the owner of the cave: a giant, muscular, grey wolf.