I looked down at the dog, his excited eyes staring at me as he tried to see whether I would let him go. The tail continued to wag, picking up speed as I slowly knelt down beside him.
“What do you say, pooch. Ready to lend a hand for poor uncle Loui?” He paused as I cradled his face between my hands. Fingers lightly scratching the sides of his head. His eyes were still smiling, tongue excitedly trying to lap at me as I neared my face closer to him. His tongue slapped the tip of my nose, the warm wet slobber clinging to it. He lapped again, trying to bathe me in dog slobber.
“Thank you,” Loui suddenly growled, the fingers yanking the head to the ground as my own face knelt down so fast. The dog had no chance to react. I felt it tense briefly, then freeze, trying to anticipate what was happening. But Loui made short work of him, sinking our teeth into the dog’s throat with refined ease.
There was a brief struggle, but the instant warmth that filled my mouth tasted so sweet and divine that there was no chance he was going to wrestle himself free. Loui could barely contain himself, continuing to bite and tear and swallow as more and more blood gushed out from the open throat. The dog kicked out a couple more times, but I could feel him begin to relax, giving up as he succumbed to the monster now taking him into the shadows.
6.
As the teeth kept snapping at the throat of the dog, the blood continued to flow, slowly trickling towards the creek where the running water accepted it with little complaint. It slowly mixed with the clear waters, first tinting it with brutish horror, then succumbing to the flow and disappearing as quickly as it arrived.
The blood was slowing a little when I first looked up and saw the kid staring at us. There was a moment where our eyes met and a part of me was sure the boy would scream and run for help. Our eyes continued to lock together for what felt like too long as blood continued to run over my fingers.
He was an average looking kid, wearing bib overalls and a worn straw hat. I sat up, unsure of whether he would scream out, but when I beckoned to him, he slowly stepped forward.
“Hey, kid,” I said, sitting up a little. “This isn’t yours, is it?” I asked, suddenly wondering whether Loui had just devoured the best parts of this kid’s pet. But he just shook his head, staring at me with a curious expression. He didn’t look frightened, not even bothered. He just looked like a kid who was intrigued with the sight before him.
“That’s Bob, Mr Maxwell’s dog.” He slid down the embankment, strangely unfazed by what he was seeing.
“Who’s Mr Maxwell?” I asked, watching as the kid slowly stepped closer.
“Lives down near the main road. My dad knows him.”
“Your dad?” I asked. “Who’s your dad?” I said, sure I knew the name this kid was about to say.
“Bill Higgins.” It was, confirming what I already knew.
“You’re Bill’s boy? Your Clancy, aren’t ya?” He nodded, still slowly walking towards me. He was only a few feet from me now and I never expected what happened next.
Like a jack rabbit out of his warren, my own legs suddenly kicked off with furious speed. It caught me completely by surprise and before I knew it, was kneeling over Clancy with one hand wrapped around his throat.
Loui had suddenly taken control, his teeth bared less than an inch from the kids face. There was horror in the boy’s one good eye, the other looking as if it was milked over or something.
“Loui, don’t,” Eddie suddenly screamed, coming forward just enough to let us know his presence. “You’ve had your fill for today. Let him go.” Clancy’s face was turning bright purple, his lips tightly pressed against his teeth.
He was trying to speak, but the fingers around his throat refused to let the words through. I could feel Loui’s grip starting to release a little, his lips returning to a more normal colour.
“I hated that dog. Stupid mutt always woke me up in the morning.” He coughed a little, his voice raspy as he began to rub his throat. Loui let go completely and receded back into the darkness.
“I’m sorry for that. Loui loses control sometimes,” I said, sitting up a little and offering to help him up.
What happened next, astonished me more than anything else up to that point. It happened so fast and without any warning. Neither me nor Eddie ever saw it coming and were left staring in awe as much as the kid did when he first saw us.
Clancy rose to his feet, walked over to where good old Bob was lying dead on the creek bed, lent down and took a bite from the dog’s throat. He didn’t look back at us until he had taken 3 complete mouthfuls of flesh from the dog.
When his eyes did finally look back around at us, his face was covered in blood, but not enough to wipe the smile from his face. A smile I would come to see a lot more in the events to follow.
7.
Meeting a 12-year old kid with a similar taste for blood was one of the strangest happenings upon my return to Cider Hill. But I would discover more about the young kid in the coming weeks, things that sent one of us into a near feverish rage.
It was Loui that took a shining to the kid. Clancy would often drop by the house, sometimes bringing a rabbit or a stray cat he’d managed to find. He enjoyed killing things with his teeth almost as much as us. But it was the
