Stray Dogs

Raman Jalota's Stories

		Stray Dogs By Raman Jalota The man lifted his hat and looked up at the sky. Damn not a single cloud. Damn sun is burning me up. I better hurry and get this over with. He wiped his forehead with the dirty blue bandanna and picked up the shovel again. The ground was hard, hard clay. Should be good for pottery, but what do I know about pottery? He kept on digging. He would lift the shovel up and lift one of his legs in harmony with it, as he would push the shovel in the ground, he would bring his leg down too. Two hours later, the hole was barely a foot deep and two feet wide. "God damn it, this won't work," he screamed, threw the shovel and kicked at the hard ground. He looked around; the area was flat and deserted, just tall cacti all around him, not a soul in sight. What do I do with her body? He walked back to the tent unsteadily and looked around for something, anything that would give him an idea. Nothing. Monica Carlyle was dead. Dead in the middle of the Arizona desert. What must I do now? Monica's body was wrapped in the sheet she had been sleeping on. He had slept outside for the last two weeks. Under the stars. Avoiding her lunatic utterings. The dreams she had been having. He knew the madness had overtaken her. He knew the end was near. Yet the body of Monica wrapped in a sheet lay in the tent and he could not dig a hole deep enough to bury her. "Don't let them take my body. Please David, bury my body where no one can find it. Promise me David. Promise me, you won't let them take my body. Promise me you will chop up my body in little pieces or burn it, but don't let them take my body. They are killing me with their laser-thoughts. I have no sanity left. Oh! no, get away from me. You dog. Shhhh .. go away." She had lapsed away into her mind again. David had stepped out of the tent and sighed with relief. What did he detest more, her mind when she was lucid or her mind when she was controlled? He just wanted to get away from them, as far away as possible. They were terrible. They were strong. Yet had no effect on David. His feeble, sub-human mind could not be penetrated and controlled by the aliens. He may be the only weapon against the aliens. And he didn't even know it. Dogs, yes that's what they reminded him of. Three feet tall and plump, with brownish yellow fur. They had spindly legs and long thin arms that they often dragged on the ground. It was some little kids in California who first found a ship and the aliens. They thought they had found stray dogs. The name stuck. He closed his eyes and fanned himself with his hat. Why am I here? What do I do with Monica? A faint sound jolted him awake. He scanned the ground for a rattlesnake. And then a clear thought formed in his mind, "You better watch out. There may be dogs about!" Is this what Monica called 'laser-thought'. But it wasn't painful like she had always described. This was friendly, gentle and lacked any threat. Maybe they can control me now. "David, this is a friend. Not an enemy like the others. I am a friend, I won't harm you" the voice was clear as if spoken though he heard no sounds. "Where are you? Who are you? You are not one of them dogs? Are you?" he squinted through the cacti, trying to decipher a shape. Nothing. "I'll help you dig the hole David. I know how tired you feel. I am small but strong. Will you let me help you?" "Sheesh ... be my guest. This damn ground is too tough for me, man." "Don't be afraid." he heard distinctly and saw a small boy, perhaps seven years old; walk out from behind the tent and smile at him with big brown eyes. He held out his hand palm facing up. "I am Destin. I am here to help you." He wore dark shorts and a dark tee shirt. A green pack was on his back. His feet were bare. He saw David stare at his feet. "Don't worry, I got shoes. I just don't wear them. That way I can control the amount of sound I make. "What you doing here kid? This no place for a kid like you." "I am here to help you, David." David's face turned white with fear, "Was that you talking to my head just now, 'fore you came." "Yes. It was me. I know you David. I am here to help you. When you no longer need me, I'll leave." "How do you do that stuff? With my head?" "Here let me try the shovel." Destin grabbed the shovel with both hands lifted it to eye level and drove it in the ground his whole body jumping up at the last instant putting more force into that stroke than a grown up could deliver. The shovel went in eight inches. He pulled down the end of the shovel and flung his body from one side of the shovel to the other, twisting it and breaking the hard clay. David stared at the ground in disbelief. The little kid had created a hole in one stroke; half the size of the one David had dug in two hours. He rubbed his eyes. In less than twenty minutes Destin had a two feet by six feet hole ready. "Let's get her body" he took David's hand and walked into the tent. ..... Destin glanced at the tall, abnormal human, sizing him up, "Shouldn't I just zap him and take the female body? And when do I send Escee the message?" He removed the sheet from Monica's body and examined her. He then looked at David, "I must try to see why she died?" Without waiting for his reply he started removing her clothes. The skin was stiff but warm - same as the tent's temperature. He gueesed that she had probably been dead ten hours plus minus two. He sniffed carefully, there was no poisonous odor. He was pleased. He turned her body over and separated her legs slowly. There were no blueing marks of poisoning yet. He ran his hands over her body, under her breasts, in her armpits and between her legs. He was relieved and happy to note no damage to the tissue. But he was still puzzled - what caused her death. He ran his fingers on her scalp - no bumps; no blood. He pushed her stomach in with his fist - almost empty but not starving. He wondered what caused her death, there was almost nothing he could detect. "How did she die?" "Well she just upped and died. I think the dogs killed her." "What dogs?" "You know, them alien thingies. They are about this tall and furry like dogs." he stretched his hand just over Destin's head. Destin concluded the sub-human was delirious. Destin was absolutely sure that he was the first to find Monica, but probed anyway. "When did they find her? How did they kill her?" "They were in her head. She said they lasered her. She was screaming, 'They are killing me, David. I can't take it anymore."" "But they never found her?" "Didn't have to. Just killed her with their laser-thoughts." Destin wondered if that could be a clue. Why did the Escee want her out of the millions of domiciled humans, he could never guess. She had been impossible to fully control. It had taken massive doses of simul-waves to track her. Could that have killed her? It would be interesting to find out. ..... David gently laid her head down in the grave and murmured words of prayer that he remembered - "dust to diamonds, that's what we are in the end". Destin zeroed in on David with his remaining energy. No effect. David didn't even feel his presence in his mind. This guy is too tough for me he thought. I have three fourths of my energy intact and I can't make a dent in his mind. I may have to gas him. On second thought why don't I take him back too? He's as tough to penetrate as she was. Destin moved away from the tent, towards the bushes and called the Escee, "Supreme commander Presden, I have found her. She's dead ... no not poisoned ... she was dead before I found them ... the male ... he's deficient but resists all mind-waves. You want him or should I gas him? ... very well ... I see, her body is the second best thing to her eggs ... Of course ... I'll bring it ... thank you Escee." David covered Monica's body with dirt - slowly at first and then shovel fulls after he couldn't bear to see her anymore. A rage was pounding in his head. Damn dogs. I'll kill every last one of them. Damn dogs. Destin was visibly upset but controlled his rage. "Damn this idiot. The Escee doesn't want her body dirty and contaminated. I shouldn't have dug that hole so fast. Must get the transport now." He unzipped his pack and removed three plastic spheres, two orange and one Yellow. He picked the yellow one - Cadmium-disulfide. He unscrewed the top of the yellow cylinder and pointed it at David. A yellow fume rose out of the cylinder, traveled up to David and engulfed him. He sat paralyzed as the gas overpowered him into unconsciousness. ..... Monica walked into the psychiatric ward smiling and talking to everyone she saw. There were hugs for some, a touch to the face for others; a hello for some and a pat on the arm for a few. She knew and cared for everyone here. She stopped at 461 and looked at her clipboard again. David Bailey ... semi-functional; language skills - deficient; mental alertness - minor; body functions - some control. She rapped on the door, opened it and went in. "David, my name is Monica. I am one of the nurses on this floor. How are you doing today?" David stared at the pretty blond. He looked at the front of her dress and a drool formed at a corner of his mouth. He muttered incoherently. Monica's face had an angelic expression, she reached out to him and put her hands on his shoulders. She looked into his eyes and smiled. "David, would you like to be my friend? I want to be your friend." David looked bewildered. A pretty girl was standing a foot away from him, smiling and asking him to be her friend. "Yes, friend." he smiled happily. She embraced him slowly, letting his head rest on her shoulder and rocked him gently. The special bond between him and Monica grew in the next five years. She had tapped into the dark recesses of his mind unlocking whatever potential there was. She had spent hours on his speech, hours training him to dress himself, hours taking him outdoors till he could function on his own. She even helped secure his release from the ward. She became his guardian and helped him find a job at a McDonald's and a room that he could rent. She was like a possessed hen, bent on making her chicks independent. And the years spent on him had been worthwhile. He finally was almost independent. She considered him her most prized ex-patient. ..... When the aliens took over, she didn't know what to do. Like everyone else, she submitted to the physical and chemical tests that the aliens performed on everyone. The president had surrendered without a fight. There was no fight possible against a race that could control everyone's mind without any effort. No guns were fired, no bombs were exploded. The aliens quietly, without much ceremony, took over the country and the entire world. "We are here for good. We plan to stay and create a master race. Our galaxy was about to explode into oblivion and we may be the only survivors from our planet. We intend to make this world the best world, inhabited by the best of the best. Your best mating with us, ensuring the creation and propagation of the best. We are here in Peace." The words sent chills down her spine. Monica had watched the Escee Presden make the speech on TV and knew she needed to get away. It was getting clearer. The people on the fourth floor had disappeared two weeks ago. She had feared that they had been killed. Now, she knew that those that didn't fit the criteria for the best were being destroyed. The male population had been rendered impotent overnight and men, and women with IQ's of less than 135 were being eliminated systematically, block by block, city by city, country by country. ..... Destin stood before the panel, nervous at being in the presence of the supreme commander. The supreme commander spoke slowly, "We have a critical project for you. The female Monica of the human species has decided to run away from us. We had not received her test results by the time she had decided to run. We need her. She is the best of the best." "Why is this female so important?" Destin spoke slowly. The Chief Inhabitant Officer looked at him slightly annoyed, "She has the best genetic structure out of all living female humans. The genetic tests of up to 5000 primary genes have put her at the top of the list. She is the one we want. Besides, we have been destroying the inferior specimens and there are not too many prime samples left to choose from." "What about the others on the list?" "The second best passes only up to a hundred genes. All tests on her beyond the first hundred come up inferior or incompatible. For some reason, this one specimen has adequate IQ and wonderful genes. We need her for the rest of us, for our next generations. She is the one we need." "What must I do?" Presden looked at him with an urgency Destin didn't understand, "You must keep her alive. You must capture her alive. We must breed with her immediately. Our next generations depend on her being alive." "Where do I find her?" The briefing and planning began. ..... When the city blocks thinned out at rush hour, Monica knew it was time. So many people had disappeared. There was no time left. Escape or die. She drove up to David's room. "David, we must leave." "Now?" "Yes, now. The dogs have been killing people all over the country. We have to run and hide and figure out what to do to survive. Grab some clothes and let's get going." Sitting in the car, driving towards Arizona, David had finally pondered the situation, "They have not done anything to me. They like me. They must not want to hurt me. Why should we run away?" "Listen carefully, David. The dogs control the people with laser thoughts and laser waves. If you comply or pose no threat to them, they may let you survive, but only for a very short time. Once they start building their master race, they will only leave a few humans alive to serve them till the new generation born from dogs and humans arrives." "Why do they want humans?" "David, they have no females. Didn't you know that? Not only that; they need living human tissue to create the next race. Their race was headed for extinction on its own otherwise." "Where are we going?" "I want to go to Montana and get lost in the wilderness, perhaps we can survive there." "Montana." ..... David awoke. Monica was shaking him gently. "This is the end of the road David." "So, did we really run out of gas?" "Yes, I kept hoping the next gas station we reach will have some, but all that walking was for not. It too was ransacked like the last one we stopped at. We have no choice, but to find a shelter here, in the desert." "Where are we?" "Somewhere in Arizona, maybe we will go and see the Grand canyon." His eyes lit up, "Oh boy. The Grand canyon." It took several trips to get all their gear out of the car and onto the spot they had found, six or seven miles off the road. Far enough to be out of sight. Close enough to get to the road, to seek help. Nothing had worked right. There was very little water and the little stream they had found was stagnant and definitely contaminated. Lighting a fire to boil the water was a risk they had to take from time to time. The lack of food was hard to get used to. The thought of all that food that surrounded them just a few weeks ago, drove them crazy. A lizard one day, a snake or bird another day was all they could find. It was hard surviving like this. And the lasers kept bombarding them. Locating them, reading them, and transmitting their whereabouts. It was of course no use. Monica was ready and willing to die. She was heart broken to have to see David die too. "We have no choice, David. Unless a miracle happens and someone rescues us, we are going to die. I am sorry that I brought you out here like this and now all we can do is wait and die. I will try and survive as long as I can, then I will stop breathing. I am sorry that it has to be this way." Her words became more and more bizarre till he couldn't take it anymore and slept outside the tent, checking in on her occasionally and bringing her water every so often and food whenever he found any. ..... David awoke slowly. His hands and legs were secured to a bed. A big room with white lights and a light curtain on a window was all he could see. I am alive. He smiled. Almost instantly his face lost its color ... and Monica is dead. A brownish yellow dog walking on his hind legs came into his view. "Good morning David. How are you feeling today?" "Let me get up. I want some water. Where am I? And who the hell are you?" "You are in the Berkeley medical center, here in California. I am doctor Stilett. I am going to make sure, you get well." "You one of them aliens?" "Yes, David. Here let me help you." Dr. Stilett untied the restraints and David slowly stood up. He looked around the room and went berserk. Dr. Stilett's neck broke easily in his hands. "This is not a human being. It's just a stupid dog." he told himself as he ran out the room and into the corridor to certain death. Coming towards him was Destin. "Hey buddy. How the hell did you get here? Are you O.K.? These dogs tried to tie me up but I killed that bastard." "You ... you killed Dr. Stilett?" "You know him, Destin? Who is he? What the hell is going on?" Destin looked into David's eyes, "It's the end of the road David." Slowly, he changed into a dog in front of his eyes. A petrified David collapsed on the floor. ..... "The genetic lab has been working full time. We were able to recover her body in a fairly decent condition. Though the optimal reproduction method was destroyed, we are cloning her and will soon have the beginning of our future race." The Escee beamed with success, "Well done, Mr. Moses, the inhabitation of this planet can soon begin. And yes, the end of the inferior human race. A toast to our success. A toast to our next generation." The boardroom resounded with good cheer and the sound of champagne being poured into slender crystal glasses. The genetic lab hummed with intense activity as Monica was slowly brought to life into scores of tiny lives. The boardroom occupants, the genetic lab occupants and the rulers of the planet spent the night in peace, assured of the survival of the perfect race. The surviving humans spent another miserable night forever destined to be the downtrodden slaves of these stray dogs. Somewhere the body of David was being cut open to expose the brain that could not be penetrated by the dogs and unknown to all; the genetic abnormality of Monica ... the abnormality that made her so protective towards the helpless downtrodden humans, was slowly being multiplied a million fold. The End 3498 words

	Copyright © 2004 Raman Jalota. All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.