First off, I am against vegan diets for our furballs, but for humans, it’s not too bad. Sadly, I needed some money, and there was only one place hiring where I lived. Due to my little track record of theft, my choices were limited. I wouldn’t have gotten the job if it had not been for my looks, being a guy who tried to keep in decent shape, and my pal Grendal. Grendal is my pal who stayed by my side while on the streets. He is an energetic Pomeranian with only three legs, his front left missing, and his face slightly deformed since birth.
Anyway, I worked in the vegan food for pets for only a month, and I can already tell you it is literal hell. Every day, I am looked at by my manager, Lora, along with her partner, Bob, with lust and would occasionally get my ass smacked. Although Lora has an hourglass figure, she has one hell of a temper and an even shorter fuse. On the other hand, Bob is patient but gets pushed around a lot by his partner, even if he has a perverted side that only comes out while I’m working.
One day, I came in, like always, with Grendal by my side. Lora likes using him to bring in customers, which works well. While Grendal stays by the window to relax or play around, I stock and help customers who wander in or are regulars. So the ship opens at ten in the morning and closes at ten at night, and guess who does doubles? That’s right—this guy! I have one day off, and during those days, I relax in my one-bedroom apartment with Grendal to let my body rest while occasionally reading Reddit or commenting on some posts.
So, one day, closing time was only a few minutes away; the door to the shop opened, and like a good worker, I went to greet whoever entered, even if the counter had a clear view of the front door. Instead of seeing a person, I come face to face with a dog, a Doberman, to be more accurate, but damn, was he well-groomed and healthy! He had no collar, and his eyes seemed filled with rage—more rage than I have seen. Thankfully, Grendal was passed out by the window, resting on his comfy bed.
‘Disgusting,’ A voice called, sounding like a gruff old man.
I was caught off guard by this voice that wasn’t vocal. It didn’t enter my ear but my mind, and for a moment, I thought I was only imagining things.
“Why do such disgusting places exist?” The voice asked as the Doberman started to look around while growling.
“Who is at the door? It’s near closing time!” Lora questioned as she wandered over to see the front door with me standing before the Doberman.
Her eyes lit up as she called to her partner from the back to join her. When her partner joined her, they met up with the dog with wide smiles.
“Where is your owner, boy?” Lora asked, looking the Doberman over.
“So I guess I am just hearing things,” I mused myself with a shrug while shaking my head.
‘Disgusting humans,’ The voice called again, and this time, Lora and Bob also looked around, trying to find the source.
“Who’s there?!” Lora shouted, making my eyes widen.
“So I ain’t going crazy?” I asked.
“No, you aren’t, boy,” Bob agreed, eyes on me before they moved over to the Doberman.
‘If it were not for my father’s contract, I would have devoured all three of you by now,’ The voice echoed in our minds louder than before, causing me to fall to my knees in pain. ‘I am George, the Doberman before you all. A damned. A child of Z.’
“Child? Z?” I repeated while looking at George, gritting my teeth.
“What?” Lora asked, confused.
“Contract?” Bob asked, also trying to figure out what was going on.
‘Yes. I am to kill you all in the form of a game,’ George answered, tilting his head while grinning.
His mouth opened more than it should have been able to; even its teeth were longer than any animal I have seen, and his eyes were pitch black. What caught my attention was the letter ‘Z’ scratched onto the top of the glass door and the skull of a dear outside looking at us while its jaws chattered. I nearly pissed myself seeing that skull before my focus fell on George, who scuffed as our eyes met.
“And if we do not play this game?” Bob asked, trying to act brave even though his voice and hands said otherwise.
‘I get to eat you. Every last piece of you. Clothes and all,’ George answered as he stared at Bob now while drool dripped from its maw.
“W-What’s the game?” I asked, causing George to look at me now as he leaned forward, snarling.
‘Red light, Green light,’ George answered before he snapped his attention to Lora and Bob. ‘Get to the back exit. If you win, you live. It is that simple.’
“I-It can’t be that simple,” I stuttered, my knees shaking.
All I heard was laughter echoing inside my mind.
‘Only one way to find out,’ Gearoeg replied, only for his attention to snap on Bob, who took a step forward. ‘Do we have a volunteer? To show what will happen to those who lose in my games?’
Bob stared at George before he took a step back.
‘Wise. How unfortunate,’ George said, glaring at Bob.
“How do you play?” Lora asked, swallowing her saliva.
‘Simple. Very simple,’ George mused. ‘The rules are simple. When I say green light, you are free to move. That is when I will close my eyes. When I say red light, you stop moving. If I catch you moving while my eyes are open…I will eat you alive.’
The mere thought of us being eaten alive scared me, with Bob freezing in place while Lora clung to her partner’s arm.
‘So. Let us begin,’ George whispered as the floors, walls, and shelves were coated in a red organic substance.
I looked at the ground and shelves in fear before returning to George, who grinned.
‘Green light,’ George said, closing his eyes and bowing while sitting down.
Bob took this chance to shove Lora off his arm and race for the back exit. As Lora fell to the ground, my head turned to watch Bob run for his life.
‘Red light,’ George called, as eyes opened on the floors, walls, and shelves.
Even as the eyes opened, Bob continued to run for the exit. He took one more step before organic tendrils sprang from the floor to wrap around the man’s legs and hold him in place. Under Bob, a large mouth formed, causing the man to scream out in terror while the tendrils hoisted him off the floor as the mouth opened. The tendrils released their hold on Bob, allowing him to descend into the gaping maw under him. I forced my eyes closed as the sound of his screams echoed throughout the shop, followed by crunching and the tearing of flesh. It took only a few seconds before the sound died down; I opened my eyes to face the ground, seeing the eyes on the floor staring back at me.
“Why are you doing this?!” I questioned, trying my best not to move my body.
‘You humans think you know what is best for us, who we are, what we do, and how we do things. You decide what our lives will be for good or bad. I have had such a life before…and I absolutely hated it. Because of that, I am what you see before you today. A monster,’ George explained with hatred as he growled.
“A demon!” Lora screamed as she stared at Bob’s severed hand that was tossed in front of her to try and get her to move.
‘You did not move. How disappointing,’ George commented, now glaring at Lora. ‘No matter. There is still time.’
“W-What if we don’t move at all?” I asked, closing my eyes tightly as tears began to form.
‘If I were you, I would get to the exit…before it closes completely,’ George answered, chuckling. ‘Go ahead. Look. I will let you do so.’
I open my eyes to look at George, who grinned and nudged his head. Seeing the Doberman, I slowly turn to look at the exit, seeing the organic substance gradually inching toward the door.
‘You have a time limit. One minute,’ George said while tilting his head. ‘Greenlight.’
As those words echoed in my ear, I was about to run until my eyes shot over to George, then the front. Instead of running to the exit, I ran toward George while Lora raced to the door.
‘Red light,’ George voiced as the many eyes opened, causing Lora and I to freeze in place again.
All the eyes looked at me in confusion as George stood up and walked over to me.
‘And why are you coming this way?’ George asked, tilting his head.
“Grendal…my family member…” I answered truthfully.
‘And who is your family member?’ George questioned, his head mere inches from my own now.
“Grendal… my Pomeranian… my best friend,” I answer, tears streaming down my face as I try to control my breathing even though my heart is thumping like a taiko drum now at full beat.
‘Liar,’ George said, growling in my face.
Suddenly, George’s eyes snapped to Lora, who had stayed frozen for some time.
‘No matter. If you fail, your friend will not be harmed. I am only here for you, humans. Not my brethren, you keep to entertain and control,’ George said, taking a few steps back and sitting down again. ‘Greenlight.’
Lora continued to run for her life while I raced over to where the window was and dug at the wall of flesh to reveal my friend Grendal, unharmed and still fast asleep. I scooped him up in my arms and turned to run, only to see Lora pull out her handgun under the counter and take aim and fire at George. The bullet collided with the Doberman but slowly came to a stop and fell to the ground, leaving George unharmed.
‘…red…light…’ George said slowly as he opened his many eyes to glare at Lora, who started to shake while holding her handgun. ‘Stupid human. Wasting time on a pointless effort. And looking at the exit, only one of you will escape now.’
Lora looked to the corner of her eyes, seeing that what George had said was right; they only had a few more seconds before the door was engulfed by the flesh.
‘Green light,’ George said, closing his many eyes as Lora looked directly at me than at my friend.
My eyes widened, knowing precisely what she was about to do as I used my body as a shield, hearing the sound of her gun go off. Closing my eyes, I braced for the pain that pierced through my back and hit my bone. I screamed in pain while collapsing to the ground and holding Grendal to my chest. Lora smirked while I was curled up on the floor, taking this chance to turn and race toward the door. As she took hold of the doorknob and turned it to swing it open, her eyes widened as a giant eye was in front of her.
‘Red…light…’ George said, and Lora froze just in time while I could shift myself to see my former boss.
“Lora,” A voice called out behind Lora, which belonged to Bob.
“Bob?” Lora whispered as she looked to the ground but did not move her body.
“Save…me…” Bob begged as scrapping echoed behind her like something was being dragged on the ground. “Please…”
Lora remained unmoved, but her body was beginning to shake violently. Suddenly, the sound of dragging ceased, and Lora became immensely nervous.
“SAVE ME!”Bob screamed into Lora’s ear, making her flinch and scream while turning around to see no one there.
‘Gotcha,’ George spoke as she looked forward to seeing the Doberman inches from her face, standing on his hind legs like a lycan while his paws were morphed into long-bladed claws that touched the ground.
The next thing I saw was Lora being pulled through the door, followed by her screams and flesh being torn apart. Unlike with Bob, her screams lasted longer, as if George was taking his time eating my former boss. After what seemed like hours, the door opened to show George walking in with blood dripping from his maw until a long tongue slithered from his mouth to lap up what remained of the red liquid. I could not help but chuckle while looking down at Grendal, who finally woke up due to his fluffy, dirty blonde tail beginning to wag.
“Hey, boy. Did I wake you?” I asked, placing my forehead against the Pomeranian as he started to lick at my face. “I’m sorry, pal.”
George shifted back to his Doberman form and stood there watching while I groaned and looked up at the monster.
“There never was an exit…was there?” I asked with a weak smile while Grendal barked happily.
George remained silent and stared at Grendal. The two looked at each other while I sat there in pain before George looked up at me. His eyes, which used to be filled with hate and rage, were replaced with envy and sorrow.
‘If I had an owner such as you to begin with…I would not have become what I am now,’ George said before walking past me to the front door with the flesh all retreating into the Doberman’s form.
Once all the flesh returned to George, the shop was empty, with no mess or evidence of murder.
‘They were planning on killing you, John. I envy Grendal. You let him pick his name, eat what he wished, and even do what he pleased. You have sacrificed for him more than many humans would us. As such, I will not kill you. In the safe within your former employer’s office, I left the code for you to use beside it on paper. Use it as you see fit. Be warned, John. I will be watching you…very closely,” George said before leaving the shop.
A towering figure stood outside, staring at me before I blinked to see the thing gone. In a sense, to George, nothing did happen. So I got up with some trouble and went to Lora’s office. After opening the door, I found the safe and the piece of paper. Once I opened the safe, I saw what seemed to be at least ten thousand dollars in cash. It was Lora’s backup money in case anything went south here, and to her credit, it did; it was just that it was in my favor.
“Let’s go and get a real place to stay for tonight. What do you say, Grendel?” I say, looking at my pal and seeing him jump up in joy before scooping him up and making my way to the exit after locking up. “Things…might be looking up for us…”