Dogs in the Attic!

Two Minutes Later...

Winona lifted her head from the nest of glass shards, tiny pieces slid off her head as she rose. Blood oozed from several exposed cuts on her body. Some of them were small, while others were so big that areas of her fur were soaked in crimson dye.

Pain is what she felt. Her head, her paws, her shoulders; air stung the thin scratches on her face, singeing her cheeks with a gently caressing finger of fire.

How long had she been out? How did she not die from the fall? Where was Buster? Mr. Ginny? They had to be coming down here. Yes, any moment they will be down here looking for her. She had to run! Run! Come on, get up and run! Your life depends on it, Winona! Run bitch, run!

Ignoring the pain leeching off her from every direction, Winona shakily stood up. More shards fell to the ground. The moonlight gleamed off the grass, revealing glitters of more glass amongst fallen leaves. Then she heard a loud crunching sound above her.

They were coming for her! Winona shot her head around, searching for anywhere to hide. About ten meters away from her imposed a wide thicket. It would be a perfect hiding spot. But was she willing to risk getting caught in this wide-open of a space to rush to it?

The crunching intensified and she didn’t need another moment’s hesitation to make up her mind. Lurching forward, Winona began her race to euphoria.

Pain shot through her shoulder, causing Winona to nearly tumble forward. Rather than making that mad dash she had hoped she could make, her right foreleg became a paddle for her body. Every stroke of the paddle guided her closer to the thicket, but it felt like traveling through water. However, like one would pick up speed in a canoe, Winona slowly picked up her pace. Just a couple more feet and—

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Winona fell forward, receiving a faceful of leaves and dirt. Her eardrums screamed, tears forcing themselves out of her eyes. Lifting her head through the veil of agony that had befallen her, Winona blinked through the water stinging her face, looking toward the thicket.

It was there, only a foot away. All she had to do was crawl into it, curl up into a little ball, and remain hidden.

Digging a paw in front of her, Winona dragged her body forward. She did the same several times more, pain stabbing into her shoulder. Ignoring it, she completely submerged her head in the bush. Twigs and dried leaves cracked beneath her while Winona wrestled her body in.

When she was fully enveloped by the thicket, Winona slid her body around, not taking enough heed into the rustling branches of leaves around her. She listened for the sounds of multiple feet stomping against the grass, but a different noise resonated.

Clump! Clump! Clump!

She now had a clear view of what she was running from between the branches, albeit slightly obscured. But she could still make out the body and the head of the thing that emerged from the attic.

Standing on the roof was a swirling mass of ethereal magic in the form of a canine. It was about the size of a small tree, its body a galaxy of colors that would make any gender-confused rainbow jealous.

The beast raised its head, looking beyond the orchard. The two red dots that must have been its eyes, were they set on her? Was it looking at her? It was most certainly looking at the thicket she was hiding in. Could it see Winona? Was she not fully obscured? If she was, then why did it continue to stare?

Her worry was cut short when it looked away. Raising its head toward the moon, it opened its maw and—

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Winona tucked her ears back, her body wreathing from the pain. She did the best she could to not make too much movement, even forcing herself to endure the agony.

Her ears were still ringing when the canine’s head turned to smoke, a draft seeming to carry it away where the colorful cloud flew over the orchard. Finally, its paws were carried away in the smoke, its body fully depleted. The cloud flew high over the trees until Winona could no longer see it.

The ringing in her ears stopped and silence befell the orchard once more. Is it gone? Winona thought. Where did it go?

She stuck her nose out through the leaves and twigs, holding her breath. The silence of the orchard permeated her thoughts with the semblance of peace.

Finally… Breathing a sigh of relief, Winona emerged from the thicket, more glass and dried leaves falling from her fur. Confident nothing deadly would come after her, she made her way toward the house.

Then the roof exploded.