~Bella

I lay my head across my paws, glaring out the dulled chicken wire that was keeping me from Judy and Mark.  

My family.  

I sighed and rolled over so my paws were facing the ceiling.  

Mark would've come and rubbed behind my ears, gently whispering promises of dinner morsels.  Judy would laugh and roll over herself, till we were all a mess of tangled arms and legs.  Then mother would come, silent laughter dancing behind her eyes.  

I was always the first to see her, immediately bounding over to where she stood.  Judy and Mark would follow.  Running into her embrace as if they hadn't seen her for years.  I just lapped at her ankles, then she'd sweep me up into her arms thanking me silently for watching the children.  I'd respond with a gentle lick to the nose.  

That was before the storm came.  

I remember the weeks before, the frequent trips to the store for food and water.  The car packed just in case.  Then the smaller, younger storms beating at our windows, heralding the greater one.

Then the time came.   Rain threatening to shatter our walls, wind that howled and screeched.  The lightning and thunder right over our heads.  The wails of sirens all through the night.  I remember Judy's tears.  Mark's soundless fright.  

Then they left.  Left me.  Here, alone.  

No. 33465 was howling.  

I started, immediately  contracting myself to the back of the cage.  Whimpering softly.

The door at the far end opened.  Two men entered each sharing the same mousy hair and stubbed nose, though one outgrew the other by a few inches.  

They each wore a labcoat bearing the marks of a fight.  I contracted further.  

One men peared down at his clipboard, checking something off.  He turned to the other.

"No. 33298!" he cried.  

The other nodded then heading to the far corner of the room.   He unlocked a cage pulling out a sickly border terrier.  The dog rebelled ferociously, clawing and yapping mercilessly till the men forced the muzzle on him.  He yelped suddenly before he fell limp.  

I watched helplessly as the creature disappeared into the room.         

The room where dog's went and never came back.   

P.S. its OK clouded leapord, you can join.  I'm just a softie. :-)  

Backstory:  Ran away before the storm, and was in the pound abaout a week befire the owners were evacuated.

Uuuh, a lot?  How bout 100, but every few hours one is taken away?  

PLEASE POST!!!!  

Speck

~~

I flinch away when the man opens my cage to throw in some brown pebbles, and I stay in the shadows even when he leaves. This man is not Brendan. None of them are Brendan. I sigh and heave myself up, padding over to lick up some of the brown pebbles. Then I slink back to the corner and settle down. In the kennels beside me, I hear raucous barking going on. I can see two shapes in the dim light of the KennelRoom. They look like huskys, big and barky and scary. One of pacing around, fur bristling, and the other is rolling around on the floor. They look scary and bitey and they're not Brendan...

~Bella

The next morning we are brought outside to the nearly flooded courtyard.   As usual I meander over to the sidelines, laying my head across my paws to soak up what little sunlight there is.  

A dalmation skitters over, his eyes dancing over the dogs as though they might pounce on him at any moment.  I sit erect, perking my ears slightly.  He caught sight of me and nearly tripped over the broken cement.   

"I-Im sorry,"

I gave him a quizzical stare.

"You did nothing wrong?"

"No f-for getting in your way," 

I smiled.  "Come sit, its dry over here,"  

He paused for a moment then sighed.  Laying his head between his paws.

"What's your name?" I said softly.

"Speck....um, yours?" 

"Bella"

He was silent for a moment.  A small breeze playing with his ears. 

"That sounds like Brendon," he whispered dreamily. 

I stared at him for a moment.  Then sighed.

"I miss my owners"    

A image of Judy coming home from school warmed my thoughts.  Her smile at seeing me.  her backpack immediately thrown to the floor to make way for hugs.

My daydream was broken by the arrival of two huskies, siblings by the their appearence. 

The smaller one smiled,  shaking water loose from her pelt.  The other grinned slightly but soon covered it up with a frown.  

"We came over to see what you guys were doing" said the smaller one.

Speck looked like he was about to faint at the sudden presence of two menacing wolf dogs.

"I'm storm by the way," he pointed his nose at the other, "that's my sister Tempest."

"I'm Bella, um" I glanced at speck who still looked traumatized. "this is speck"  

Storm lay down on his side, panting softly.  Tempest didn't move but glared daggers down at us.

"How long have you been here?"  I asked softly.

They glanced at eachother.  

"when was the hurricane?" Tempest replied curtly.  

"Two nights ago," 

"Nearly a week then,"

Storm sighed.   Thumping his tail across the rough cement.  

Tempest glanced at him, "the time limit for our life here is two weeks isn't it?  Then they bring us to the..."

She averted her gaze down to her paws.   

"The room," speck whispered. 

"I'm sorry but I seem to have eavesdropped on your conversation." Tempest spun around, growling at the dog behind her.  

It was golden retriever with an apologetic look written all over his face.  

"And who may I ask are you," tempest snarled.  

"Wateou." He paused for a moment then sighed.  

~you guys  continue the conversation!!!