Lapdog for Life

Harold was driving down the highway at night. Eyes on the fly on the right part of his windshield.

He extended his hand to try and kill it. Everything shook, presumably due to a hole in the road,The car flew towards the incoming traffic. He steered it the other way. Before crashing into a tree, through the bright sunlight he made out a figure that he would have hit had it not been for his accident.

There was pain. There was darkness. With some reluctance he opened his eyes, though it didn't make much of a difference as he couldn't see anything.

He felt a bit dizzy. His basic sense of coordination was telling him he was upside down. His limbs were tied up with something hard, maybe a metal chain and lastly he was hanging by a rope.

If he concentrated enough he could hear the faintest sound of breathing. Friend or foe, it was still the sound of life, which made it reassuring in a way. He shook his head a little, making his body sway.

Chains rattled in sync with his movements. Eventually he stopped. There was rattling again coming from somewhere in the room. He could narrow it down to the general direction of the breathing. A signal of some sort? A sign of friendship? Maybe he wasn't the only victim.

His mouth opened, his brain racing for the right words, but before he could say anything there was a screeching. The sound of footsteps followed. Harold closed his mouth, he took shallow breaths in an attempt to hide his presence.

''I see you're awake.'' a man stated.

More footsteps sounded. Soon rattling followed. There was a start of a scream which was muffled, yet barely contained. Chains rattled, heavy moaning sounded, grunting, muffed screams until finally there was silence.

Harold could feel his senses becoming sharper and more focused, his fatigue and dizziness were put on hold.

However hard he tried Harold couldn't hear breathing. The only sound he heard was of footsteps. The moment he heard switch flip was the moment he closed his eyes as light invaded them. He opened an eye and focused on the unclear image before him. Something thin protruding from the floor, wait that's the ceiling. A rope hanging from the ceiling. Whatever he saw, was very red and had probably been human at some point.

Next he focused on the man. Tall, dressed in an old suit, a top hat, with long black hair falling onto his shoulders, below his heavily scarred chin and face. A cross hung from his neck. Harold noted the knife in the man's hand and noted not to look at it again.

Harold stared into his dead eyes and did the only thing he could that would make him look like less of a threat. He gave a wide cheeky smile. The man's face didn't so much as twitch.

Harold frowned, realizing that the smile probably looked like a frown from the man's position.

The man's eyes which seemingly stared past him turned towards one of the windows. Harold glanced too and concluded by the elevation of the window that they were in a basement.

''Now.'' the man spoke, Harold looked at him even if he did not look back. ''Since the definite sinner is dead I am going to screen you just in case. Given the opportunity to save your life or the life of a dog. Would you save the dog's life?''

Harold was tied upside down with a murderous lunatic in the room and that guy was asking him if he would save a dog.

''Screw that. The hell would I?'' he exclaimed, looking straight at the man who was looking at a window.

''I had a dog once.'' it was at that time that Harold dubbed him 'Dog'. ''Sweetest, most loyal creature. However, one day this beast in the skin of a man attacked me. My dog bit and scratched, but the man killed him. I managed to run. This dog gave its life for me.''

Harold considered his options. There had to be a reason why that guy hadn't killed him yet. What was the difference between him and the other guy.

''So I tracked the beast of a man and killed him and his entire family.'' Dog glared at Harold causing his mind, body and soul to stop for a moment and just whittle in fear.

''Ever since then I make it a habit. I place dogs onto the road. Sinners kill them and good people sacrifice themselves to save them. It's a way to screen sinners. The world is full of such dreaded people.''

As Dog drawled on and on, Harold thought. Dog? Dog? What about dogs? That guy was obsessed with dogs yet Harold didn't remember interacting with any dogs in recent times. On the road? He followed the train of thought. Veering off, there had been a figure on the road. Small, on four legs. A dog!

Harold's brain kicked into high gear.

''But why would I save a dog? Look at where that led him.'' he pointed at the other hanging person. ''He's dead because he saved a dog.''

If he got the whole 'sinner' thing right then.

''No. That man was a sinner, I caught him after he ran over the dog. You are a good man you saved a dog, so you're alive I saved you. He didn't.'' Dog stated, taking a step back. ''Ironic wouldn't you say?''

Bingo.

''Ironic indeed. You're the good guy then. You gonna let me go spread the goodness.'' Harold gave an innocent smile.

''You're definitely gonna spread the goodness.'' with a dramatic flair Dog threw a knife at the rope above Harold's body cutting it. Harold in turn did his best to keep his sounds of pain as his head met concrete to the confines of his mind. ''As my partner.''

As the man walked away Harold worked on freeing his limbs from the chains. He was on his feet in a few moments. Dog was walking towards the exit.

''Most people who save dogs are too compassionate. They won't kill the human beasts, I hope you're not like that.'' Harold glanced at the knife on the floor but shook his head.

''I hope so too.'' Catching a guy who ran over a dog, not breathing. Attacking would be futile. Harold followed him. Standing by the door, what remained of his humanity looked at the mingled remains of a human hanging from the ceiling.

Harold gave it a salute.