1. The Dog, The Lamb, The Man
The Dog clenches its jaw tightly around the Lamb's neck, its teeth sunk deep into the tender flesh. The Lamb's innocent eyes glassy, staring at nothingness for she is nothing, frozen in a perpetual scream. The blood of the Lamb trickles down from between the Dog's lips, staining the Lamb's soft white fur with red. The Dog refuses to release the Lamb, glaring deep into the snowy woods. She growls in between her teeth. She can feel him, The Man, nearby. She can sense his comforting presence and it scares her more. She refuses to release the innocent Lamb, not because she hates the Lamb, but because she fears the Lamb will be forever taken from her. If she frees the Lamb will he abandon her? Or will he leave if she holds onto the dead Lamb? Her growls grow louder as The Man closes in. She wants to give him her Lamb, but what if he runs away with it like the others, refusing to return it?
As The Man creeps closer, the Dog backs away in fear. He reaches out a hand, offering his friendship. "It's okay," he tells her, "I am your friend." The Dog stares deep into his soul and allows him to pet her. She stays cautious, clenching tightly on her Lamb.
"You shall not have my Lamb for she is mine to keep. Do you understand, The Man?" The Dog asks.
"I understand, Dog."
He gracefully ran his fingers through her soft fur, his hands traveling from her head to her tail. Blood appeared on his hand from deep in her fur, cuts, and scars revealing their location to him.
At first she recoiled at his touch, fearful of his intentions. She clenched her jaw and bared her teeth at him, growling. He quickly jolted back with a smile and a kind apology. She felt something in her stomach turn, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. She had forgotten if it was a good feeling or a bad feeling. She lowered her head as she backed away from The Man, dragging her Lamb with her. He kneels down to be her face level. Easy attack.
"Do you trust me?" He asked.
She nodded.
His voice softened, "Release the Lamb, Little One."
"I don't want her to go," the Dog said, her voice low and trembling. "If I let her go, what will I have left?"
"You'll have the part of her that lives in you," the Man said. "You'll have the strength it took to carry her, the love that kept you going."
Hesitantly, the Dog releases her Lamb. She felt a weight lifted, her jaw less tense. She turned back to see her tail ever so slightly wagging and her stomach turning again. She didn't understand the feeling and quickly latched back onto her Lamb.
"What have you done to me?" She growled through her teeth that bore into the Lamb.''
"It's happiness, Dog."
She looked up at the man with sorrowful eyes as he reached out to her and pet her head. Her jaw loosened and he pulled the Lamb from her clutches. She rested her head on his shoulder as he held her, whispering false promises of being okay. She remembers the others - those who said they would stay, who promised to protect her, but vanished into the shadows when the world grew dark. She growls at herself now, a low, guttural sound. Foolish Dog, you know better.