The Dog Read Online Free Page A

had time to start drying, but its scent is rich and strong, and I think there's a lot of it.
    “You can wait out here if you want,” Jon tells me, his voice tense with anticipation, “but I think I... I have to go take a look inside, okay?”
    He pauses, before stepping closer to the door.
    I bark again, desperately hoping that he'll stop.
    “Harry -”
    And again, louder this time.
    “Harry, seriously...”
    Realizing that he doesn't seem to understand, I hurry toward him and paw at his leg.
    “Harry -”
    I bark again, and then I growl as I stare at the door. A moment later, Jon reaches down and runs a hand across the back of my neck.
    “Jesus, the hairs are standing up,” he mutters. “Harry, are you picking up on something?”
    Stepping past him, so that I can protect him if something comes out through the door, I snarl a little louder. The scent of blood is even stronger now, and although I can't hear anything moving inside, I still don't want to let Jon go any further.
    “Hello?” he calls out. “Is anyone home?”
    Still snarling, I watch the door, poised in case there's any hint of movement.
    “I don't think there's anyone here, buddy,” Jon continues. “Listen, I'm just gonna take a look inside, okay? You can stay out here, but I have to go in. I'll be careful, I promise. I mean, come on, it's just a gas station, right?”
    He steps around me and onto the step outside the door.
    I bark again.
    “Harry!” he says firmly. “Quiet!”
    I let out a whimper as Jon opens the door, and I immediately see that the area inside is dark and gloomy, with no lights at all. The scent of blood is so much stronger now that the door is open.
    “Is anyone in here?” Jon calls out, leaning through the open doorway. “Hello? Anyone?”
    He pauses, before turning to me with a faint smile.
    “See, Harry? I get that you're worried, but I really don't think there's any need to freak out, okay? Obviously someone just headed out of here.” He turns and looks back inside. “And left the door unlocked,” he adds, with a little more uncertainty in his voice. “Which seems a little... odd.”
    I bark again, but he ignores me and steps inside.
    Suddenly realizing that the door is starting to swing shut, I panic and hurry forward, slipping through the gap just in time. I hate the idea of getting close to the blood, but I have to stay with Jon.
    As soon as I'm inside the building, the smell of stale blood hits me much harder. There's something else, too. Old meat, not quite rotten but still not good. My nose is quivering now, as I look along the aisle and see that Jon has made his way almost to the counter at the far end.
    “Hello?” he calls out. “Is anyone here?”
    Although I just want to get out of here, I cautiously make my way along the aisle. When I get to the far end, I see a cabinet high up on the counter, with a glass pane and some kind of meat on the other side, hanging from a metal pole. I've seen Jon eat meat like that before, and I know it's usually warm and cooked, but this time it seems to have been abandoned and left to go bad. Still, at least I know what was causing the smell of old meat, although the scent of blood seems to be coming from further back in the building, past the counter and through a door that has been left propped open.
    Jon still seems not to have noticed the blood. Sometimes I wonder how he survives with such a terrible sense of smell. Maybe that's one of the reasons so many humans seem to like keeping dogs in their pack. They need us.
    I watch as Jon steps around the counter, and suddenly I realize he's making his way toward the open door at the back.
    I bark to warn him, and he turns to me.
    “What?” he asks.
    I bark again, and now my whole body is trembling with fear.
    “What the...” Jon stops and puts his hand on the door, running his fingers against a series of marks in the wood. “Are these bullet-holes?”
    I step closer, while staring through the door and seeing the dark