A Little Gray Book of Grim Tales by Ray Garton

Author:Ray Garton [Garton, Ray]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: horror, dark fiction
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2020-12-28T00:00:00+00:00

Sammy Comes Home

“Did you hear about Mrs. Naccarato’s dog, Dad?” Bryan said.

“That yapping mutt up the street?” Jeremy Hale stood in his back yard and looked up at the sky, wondering if the weatherman had been mistaken in predicting only clouds for the day. The clouds had been white and fluffy that morning, separated by patches of blue. Now they were dark, muscular, and menacing, and the late-spring day had become cooler with a chilly breeze.

“Yeah, he disappeared. That’s the third dog since Sammy, Dad. The third one I know about, anyway. And the Jarviks haven’t been able to find their cat in a few days.”

The tension in Bryan’s voice made Jeremy look down. The creases that cut into the boy’s forehead were there too often. At ten, Bryan was already a world-class worrier. It didn’t mix well with his sensitive personality—the boy could be devastated by a thoughtless word—and sometimes, Jeremy became concerned about his son’s ability to cope with life later, when he was on his own. He’d been even worse since their dog Sammy disappeared almost a week ago. He saw monsters in shadows, and he saw shadows at high noon.

Bryan was terrified that the dog was alone, in pain, suffering helplessly. Sammy occupied his thoughts to the point of distraction and Bryan’s sleep was disrupted by upsetting dreams about his dog.

Jeremy put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Like I said, we can get another dog, Bryan. We can go to the shelter and find one to rescue, just like we did with Sammy.”

Bryan frowned but didn’t look up at his father. His face tensed even more into a pained expression and Jeremy thought he was about to cry.

Bryan looked up at him and said, “If Sammy comes home and sees that we’ve replaced him, he might … y’know … go away again. And not come back.”

He huddled down in front of Bryan and smiled. “If Sammy comes home, he’ll be so happy to see you, he won’t even care that we got another dog. And he’ll have a dog to play with when you’re at school. Look, we won’t be replacing him. This will always be Sammy’s home. But we’ve got dog food going to waste, and somewhere in that shelter, there’s a dog who’d love to go home with somebody. We’ll go tomorrow, okay?”

Jeremy had already decided that they would get another dog the next day because he couldn’t stand to see Bryan brood any longer. He hoped that would take his mind off of Sammy. After six days, it seemed unlikely that the dog would be coming back.

“Hey, we need to get moving, broheem,” he said, standing. “The Knoxes will be here soon.”

“With Carla?”

“Yes, with Carla.”

“Carla says she thinks I’m weird.”

“Well, that’s okay, isn’t it? I mean, you’re ten and she’s eight, so you think she’s weird, too, don’t you?”

The creases vanished as Bryan smiled and then laughed quietly.

Jeremy pointed at Bryan and said, “Ah-ha! I made you laugh!” Jeremy felt a cold drop of water on his hand.

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