Pulphouse Fiction Magazine Issue #33 by Dean Wesley Smith

Author:Dean Wesley Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WMG Publishing

Grampa tosses the dead dog aside and marches over to grab my arm. He grips it so hard that it hurts.

“But some of us remember. And we tend the packs and tell the stories and wait for the day when the better things replace the ugly ones.”

“Because you kill them!” I twist free of Grampa’s grip. Joe makes a grab for me, and I push him away. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? You’re the ones who’ve been killing the pets!”

“They aren’t pets,” says Grampa. “They’re monsters. They’re controlling you, and you don’t even know it.”

“Did you kill my dog, too? Did you kill Wazoo?”

Grampa stands there, glaring, and shakes his head. “His indoctrination is deep, isn’t it?” Again, he’s talking to Joe, not me. “I don’t know if we can ever get through to him.”

“That’s what you used to say about me, too,” says Joe.

“That’s true.” Grampa’s features soften. “Maybe you’re right.”

“We should take a break, don’t you think?” says Joe.

“Sure.” Grampa turns and heads for the cabin. He pulls jerky out of his pocket, and the “dogs” come running. “We’ll pick it up later.”

But as I watch him go, taking a break is the last thing on my mind. If these people killed Wazoo, or even Lovebite, I will never see things their way. I will never forgive them.

And I will never let go of the life and world I know.

“Come on,” says Joe. “Let’s go play with the puppies.”

“Play? Like on the Funsembly Line?” It doesn’t make sense. “But I don’t have a Joy Stick or Plaything. I don’t even have a man opener.”

“Don’t worry.” Joe walks off, gesturing for me to come with him. “Different kind of play.”

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