Prologue
A crack whipped through the air, piercing the silence like a razor slipping through skin. A hole exploded through Yuri's arm, blasting flesh and fur apart and leaving it to dry on the craggy, arid ground. The canine yipped as the force of the impact threw him off balance mid-stride. He stumbled to the ground, blood running freely down his arm, and caught himself on one knee. Teeth bared and a growl rumbling in his throat, the spotted dog pushed off from the ground and threw his body forward, trying to ignore the searing, pounding pain for the moment.
Another shot rang out, echoing off the rolling hills surrounding him. The bullet flashed by his cheek and buried itself into the wood of an abandoned house to his right. Yuri dug his claws into the caked mud and pumped his legs even faster. He knew that if he didn't get out of sight soon the next bullet would be lodged snuggly between his spinal cord and the base of his brain. Unfortunately the wasteland couldn't offer him much protection. His attackers were positioned on a crumbling overpass that towered over the immediate area with no visual obstructions. Even the tiny hut he had just passed wouldn't have been very effective. Sure, he could hide behind it, but the powerful rounds hurtling towards him would tear through the wood with ease, leaving him just as vulnerable as he was out in the open. He needed a more effective escape, and he needed it now.
The light of the moon caught something on the dalmatian's left. It looked like water had collected at the bottom of a crater. The crater looked deep, but if the drop off wasn't steep enough he'd have to hide himself under the water, which he knew he would only be able to do for a few seconds at best. It wasn't much, but it was the only option that Yuri could see. With a precisely planted footpaw he changed direction in a single stride, launching himself towards the crater. He took three long, frantic steps, his thighs burning from the exertion, and then slid on his tail down the incline. Just inches above his head dirt spattered in a million directions, dislodged by a whistling bullet which disappeared into the water with a loud thock. If he had been a quarter of a second slower, he'd be dead.
The dog slid into the water, his fur and clothes immediately getting drenched. This would be a problem if he needed to move quickly again, the extra weight would slow him down. But as the pool of water rippled away from the battered canine, Yuri realized that for the moment he was safe. Despite his heavy, desperate panting he tried to stay as still as possible. He knew that all his enemies needed was a glance of fur and they'd be able to end him. So he sat in the radiated water, waiting for a hint, a sign, any kind of clue that would help him escape. But the night was suddenly silent once more. The air hung motionless above his head and the water around him had finally settled. Everything was deathly still. The one exception was the blood gushing from the massive gouge in the spotted dog's bicep.
He knew that if he didn't do something quickly he was going to pass out, but even the slightest shift could put Yuri's life at risk. There wasn't enough space for him to reach around to his pack and get his medical supplies, so he would have to improvise. He looked around the crater, searching for anything that might stop the bleeding, but all that was there was water, dirt, and the clothes on his back. Yuri looked down at his tattered, faded button down shirt. The buttons had been torn off long ago, and the shirt was too small to pull all the way around him anyways. It was useless as a piece of clothing, but Yuri had learned never to take anything for granted. Everything had a use; it was all in the way you looked at it.
The dog quickly tore a strip of fabric off of the bottom of the shirt and held it close so he could examine it. It wasn't clean, so it wouldn't do for a bandage, but at least he could use it to stop the bleeding. He dipped the cloth into the water, soaking it, and then grabbed a twig lying on the ground next to him. The twig looked thick enough, so Yuri poked it through each end of the fabric. He then slid the makeshift contraption up his arm until it was above the wound, just below Yuri's shoulder. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves, and then squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth hard. He twisted the twig as quickly as he could, tightening the sopping scrap of cloth around his arm. The dalmatian let out a long, gritty howl as torrents of relentless pain shot through his entire body. Tears began streaming down his cheeks, but Yuri knew had had to keep going. Letting his howl die down to a soft whimper, the canine twisted the twig until his arm fell numb. He pried his eyes open a little to check the wound. What had seemed like a river of blood had slowed to a trickle. The frail dog collapsed back into the ground, his head resting on pebbles and dirt. His panting began to slow, and faint thoughts finally started drifting through his mind once more.
That had hurt way more than Yuri had expected. Something was wrong. It was possible that the bullet had lodged itself up against a bone, or maybe even broken it. He hoped not. An injury like that would make daily tasks necessary for survival extremely difficult. Getting food, climbing, even washing was going to take more time than he had. And defending himself would be... interesting. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but based on his current situation the possibility seemed more and more likely.
For the moment things seemed quiet enough for Yuri to get his bearings and orient himself to his surroundings. Without moving, he peered out over the opposite edge of the crater. There was nothing but open space to his left. He'd be a sitting duck if he was visible for more than a second or two. Even the wooden hut he'd passed earlier was too far behind him now. To his right was more open space, and a steep drop-off. There was no way to tell from here how far of a fall it was, or whether there'd be anything at the bottom to cushion his landing. Still, it seemed like the canine's only option. A slim chance was definitely better than no chance at all.
There hadn't been any movement for a while. Yuri wondered if his attackers had decided to move to a different spot and line up a new shot. Or maybe they had given up. The dog smirked sarcastically at himself. That was too much to hope for. It was much more likely that they were waiting him out, keeping their sights on the crater until he made a break for it. It's what he would've done.
Well... there was no way to know for sure unless he tried. Using his teeth he tore another scrap of cloth away from his shirt and tied it around a rock he saw laying nearby. The rock was about the size of his paw if he balled it up into a fist. He made sure the cloth covered every inch of the rock and pulled it tight so the fabric wouldn't flutter. He laid back against the wall of his trench and closed his eyes, listening for any faint sign of life. All he needed was a footstep in the distance, or a flap of clothing in the wind. Anything would tell him where the danger was. But there was nothing. He was blind.
He held the rock up just enough for a tiny sliver of it to poke up above the edge of the ledge. The instant the rock came into view, his assailants fired at it, hitting it with deadly precision. The rock flew from Yuri's paw and bounced off of the opposite wall, crashing into the water with a flat plunk. Shit... he thought as he watched the clothed rock settle at the bottom of the pool. It was sitting almost directly in the center, definitely in plain view of the sniper.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit the canine like a bug on a windshield. He crouched down into the water even more, retching hard but producing nothing. His head began pounding and the crater began to spin. He wasn't sure if it was the blood loss or the radiation, but either way he desperately needed to get out of this rut, and fast. As he tried to steady himself, he put his numb paw on the slope, immediately sending violent shocks of agony through his body once more. It felt as if someone had just twisted a knife through his bicep. The pain was more than enough to make Yuri howl out in pain again, but as soon as he opened his maw a waterfall of vomit cascaded down his torso and pooled in the crotch of his shorts. The smell was absolutely unbearable, and triggered another fit of vomiting which filled the puddle in his lap so much it began to spill out into the radiated water.
The sick mutt began to shiver, closing his eyes and waiting for the wave to pass. He considered splashing some of the water around his feet on his face, but he knew that would only make it worse. He could see the vomit bobbing and swirling in the water, making it even murkier than it already was. Suddenly, his ears perked up as an idea struck him. He grabbed a pawful of dirt and tossed into the water. The dirt curled and danced in the water on its way down to settle at the base, mixing with the vomit and clouding the water even more. A glimmer shined in Yuri's bloodshot eye as he grabbed another pawful of soil. Maybe he still had a chance.
He tossed the dirt up into the air, scattering it so it would cover as much of the pool as possible. The second the first clump splashed into the water, Yuri shut his eyes tight and dove his footpaw deeper into the water. He wrapped his toes around the rock and pulled back as quickly as he could. The dog winced, waiting for the resounding thunderclap that meant another bullet was on its way. But long after the water and dirt had settled all was still once more. Yuri allowed himself a quick glance down at his paw, expecting to see torn flesh and blood. But all he saw was his filthy, matted fur and a small portion of cloth-covered rock.
Yuri let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. A small, relieved smile spread across his lips. But he wasn't out of the fire yet. He held the rock close to his chest, like a soldier with an unpinned grenade. His heart was pounding against his ribs, thudding in his floppy ears. The gunmen wouldn't give him another chance, so he had to make this one count. It was a shoddy plan, one that probably wouldn't work, but it was the best Yuri had. With another hard swallow, he reared back and launched the clothed rock out of the crater to his left.
The instant the rock had left his paw Yuri was up and sprinting for his life in the opposite direction. He heard the deafening smack of another gunshot ring out. For a split second Yuri's heart dropped into his stomach. He knew that his attackers wouldn't miss this shot, it was simply a matter of which target they had chosen to pursue in the split second available to them. He also knew that if they had chosen him instead of his decoy, and he had indeed been shot, he wouldn't be able to feel it yet. Shock would take over, and his nerves wouldn't respond immediately. All he could do was keep running, and pray.
He managed to take another three steps. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. Just as he had reached his goal, he heard another terrifying, deadly shot. He threw himself off of the ledge he had been running towards, and time seemed to slow. He twisted his body around as gravity began to take over and strained his eyes back towards where he thought the shots were coming from. Through the haze and swirling dust of the night air, two lights shone through like demons piercing the clouds of heaven. A dark figure was staring down the scope of a rifle, his face covered with a rubber mask, and glowing goggles concealing his eyes. Even though his face was hidden, Yuri could tell that he was smiling; an evil grin which becomes only the most malicious of beings. But as the overpass disappeared behind the craggy ridge, Yuri couldn't decide if he'd actually seen anything at all.
Wind ripped through his fur and clothes, making them flap loudly against his body. As his head began to turn towards the ground below, the canine searched for something to break his fall. There was nothing. All that stood between the spotted dog and the ground was air. Dry, stale, lifeless air. This was it. This was the dalmatian's end.
Yuri closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath of the pungent gasses surrounding him. It occurred to the canine that he may have taken the small things, like fresh air, or the feel of water dripping through his fur, for granted. There were so many things in his life that could make anyone happy, yet he had ignored them. He had chased after something greater, something more significant. He had chased the dream of being free. And now god was punishing him for that greed. If there was a god. Yuri recognized that this wasn't the best time to have a crisis of faith, but he couldn't stifle the thought. There had always been that creeping doubt in the back of his mind that all of this was just a hoax, an elaborately weaved conspiracy to farther enslave gullible dreamers and optimists. Now that doubt was consuming him, ripping away his last chance for salvation, if he ever had a chance at all.
Well... Yuri thought, I guess I'll find out soon enough.
The dalmation lost consciousness inches above the ground. Everything faded to black as the rocks below rushed up to meet him. There was no pain. There was no crunching of bones. There was no bright light or out of body experience. There was simply nothing.
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