Good Dog, Spike

Spike had been unable to sleep on the journey; he fretted about what was happening. He didn’t understand why he had been shut in this dark place for so long. His stomach rumbled loudly, confirming what he already knew – that he’d missed his dinner. He hadn’t been hungry in as long as he could remember apart from the first day that he had seen David. He scraped at the bars of the pen with his front feet and began to bark loudly.


Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!


Riley heard the vampdog begin to bark. “Nearly there, boy. I know that you’re hungry.”


He sighed with relief as the gates to the training compound were picked out by his vehicle’s headlights. He slotted his security card in to the lock, and the ten feet tall solid metal gates swung slowly open. He drove through and parked up in the bay nearest to the kennels where new vampdogs were kept.


Spike fell silent when he felt the vehicle rock to a standstill and the engine get turned off. He stared intently at the rear door. Riley opened it and smiled as Spike blinked rapidly against the sudden brightness.


“Welcome to your new home, Spike,” said Riley as he opened Spike’s pen and clipped on his leash.


Spike looked at him balefully. This place smelt very different to what he was used to. He jumped out of the truck when encouraged to do so by a tug on the lead by Riley. He glanced warily about as he walked beside Riley. Riley took note of the fact that Spike’s tail was tucked between his buttocks. It was the only reason that vampdogs were fitted with a tail – so that the handler could accurately know how it was feeling. In the early days, when their behaviour was unpredictable, keeping an eye on the creature’s tail had saved many a handler from being bitten by his charge.


“It’s okay. Don’t be nervous,” soothed Riley and smiled as he was rewarded with a faint wag of the tail.


Riley led him to a vacant kennel. He led Spike in to it and fastened his leash to a ring on the back wall. “Sit,” he ordered firmly. Spike sat down, all the time watching Riley carefully. Riley walked out of the kennel and closed the door. Spike looked around the kennel. There was no raised platform and the tiles beneath his backside felt cold. Perhaps he’s gone to get my blankets? Spike thought hopefully. He loved his heated bed at home. He stared at the door as he heard Riley return, his features changed as he caught the smell of the blood that Riley had brought back with him.


“Here you go, Spike. Eat it all up. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”


Spike wriggled but didn’t move from the sit position that he had been told. Riley poured the blood in to the fixed bowl on the side wall of the kennel. Saliva was running down Spike’s chin by the time he was told to eat it. Riley patted his head as he walked out of the kennel.


Spike lapped up the blood and then tried to walk to the front of the kennel to see if he could see anything, but was brought up short by his leash. He growled in frustration and curled up in a ball in the back corner instead. He felt very cold. He missed his blankets.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Riley whistled as he made his way to the kennels to see his new vampdog. He was keeping this one as the replacement to his last that had been killed on a mission. He hoped that Spike was as intelligent as David told him that he was. Some of the ones that were judged to be Grade One could be pretty borderline in their abilities. He would have to have a word with David at how pampered the vampdogs were at his facility. He’d felt bad for leaving Spike on the bare tiles after knowing he was used to a heated bed, but it was important that military vampdogs be kept at the temperature of their surroundings. Wild vampires could pick out a vampdog in no time at all if they were warmer than the air temperature. The protective vest that they were fitted with stored heat in it for days. Several vampdogs had been lost before The Initiative were aware of it. So nowadays, the kennels were unheated and after training was complete they were kept in outside runs.


Spike was standing, waving his tail and looking to the front of the kennel when Riley got there. He was pleased that Spike had picked up on his whistling, it meant that the bonding had begun already.


“Hey, boy. How are you?” said Riley as he entered the kennel. “Ready for some training?”

Spike wagged his tail rapidly. Pleased not to be alone any longer. He hadn’t heard any others like him or people since Riley had left him. He couldn’t understand what the others’ barks and growls had meant, but at his previous home at least it had let him know that he wasn’t alone. He hated being alone.


Riley unfastened his leash and ordered him to heel. Spike trotted beside his handler and into a large room. For several hours, Riley put the vampdog through his paces. Spike was fit. He had to give David credit for that. He worked on teaching him some new commands. Spike proved a quick learner and had a natural ability for tracking. Riley stroked the vampdog’s head as they were having a break and was rewarded by a look of pure contentment in the creature’s vivid blue eyes, and a wave of its feathery blond tail. It was a shame that it would be put on to drugs to keep it in vampire face, but it was essential. They needed their senses to be at their most heightened once in the field. David had warned him that Spike was terrified of the Vet. Luckily, after the initial injection they could administer the drugs with its blood.


Riley looked at his watch. Time to go for the jab. He had arranged for Spike to be restrained before the Vet entered the room. Silly to risk being bitten. Spike trotted obediently next to Riley until he was about twenty feet from where he was headed. The well developed sense of smell that had proved so effective at tracking in the training room was now telling him that one of the rooms ahead contained someone who would hurt him. He sat down and growled.

Not going!


“Spike, heel,” commanded Riley.


Spike began to shake but wouldn’t move even though he knew that it was bad to disobey.


“Oh, man. Don’t make me get tough on you on day one,” said Riley, tugging once more on the leash. It was no good. Spike somehow knew what was up there.


Riley pressed a button on a small plastic box that he pulled out of his pocket. Spike yelped and collapsed to the floor as a shock ripped through him from the collar. Whilst he was incapacitated, Riley dragged him in to the room and pushed him into a small metal cage. There was no room for Spike to turn, not even enough for him to stand up properly. Spike panicked as he came round from the shock, struggling with all his might to get out and howling at the top of his lungs. Riley had never seen a vampdog so freaked out by a trip to the Vet’s. He wondered if somehow the creature remembered some of the surgery it had endured to turn it in to what it now was. He shook his head – no surely, that wasn’t possible?


Gonna hurt. Gonna hurt. Gonna hurt. Spike clawed at the bars so desperately that he rubbed the skin off the side of his paws.


Riley was just about to shock him when the Vet came in.


“Good, grief! What a racket. I hope it’s braver in the field. A nervous vampdog is a liability.”


“Spike’s a good worker. Show’s real potential,” replied Riley. “Can we get this done?”


He was surprised that even though the creature was obviously distressed that it hadn’t vamped out. Riley was suddenly pleased that the expressive blue eyes would be replaced by harsh yellow. They were a little unsettling to look at.


The Vet pushed a button on the side of the cage and one side wall began to move inwards, effectively squashing the vampdog until it couldn’t move at all. The howling, if anything intensified.


Hate you! Hate you! Stop! Stop!


Riley winced at the size of the needle that the Vet stuck in to Spike’s buttock as it was held against the bars of the cage. The thick liquid took a bit of time to push in to the muscle. As the Vet withdrew the needle, Spike’s face shifted and his howls subsided a little.


“There you go. Its blood will have all the additives in it so unless it gets injured, I won’t need to see it again. Thank goodness.” The Vet smiled at Riley. “I’m glad they’re not all like that. Are you sure that it’ll be trainable?”


“Yes, I think it’ll be the best that I’ve had. Even better than Angel. I still miss that vampdog.”


“It looks a lot different from Angel; it must be half the size.”


Riley’s face darkened. “I’m hoping it won’t wind up getting trapped with no way out like Angel. It should be small enough to squeeze out somewhere.”


The Vet nodded. “Good point. Anyway get it back to its kennel; it’ll be sore on that leg for the rest of the day.”


“Yes, sir,” replied Riley.


He waited until the Vet had left the room before he pressed the button for the side of the cage to slide back. Spike shifted a little as it did. Riley walked to the front of the cage. Spike would have to back out but he wanted to see what reaction the vampdog had towards him. He’d never had to shock one so early in the training. Spike bared his fangs and growled when he saw Riley.


Hurt. Hurt me.


“Are you going to behave or do I need to use this again?”


The firm tone of voice made Spike stare at Riley, but when he saw the black box he tried to back away. When he couldn’t he cowered down and looked away from Riley.


“I guess you get what this thing does then.” Riley was pleased with Spike’s reaction. Some get very aggressive after being shocked.


He unfastened the cage door and Spike shuffled out backwards. Riley stroked his head. “Good boy.”

Spike risked a glance and his tail wagged a little when he didn’t see the black box.


“Come on, back to your kennel, heel.”


Spike turned around and then yelped. He stared at his right back leg; it really hurt when he moved it. He tried again and yelped again. He sat down and glanced up at Riley.


Riley was surprised that there was still so much emotion in those dull yellow eyes. “It’s okay. It’ll only hurt for a little while,” he soothed. He tugged on Spike’s leash and this time Spike followed, but held the affected leg off the floor and limped back to his kennel, his tail firmly clamped between his legs.


Riley tied him to the ring at the back of the kennel and gave him one of the freeze-dried blood treats that they used in training. Spike reluctantly took it after sniffing suspiciously at it for a moment, then limped to the corner and curled up as small as he could go. Riley was a little concerned that the vampdog hadn’t looked at him since he’d begun to walk back from the veterinary room. He hoped that Spike’s terror of the Vet and the pain in his rump wasn’t going to make him resentful. He looked at him for a while and then closed the kennel door and left him to rest.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Spike was miserable. He felt cold and his leg hurt so badly. He missed his nice warm bed. His face felt strange. He tried to change it back like David had taught him but couldn’t. He whined and tried to move so that the pain in his leg eased but it made no difference at all. He managed to get to sleep and when he woke, he was hungry. He had been given no dinner last night. Had Riley forgotten him? He stood up, pleased to find that his leg didn’t hurt anymore. He smelled the blood before he heard Riley. Spike went as far as the leash would allow and yapped. Hurry up!


“Morning, Spike. Quiet down,” said Riley as he opened the kennel.


Spike immediately took a small step backwards and stopped yapping. He glanced at Riley but didn’t meet his eye. He was a little afraid of him after yesterday. That black box had hurt him and Riley had let that man stab him, too.


“Here, boy.”


Spike shuffled forwards the step that he’d taken back and risked a look at Riley. His tail waved nervously from side to side. Riley stroked his head gently, and Spike pressed against him, his tail suddenly working in overdrive. He was desperate for that soft touch. He didn’t want to be alone in this cold place.


Riley smiled. Spike had recognised him as the leader. He’d been a little cocky in training yesterday morning but he had a feeling that Spike might be a little more aware of just where he was in the pecking order. Riley put the bowl of blood down; it was laced with the drugs to keep the vampiric features. At least since removal of genitals had been made standard, they hadn’t had to include drugs to prevent erections – now that had been way disconcerting in training – vampdogs sporting hard ons. Made them less vulnerable in the field too. There had been some nasty injuries when the vampdogs had been leaping razor wire when in pursuit. Riley shuddered. He could still hear the howls. At least they had them taken off more humanely now.


He looked down at Spike and saw that the vampdog was still waiting for the command to eat. Drool had wet his chin and Riley screwed his face up in disgust.


“Eat it.”


Spike lapped at the bowl hungrily and Riley chuckled as he heard his stomach rumble loudly. That was another thing that Spike would have to get used to. Apart from training treats, he would only be fed every third day from now on. It made them keener on the hunt and they were allowed to feed a little from their kills.


When Spike had finished, Riley untied him and ordered him to heel. Today he was going to train him to follow hand signals as well as verbal commands. Spike proved to be extremely quick at learning new things and by the end of the week, Riley deemed him of a standard high enough to join a patrol. But before they were on active duty, Riley had to ensure that Spike wasn’t aggressive towards other vampdogs in the unit. He sat with Spike laid at his feet waiting for his colleagues to bring their charges in to the room.


Spike went very tense as he heard them approach. He knew that some of those approaching were like him. He wagged his tail. He had thought that he was the only one here but now he could see that he wasn’t. He watched with interest as they came in with their handlers and lay down like him.


“Okay, guys. Let them loose. We’ve got their collars on so any trouble and we can stop it quickly.”


Spike walked over to the other dogs and soon there was a frenzy of sniffs and whines. Then without warning, the alpha of the pack flew at Spike, but before he could sink his teeth in to him, his handler activated the collar and he collapsed with a howl! Spike yelped in shock and leapt backwards, he glanced nervously at Riley but he didn’t have the black box in his hand, so Spike relaxed and turned back to watch what was happening with the other vampdog.


“That was his last chance,” said Riley firmly. “He’s been turning on the others too many times lately. He’s been good for three years but his time is up. Do you want me to do it?”


The errant vampdog’s handler nodded. “Yes, please. I know he’s got to go, but…”


Riley put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I know, Graham. I know. Rex has been a good soldier but he’ll be turning on us next. He’s lost his nerve in the field.” He turned to look at Rex who was struggling to his feet. Riley pulled the stake from his belt and slammed it in to Rex’s back so swiftly that the vampdog didn’t even have time to yelp before he dusted.


Spike barked in surprise. Those things that he hunted dusted like that. What did it mean?


“It’s okay, boy. Come here, Spike,” said Riley gently.


Spike regarded him suspiciously. Riley had hurt him and let that man stab him and now had made one like him turn to dust. Spike waved his tail slowly and crouched low to the floor.


“Spike, come here,” repeated Riley a little more firmly.


Still, Spike hesitated. Was he going to do that to him too? Riley got the controller out of his pocket.


“Spike. Here now!”


No! Be good. Don’t hurt. Spike crept to Riley on his belly. He sighed with relief when Riley put the horrid black thing back in his pocket and rubbed his head affectionately. He found that he couldn’t control the wagging of his tail; he was so relieved that he wasn’t in trouble.


“Spike looks like a bit of an odd character,” remarked Forrest, another of the handlers in the unit. “He’s fearless in the training room and on the films from the manufacturers, but he’s cowering like a lapdog now.”


“He’ll be okay. He just gets a bit worried from time to time. Doesn’t like pain, I guess. I had to shock him on day one and I think it made a big impression,” replied Riley.


“I hope so. And I hope that you’ll dust him if he cowers on duty.”


“He won’t, but if he did, then I would. I know the rules, Forrest.”


Spike looked up at his trainer anxiously; his tone of voice was getting scary again. He pressed against his leg and smiled as he was rewarded with a pat.


“We’ll meet at exit twenty-three at 2100 hours. Let’s hope we get the chance to put him through his paces. Now go and get some rest,” ordered Riley.


He waited until they had all left, apart from Graham who picked up the protective body armour that Rex had worn and dusted it off, sadly.


“I’m sorry, Graham,” said Riley.


Graham just nodded. It was hard not to get attached to your charges and Rex had lasted longer than most. The only retirement that a vampdog could look forward to was a swift staking. Most of them suffered temperament problems that led to their early demise. No one was sure why it happened. The relentless aggression needed on patrol? Pain? Because no one could be sure that they were pain free after all their surgeries. An incapacitating injury was also a reason for humane staking, and the casualty rate was high.


Riley led Spike to a series of outdoor pens. All had necro-tinted glass protecting the vampdogs from the sun but an air conditioning unit kept the temperature inside at night time temperatures at all times. Spike was led to one halfway down the left hand side. Every pen that Spike could see housed others like him. He whined when he saw them, glad not to be going to that cold, silent, tiled place. Riley opened the door and let Spike inside. He left him loose and checked that the bowl of water was filled, before closing the door and walking away.


Spike sniffed his way around the pen, growling when he found no bed here either. He remembered his bed fondly. He amused himself by watching the others but when they all just curled up and went to sleep; he copied them and slept soundly.


He was woken by a chorus of excited barks and yaps. He stood with his front paws on the door, tail waving from side to side, trying to see what had got everyone so worked up. He added his bark to the others when he saw Riley in full field gear. He knew this meant that he got to play – got to kill.


Riley broke with protocol and went on point with Spike, something not normally done with a new recruit. But Spike walked boldly beside Riley, keeping pace without ever pulling on his leash. As he was trained to do, Spike froze when he smelled demon. Riley slipped the leash from Spike’s collar and flicked his fingers to tell Spike to go and do his job. Without hesitation, Spike silently loped towards the demon that he had smelled. He disappeared behind a large crypt, with Riley following behind, struggling to keep up. Spike was fast. By the time Riley had got to the crypt, Spike was sitting on the belly of a huge Xerdna demon, he was face deep in its guts and was covered in blood. Riley glanced at the demon’s throat – that was where Spike was trained to attack all targets. Its head had been severed completely. So the attack to the guts was just him having a little fun, plus he was hungry for blood.


“Spike, heel,” ordered Riley.


Spike raised his head, grinned at Riley, licked his lips and leapt from the carcass and trotted over to him. Riley always found it weird to see a vampdog smile and wondered if the techs could stop that somehow? He was delighted at Spike’s performance. By the time the night was out, Spike was already a legend. He had single-handedly despatched four demons and a vampire, plus saved the life of another vampdog who was just about to be ripped in half by a vampire. Spike had run beneath the frantically wriggling vampdog and sank his fangs into the vampire’s genitals, ripping them clean off with an expression on his face that made all the soldiers wince. That wasn’t in the training manual. Once the vampire dropped Spike’s colleague, Spike jumped at it again and tore its head from its body.


Riley gave Spike a couple of the freeze-dried blood treats before hosing him down to clean off the blood and dust and putting him in his pen. Spike was drooping with fatigue by the time he sank to the floor in the farthest corner. He was asleep in seconds.


0000000000


Eight years later…


Riley looked down at the inert body of his vampdog partner. Spike had just saved his life but at a terrible cost to himself. The Sprite had come at them without any warning. Riley shook his head. How a nine foot tall creature, weighing the best part of half a ton, could be called a Sprite, he’d never know.


“Where the hell is the retrieval unit?” he yelled in frustration.


“Sir, I think you should sit down; you’re hurt,” said one of his men, touching his arm.


Riley shook him off. “I’ll be fine. It’s Spike who needs help.”


The rest of the unit glanced at each other before another spoke out. “Don’t you think that st—”

“Do not finish that sentence, soldier,” snarled Riley. “Spike has earned a better end than that.”


He knelt against the stricken creature. He wasn’t sure that he would survive the night. Riley knew that it was all his fault that Spike had been injured. He shouldn’t have brought him along on this mission, but he hated seeing the old thing’s face when he was left behind. Spike had begun to have trouble with his hips and the techs back where he was created were developing hip replacements for him. The surgery had been scheduled for the following week.


Spike was the oldest vampdog that the unit had had. Several Grade Four – pet grade – vampdogs had got to twelve or thirteen before being put down because of bad hips, but working ones on average lasted five years. The hips bore the brunt of the changes inflicted on them. They were designed for use in a biped not a quadruped. The latest ones now had titanium hip joints as standard. Riley had managed to convince the senior officers that Spike should have the upgrade to enable him to continue to serve. The vampdog had never lost the lust for the kill or showed any aggression to the handlers.


Looking back over the years, the only trouble Spike ever caused was when he had to go to the Vet’s. Every six months, like all vampdogs, he had to have a series of electric shocks through the electrodes in their skulls to re-cauterise parts of their brains. Their vampiric healing kept trying to right the wrongs done to them during their creation but they would only go insane if that happened. Before their manufacturers had realised that they could heal the parts of the brain that had been worked on, vampdogs had inexplicably gone berserk after about six months. They had been totally broken mentally when they remembered how they had been before. Thankfully, as the program had developed, parts of the brain were removed completely and the other parts had metal probes inserted and were fried every six months.


Spike, for some reason, had a strong fear of being worked on in any way. After the first series of brain treatment, he had been pre-sedated before the procedure each time. Riley smiled ruefully as he recalled how Spike had practically trashed the operation room after breaking restraints at the first electric shock. Though thoroughly disoriented, he had fought hard against being caught again. Riley had had to incapacitate him with a shock through the collar. But apart from that, Spike had been no trouble at all. He loved to rip genitals off his victims; he’d do it first if he was far enough away from Riley, even though he knew the killing bite to the neck was what he should do first. Riley glanced at the smooth lines of Spike’s body where his own genitals had been removed, and wondered not for the first time, if Spike knew what had been taken from him somehow?


“Hang in there, buddy,” soothed Riley.


He cursed again, his decision to bring Spike; he should have known that the old soldier wouldn’t have been happy just coming along, that he’d end up in the thick of it. But he was slower than he used to be; his hips didn’t work as well as they should. He sighed with relief as he heard the vehicle approach. He watched Spike being carried in to the back of it before he succumbed to his own injuries and passed out.


000000000

Spike whimpered as he opened his eyes, he hurt, just about everywhere, but the first thing that he was really aware of was that he felt warm. He dimly remembered a soft warm bed, but he hadn’t felt it since then. His vision seemed different; he brought a front paw up to his face and felt bandages covering one side of it. He tried to rub them off but gave up after a couple of attempts, he felt too exhausted. He drifted back to sleep.


Riley Finn stood outside of the cage holding Spike. He was back where he’d been created. They were the only chance that Spike had had of survival. The only thing that was certain was that he’d never be fit for duty again. Riley leaned a hand against the mesh of the cage.


“I’m sorry, Spike,” he muttered.


“Things are going well so far,” said David as he approached. “What about you? How are you doing?”


Riley glanced down at the cast on his arm and thought of the number of stitches that he’d only recently had removed from his belly. “I’ll be okay. The Doc figures I’ll be fit for duty in six weeks. Is he really going to be okay?” asked Riley anxiously.


“He’ll survive. But he won’t be like he was before. We can’t make him as good as new I’m afraid,” replied David.


“You’re keeping him pain free aren’t you? He’s kind of sensitive about pain.”


“He hasn’t woken yet. We will put him on pain meds once he does. Come back in a week and I’m sure that you’ll see a difference,” replied David.


Riley looked at the creature that had saved his life for a few minutes more before walking away. David was just about to follow him when he realised a yellow eye was watching him.


“Hey, Spike. You’re back with us again,” said David with a smile.


Spike wagged his tail weakly, then whined and began to pant as the pain hit him again. David fiddled with the bag attached to the drip feeding into Spike’s jugular vein, and was pleased to see the vampdog relax as the pain killer and sedative took effect.


“You’ve really been in the wars, haven’t you?”


David looked at the scars on Spike’s body that hadn’t yet had the time to heal. He remembered Spike’s lovely long feathery tail but it was only about half the length it used to be. Four years ago the end of it had been bitten off by a Vatsug demon in a skirmish. The body armour had been removed, leaving the skin beneath it pink and sore as it only came free with the loss of several layers of skin. Spike would be downgraded to Grade Four and they were not allowed any protective armour. At the moment, Spike was missing his left hind leg from the hip. The techs were working on adapting the hip replacement that had been manufactured for him. The Sprite had badly damaged the hip when it had almost torn Spike’s leg off. The right hip would be replaced at a later date if the surgery on his left was successful. No point in spending time and money unless certain of its outcome. If the left leg didn’t take when reattached then he would be staked.


Spike began to whine in earnest as he tried to move his hind legs, panicking when he saw only one there. He was too weak to do more than feebly move the remaining limb, but he threw back his head and howled.


“Hey, hey. You’ll be okay,” soothed David and increased the sedation, until Spike sighed and closed his eye.

When Spike woke up next, he was strapped to a table in the O.R. He wasn’t in pain but he was laid on his right side and so couldn’t see very much as his left eye felt like it was taped shut. He tried hard to open the eye lid on it but couldn’t. He whined and tried to move his head so that he could see what was happening. He could feel tugging on his body and the noises that he heard scared him. He felt a hand stroke his head.


“Won’t be much longer. You’re doing real well.”


Spike was soothed by the tone of voice and wagged his short tail.


Half an hour later and Spike was returned to his cage. He was heavily sedated. They didn’t want him to try to use the repaired limb for a few days. They weren’t sure that the hip would be able to take all the grafts that they had done.


A week later and Spike began to come around from the deep sedation. He’d be watched continually as they expected him to regain consciousness, wanting to ensure that he didn’t damage himself as he came to. Spike blinked and shook his head as still, his left eye wouldn’t open. He rubbed at it with a front paw, but that didn’t help. He cast a yellow eye at the tech who was watching him. He stretched his limbs and yelped a little as his leg was sore. He looked at it and bared his fangs as he saw his rear. It looked different to how it should, all shiny like the joint on his hind legs were. He sniffed at it suspiciously, before moving his left leg. It felt strange, but it was there. He shuddered; it had been gone hadn’t it? But now it was back. He began to try to stand.


“No! Spike, down,” ordered the tech.


Spike immediately lay still. The tech pressed a buzzer near the cage and a few minutes later three men walked in pushing a gurney. Spike began to pant. He didn’t like the look of this. He hated this. Pain flared in his groin and he yelped. He remembered being really badly hurt down there, he wasn’t sure how or when but it hurt. He growled at them.


“Riley wasn’t exaggerating when he said that Spike doesn’t like trips to the Vet’s,” said David.


A short shock on the collar made Spike incapable of movement and he was lifted out and strapped on the gurney. By the time that he could move again, he was in a strange place. He had a weird orange thing strapped around his middle and was being carried to a pool of water. Spike struggled weakly and he was lowered in to it. The orange flotation aid had a wide collar that held Spike’s chin up and out of the water. Spike panicked as he hit the water but soon settled down and was encouraged to swim around the circular pool. His thrust his legs out and swam for fifteen minutes before he was lifted clear and panting harshly he was put in to a small pen on wheels. David correctly presumed that it wouldn’t scare the vampdog like the gurney had. Spike’s tail wagged as he was pushed back to his cage. He let the techs lift him in to it. He was very tired.


It was another week before they let Spike take his first steps out of the pool. He was on a rubber non slip floor and held tightly on his leash as he stood up and began to walk. After a couple of wobbly strides Spike sat down. His left leg felt odd. It didn’t work like it should and he didn’t like it. His right hip ached like it had for weeks. Together they made movement not pleasant now he was holding his own weight and not in the pool.


“Come on, Spike. Be brave,” encouraged David.


Spike turned his head, as David was standing on his blind side. He wagged his tail a little and stood again. He limped forwards again, panting with the effort. David was a little disappointed at how stiff the new hip was. But they had had to reconstruct the socket joint with a combination of bone grafts and titanium. He decided to replace the right hip. The socket was okay on that side, just needed a new ball joint on the femoral head. He scheduled the surgery for the next day, along with the final procedure to downgrade Spike to Pet Grade.


Riley came to see Spike on the day that he woke up after another spell of deep sedation as the surgery healed. Spike wagged his tail and grinned at him when he saw him. Take me home. Take me home he whined.


“Oh, Christ,” muttered Riley, once more feeling guilt at being responsible for the vampdog’s injuries.


A huge thick scar ran across the left hand side of Spike’s face. His eye was gone and the lids had been cut and sewn together to cover the empty socket. His grin was lopsided as the scar puckered his lip. But what made Riley feel slightly sick was the sight of the smooth gums in Spike’s mouth. They had de fanged him. The best vampdog that had ever been in the squad was now not even capable of chewing at a bone anymore. He had thought that Spike would just have been put in to permanent human face, not this. Riley looked away as Spike ran his tongue over his gums, and began to howl. No! No! No! No!


“Spike, quiet down,” ordered Riley.


Spike stopped howling, the ingrained training impossible to deny. He looked at Riley miserably.


“I’m sorry, boy. I really am.”


David and a couple of techs arrived with Spike’s special wheeled cage. Spike growled softly as he was picked up and put in it.


“Spike,” warned Riley.


Spike dropped his head and fell silent. He was taken to the room with the non slip flooring and helped out of the cage. Riley took the leash from the tech and encouraged Spike to walk. The left leg wasn’t set at quite the right angle and was clearly stiff to move. The right leg was as good as new. Riley swallowed a lump in his throat when he realised that by just waiting that one more week that Spike could have been perfectly fit again.


“Why did you de-fang him? Why not put him in human face like the other pet grades?” snapped Riley to David.


“We were going to,” replied David mildly, ignoring Riley’s tone, knowing that it stemmed from guilt. “We X-rayed his skull and unfortunately bones had fused and so wouldn’t be able to shift back. Probably a side effect of the drugs used to keep the demonic features permanently on show.”


“Oh,” said Riley weakly.


Spike shuddered every time his tongue touched his gums. How could he defend himself or protect the team now? He whined softly, his tail tucked down between his buttocks. Riley stroked his head, smiling at how soft the hair on it was. It was no longer regulation cropped close to the scalp.


“So where will he be going?” asked Riley, he’d tried and failed to have Spike given to him as a pet. He could understand why, really. The old vampdog would always associate Riley with hunting and killing. Today was the last time that he would ever see him.


“He’s going to a lady called Willow Rosenberg. She is a friend of one of our techs. We’ve checked her out and she is perfect. She lives alone and works from home so Spike will have a lot of company. She doesn’t mind him being in vamp face all the time.”


“Can you pass on my e-mail address to her? I’d like to hear how the little guy is getting along from time to time.”


“Certainly,” replied David. “We’ll let Spike walk. We’re putting him in a kennel rather than the cage. Willow is collecting him in two days time, once the drugs have gotten in to his system.”


“Drugs?” asked Riley, hand still caressing Spike’s head, the vampdog had closed his eye and was leaning against his leg.


“Yes, he’ll be on a form of sedation from now onwards. He’s led a very active life up to now and must adapt to a quieter life.”


Riley nodded sadly.


He walked Spike to the kennels, slowing his stride to make it easier for Spike to keep up, with his ungainly gait.


“In you go, Spike,” said Riley.


Spike walked in and turned around to face Riley. He sat down slowly, his left leg sticking out a little.


“Be a good boy, Spike.”


Spike wagged his tail and whimpered as Riley walked away. Then he began to bark. Don’t leave me! But Riley just sped up and didn’t look back. Spike limped over to the heated bed at the back of the kennel and curled up on it, revelling in its warmth.


He went to the front of the kennel as his sensitive nose picked up the smell of warm blood. A tech clipped a bottle with a large teat in to a rack on the front of it. Spike looked at it curiously. Where was the blood? He could smell it. But where was the bowl?


“It’s here, Spike,” encouraged the tech, squeezing the bottle so that a small amount dripped out of it.


Spike licked the blood up from the floor and then sniffed at the teat before licking it. The tech squeezed it again and then Spike knew what to do and suckled at the teat greedily, belching loudly as he drew in some air when the bottle was empty. The tech laughed and Spike wagged his tail. All pet vampdogs were fed from a bottle to prevent any blood from being spilled at feeding time.


Spike sat gazing out of the kennel for a long time. He felt a bit strange. He shook his head trying to clear the fuzzy feeling but it didn’t make any difference.


The next couple of days were filled with walks, and training. Spike was used to a very disciplined lifestyle and so it was important to do some training although now it was as a pet dog would be trained. Spike adapted to his ungainly gait but was content to walk rather than trot along and running full pelt was out of the question. He was very calm and no longer seemed distressed by the loss of his fangs. He was taking the drugged blood happily from the bottle.


Spike had been fast asleep when he was woken by his name being called. The drugs dulled his senses, and he hadn’t heard them approach. He yawned and stretched before walking stiffly to the front of the kennel. His left leg was always a bit stiff when he first got up. He blinked a couple of times when he saw the person with David. He hadn’t seen a female before. She had bright red hair and was smiling at him. He smiled back and wagged his stumpy tail.


“Oh, the poor thing,” said Willow as she took in the limp, the bare gums and the terrible scar on his face. “Here, boy, come and say hello.” She pushed her fingers through the bars and Spike rubbed his head against them. He sniffed them and then licked them tentatively, making her giggle. She was kind. Spike could tell that. He wondered why she was here.


David opened the door to his kennel and he sat down waiting for the order to come out. As soon as David told him he stepped out and sat in front of him whilst he took off his collar. Willow handed David a royal blue leather collar, lined with sheepskin. Spike whined quietly as he felt the softness of it against his skin. A matching blue lead was clipped to it and David handed it to Willow.


“I’ll walk you to your car.”


“Come on, Spike, heel,” said Willow.


Spike stood up and walked alongside the red-haired woman. He felt good about her. He was pleased to see that Willow pulled a little folding ramp out of the car’s trunk so that he could get in to the travelling crate without jumping. He found jumping really difficult these days. His crate was closed and Willow clipped a bottle of blood to it, laughing as Spike immediately sucked at it, guzzling it down.


“He’ll be fine,” she said to David. “If I have any trouble, I’ll be in touch.”


“Good luck with him.” David shook her hand and watched as she got behind the wheel and drove away.


00000000000


Spike didn’t know what to make of it when Willow walked him in to her house. He glanced around, trying to find his kennel. She unclipped his leash and patted him. “I’ll just get a coffee. Make yourself at home.” She was chuckling as she walked away.


Spike sat down, unsure of what to do. He’d never seen a room like it. The floor was soft and the room was full of unfamiliar things. He was tired and his bad leg ached after being cramped in the travelling crate. He wanted his bed. He circled the room and settled for lying down in a corner, away from all the strange objects. He curled up as small as he could.


Willow couldn’t immediately see Spike when she came back in carrying a mug of coffee and a couple of the freeze-dried blood treats. “Spike? Where are you?”


Spike lifted his head and got up. He crouched a little as he approached Willow who was sitting on the largest of the strange things. He eyed it carefully, his body tensed, ready to leap away or attack should it move. He whined as he remembered that he no longer had his weapons, and gave it a slightly wider berth, before sitting in front of Willow as he was trained to do.


“It’s all right. Don’t be afraid. Come on get up.” She patted the sofa.


Spike stared at her for a moment before jumping up next to her. He was too well trained to disobey. Luckily, it was low enough that he could get on without too much pain in his left hip. She stroked his head and smiled at his expression when he felt how soft it was. He didn’t need telling twice and was soon laid stretched out on his right side fast asleep.


Willow knew that she was spoiling him a little, but he had worked so hard all his life that she thought that he deserved some pampering. After two years with her, Spike was actually beginning to waddle a little. She glanced affectionately at him as he was laid in his favourite spot – the sofa. Ever since that first day, it had been his preferred sleeping place. She reached down and tickled his fat little belly as she passed, causing him to whine with pleasure and wriggle on to his back to invite her to do more of it. She obliged him and then told him that she’d be back soon. She picked up her car keys and locked the door behind her. She had to go to get some provisions.


Spike rolled off the sofa and walked to his feeding bottle. He smiled, showing his bare gums as he saw that there was some blood in there. Willow never left the bottle empty for long. He suckled it down, licking his lips as he walked back to the sofa. He sat back on his haunches, ready to heave himself back on to the sofa. He had to psyche himself up a bit for it these days, his increased bodyweight not helping his stiff left leg’s cause at all. He took a deep breath and pushed down with his hind legs. He screamed as pain ripped through him and he fell next to the sofa. He had landed on his left side and tried to get up but couldn’t move for the pain. He lay there panting and whimpering for an hour before Willow returned.


Willow knew that something was wrong as soon as she stepped inside and Spike wasn’t there to great her. He loved sniffing at the bags of shopping that she brought back.


“Spike?”


She put the bags down and ran in to the lounge room. Her heart missed a beat when she saw the trembling body of her vampdog lying in a pool on blood near the sofa. His tail wagged feebly when he saw her. She stroked him for a moment before racing to the telephone and calling David.


“Spike’s hurt. You need to come to help him. I daren’t move him. It’s his left back leg.”


“I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” replied David before hanging up and running to get his equipment and go to the car.


Willow knelt at Spike’s side when she got off the telephone. “They’re coming to help you,” she said, tears running down her face. “No, stay still. Down,” she added as Spike tried to raise his head and yelped as the movement provoked pain. He lay down and took solace in the gentle touch of Willow’ fingers on his skin.


After what seemed like hours to both of them, David knocked at the front door. Willow got up and let him in. “He’s in the lounge.”


David was appalled at how fat Spike had gotten since his last six monthly session of electric shocks. He clamped his lips together to stop himself from telling Willow off. There was no point to it after all.


“Hey, little guy,” he said.


Spike thumped his tail on the floor. David knew that the injury must be serious when Spike didn’t move as he injected a massive pain-killing injection into Spike’s jugular vein. He saw Spike’s eye glaze over as the drug took effect. He gently rolled Spike over to check his injury, even with the pain-killer Spike whimpered as he was moved.


“Oh, my God!” cried Willow, her hand flying to her mouth.


She got up and fled the room. David felt like following her, as bile rose in his throat. The repaired hip joint had failed. The bone parts of it that were anchored on to the titanium had shattered. As he’d moved Spike, the left leg stayed where it was, totally unattached to his body. The gaping hole in Spike’s rump where the hip joint had been showed that it was unfixable. Vampdogs couldn’t live happily with three legs; the strain on them was too much. There was only one solution. David wiped a tear from his eye as he reached in to his bag for the stake that he carried for this purpose. Its point whittled to a lethally sharp point. Spike wouldn’t feel a thing. David waited until Willow returned looking pale, he met her eye and she nodded. She understood what David had to do. She stroked Spike’s face, sobbing as a cold tongue flicked out to lick her hand. David raised his right hand and rubbed Spike’s head with his left.


Good dog, Spike,” he said a split second before the stricken vampdog exploded in to dust.


The End


Honest, this time! LOL!