Fuck, why did I park so far away? “Buck! Come!” and I ran for the gate, Buck hard on my heels.

As I ran for the gate, I said, “Trouble! Call for backup. We might be coming back fast.” I ran up the street while having my photo taken. I still had my hat, shades and fluro jacket on. The gate staff were on the phone to their HQ as I ran out of the cul-de-sac.

Where the fuck is the Fish Market? Maps finally brought it up as we were driving off. In town. Wynyard Quarter. Not far at all.

I was mentally assessing what I had. There was a spear gun in the back and a couple of hand spears. I had a knife on me and two more in the truck. I was wearing the machete, but I had left the spade behind. First aid kit in the glovebox.

Bloody traffic. I made good use of my horn. Where are the cops when you need them?

We were about five minutes out, and Buck got all upset and wanted out. “Wait, soon,” I told him.

Traffic was all backed up on Daldy Street, so I crashed through the street planting, my bullbars pushed over a medium-sized shrub, and people scattered as I drove on the footpath. I slammed to a stop, opened the doors, and let Buck out. I paused to grab the spear gun and ran after him. I didn’t know this place, so following Buck was my best option, but he had already disappeared. I could see the commotion, and people started pouring out of the building as I heard a gunshot.

I barged my way opposite the crowd. I could hear shouting and smell blood, even over the smell of fish. The first body I came across was a security guard lying motionless but alive, I thought. Then I heard Buck Power Bark. and the sounds of fighting. The first fighting I saw was Carla, with ripped scales, struggling with a guy with a rifle. He was overpowering her, but not by much. I dove to the side, so I was behind him and shot my spear into his back, hoping like hell it wouldn’t go through. The guy was frozen in shock, and I recognised the move Carla used to knee him in the groin, and then she ripped the gun from his hands. He lay still with my spear in his back. I never killed anyone before, but I think I just might have.

I moved up beside Carla, drawing my machete, as I heard sirens sounding. The police were responding to multiple calls they would be getting. Soph was down and bleeding, Rich had blood on his mouth, and I saw him limp when he moved. Rich was in a standoff with an attacker whose hand was mangled and bleeding. Buck was savaging the throat out of the attacker he had downed with his bark. There were two other bodies down, one lying still and another moaning, clutching at his groin and bleeding from his nose. The last standing attacker was rethinking his choices and turned and ran.

Carla raised the rifle and shot him as he ran. The rifle clicked on an empty chamber. It was a bolt action hunting rifle, and the next shot needed to be loaded into the chamber, but she didn’t know that. Automatic weapons were tightly controlled in NZ, which is why they only had the bolt action. Only farmers and hunters really bother with guns here, so Carla had no idea how to use the gun. The runner was lucky she didn’t know.

I moved to pull Buck off before he killed the guy, although it may be too late as there was a lot of blood. Carla moved to Soph. There was blood around Soph, and she had a gash on her head. I pulled Buck off, but his victim was not my first concern.

“Stay. Guard.” I told Buck. He wasn’t very good at those commands, but he was guarding Soph, which probably counts for something. I checked her breathing, and blood was coming out, so her heart was beating. The wound on her head was not the cause of most of the blood, and finding the wound in her fur was not the easiest. I ripped part of her dress and said to Carla, “Here. Hold this against the cut while I find a first aid kit.” She did as I looked around the large open shop/food court we were in.

As I looked around and spied a green sign with a white cross, I thought, “Maybe I should not have complained so much about that first aid course the company made us do.” Under the sign, there was a first aid kit, and I grabbed it. I ripped it open, spilling half the contents, but found something to help stop the bleeding better.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Then the cops arrived. Fortunately, they didn’t try to make us stop treating Soph. Carla and Soph were very recognisable, and I was helping. The dogs wouldn’t let the cops close. One cop insisted I slide the machete to him, as it was lying on the ground next to me. Other cops went to help the other wounded, and then the paramedics arrived, and then more cops, and even more cops.

I controlled the dogs so the paramedics could treat Soph, and Carla needed attention as well. They were both carted off in an ambulance, and I stayed with the dogs and was interviewed. New Zealand is typically a reasonably safe country, so this was a big deal. Then, the military arrived.

I was asked to hold the dogs while evidence was obtained from their mouths. I ended up swabbing them for the technician. The cops were not happy. Only I could control the dogs, and a dog handler had arrived. I am sure Buck killed his person, but I was not told anything. My hearing was picking up a lot.

There were three dead. Buck’s person bled out on the way to the hospital. My spear killed the gunman, and the one lying motionless on the floor died of a knife wound. The security guard was critical and was being rushed into an operating theatre.

I was asked to get the dogs into separate cages, so I did. I was then taken down to the police station, and everything was taken as evidence. I was shown to an interview room and waited. The soundproofing muffled my hearing but didn’t stop it.

I heard some aggressive discussion outside my room, and then a young man entered, gave me his card, said he was a lawyer, and asked if I wanted him to represent me. He was from Hardcastle’s lawyers, so I said yes.

Then, there was a formal and long interview. The whole place was covered in CCTV cameras, so I figured they would know the sequence of events better than I did. I took them through my part step by step and then again and again.

They got stuck on my relationship with Carla and Soph.

“Why would Miss Vaa’i text you for help?”

“Because I have known her for over a decade.”

“Please describe the nature of your relationship.”

“Fuck buddies.”

“Please expand on that.”

“I would message her occasionally for sex, and she would do the same.”

“So you were in a sexual relationship.”

“No. We were having sex, but it was not a relationship.”

Et cetera.

Eventually, the lawyer told them to move on.

I was more concerned about the dogs. A dog that kills someone is usually put down. The military stepped in there and identified the dogs as military assets, and I was the consultant managing these assets. I had to identify a place where I would keep the dogs until their fate was decided. It was Buck’s fate, really, as Rich hadn’t killed anyone. I guess we would have to tough it out at the Hardcastle Shack. Isn’t it nice to be rich?

My truck was going to be unavailable until the forensic investigation was complete. I was told to be available for further interviews. Shooting someone in the back with a spear gun was not strictly self-defence, although I was acting in the defence of others. If Carla had actually shot the runner, she would be in some serious shit. I am going to have to learn the laws around all this.

The next day, I arrived at the Hardcastle Shack with the two dogs. Sam greeted me. She had just returned from seeing Sophia, and she should be released from the hospital later in the day. Carla would come with her. Sam was ready to pamper the dogs so badly for saving her daughter. I caught the edge of that. Rich had a severely bruised rear leg, but it would fully heal with time.

Sam had a chef come in that evening, and we celebrated being alive. Soph had a knife wound in her back, but it didn’t go very deep. It was the head wound and the concussion that they really kept her under observation overnight. I don’t think they really knew what her mutations did and were cautious.

Carla had scales missing from a run-in with a knife and more where the bullet grazed past. She was so close to dying, and Soph was only alive because of Rich and then Buck.