We only made it out to the street before stumbling to a halt. Of all of us, I was in the best shape, having only taken a couple minor scratches from some flying debris. Crunch and Leeli were the worst, with the latter only able to move at half speed, but even Zapper looked bruised and less enthusiastic than usual. His skill must have run out of charges while I wasn’t paying attention.

[We made it!] Leeli panted, relief evident in her voice. [I thought for sure we were—urk!]

The small dog’s paws left the ground as Crunch seized her by the neck. All of us froze.

A primal growl emanated from our leader’s throat. He held Leeli aloft, shaking her.

[Don’t you. Ever. Do that. Again!] He shook her one more time and hurled her aside. She yelped in pain as her bad leg struck the ground, sliding a short distance before she came to a stop. Crunch glared after her. [I’m the leader of this pack, Leeli! Me! I give the orders, I decide when we fight and when we retreat, not you! We could have all died back there thanks to your foolishness!]

[Captain, I... I didn’t...] Leeli struggled to stand. Beside her, Benjamin gave her an encouraging nudge and helped her back onto shaky paws. [I’m sorry, Captain. It won’t happen again.]

[See that it doesn’t.] Crunch turned towards me. [And you.]

I braced, unsure what to expect. I knew his reaction to Leeli had to be as much about his blindness as her actually challenging the hierarchy, but what had I done? All I could think of was how I’d kept using my stun spells after Crunch had criticized me. Was that worthy of a chastisement?

[Good work in there.] He watched me for a drawn-out moment, then grunted and turned away. I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

[What about me?] Zapper asked, spinning several circles around Crunch as the other dog hobbled away. [Did I do good? Did I? Did I?]

[Yeah, yeah, Zapper, you’re a good boy. Now go scout ahead for any trouble. We need to find a place to bed down and lick our wounds.]

[On it, Captain boss!]

I stood in the middle of the street, watching them go. My gaze swung over to Leeli and Benjamin.

[Go on, Bubba.] Leeli’s tail raised halfheartedly. She was clearly trying to maintain her composure. [We’ll catch up shortly. Don’t need anyone else getting in trouble with the captain today.]

[You sure?]

Leeli nodded but said nothing further. I hesitated another moment, until Ben turned to me.

[Go.]

In three days of knowing the dog, this was the first time I’d heard him speak more than a grunt. That was enough to get my paws moving again.

Growing more worried with every step, I padded after our leader.

----------------------------------------

A few streets north, we stumbled into what had once been a taco shop. The smell of fish and cooking oil still permeated the place, but not in a bad way.

Benjamin and I took point, giving the place a thorough once-over before calling the all-clear. Well, I called the all-clear. Ben just gave a stoic nod, his single utterance for the day apparently having exhausted his vocabulary. Honestly, I was too tired to care. It was just nice to know we were safe for the moment.

A search of the place turned up several tortillas that weren’t overly moldy, along with an unopened bag of Doritos. It was hardly the breakfast we had been planning on, but no one dared complain—at least not where Crunch might overhear. Instead, we ate somberly and in silence.

Afterwards, I offered to do a patrol of the neighborhood for any further threats. Surprisingly, Crunch didn’t argue, simply told me to take Zapper with me and be back before dark.

As the two of us set out, Zapper happily darting back and forth to sniff various objects, I couldn’t help but feel a little unsettled about the whole day.

Not the fight itself. Even though I’d been lucky so far to encounter enemies I knew how to handle, I’d always suspected a day like this would come. Brute force can only win over so much of the time. Heck, if it had come down to a straight fight with the zombie guardian back at the waterfront, I doubted I’d be here right now.

No, it was more this pack’s attitude that was worrying me. Crunch’s aversion to using the system was poisoning the others, and today had proved how much of a detriment that was to our long-term survival.

Heck, had we just used my stun wands in the first place, we could have walked out of there without a single injury and regrouped for a counterattack. Simple and effective.

Instead, two of our members were wounded, and I didn’t even know whether it was worth explaining about using cores to them. If I didn’t, or they refused, we might be weeks waiting for some of Leeli’s injuries to heal. Meanwhile, food in the area would grow more scarce, more guarded...

I shook my head. That was putting the leash before the collar. First, I needed to see what I could do to help the others in the here and now. If they refused, or grew hostile to my suggestions... well, I didn’t have to stay with this pack. We could go our separate ways, no hard feelings.

Zapper came running back to me. [Why are you so slow, other dog?]

[I have a name, you know,] I said. Despite that, my tongue lolled. It was hard not to be amused by Zapper’s earnestness.

[I know that, other dog!]

[...And it is?]

He just blinked at me. I sighed. [I’m just being thorough. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up.]

[Okay!] He bounded off again, and I watched as my tail twitched back in forth. Alright, I admit, maybe I’d miss some of this pack if I left it. I suppose I could ask Zapper if he wanted to come...

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Wait, was I already thinking like I was leaving? I shook my head. Between the lack of levels and scarce food, I had to admit I was somewhat tempted.

Though now that I thought about it, perhaps I could solve at least one of those problems when I returned. It would all depend on how receptive Crunch was to the idea.

Zapper and I continued our patrol of the area. We encountered several large insects the system labeled as bilgebugs, but they were too low level to yield much other than several cores. I also managed to raise my Claw Slash up to 25%, a quarter of the way to the next level. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

We returned to the building as the sun began to set. Zapper immediately darted inside. I heard a crash, followed by Leeli’s cursing. He darted back out again and disappeared around the corner.

Shaking my head, I padded inside, where I found Leeli laying in the corner, Benjamin curled protectively around her.

[Any trouble out there?] she asked, weakly raising her head to look at me. I shook my own.

[Just a few weak monsters. Hardly worth the trouble of killing.]

[Heh.] She laid her head down again. [Don’t let the captain hear you talking about killing monsters.]

[I don’t particularly care if he does or not.] I glanced around. [Where is he, anyway?]

[Outside, I think. Said something about finding a vantage point to keep watch.]

Nodding more to myself than to Leeli’s answer, I padded a bit closer to her, then summoned my inventory screen. Leeli started to make another snide comment as she saw my glazed-over expression, but stopped when several objects hit the linoleum floor with a soft clink.

[What are those?]

[Common cores. You’ve seriously never picked up any from monster kills?]

[Maybe? I dumped most of that junk on Crunch’s recommendation.]

My eyes narrowed at that. A topic to discuss with our ‘illustrious leader’ another time. [Add them to your inventory.]

[But—]

[Do you enjoy broken bones?] When she didn’t respond, I just sighed. [Do it already, I haven’t got all night.]

She frowned but did as I said.

[Now, select them from your inventory screen and target yourself.]

[How do I—]

[Just concentrate on where you want to use them. The system will intuit the rest.]

Leeli just lay there, expression glazed over, but I knew the moment she had used the cores. Her broken paw began to pull itself back into shape, the bones reknitting together before our eyes. She let out a little gasp of surprise. Her tail started to wag.

[Bubba, I... thank you.]

[No problem. That’s what pack is for, right?]

I started to turn away.

[Wait.]

I turned back. Leeli had climbed to her paws. Benjamin still lay curled around her, but large as he was his head still had to crane down to look at her. They shared a look for a moment before Leeli turned towards me.

[I... wanted to thank you for earlier.]

[Huh?] I wasn’t aware that I had done anything for Leeli earlier. We’d spent most of the fight on the opposite sides of those golems.

[Not me. For saving Ben.] She glanced up at the other dog again. [I don’t know what I’d had done if anything happened to him. When we... when I first awakened, I was all alone. My owner was gone. My family was gone. Our house was full of monsters... I would have died if Benjamin hadn’t saved me. He was the dog in the yard next door. Somehow, he leapt the fence and came to my rescue.]

The two dogs looked into each other’s eyes. Ben’s tail thumped the floor a couple times. Leeli’s twitched. [He’s my everything. And you saved him today. Saved me too, I guess. So... thanks. For everything.]

[I’m sure you’d do the same for me,] I said. I turned away again.

[Bubba,] Leeli called after me. [If you’re hungry, we found a can of beans buried in the back. Ben thinks he can gnaw it open. You’re free to have our share.]

[Save it,] I said over my shoulder. [I need to talk to Crunch first. With luck, we won’t need the beans.]

[Why’s that?]

[I’ve got a plan.]

A quick search outside turned up Crunch after a few minutes. He was across the street, perched atop a pile of old rusted-out cars. I wasn’t certain if this was another pile like I’d encountered downtown, or simply a pile of cars from before everything. Guess it didn’t matter.

[Hey,] Crunch said as I leapt up. I nodded, then came to sit alongside.

[You think I was too hard on Leeli,] Crunch said, after a few minutes of silence.

I glanced at him. That had been on my mind, true, but I’d mostly been wondering how he’d gotten up here, injured as he was. In the end, I remained silent and left it to Crunch to say what he needed.

[I know I was too hard on her,] he said after another minute or two or silence. [But she needs to understand that unity is important. Everything is different now, with the change. We have to be careful. Our minds have been freed from humanity’s influence, but that’s as much a curse as a blessing. Humans were individualistic, and they suffered for it. Dogs need to be better if we want to survive what’s coming.]

[Do you really think that?] I asked. [That what happened to us is a curse?]

[No. I think we’re a mistake.]

I glanced at Crunch, arching an eyebrow, but the other dog just stared into the encroaching dark. [I know humans. I know the evil that dwells in their hearts, but also the stupidity. Whatever they did to their world, it wasn’t intentional. Neither was our gaining sapience, our gaining freedom. If we don’t make the best of it, they’ll put us right back in chains again. I’ve seen them do it before.]

[Maybe.] For a moment, my head was full of half-formed memories. A full belly, a warm fire. A little girl smiling at me as she stroked my fur.

I shook my head, and the memories broke apart. They didn’t matter anymore. Another life. Another dog. Not me.

I turned back to Crunch.

[If what you say is true, you can’t keep running away from what’s happening to us.] Something dangerous flashed in Crunch’s eyes, but I pressed on. [Everything the system offers us is a tool we can use. Everything. Not just the parts you like. Ignoring the rest is the same as trying to walk with only two legs. Possible, but difficult. Take today. If you had shared about your limitation with the others—]

[That’s my business and no one else’s,] Crunch said, turning away. There was a warning edge to his voice.

This conversation was on thin ice. I tried changing tactics. [At least consider using some of the equipment we’ve been granted. You’re wearing that collar, aren’t you? Why keep that piece of system gear, but nothing else?]

[Have you ever looked at its description?]

[No,] I admitted. Like Zapper’s, I’d assumed the collar to be inconsequential.

[Look at it now.] I must have made a face, because Crunch’s tongue lolled. [I won’t hold it against you. Go on.]

Feeling suddenly uncertain, I pulled up the party menu and found Crunch’s equipment. As the description appeared, my eyes widened.

Indomitable Choke Chain

Level 12

A memoir from another life, another dog. Memories mix with reality when you look upon this chain. Are they good? Are they bad? Probably a bit of both.

This equipment provides the following bonuses: +24 to Power, and immunity to all stun, fear, and knockback-based effects.

Note: This is a growth item and cannot be improved to higher levels via cores or other methods.

Note: this item is soul bound to its user and may only be removed upon death.

[I was wearing it when that cocoon thing surrounded me,] Crunch said as I dismissed the screen. [I don’t think the one I’m wearing now is the same one though, but something made by the system. If I could take it off, I would. Believe me.]

If I needed any further evidence that a fight between myself and Crunch would end badly, here it was. Twenty-four additional power and immunity to stun, fear, or knockback? It was a powerful item. Even more so in Crunch’s paws. Good thing he was on our side.

Crunch turned away and stared into the darkness. [Go back to the others. I’ll think about what you said.]

[I will. But first—] I opened my inventory and dumped out five cores. [—You’re going to use these.]

[Hmmph. More human-made nonsense. What now?]

Briefly, I explained about using the cores to heal. Crunch didn’t say anything, but when I was done the cores at my paws were gone. I could only hope he’d take my advice.

As I hopped down from the pile, I heard a sigh come from above. It sounded like one of relief.

My tail wagged all the way back to the taco shop. It seemed that Crunch was coming around after all.

Now to enact the next part of my plan.