Friday Flash: The Dogcatcher
The Dogcatcher
The man crept through the alley, the net behind his back gripped fiercely in one white-knuckled fist. From behind the metal dumpster, a dog peered with coal black eyes. Suspicion and curiosity clouded his features, but his ears pointed up and his head tilted to the side in the universal language of dogs. The young man approached, side-stepping broken glass and wads of chewing gum, bent low with agitation and concern.
“Hey, you bad boy, you got out; didn’t you?” he called, his voice a whisper on the wind, comforting yet strong. “It’s alright, boy. Just come here, and I’ll take you home. No hard feelings; right?”
A second dog’s head appeared behind the first, this one growling low, long strings of saliva dripping from his deadly maw. The man stopped in mid stride, one foot inches above the pavement. He held this position a moment, listening. From behind the dumpster, snoring could be heard. He sighed. Why couldn’t they all be sleeping?
He snapped his fingers, and a bucket of fried chicken appeared on the pavement before the large metal bin. The snarling stopped, replaced by a short bark which woke the other head. The curious first head was already leaning forward to reach the bucket, frustrated with the other two for hindering his progress; the chicken lay just out of reach. Soon the complete dog emerged, all three of its heads diving for the food, growling and snipping at each other as they fought over legs and wings. Meanwhile, Hermes slipped the magical net over the entire dog and pulled it closed with one deft movement.
Cerberus thus entwined, the winged youth hefted the net over his shoulder and headed for the Underworld. Next time, he would plan his pranks on Hades with a little more care.
THE END
This week I finished reading through my current WIP novel. I have a proof copy (courtesy of Lulu and Nanowrimo), so I penciled in notes, marked typos to be fixed, and discovered that I need to rework some of my plot points. Next stop, revision! But since I took a break for a few months from #FridayFlash, I’ve really missed it. This installment, plus reading through other flash selections this week, is my reward for accomplishing my task (well… part one anyway).
This particular flash piece isn’t much of a break from my novel though, because both deal with Greek mythology in modern settings. I hope you enjoyed The Dogcatcher.
As always, polite feedback is welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for your time.
*image courtesy of The U.S. National Archives via Flickr. No known copyright restrictions.
August 19th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
I’m always up for Greek Mythology.
This scene could have happened in the Scion PBEM game I recently started, too, with Gods and Goddesses in the modern world…
August 19th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Paul, have you read the Percy Jackson series or ‘Gods Behaving Badly’? They are both modern Greek myth stories too, but with wildly differing takes on how the gods mix with the modern world.
August 19th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
I wasn’t expecting that! Nice twist.
Wish I could snap my fingers and make a bucket of fried chicken appear.
August 19th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Loved it; I think I’m developing a fascination with “established” characters set within new stories and situations like this. Also makes me want to get back in and finish up the pantheon of new (old?) gods/goddesses I started, and start giving them stories of their own. Very inspirational!
August 19th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Loved it! It’s always fun to see Greek mythology in the modern world, and you certainly did it justice.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
I haven’t read the PJ books (only seen the movie). The movie was an inspiration for me to start my game.
there is also apparently a cottage industry in romantic fiction based on mythology.
August 20th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
When I read the third one snoring, I reread the beginning, getting then that it was a three-headed dog. I too, wish I could snap my fingers for fried chicken!
Your novel must be exciting.
August 21st, 2011 at 1:26 am
Congrats on finishing the novel, Catherine… Glad to see you back in the mix here… The twist at the end got me!
August 21st, 2011 at 11:42 am
I actually smiled at the image of the dogs heads popping out from behind the bin, only to discover they were all attached to the same body. An entertainingly unusual slant.
August 21st, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Nice twist mythology-lady! Love it! No I’m not in the witness protection program, just waiting for school to start. I plan on working on a flash at work today, Talk to you soon.
August 21st, 2011 at 2:27 pm
I had no idea that was coming. For me, that was a handbreak turn in the imagery. Such a good idea. And well put together. If you were going to expand on the story – I would like to know more about what the three-headed dog looked like. And does our protagonist have any plans for revenge.
August 21st, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Great development here. At first I thought it was two or three dogs, then I realized it was ol’ Cerberus. That “bucket of chicken” trick is one that could come in handy sometimes, for sure!
August 21st, 2011 at 8:00 pm
whee! Love how you snuck upon the fact that it was all one dog
Fun story!
August 24th, 2011 at 11:30 am
Good luck with revisions! That can be the most rewarding and the most tiresome part sometimes. This flash was great. I had no idea it was one dog until the end. Nice!
August 28th, 2011 at 12:14 am
[...] proofing my rough draft, I posted a #FridayFlash story as my reward. So after reading “The Dogcatcher,” I’ll talk about my experience experimenting with reverse outlining as part of my [...]
August 28th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
great story! fun to read. good twist on the greek myth.
September 3rd, 2011 at 12:13 pm
I love the idea of Hermes having to play dogcatcher for Cereberus – imagine if a regular dude from the pound had turned up!