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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Federal_Machine692 on 2024-11-24 01:03:09+00:00.

Buster growled softly, baring his teeth at me as he stood in defiance. His stance rigid and unyielding, his tail stiff, and ears pinned back - he watched my every move with alert eyes.

My 3-year-old German shepherd had intuitively figured out the prospect of an upcoming bath when he saw me reach for the towel, and decided to give me a hard time over it.

“I know buddy. I am not happy about it either. But I will make it quick. I promise,” I tried to reason, holding up both hands to reassure him.

‘But it’s not even been a week…’ I could almost imagine him saying those exact words to me when he growled back in protest.

“You’re right...But listen, man. You’re dirty. I can feel your presence from here,” I said, standing ten feet away and pretending to cover my nostrils with my finger.

Buster, of course, didn’t care and continued to defy without hesitation.

I put my hands on my hip and sighed. My glance immediately shifted to a hose attached to a tap outside my quarters.

“Tell you what. I’ll make it worth your while. You don’t mind the jet spray, right? In fact, you even tolerate it sometimes,” I said, pointing to the hose located only a few feet away.

“How about a little cooperation now, and I’ll make you your favorite meal a little later?” I asked him, while reaching out to pick a can of chicken liver from the kitchen.

As I dangled the can in my hand, I could see it slowly chipping away at his resolve, his mind grappling with the pros and cons of my new proposal.

A moment later, Buster barked at me twice and slowly made his way out of the house. He sat by the garden tap, ready to receive his bath. 

I took a handful of lotion and began to rub it against his torso to remove all the muck and grime that was sticking to his body.  We had been quite busy lately, guarding the base and conducting multiple patrols along the perimeter every day. The rain a few hours ago certainly didn't help matters, with Buster leaping over puddles of water and actively rolling in the mud to escape the desert heat. I had to use a brush to remove the layers of dirt that had caked all over his body.

It’s been a strange week, to say the least. The days were busy but peaceful, while the nights brought scattered, random sounds. Their origins were a mystery, as they appeared not to originate from the base. But I wasn’t too worried about it, not yet anyway.

There is an air base located a couple of hours away from the facility, and it wasn’t unusual for them to conduct sorties at odd hours in the night. I assumed they were probably testing out some new technology.  

My colleague Joe thought the same thing as well. But we couldn’t take any chances, and we both had a job to do. So we conducted regular patrols around the base just as a precautionary measure.

But deep down, I felt something nagging at me, like I was being watched by someone or something. I couldn’t exactly put it into words.

For a second, I wondered if Buster too felt the same way when I saw him suddenly lift his head up, listening intently with his ears up in attention.

I quickly turned back to check if there was anybody standing behind me, but I found no one. When I turned around to face him again, I saw him looking up at the night sky, his gaze focused and unwavering.  

“What’s it buddy? You see something?” I asked him as I cleared away the foam from his face. Moments went by slowly. And then, just like that, as if nothing had happened, he put his head down and began pawing my leg, urging me to finish his bath. I sighed again and turned on the hose, to wash off all the soap.

He finally looked presentable and I have to admit, his coat glistened beautifully under the moonlight.

Before I could reach for his towel, Buster swiftly moved in to close the gap between us and looked me in the eye dead serious. He then shook his body vigorously, much like a wet dog trying to rid itself of wetness, and trotted off without bothering to look back.

I laughed out loud as I sat there, drenched in water. I knew I should have seen that coming. However, my smile quickly faded, as it also reminded me of Jessica, my ailing wife.

Before another thought could take shape in my mind, I heard a familiar voice blare across the radio.

“Mike, I need you down here. Get to the post quick.”

It was my colleague Joe and I replied back in the affirmative. I quickly grabbed my gear and signaled Buster to follow after me.

When I reached the post, I saw Joe standing there armed with his rifle. As a seasoned war veteran with two tours under his belt, Joe was a dangerous man and not to be trifled with. But he was also compassionate and wise beyond his years.

“What’s up Joe?” I inquired, as I approached him near the entrance of the base.

“I am not sure yet.  I thought I heard something at a distance. It could well be nothing.” he replied, after a brief pause.

‘Well, we’ve had a lot of that going around all week’, I thought to myself.

He then turned around to look at me. “I want you to run a perimeter sweep first. Then go on patrol again. Take Buster with you” he said, before heading back to his post.

I started the jeep and drove out towards the perimeter. The engine hummed softly as I navigated the rough terrain, with Buster sitting alertly beside me. After finding nothing suspicious during my initial sweep, I decided to broaden my search radius.

A mile into the drive, Buster suddenly started barking, prompting me to stop the jeep immediately. He leaped onto the ground and dashed towards a boulder located a short distance away. I picked up my rifle and cautiously followed after him.

When I reached the spot, I keyed the mic attached to my shirt and said, "Boss, you need to come see this."

I knew he wasn’t going to be happy about leaving the guard post unmanned, but I thought he would prefer to come and inspect this himself.

Joe arrived ten minutes later, parking his vehicle next to mine. He walked towards the boulder overlooking a small pond, and switched on his torch to get a better look at the skeletal remains of an animal dumped nearby. Three other animal remains lay next to it, all appearing to be in a similar condition.

“These look like coyotes, probably stopping by to drink water from the pond before they were killed,” he observed, his voice expressing concern. “Did you find them like this?”

“Yes”, I replied. “And they weren’t here when I drove through the same place this morning. I thought it was quite odd to be honest, to find four of them out here all at once in the middle of the desert, that too at this hour.”

Joe simply nodded in agreement.

“What sort of creature do you think did this Joe?”

“I mean it must have a ravenous appetite to chew every sinew of flesh from the bone, and lick it this clean.” I said, leaning in take another look.

“Do you think it could be the Chupacabra or something similar?” I continued, knowing fully well my question was a bit far-fetched, but I had to still get it off my chest.

Joe finally stood up, switched off his torch, and looked around the vast open desert in quiet contemplation.

“This is in fact the fifth sighting in less than a week, Mike, and all have occurred in close proximity to secure government installations. The one before this was even stranger, and happened near a military base, where an old buddy of mine continues to serve.”

“He told me in that instance, the remains belonged to a dog. There were no signs of flesh or connecting tissue from the nasal region to the abdominal section, while the region spanning from the abdominal cavity to the tail bone was left fully intact. The whole thing was carried out with surgical precision, and drew morbid praise from even the medic back at the base.”

"But how is that even possible? What are you suggesting, Joe?" I asked, surprised by the tone of my own voice and my inability to hide my disappointment upon hearing about it for the first time.

“This is not a hunt for prey, Mike. This is a hunt for attention. Somebody is trying to make a point. And I’d say they are accomplishing their objective.” Joe said.

When we got back to the base, Joe updated the command centre about the new developments. I headed back to my quarters and lay down on my bed. The exhaustion washed over me and I immediately drifted to sleep.

I looked at my Mickey Mouse watch. The time was 5:36 PM. I was licking my ice cream while sitting next to my mom in the car. To my right, was my 4 year old cousin Henry who was fast asleep on his mother’s lap.

In the front, my dad was driving the car with his brother seated next to him. Then a truck from the opposite side suddenly came in our lane, and rammed into our vehicle causing it to turn turtle.

With great difficulty, I managed to extricate myself and pulled my cousin out from the wreckage as well. And then suddenly, the car exploded and went up in flames….

I opened my eyes and realized I was still in bed. The same dream had come and gone a thousand times before. It has become a constant part of my life ever since I was a 9-year-old kid.

I slowly got off the bed and found my head hurting. I had barely slept since last night’s excitement, and my mood was already beginning to turn foul.

Buster was already awake. I gently patted him on the head as I walked into the kitchen to put a kettle of water on the boil, and turned on the TV.

My attention immediately shifted towards the news. There was a nuclear explosion in Russia in a small town that wa...

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