Good grief. I can not believe I used to fucking say that.
Hell, I can't believe a lot of things these days; all my friends are dead or missing, zombies, damn zombies are walking the Earth, how quickly society collapsed, and worse of all, Snoopy is gone.
That's the hardest part, knowing my best friend died trying to defend me from dogs.
Wild packs, roaming the wastes. Once family pets are now vicious killers. Who'd have thought they'd revert into blood-thirsty beasts so quickly?
I'll never forget that night.
We were huddled together for warmth, the small fire struggling to keep the prying fingers of cold at bay. Just another night, trying not to die. The first sign I had that we were in serious trouble was when Snoopy jumped to his feet, snarling. At first, I thought that some undead creature had gotten too close. Then I saw them. A dozen glints of glowing yellow light in the darkness. We were surrounded. The only sound was coming from Snoopy. A deep low growl I hadn't heard before. Then I reached for ol' Sally, the moment my hand touched that familiar, well-worn wood, and steel, the growling began.
The first one to step into the ever-shrinking circle of light was a giant white German Shepard. Its teeth were bared it's head low. Eyes locked on me. Then before I could react, it attacked. It was on me in a flash, except it wasn't. It was hard to comprehend, but even faster than the large dog lunged a blur of white and black slammed into its side. I heard its teeth snap in the air, felt its saliva splatter on my cheek.
Snoopy was half its size, older than sin, definitely beyond his prime, yet there he was fighting with the ferocity of a wolf. I'd never seen Snoopy so... Protective. Sure he growled and barked at the ghouls all the time, but this was different.
The rest took the thwarted attack as an opportunity to move in for the kill but not before I wrapped my hand around Sally. I didn't have time to shoulder her, so I swung with everything I had. She cracked the skull of a Lab hell-bent on tearing out my throat. The body knocked another two back, and I shouldered her and took aim. The demonic face of a possessed Golden Retriever met with fell silent. Two more quickly dropped.
The whole time Snoopy was leaping from mutt to mutt, trying to keep them at bay. I watched him grab a Beagle and worry it like a rag doll. The battle lasted only minutes, and 6 dogs were dead. Snoopy lay at my feet in a puddle of blood. I fell to my knees. I didn't even try to hold back my tears. He let out a whimper of pain as I carefully picked him up. It was clear that there was only one outcome.
I looked him in his eyes, one swelled shut and covered in blood, "I love you, Snoopy." He used what strength he had to lick my chin. "You're my best friend. Always have been. Always will be. We're gonna get you fixed up." He let out a small happy "yip" like he had done when he was a puppy. I stroked his leathery ears, he licked my face again...
His body shuddered with his last breath.
I buried him under a tree that had a large bird nest in it. He loved birds.
Now. I'm out to get them. All of them. All the one time pets turned murderers that roam the wastes. I have one goal. Total eradication.
