On a cold winter’s evening, Mark walks home from work on a snow-covered street. As he walks down the deserted street, he notices a small dog in the snow, whimpering and shivering.
The dog looks up at Mark with pitiful eyes, as if he was abandoned. Mark decides to walk with the dog. As they walk, the dog barks at a bush nearby. Mark was wary of what he might find in the bushes. He was sure that it was something dangerous, which was why the animal had been so aggressive.
A snowstorm
As he neared the bush, he caught a glimpse of what was inside and quickly ripped it open. He was surprised at first the he understood why the dog brought him to the bush. The snowfall had caused a great deal of disruption to the city, and Mark had been fortunate enough to have his work within walking distance. No one should be out in the cold, yet Mark was about to encounter an unfortunate creature that had been out.
A walk home
It was late afternoon and he was coming home from work. The wind was really cold and he was in a lot of pain. He hadn’t been out in a while and was thinking about calling in sick for the week. Just as he was about to hide behind a big tree, he saw something move in the snow – it was still too far away for him to make out what it was, but it was definitely not a person. It wasn’t until it came closer that he realized it was a small dog, and his heart sank.
It was fine
As the animal got closer to him, he could tell it was in pretty good shape. It was full of energy and didn’t look like it had any frostbite or anything. He was worried that if it had been here for a while, it might have been affected by the cold, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. He tried to pet it and it was still warm to the touch. He noticed it had a collar on it, but it jumped away when he tried to grab it. This made him think it had an owner.
He took the risk
The animal barked a few times and then began to walk away from Mark, pausing to see if Mark would follow him. It was getting close to dark and he was still far from home, and the darkness would make it even colder. He did not want to be outside in the cold, but he also did not want the animal to be cold, either. Taking a chance, Mark followed the animal, hoping that he would be able to catch and bring it home, or to its owner if he was safe from the cold.
A happy dog
The animal was very happy, almost jumping and wagging its tail as Mark watched, and Mark was so pleased that he smiled. However, the smile quickly faded when he realized where the animal was leading him. The first two minutes were spent walking deeper into the forest, and Mark began to doubt himself as he walked away from home. Every time he slowed down or tried to turn back, the small dog began to bark again, almost pleading with him, “Don’t leave me!”
Out of options
Mark felt he had no option but to follow his dog and hope he was close to where the dog was going. After about ten minutes, it looked like they were getting somewhere, but from Mark’s perspective, nothing much had changed. They were still on the forest path they had been on before, but this time the dog seemed to be responding to something. The dog’s tail had stopped wagging and it was lifting its nose like it was trying to catch a scent. Instead of following the trail, it was going in circles, looking for something.
A familiar scent
Mark was a bit curious and thought it would be a good idea to pick it up and bring it home. The dog didn’t move away from him when he got closer, but he was too curious about what it was looking for to do anything about it. After a while, the dog stopped and pointed its nose toward a bush. It didn’t look like much at first, but after looking at it for a bit, Mark noticed there was less snow on it than the rest of the bush. It looked like it had been shaken up recently.
Sudden disruption
The tranquillity of the forest was abruptly disrupted by the dog, who began to bark ferociously towards the bush. Initially, Mark was taken aback, but now it was evident that there was something in the bushes that he should be wary of. As he approached the bush, he was uncertain of what he was facing and if it could be a threat to his safety. It could be an animal, and if it had been struggling in the storm, it could have been capable of anything.
A sense of danger
His hands were trembling as he attempted to part the bushes, and the air was filled with a sense of impending danger. Suddenly, something moved and almost emerged from the bushes, out of the way and away from the trail. Mark was in a state of shock, but before he could process what had happened, the small dog he had been following suddenly shot him in the leg.