Yeah my first post! A really fun little story I wrote back in September I had so much fun writing this but it's not your typical story and thought perhaps I had stumbled upon a unique idea as I have read so many stories over the years but have never come across one like this. I hope everyone enjoys the surprise and the fun word play!

Karma's a Bitch! - by Kris K

You would think that the moment ones family comes home would be the happiest time of the day.

I guess that is the norm for most however every time my owner Rick comes home I cower in fear and try to find a place to hide. Oh sorry I guess an explanation is in order. You see my name is Toby I'm a dog and Rick is my owner. I'm loath to use the word owner as it make me a sound like a piece of furniture although sometime I envy that chair in the living room as it just sits there unmoving and unfeeling. It wasn't always like this I still remember a time when life was good and we were happy but as each day goes by more and more that memory feels like it was a dream.

So what happened you ask? Good question I wasn't there with a perspective on the whole thing only my own little hellish slice. It didn't happen all in one day it started slowly Rick would stay out late and it won't be till well after dark when I saw him. Then he started to ignore me more and more often forgetting to feed me and leaving me in the house for days. Eventually he would never leave the house for weeks he'd just lie on the couch watching the TV and drinking something that didn't seem very healthy to me.

One night when Rick came home and plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV I came around the couch and licked his hand and gave him a bit of a pleading whine. It had been days since I had had any real food and was just living on the bits and pieces I found here and there around the house in the boxes he would bring home that now littered the floors. I was getting so hungry that night that I rummaged through the overflowing bin where he sometimes put the them looking for anything to eat. Ignoring my whine he got up and went to the fridge to get more of that crap he drinks but paused when he saw the aftermath of my forging. This was the night things turned from bad to worse for me. Rick rushed into the living room and grabbed me by the collar pulling me into the kitchen where he started to yell at me. I don't know what the heck he was saying and I'm not sure he did either but the tone made me cringe and back away. He started to kick the garbage around some pieces hitting me as he approached and literately picked me up and threw me out the back door into the yard. I landed heavily on my side and rolled back onto my feet just in time to see Rick approach and give me a swift kick to my ribs.

That was the first time in my life I was actually in fear of Rick but at that moment it wasn't the all encompassing fear I feel now it was mixed with another emotion I had never felt till that day, anger.

I lowered my head and growled at him but he just stood there and laughed at me. "So you actually have a bit of a backbone. Well I know how to fix that!" Rick sneered as he went to grab me again but I was ready and too quick for him dodging his feeble attempts and another off balance kick and as he spun around I was there in his face growling. I don't think I would have actually attached him I was just venting my weeks of pent up hunger trying to get him to back down. In hindsight I should have just walked away I should have just let it be. I'm not sure if where I am now is a direct result of that night or if perhaps it just speed up the inevitable but Rick didn't back down and all my growling did was make him laugh at me more. Once he managed to get a hold of my collar again he lifted me off the ground and started to kick me a few more times before throwing me a few feet away from him after which he just snorted and turned around and walked into the house. I was outside for five days in the cold and the rain before he let me back in. Honestly I was better off outside if you ask me because once back in the house he made it a point to let me know who was boss. I tried to act as passive as possible when Rick was around as the last thing I wanted was another kick as my ribs were still sore but Rick became more and more aggressive toward me and I was forced to endured his constant attacks. At that point I don't think there was anyone in the world that gave a shit about Rick nor he about himself but there was one thing in the world he knew he could take out his anger on, me.

Maybe it's in our genes or the fact that we have been around humans for so long it's became part of our instincts but when danger came the first thing I thought about was Rick. It was late one evening and Rick was laying passed out on the couch as normal. I was trying to stay out of his way in the back room when I started to smell something off. I had no idea what it was as I had never encounter something like it before but it was strong and getting stronger. Finally I came out of the back room in search of the source and found Rick was still passed out on the couch but there was smoke coming from the kitchen. It looked like Rick actually tried to make something to eat but turned on the wrong burner on the stove top and instead of heating up some water set a pile of papers that spilled from the counter onto the back of the stove on fire.

I could had just left the back door from the kitchen to the yard was slightly open and I probably should have just run out the door but that though never even came to my mind. I started to bark as loud as I could as I spun around and headed to where Rick lay. Stirring slightly he uttered something under his breath but that was it. I redoubled my efforts as the smoke started to get thicker and thicker. I know what will piss him off I though and I stated to growl as I bit into his shirt trying to pull him off the couch. Nothing he didn't even respond. The smoke was very thick now and the heat was becoming too intense to stand much longer. In desperation I mounted my last and greatest effort and pulled his limp body from the couch. As Rick flopped down on the floor and rolled on his back I started to lick his face in a desperate attempt to get him to move but nothing worked and by now the smoke was so bad I couldn't see. With the smoke stung my eyes and seared my throat exhausted I flopped to floor next to Rick. I couldn't see I couldn't breathe. I couldn't.

. . . . . . . . . .

As the darkness closes in and Toby falls to the dark plain between the living and the dead the light above dims and the light on the horizon brightens. Running toward the light on the horizon he wonders if his life or sacrifice meant anything at all for after all he was just a dog.

. . . . . . . . . .

The first conscious memory I had in I don't know how long was waking up in a warm sun filled room. Raising my head I blinked a few times and looked around. I was in the living room of a large beautiful and clean home. I could hear people talking and I caught the smell of something delicious which made my stomach grumble and I realized how desperately hungry I was.

"MOM Look! Come quick!" A young girl yelled when she walked around the corner and saw me. She was I would say about nine or ten with long brown hair that danced around her as he skipped, jumped and ran back to the kitchen to fetch her mother.

"Lisa what is it?" her mother replied as they came back into the living room. "Oh my." She smiled. "I see your finally awake." She said looking down at me. "We were worried about you it's been two days." She said smiling at me as her daughter let go of her hand and came running up to me. "Honey easy don't scare the poor dog the vet told us the drugs would probably keep the poor thing out of it for a few days."

"Ok mom." Lisa smiled back as she slowly approached me and got down on her knees and reached out with her hand to allow me to sniff it. "I bet your hungry aren't you?" she asked.

"Oh right. Of course. One minute and I'll go get something." Her mother said as she turned around and left.

Lisa slowly raised her hand up to my chin and started to scratch me as she stared at me with her big green eyes. There was something about them something I had seen before and it felt like she was looking right into my soul right into a hidden part of me that I didn't know of or chose to forget.

"You know who I am don't you?" Lisa asking me directly.

All at once my eye went wide and I let out a whine as I started to back away from her. Something was wrong something about this little girl scared the crap out of me.

"You can understand me can't you." She asked but it wasn't a question. "Do you remember? I remember now. I don't know how but when I saw you the other day lying next to that dumpster as we drove by I knew. I knew who you were and I knew who I was." Lisa said as she came closer to me. "I was Toby. Isn't that right Rick."

No that can't be I though as I started to whimper and pull back away from her till I was in the corner and there was no place left to run.

"Stop that." Lisa chided. "I'm not going to hurt you." She smiled as she reached out and started to scratch my chin and neck again. "I can't believe I found you or perhaps you found me. It's strange isn't it how two lives like ours would cross paths again." She said absently as she started to scratch me behind my ears.

I was thinking that was a strange thing for such a young girl to say. Wait a second? For a young girl to say? Holy shit she was right I actually could understand her!

"You can understand me right?" Lisa asked again this time as a question.

I responded with a low whine that came out somewhat like a yes as I nodded my head.

"I knew it. It so weird but I can sort of feel what you are trying to say." She laughed and clapped her hands. "Do you remember what happened to you as Rick?"

I thought for a second. The last thing I remember was passing out on the couch and a vague memory of Toby barking. I reply with a low soft growl and shook my head.

"There was a fire. I tried to wake you up but you won't wake up." Lisa said. "I guess it's harder for me as I remember it all now. Before I saw you I would have nightmares of a fire that would scare me so badly that I would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and mom and dad would come rushing in to hold me till I stopped crying. I never understand why I would be having such dreams but now I do and I don't think I'll have them anymore." She told me while continuing to scratch me behind the ears. "Looks like you had a pretty hard time of it when I found you and we took you right to the vet. You were dirty, malnourished and hurt but don't worry you don't have to be in pain anymore either." Lisa said smiling as she put her arms around my neck and hugged me.

"Ok here you go." Lisa's mom said she came back into the room and placed a bowl of food and another of water down next to me. Giving me and her daughter an odd look she asked. "What happened?"

"What do you mean mommy?" Lisa asked innocently back as she had one arm around me and I licked her face.

"I don't know. It's just you two look like long lost friends that found each other." She said then shook her head that's ridiculous her daughter is just ten and had never seen this dog before in her life. "Ok come on you have to help me finish the dishes."

"Ok." Lisa said as she gave me another hug and got up and ran to the kitchen but before she did she slightly opened the back door.

After they had walked back into the kitchen Lisa asked "Mom do you think Karma is going to be ok?"

"I think so honey the vet said that there were some scratches, abrasions and an old bite mark that was starting to heal but didn't think anything was serious and that she was probably a bit less than a year old so there is no reason to not expect a full recovery. Next week when we take her back for a checkup well have to take care of a few other things since we are going to keep her." Lisa's mom said leaving that part of a few other things vague.

"Of course the most important thing is love but I think she's going to get a lot of that." She smiled as she looked down at her daughter. "You did a great thing honey. I'm so proud of you." She said as she bent down and gave Lisa a kiss. "There is one thing I don't understand honey. Why did you chose to give her the name Karma?"

"Because Karma's a bitch mom." Lisa replied completely serious.

Her mother started to laugh at the double meaning but stopped suddenly and was about to ask her ten year old daughter where in the world she had heard that and if she actually understood the meaning when a commotion erupted in the living room.

Lisa ran around to see what was going on. "Oh look Duke is already trying to make friends with her!"

"What!?" Mom exclaimed as she dropped the plate she was holding on the counter and ran into the living room. "NO! Duke DOWN! Stop it! DUKE come on!" Mom yelled as she tried to get control of the very excited Duke.

"Yep." Lisa smiled as she went back into the kitchen. “Shes a real bitch alright."

The End . . .