“Yeah, I’m almost there. I gotta hang up now because I’m driving. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I’ll be there. All right. See you soon, babe. I love you.” Mark pressed the end button on his cell phone, ending the call with his fiancée, Eunhee, before slipping it into the cup holder on the center console of his car. They had decided to visit her family before their wedding. After all, it would be wrong for the groom not to become acquainted with his future wife's family before marrying.

        Mark had things to take care of at work before leaving and convinced Eunhee to go on ahead of him. After a few days he was now making his way to the quaint little town. It was a nice break from dealing with the city life and he enjoyed how heavily forested the country was.

        However, the silence was unsettling and he needed something to break the unease. Reaching over, Mark turned his attention to the radio and began fiddling for a station, shooting occasional glances at the road.

        “Come on,” he groaned in irritation as he turned the knob to find the right station. He had taken his eyes off the road for just a split second when he looked up only to see a flash of brown dart from the side of the road. Immediately, his foot slammed on the break pedal and the car screeched to a halt but the figure wasn't fast enough as it slammed against the front of the car and rolled a few feet ahead of the vehicle.

        “!” Mark hissed as he unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of his car. “What the hell did I hit?” Moving to the front of the car, he could see that there hadn't been too much damage done. Dark brown fur littered the grate of his car and he could see splatters of crimson. Turning his gaze onto the the victim, Mark could see the flank of the figure rise and fall. From what he could tell it was a large furry dog.

        A little hesitant, Mark slowly crept over, keeping low in case he startled the animal. “Come here, buddy. I'm not going to hurt you.”

       The large dog whimpered and tried to heave itself onto its paws only to have its legs give out under it. The animal let out a cry of pain and Mark moved closer. The closer he got the more it tried to get away, but with its injuries it wasn't able to get very far.

        “Shh, it's okay. I need to get you to the vet.” The red haired male moved closer. The animal didn't look hostile, so he reached out slowly. The dog, which had completely given up on the struggle, bared its teeth in a warning, but Mark didn't seem to notice. His gaze was fixed on the animal's flank as he watched its breathing slow increasingly. His hand continued to reach out to the injured creature and he didn't get much time to think as the animal snapped at his outstretched hand. Taken by surprise, Mark yelped in pain and pulled back his hand, holding it to his chest as he assessed the damage. The dog had managed to take a good bite to his hand and he stood up only to instantly regret it. He began to feel lightheaded and he wondered if the animal that had bitten him was carrying some sort of disease.

        “I was only trying to help you, bu—bud—buddy,” Mark stuttered his words, his vision becoming blurred and his mind becoming tired. There wasn't much time to decide what was happening as his weight shifted and he felt himself stumbling towards the paved road. He blinked slowly, trying to fight off the state of unconsciousness that threatened to pull him under. He was awake long enough to see two more dogs, one black and one a dark grey, emerge from the other side of the road and join the one he had hit. Mark wasn't able to piece together what happened before his entire world plunged into darkness.

Special thanks to Ann (for the poster and background) at: