Prank pressed the metal tip harder to the pup’s forehead, a maniac grin across his muzzle. “Finally, I’ll be free, free of those eyes, that face. Free from you, you little fucker, from the memories. Free from the past, at long last,” Prank said, teeth clenched tight. He let out a long sigh as his finger squeezed, slow and powerful. Toby stared up at Prank with wide, frightened eyes, glancing towards that clenching finger.

Then the metal thing exploded with an ear-shattering blast of sound. The destructive force of the explosion drove a small metal projectile forwards at speeds approaching that of sound, ripping apart everything in its path. With some surprise Toby opened his eyes, astonished that he was still there. He looked up to see the thing pointed just above his head. He had felt something pass over his head, parting his headfur. His ears were ringing loudly, the sound seeming to bounce around inside his head over and over again. by reflex his own paws were clamped firnly to the sides on his head, protecting his ears. On some level he noted an acrid, burnt smell coming from the smoking tip of the thing Prank still held in a tightly clenched paw. Toby’s eyes traveled up Prank’s arm to his face, which was covered with one massive wolfpaw. Prank’s body heaved, as if in tears.

Through a haze of cotton Toby could hear Prank saying something, but he couldn’t make out what. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog from his ears. After rubbing his ear for a moment Toby managed to get his hearing back a bit, just in time to hear Prank scream, “Get out! Get the fuck out of here!” Toby turned an inquisitive eye to his master at the exact moment Prank swung the object, striking the pup square across the muzzle. Prank began to gesture wildly with it, pointing toward the kitchen. “Get the fuck out of here! Go! Leave! Get out that door and never come back! NOW!” Before Toby could react Prank pointed it at him and squeezed, the object once more exploding with a loud bang. Toby screamed silently as fire arced across his upper arm, near the shoulder. He looked and saw a steaming gash, his own blood flowing a dark red. He began to stagger towards the kitchen, heading for the back door, Prank still screaming things over and over. He got to the door and, with trembling paws, undid the lock and turned the handle, opening the door an inch. He turned hesitantly back towards his master and was greeted by another bang. He flinched his head away, catching sight of the hole now in the door. He ran. He ran across the backyard, heading for the door set in the back fence. He ran across the only bit of the universe he knew besides the house, leaving it behind. He struggled with the latch, turning again to the house. He couldn’t see his master anymore through the closed back door, but he could still hear him. Prank’s yells soon subsided, then suddenly picked back up again. But they were no longer shouts of passion. From that house came a long, keening wail of pure agony, rising and falling, begining to form a word. The scream was long and drawn out, roaring into the day, Prank screamed, “Bekka!” Toby listened, transfixed, until another bang silenced everything. Toby began to run some more.

For hours Toby ran mindlessly, his hindpaws propelled by pure fear. The green scenery flashed past him as he ran, not stopping, not turning. He bursted through bushes, jumped over branches and brambles. He tripped and fell, but picked himself up again and continued running. He didn’t pause until a root snagged a paw, sending him tumbling over the edge of an embankment. He rolled down the steep slope, banging against trees, rocks, briars and bushes. the slope terminated at a small stream, into which Toby splashed at high speed. The pup whimpered as he lay in the shallow water, now wet and hurt. He dragged himself onto a rock and curled his knees to his chest, crying.

He was scratched all over from thorns, bruised and battered by rocks and trees, and sore from all the running. as he sat there he suddenly felt the pain of his raw and bleeding footpads. He looked down, the soles of his hindpaws resembling raw hamburger, shredded and bleeding. toby had lived in the house his whole life, and his hindpaws had been tender and delicate, not used to rough surfaces. The gravel, wood and other stones of the forest had ripped his delicate puppypaws to tatters. He dipped his feet in the stream, hoping to sooth them in the water. The cool water stung his exposed nerve ending as it began to cleanse the dirt from his feet.

Once past the mere physical pain the full realization of what had happened hit the pup. His master had sent him away. Toby didn’t have a master anymore. He was gone. The house was gone. Everything he had ever known was gone. Forever. Toby didn’t know why it happened, he had no idea what he could have done to cause his master to....to...throw him him away. Toby cried, long and hard. He couldn’t get the image of his master, screaming, sending him away, out of his head. His life seemed to flash before his eyes, every memory of every day in that house with his master. A life that was no longer his, a life that was over. He sobbed on and off for at least an hour, finally gathering enough composure to rise up on unsteady feet.

He looked around at the forest for the first time, marveling at its sheer size. He looked at the trees that towered high above his head, seeming to reach up, up. His eyes followed the tree upwards, and he gasped at the sight of the sky. He had never looked around when taken into the backyard, and had never seen the sky before, so he though that the ceiling was so high he could not see it. The room he was in was so large he couldn’t find the walls. That was it. Toby really couldn’t comprehend the vast space he wandered through, never having been exposed to it before. He walked slowly, very slowly, with a slight limp, mouth agape at the wonders surrounding him. The grass, the flowers, birds, they all fascinated him and, for a time, distracted him from his situation.

He was so distracted that, when turning a corner, he bumped into something huge. He was knocked back to the ground with a little yelp, bouncing once on the packed earth. He blinked and looked at what he bumped into. The towering thing started with huge feet that led up to equally massive calves, higher, to similarly large thighs, covered with shorts that hugged every curving muscle. It didn’t stop there, sculpted abs and chest, sided by huge arms were the final step to the awesome beast’s head. He had a short, blunt muzzle and large oval ears, beside which glimmering white horns extended. His entire body was covered with golden-brown fur. Toby knew what it was. It was a puppyeater. Toby began to cry again.