CC Round Three Pg.1

The sun began to set over the city of Pripyat with a final feeble attempt at warming the icy land, which lay damp and cold after the day's pounding rains. Heavy clouds blanketed the sky, obscuring most of the orange sunset behind their cotton-like folds of gray. They only grew as the night drew near. Little more than occasional barks and yelps interrupted the uneasy calm.

One or two short of sixteen curs converged beneath the shadow of the building that once shielded thirty-two curs from the rain. They shambled with the slow, shuffling gait of those condemned to death. Death seemed close at hand; the chill in the air had intensified into a biting cold that gnawed at their soaking bodies. No complaints emanated from the crowd- they lacked the energy to do so.

Beyra observed the sorry mess with genuine concern, a most unusual thing for a creature of her sour disposition. Even she, with her stout constitution and heavy coat, felt the sting of the winter's grasp. Whilst the tournament existed to prevent the population from growing out of control, she did not wish to have the remaining contenders for the title of champion wind up frozen to the bone. She garnered the attention of the ragged lot and directed them to follow before turning off and hurrying down the street. Her aides scattered in all directions, searching for stragglers who had yet to turn up.

~~~~

Erx watched the sun's descent with weary eyes, moving not a muscle on account of his exhaustion. Every ounce of his body ached to some degree. His heart suffered doubly, for it endured both from a physical and an emotional battering. Despite his tireless self-reassurances of his continued innocence, something clawed at him. Something with the smell of death and an aura of despair reached out. Not the rust, no, no.

Guilt clawed at him.

No, no, no! I am innocent. I played no part in his death.

Yes I did, he snapped back at himself.

No, I cannot possibly have. He slipped!

I goaded him on.

But no, I warned him!

So lost was he in his self-argument that he failed to notice the distant calls of Beyra's aides. One drew close to where he lay, then passed by and faded into silence. An icy gust of wind finally roused him, but by that time, the calls had grown faint and indistinct.

Voices? A meeting? Where? When?

He presumed that the lot had reconvened at the tall building- the shadow of the rain. Uncertain of what, exactly, he was supposed to do, he scurried down the cracked steps of the apartment and darted out into the empty street. The freezing wind lashed out and bit at his flanks. Erx yelped and retreated back into the shelter of the doorway, shivering violently.

Eventually, he noticed how the bus he had slept in but one day before straddled most of the road, providing enough shelter to cross without being exposed to the frigid gale. He scurried across with trepidation, leaping back into shelter with relief. From there, he advanced towards the meeting place of the recent past.

Fifteen minutes later, he stood before the rain-shadow. The streets remained somewhat damp, forming a dark perimeter around the small area of solitude. Erx stepped nervously into the space, searching for signs of the others. Damp paw prints crisscrossed the dry pavement, which suggested a fair umber of curs had recently passed through. He groaned and splayed out on the pavement, weighing his possible actions. The minutes slipped past without any luck.

The faint squeaking sound of metal on stone echoed down the streets. The collie snapped his head back up, sensing a trio of figures in the distance with his uncanny sight, one of which was much smaller than the other two. They approached at a leisurely pace, although one of the larger figures seemed rather agitated, given its jerky motions and hurried pace. After some time, they eventually managed to draw close enough to be seen by natural sight.

One of the dogs appeared to have what Erx could only assume were spectacles balanced in front of its eyes and a hat perched atop its head, something which he had noticed but never bothered to investigate. The ancient Great Dane moved slowly and awkwardly, which he presumed to be the symptom of its old age. A small gray bird resided atop its shoulder, which remained still even as the bespectacled dog lurched and slipped on the wet pavement.

"H-hello?" called Erx tersely.
"Oh? Is there someone out there?" cried the old dog. "I say, who are you?"
"E-Erx."
"Oh, well this is just smashing! My name's Kingston, if you didn't know. Did you see the sunset? Ashby and I were watching when we were told of some urgent gathering! Us two meandered down here to find ourselves dreadfully late."
"I cameh late, too."
"What's that? Speak up, boy! I can hardly hear you."
"I said, I came lateh, too."
"Oh dear, oh dear. Well, my friend here claims he knows where we're to be heading off to. Might you come along?"
"I 'aven't anywhereh else to go."
"Well then-"
"Good," snapped the aide, cutting off Kingston's speech. "Beyra's expecting you lot. This way."

Erx rose up to walk alongside the small party, glancing uneasily at the claws of metal affixed to Kingston's forepaws. They appeared clean, although the rain had its ways of washing the blood from the steel.

Just like the twisted metal, shuddered Erx.

"What's the matter, fellow? Oh, you're probably confused by my unusual appearance, yes? It's an awkward subject, I'm afraid. The years have been getting to me, and this is what I'm stuck with."
"Like thoseh'- those wheels on yourh' hind legs?"
"Oh, yes, yes, just a bit of a handicap. I live with it. We all have to live with our little troubles, no?"

They fell silent for a long while.

"K-Kingston?"
"Yes?"
"Do you know'h what's goingh' on?"
"Now? Well, from what the guide's told me, we're going to hunker down together for the night! There's a dreadful cold in the air- I feel like I'm ten years old already. Then we'll just wait for morning and we can get right back to our business."
"Ah."

After a while, the guide stopped and motioned for the two to enter a large, low building through a gap that must have once been filled by glass. Soft murmurs, drained of life and vigor, echoed from inside. Erx cautiously entered first, drifting deeper inside to escape the cold. Kingston paused and turned to Ashby.

"He's quite the sorry lad, isn't he?"