It was dark, the full moon hanging from the sky as the stars twinkled around it, as if attempting to outshine the mass of rock without much success. The streetlights flickered as the crickets chirped their nighttime songs. The silence of the streets of the middle-sized town was no different from any other night. It seemed as though all was well and the night would pass without disturbance, but the sound of a howl broke the silence and crumbled it into tiny shards, cutting into the night like glass.

A raccoon, who had been digging in the trash of one of the many residents, found itself frozen in place. Its beady eyes looked to the left and then the right before it caught sight of it. A big dog headed straight for the raccoon, but did not seem to see the smaller creature as it zoomed by, panting as if it had been running for quite some time. It wasn’t long before a truck came zooming past on the empty street, following the dog and turning a sharp left.

The man driving the car was the dogcatcher. He was very fond of his job and he wasn’t going to let this mutt get away tonight. He’d been chasing the dog for a few months now with no success and was becoming frustrated. The dog didn’t seem to have a home, but had a habit of causing havoc around the neighborhood at night, attacking cats and the sort, and he had had enough of this stupid dog.

His face was red with anger as he parked the car on the side of the road, climbing out with his net and running after the creature. Tonight had to be the night. He could feel it in his bones as they bent. His body picked up speed. A gasp of delight escaped his lips when he managed to catch hold of the dog with his net, a light whimper escaping the creature’s lips.

“Gotcha!” The man exclaimed, dragging the dog to his truck and locking it in a cage. Oh, yes. Tonight had been the night and he’d finally caught that goddamned dog.

1. One

   The Dog