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I sat alone. I sat and waited. Something I've been told I'm good at.
She would tell me to sit, and so I would. I would sit and I wouldn't move. And after a while, she'd come back with a treat in her hand. She would take it out from behind her back. Sometimes I would get so excited I would walk right up to her; apparently that was bad. That was bad behavior. So, we'd try again. She told me to sit. I would sit. She would take her treat out. I wouldn't move.
"Good boy, Brutus!" She would exclaim, happy as can be, as she moved the treat to my mouth. I would eat it out of her hand. I would be rewarded for being good. And I was good at sitting. But most importantly, I was good at making her happy.
Susie.
Her name was Susie, I quickly learned. Her parents would call her name and she would respond to it with pure joy. She was always like that. She was a happy girl. I wondered if I made her happy. She told me I did. I was not used to making people happy.
I sat alone.
Kid's cove, I quickly learned the name of this place to be. I guess this is a place of the pizzeria specifically made for kids. That makes sense, as it's usually kids who are over here, aside from the occasional responsible parent who's supervising their kid. I don't know why people think it's safe to leave kids around these machines. But either way, this was my job now. My job was no longer to protect Susie and make her happy. I guess my job now was to make other kids happy.
These kids would hurt me.
Susie didn't hurt me like these kids did. They would rip me apart, tear me apart, crush parts of me, just completely take me apart for fun. It's not their fault, they mean no harm, they're just kids. They don't understand how rough they are being. It's not their fault, I won't get mad. I won't get mad. I won't get mad at them. It's not their fault.
Getting mad was something I did too often. Whenever somebody new would take me home from the shelter, I would be so good. I was so happy to finally be picked, how could I not be good? But then my ugliness would show.
I would start feeling irritable. Angry and aggravated with my owners. If they touched me, I'd bark. If they did it again, I'd bite. I've bitten more than once.
I guess they scared me.
I've been to the pound more times than I can count. People would take me home. I would take it for granted and get ugly. They would be horrified. Terrified, they would send me back. Over and over and over again; it was impossible to count exactly how many times that cycle had repeated itself in my life. It was all I knew.
Until her.
Susie was different. She loved me. She loved me unconditionally. She gave me a name: Brutus. Her parents tried to encourage her to name me something different, like princess, or cupcake, but she insisted on Brutus. She liked that name. Thinking back, I do too. I've had a lot of names over my lifetime. This one felt special to me. This one felt.. Like me. I was Brutus.
I bit her. More than once, I am truly ashamed. I guess she scared me. She would stroke my fur coat so gently. So gently, I wonder how, at any point, it ever scared me. She bled every time. She cried every time. But not because of the bite. She cried for me. She would beg her parents not to send me back to the pound, even though they wanted to. It was only a matter of time before I truly snapped and mauled the girl to death, they said. But Susie didn't stop crying. She could hardly beg them anymore through all her tears. She was terrified. I was too. For the same reason she was. I didn't want to go back.
They let me stay. I worked on my behavior after that.
There were great improvements. I rarely barked after that. I rarely nipped. Hell, I rarely even jumped up on furniture unless I was explicitly invited. I was a good dog. I was proud of myself for being a good dog. But most importantly, I was proud of Susie. I protected her from anything and everything. She was my world, and I was willing to do anything for her.
But I failed.
It was a restaurant she enjoyed going to called Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. She loved this place a lot, I knew. While she was walking me down the streets, she would turn and look at these restaurants and she would talk about how she wanted to go there again soon. She really liked these places. Her parents allowed her to go quite often; why wouldn't they? She was a good kid. Always polite, always had manners, always kind. Of course, they would spoil her. But they had one rule for her, and one rule for me.
Her rule was to always bring me to these restaurants with her so I could protect her if anything happened to her. She never broke this rule.
...I'm afraid I broke mine.
A newly installed arcade section of the restaurant was recently added, and Susie was very, very excited about it. She wanted nothing more than to go and play these games. But when she tried to enter these areas, she was stopped by security. They would point at me and motion for her to get out, or they would point at the sign. No animals allowed. She would have to tie my leash to a pole somewhere outside.
I didn't want to go.
I whined and sat on the ground, causing her to need to pull my leash with all her strength to get me over to a bench that was just outside the pizzeria. I didn't stop whining, I vocalized how upset I was. I needed to stay with her so I could protect her if anything happened, but she just shushed me and told me she'd be back. She took her jacket off and put it on my back, figuring the cold was what might have been bothering me. I shook her jacket off and just continued whining. She sighed and walked away.
I angrily huffed in defeat, and plopped down on the ground, next to the worn-down wooden bench. I was anxiously waiting for her to get back, but over time, I seemed to have calmed my own nerves. I don't know how long it was, but she was spending a long time in these arcades. She bought a special bookbag filled with coins, pennies, nickels, and the like, all for these arcades. She must have been having the time of her life.
But then I noticed someone.
A man. A man with shaggy brown hair that was beginning to grey, and he was wearing a purple vest. I noticed a lot of people wearing purple vests around this pizzeria, I assume that's the outfit the staff and employees of this restaurant wear to signify their authority. He walked up to me, and put his hand near my neck. If this were back then, I would have mauled his hand to meat paste right then and there, if not for the kindness Susie had showed me.
I wish that I did.
"Brutus." The man said under his breath assumingly to himself, lifting up the shiny gold button that was hanging from a strip of metal connected to the pink collar covered in hearts that Susie had given me. I didn't know what he was doing, but I had a feeling deep in my gut that he was bad. I let out a low, raspy growl to get my message across that I wanted to be left alone. It didn't seem to phase him, as he unclipped my leash from the pole I was tied to, and forcefully dragged me towards the back-alley of the restaurant. I was barking and growling, but nobody seemed to notice. Or, if they did, they didn't care.
He dragged me through the back door of the restaurant and dragged me down the hall. There didn't seem to be any employees around to stop him from breaking the no animals inside the pizzeria rule, only kids who, of course, didn't care. He opened the door to the back room and tossed me inside.
I very quickly got up and ran towards the door, but it was shut too quickly for me to successfully escape. I clawed and barked and whined at the door, but nobody let me out. I was terrified, and my legs began to tremble (although that was more in anger than fear). Where was I? Why did he do that? Why was I taken away from Susie? Oh god, where is Susie? How long will I be in here for? Will I ever be let out?
The horrible thoughts stirring in my mind were enough motivation for my claws to continue striking at this door with enough force to break it down hadn't it been made of metal. After a while, my paws began to sore, and the realization that my struggling was futile kicked in. I padded over to the back of the room and laid down, thinking about Susie and how I'll maul the man that put me in here once I get out.
I never got out.
And I never mauled that man.
I don't know long I was trapped in that tiny little room. It felt like years to me, but realistically, it was probably only a few hours at least. I was beginning to think that I'd never see Susie again. Until I did.
I heard her, and she was crying. She was hiccing and it sounded like she was trying to breathe. She must have been sobbing a little while ago, but I heard her ask somebody a question.
"Is he in here?" The girl asked sadly but with hope at the same time, her voice raspy and cracking every so often.
She came for me! I knew she would! I stood up and ran towards the door, and I heard an answer before it was opened. "He sure is! Just go right on in and reunite with your best friend Brutus."
Something in that voice made me feel sick.
However, I had little time to think about it, because I was mostly focused on the fact that I was about to see my favorite girl in the whole entire world. I jumped up on the door in excitement, ready to tear it down with my bare teeth if I had to, but when it was opened by the man, I was knocked down. I very quickly spun around back on my paws, and there she was. My human. My favorite human.
"Brutus!" She cheerfully exclaimed, throwing her arms out for a hug. I wasted absolutely no time running and jumping up into her arms, licking her in the face, which earned a few "ew"s from her, that were directly followed by laughter.
I am ashamed to admit that I was too happy to see her again that I failed to notice the man had now entered the room and shut the door, locking it.
After a few seconds of giving her all the kisses in the world, I hopped down. Then I noticed.
The man who had bought her to me was tall, or, at least, the suit he was wearing made him appear tall. It was a yellow rabbit costume with a purple bowtie, decorated with star and polka-dot patterns. I had seen this yellow rabbit character before, I remember clearly. I would see him up on stage all the time, but he was an animatronic. This was a man. And something told me he was the same man that threw me in here. Why would he throw me in here, take me away from Susie, only to bring her back to me?
I had a very, very bad feeling.
My bad feeling was only amplified once I noticed him reaching for something behind his back.
I sat alone. I sat and waited. Something I've been told I'm good at.
I remained in Kid's Cove. I am stuck here, now. Like a bad dog is stuck in the pound. I've been sent here because I was a bad dog. I didn't do what I should have; I didn't do what a good dog would have done.
I didn't protect Susie.
I stood in front of her, growling the deepest, loudest, and sharpest growl I've ever let out in my entire life. I held my head low, baring my sharp teeth, the fur on my back raised. Susie laid on the floor behind me, shaking and crying. She was holding her side, wincing in pain as it gushed a little bit of blood. She was horrified of the situation she was in. The situation the man I failed to protect her from put her in.
I wasn't quick enough to stop him from stabbing Susie in the rib with his knife, but I was, fortunately, quick enough to stop him from pulling it out, which would have caused her to bleed to death without a doubt. That was all I managed to do, though. Growling and threatening him didn't work.
I don't consider myself a violent dog anymore, that goes without question. But all my fear and anger came back, and suddenly, I felt like a shelter dog again. I jumped at the man, biting down on his arm with all the force I could muster up. It was useless, I knew. He was wearing a metal costume. Still, though, I had to try. He shrieked in surprise, and swinging his arm around to try and get me off only helped me tear a bit of the metal off of the suit more effectively. He raised his knife and stabbed me in my eye.
Whimpering, I fell to the ground. I think Susie screamed at seeing me get hurt in such a way, but I couldn't exactly hear her. He ripped the knife out of my bloodied socket, bringing my eyeball with it. I bled out of my eyeless hole, blood dripping down my snout, covering my teeth. My vision in my remaining eye started going hazy, so I could barely see, but that wasn't going to stop me from protecting my human. I would die trying, that, I am sure.
I, very wobblily, ran over to the man and bit his ankles as hard as I could. I wouldn't be able to jump up and hit him where it'd hurt, so I focused on destabilizing him. My hope was that I could get him to fall, and Susie could escape and get help. I didn't mind if I died for that. I was willing to die for her, because she was so worthy of a life.
But she couldn't, and she didn't. She didn't leave me there. She was frozen. I can't blame her, exactly. She's just a kid. She's just a kid who wanted a good day at her favorite pizzeria and arcade. She shouldn't be witnessing this; this shouldn't be happening to her!
I bit and pulled on the metal our cowardly attacker was wearing, causing him to stumble and fall. Once he was down, I took that as an opportunity to try my best to maul him. Tear his suit up so I can get to his flesh and really hurt him. Maybe even kill him, if I was lucky. He was stabbing me in my stomach. I didn't care. I didn't react. I'm not sure I even felt it.
But all it took was one more jab for me to finally fall. My shaking legs gave out and buckled, and with a thud, I was on the ground. Helpless and defenseless. I still wanted to fight, but it doesn't work like that. Life doesn't care what you want.
The man was still on top of me, his knife still in my stomach. He twisted it and yanked it out very roughly. I yelped in pain, the worst pain I have ever felt, the blood from my eye injury that dripped down into my mouth being spat up all over the walls, ground, and on Susie.
I faded in and out of consciousness after that. I wasn't exactly dead yet; But I was well on my way. I couldn't think, but I could hear. I heard Susie wailing in pain. He was hurting her. He was killing her. And I can't do anything about it. I've failed to protect her when all she ever did was protect me.
I died shortly after.
I sat alone. I sat and waited. Something I've been told I'm good at.
I had lost count of how many days had passed me by as I've been stuck here long long ago. I had learned to accept it, but I was not happy with it. I couldn't be happy.
Like a bad dog gets stuck in the pound, I am a bad dog who gets stuck in Kid's Cove. Like a bad dog gets stuck in the pound, I am a bad dog who got stuck in a robot.
After he murdered me, I was hid in a bag and stuffed in a part of the pizzeria. Kid's Cove must have been where I was hid away. But I was determined. This wasn't the end. This couldn't be the end. He hurt Susie. That won't be the end. I won't let it be.
Like moths to a flame, I to nothing less than a killing machine. Four rows of sharp, metal fangs, claws, wires.. Everything. It was perfect for me.
It was perfect for him. And it was perfect for anybody like him. If I couldn't save Susie, I was going to save any other kid I could.
So I did what I've been told I'm good at. I sat and waited.
I would entertain the kids who wandered into my room. The robot I possessed was already extremely mangled and broken, so the kids would try and put me back together, give up, mess me up even worse than I already was for fun, laugh, and then leave. It was humiliating, yes, but they were having fun. I was glad that they were having fun. It made me happy. Happy like I was when I would make Susie happy. I liked making kids happy.
But that time is over. I see no kids anymore. They're all too scared of me. All I wanted to do was help. I was trying to protect them. I wanted to protect them the way I failed to protect Susie.
Maybe I will always be a bad dog.
I hardly remember my thought process. What was I thinking, I can not tell you. I just acted on impulse. I don't think I did the right thing. But I couldn't stop myself. I was no longer myself. I was just the big scary monster they saw in me. I was a shelter dog.
It was a private birthday party for a little girl. She wanted her birthday to be at Freddy Fazbear's. There was a man in the room with her. He worked here. He had darker skin than the man that hurt me, and his hair was more blonde. I didn't trust him. I crawled up the walls onto the ceiling and I made my way into the main room, and I watched him. I didn't take my eye off of him. My endo-skeleton head who likes to be called Eddie didn't take his eye off him, either. I know now he was innocent; I didn't care about that at the moment when I saw him put his hands on her.
He was being friendly, I realize now. She drew all the animatronics on stage: Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie. And she just wanted to show it to him. He told her it was great and he patted her on the back. It filled me with anger. He can't touch her. I won't let anybody here touch a kid ever again.
I didn't think about nor consider the consequences. I didn't care what would happen to me, and I certainly didn't care what would happen to him.
I didn't think that I was a bad dog anymore, but I am. I am still a bad bad dog.
Jumping between the girl and the man, I did the only thing I've ever known how to. I bite. I bit down on his head as hard as I possibly could. I forgot the kid was there, it's just like I lost control of myself. I only had one motive: Protect the kid. I didn't care what I had to do to get that. I was willing to give up everything.
I made a mistake.
A gross putrid crunch followed by a popping noise followed my bite, and with a sudden gasp from the man, he was on the ground, having what I assume to be a seizure. There is a puddle of blood by his head, and his face is covered in blood from where I bit his forehead. I look around on the ground some more, and then I see it. I bit a part of his brain off. I bit his frontal lobe off.
The girl was screaming in absolute terror. I've traumatized her for life, I am sure, and the parents were absolutely disgusted. The dad went up and grabbed his daughter; the mom puked on the floor. I was a monster, they said.
I am a monster.
My knowledge about what happened to that man is very limited, but I know he survived. You can live without your frontal lobe, just.. Not very well. He was hospitalized and left severely mentally disabled.
I wonder what has become of me. I started out a violent, biting, irrational dog, and I am still a violent, biting, irrational dog. Will I ever get a second chance? Will I ever have a chance to be a good dog? Will I ever have a second chance with Susie? Will I ever be better?
I doubt it. This is exactly how I started. I'm going to die how I was born. A monster, alone in a cold, dark room with nobody to care for or love me. I lay my mangled, twisted and broken in every way imaginable body on the ground, and I think. I think about Susie. How is she? I hope she found peace, paradise, perhaps warmth. I hope she's happy. It's what she deserves. I think about the girl at the birthday party. I hope, somehow, she knows I was trying to save her. I hope she recovers from this trauma and it doesn't affect her too harshly. I think about the innocent man I bit. I hope he has someone to take care of him while he's in the hospital.
I think about myself. I hate myself. Why am I like this? Why was I given everything I've ever wanted, only for it to be taken away? I was a good dog once. I had a good life. Why do I now have nothing? Had I deserved this?
I don't think I'll ever know.
So, yeah, like bad dogs get sent to the pound, I get sent to Kid's Cove. I am a bad dog.
I sat alone. I sat and waited. Something I've been told I'm good at.
No kids came to visit me. No kids came to look at me. No kids even came to laugh at my condition. I am all alone. It's been days. Nobody is coming for me. I think this place was closed down, I am all alone now.
I figure I will be sent to the scrap soon. I'll be broken down, more so than I already am, and I'll be used for parts to make better, safer machines. Was I a bad dog? I only did what I thought was right. I only tried to help. I only wanted to help.
I sat alone, but this time, I am not waiting on anything. There is nothing I am good for.