Mar 5, 2025

  W

  literature

  When Animals Attack

  VALLEY DOWNS

  The neighborhood of Valley Downs prided itself on its pristine lawns, family-friendly atmosphere, and tightly knit community. Every evening, middle-class families strolled the sidewalks, kids played in yards, and dog owners waved at each other as they walked their beloved pets.

  Ted and Karen Roberts, unable to have children, adored their little poodle, Tippy. They treated her like their own flesh and blood. And so, when Charles Kline stopped Ted during his usual walk and mentioned the new neighbor, Ted’s world tilted.

  "You didn't hear about the new guy, did ya?" Charles asked.

  "No, what about him?"

  "Well, uh, you know that database that alerts people when a, uh, sex offender moves in?" Charles leaned in, voice lowered. "We got one."

  Ted clenched the leash in his hand.

  "Oh, hell no."

  Charles shrugged. "Now, hold on, Ted. I don’t know exactly what he was convicted of. I just thought you should know."

  That was all Ted needed to hear. He rushed home, storming through the front door.

  "We got a fucking pervert two blocks from where we walk Tippy!" he hollered.

  Karen, halfway through folding laundry, stopped cold. "Oh, no we don’t! Rest assured, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!"

  THE INTRODUCTION

  The next morning, Karen walked Tippy with purpose, spotting the new neighbor—Jacob—walking his own dog. A massive Rottweiler.

  She approached cautiously. "Morning!"

  Jacob, a tall but unassuming man, nodded. "Morning. I’m Jacob, nice to meet you."

  "So, what brings you to Valley Downs?" she asked, fishing.

  Jacob, oblivious, answered honestly. "Well, I was writing for a short film and about three years—"

  Karen had already tuned him out. His dog was yapping, and she had all the information she needed. She hurried home, bursting through the door.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "That fucking pervert says he likes to make movies! Can you believe this shit? He admitted it to me like it was nothing! And the whole time, his beast of a dog was trying to bite me!"

  Ted’s face darkened. "Is that right?"

  He confronted Jacob later that day, masking his anger behind a fake neighborly tone. Jacob, caught off guard, explained he had no idea what people were saying about him.

  "Well, I’m glad we cleared that up!" Jacob said with a nervous chuckle.

  Ted smiled, nodded, then went home fuming.

  THE ESCALATION

  Every day, Karen came back with stories of Jacob’s dog "attacking" her. Ted had enough.

  Late one night, filled with blind rage, he doused Jacob’s doghouse in kerosene and struck a match. The flames roared to life, engulfing the wooden structure. The Rottweiler howled from inside.

  Jacob bolted outside and managed to free his dog before it was too late. The fire department came. The police were called. But no one could prove anything.

  Things settled.

  Until one day, Tippy came home limping.

  She no longer ran to greet Ted and Karen. Instead, she laid around, miserable, shaking.

  There was a long, chilling pause between the couple.

  Then:

  "It was Jacob!" Ted roared. "That piece of garbage trained his dog to rape our dog!"

  Karen’s face twisted in horror. "I bet that sick fuck filmed it, too!"

  That was the last straw.

  THE PLAN

  Ted called an old military buddy, Matt.

  "This pervert moved in, and ever since, our lives have gone to shit. And today? Today was the last straw. That motherfucker raped my dog, goddamnit!"

  Matt spat out his coffee. "You want me to what?!"

  "I want you to rape him."

  Matt blinked.

  "The fuck did you just say?"

  "I said the punishment should fit the crime!" Ted insisted.

  Matt scoffed. "Look, man, I thought you wanted me to throw him a beating or something. But—rape? That’s sick, dude."

  "Oh, get off your goddamn high horse! Don’t forget, I know the shit you pulled overseas!"

  Matt exhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. The past they shared was an unspoken weight.

  "Okay, you sick fuck. I do this, and we’re through. Don’t call me, don’t text me. You’ve changed, Ted."

  Matt drove to Jacob’s house that night, dressed in black, carrying a pistol and... a prophylactic.

  But as he approached, the old wooden porch gave way beneath him. He crashed into an open dumpster, hitting his head.

  When he came to, the walls of the trash compactor were closing in.

  "What the fuck am I doing? This is what I get for all that shit I did overseas..."

  He screamed, but the gears drowned him out.

  His last thoughts were of his wife. His kids.

  And then—

  Nothing.

  THE FINAL STRAW

  Ted was beside himself.

  "That sick fuck killed Matt! That monster killed my best friend and my brother-in-arms!"

  Karen grabbed his face. "Baby, I know how close you two were. But everything was fine until he showed up!"

  Ted’s mind snapped into focus.

  "You’re right. The kids in this neighborhood... this guy is filming himself having inconsequential sex with my poor Tippy! He murdered my best friend! I... I think I have to kill him."

  Karen locked eyes with him.

  "Honestly, sweetheart? I really don’t see another way."

  That was all Ted needed.

  He dusted off his old fatigues, grabbed his M-4, and prepared for war.

  But before he could move—

  BANG. BANG. BANG.

  Jacob was at his front door.

  "Get out here, you asshole! I know that was your friend sneaking around my house! You better knock it the fuck off!"

  Karen gasped. "Oh my God, a threat!"

  Ted smirked. "Yep. I heard it."

  He whispered: "Coax him inside. I need a legal shot."

  Karen put on the performance of a lifetime.

  "Leave us alone, you animal! You violated our poor dog!"

  Jacob looked stunned. "Wait, what?! Now hold on—"

  "Gotcha, motherfucker!"

  Ted unloaded his magazine into Jacob. Thirty-two rounds. Then he reloaded.

  Jacob was long dead.

  THE AFTERMATH

  The trial was swift. The evidence? Overwhelming.

  The fire. The "rape-for-hire" plan. The brutal execution of an innocent man.

  Ted sat smugly in court, looking at the jury.

  ‘Sweet. All upstanding citizens just like me.’

  Then came the verdict.

  "Guilty."

  Ted exploded. "GUILTY?! Are you people fucking stupid?! This asshole raped my dog and tried to have his dog maul my wife! FUCK ALL OF YOU!"

  He was dragged out of the courtroom.

  THE FINAL JUDGMENT

  Prison was not kind to Ted.

  One day, he tried to join a card game.

  "This table is for the Aryan Brotherhood only," a man with a shaved head told him.

  "That’s fine, I can jump in anywhere. Any of you fellas know where the phones are?"

  Then another inmate stood.

  "I heard you liked to rape dogs, you sick fuck."

  Ted’s blood

  ran cold.

  A third man approached with a shiv.

  "Poor dog. Didn’t deserve that."

  The last thing Ted felt was the cold steel sinking into his ribs, over and over.

  His last thought?

  Tippy.