Chapter 48: Dog problems

Jin smirked. He got away from the chasers. All thanks to Laevateinn. Who knew a sword he couldn't wield could be so helpful to him?

He was in a strange yard. He had to get out; lest the chasers see him on the other side of the barbed wire fence. Laevateinn would not distract them for too long.

His mask had disappeared. His face was pale. He rubbed his forearms. Frost smoke escaping his parted lips, and fleeing his nostrils. He was amidst someone's backyard.

And there was yet another fence before him. Except that this one was wooden. He approached the wooden fence. He looked around; left and right. Good. Nothing.

He turned to the fence again.

He placed his hands atop the fence, and began to pull his body up. He slowly ascended. Then he found himself at the top. He rested his behind atop the breadth of the fence. His legs dangled loosely, hanging from the top of this fence.

And finally, he dropped down to his feet. Easy enough. A mild noise sounded as his feet collided with the floor. He was in yet another backyard. He dusted off his hands. Clasping palms together. Dust left his hands. These people needed to clean their fences.

He began to walk to the other fence at the other side of the property.

When suddenly, he started to hear an anomalous growl. He looked down at his stomach. He placed a hand on it. No—it wasn't Belle Tummy begging for food. It was something else.

If it was not his stomach, what else could it be? He slowly raised his head. Only to see a dog in front of him.

Silence as the two different animals paused.

The dog perceived the intruder's scent. It was awoken from its slumber by it. Jin's scent entered its nostrils. Intruder—and clearly he didn't see the 'beware of the dog' sign. It could even smell blood on him. This wasn't just any dog. It was a Rottweiler!

The dog's eyes glowed fiercely. Its face began to scrunch in aggression. Its face twisted. Contorting. Its mouth slowly opened, revealing its monstrous rows of teeth. Then came its series of growling.

Jin cursed. "Shit…" his tone was as low as can be.

The dog's growls sounded even louder. Jin quickly placed a finger against his lips. "Shhhhh…" but his efforts to hush the dog were to no avail. It only made matters worse.

The dog went from growling, to snarling at him. It was then that he wished he hadn't trashed the baseball bat.

The dog then pounced toward Jin. He quickly sidestepped. The dog missed his body. Using profound agility, the dog turned to Jin again. It gnashes its formidable teeth at him like a shark.

Jin could only run. He darted off. The dog chased, with a powerful bark. He had to make it to the other side of the fence. And fast!

Somehow, the dog had seized his calf with its teeth. Its canines sunk into his pants, then his flesh. Jin almost fell with the placed weight on his right calf. He quickly steadied.

[HP: 7/15]

The dog then started to munch on the flesh of his calf. It shook its body, pulling backward while gripping the calf. Its growls trailed off when it sunk its teeth even deeper than before.

Jin's leg began to spasm. The pain seared. Convulsively, he kicked his leg about in light of freeing it from the dog's draws. His squirming quickened.

The dog had finally lost grip.

It was about to snatch at his flesh again. Jin, gritting his teeth, quickly shot a kick into its face. Its whine trailed off as it went rolling from the impact.

Jin quickly shook off his leg, and made a run for the fence.

The dog ascended to its four legs again. It was more ferocious than ever. It began to run with all its speed. After the intruder!

Jin quickly began to climb the fence as the dog neared him. He began to pull his body up. His feet rose from the ground. He was almost there. His eyes bulged. Just a little more.

Suddenly, the barking dog lunged into the air with the help of its hind legs. It slammed its draws at Jin. Successful in gripping at his shoe.

Jin began to slip back down from the fence. He quickly grasped a baluster. He clenched his teeth. He curled his arms as he pulled his body up even with the dog tugging on his leg.

When his body was held even in a precarious position, he heaved. Then, his brows furrowed. He looked over his shoulder and down at the beast. He used his other leg to smack it to its head. It still held on. He kicked it again. Then again. Another. His shoe slipped off his foot.

Finally, the dog tumbled with the shoe in its mouth. Jin promptly began to pull his body up again. The dog was about to pounce at him once more. After all those kicks, the dog still had strength to continue attacking the intruder.

It leaped into the air. Jin quickly secured both his legs, pulling them higher up the fence such that the dog couldn't reach. The dog leaped into the air and gnashed its draw. Click! Failure. Yet, it tried again. Click! Failure.

It didn't let up.

Jin heaved. He was atop the fence. Safe.

The dog continued to bark from below. Its growls, snarls, and barks louder than ever. Saliva frothed down from its mouth. Its barks reverberated.

The dog's owners put on their lights in the house. They wanted to know why Rouselle was barking so obnoxiously. They couldn't throw it at each other in peace.

As the owner came budging through the back door of the house. Jin tossed his body; collapsing on the other side of the fence.He was flat on his chest, his face against a road.

He caught a breath, and quickly climbed to his feet again.

He was about to make a run for it. When suddenly he began to hear feet coming up the road. The clattering amplified. Shoes colliding with the pitch. He could also hear voices.

From the time he landed eyes upon the group of people, his heart throbbed. It was the chasers. They heard the dog barking and had probably assumed that it was because of him.

They took another route to find him.

"There he is! I told you he would be around here!"

"Now's our chance!"

They all rushed after him. He bolted off. His heartbeats hastened.

He was limping because he had been bitten on the calf by the dog. He was slower than before. His legs were numb. The chasers neared him. At this rate, he knew they would catch up. His mask quickly appeared on his face as he sped up. He neglected the pain.

A shot fired behind him, off by a few inches. The firing of the gun sounded throughout the neighborhood. People began to stupidly put on their lights again.

Jin accelerated again. He quickly took a sharp left, cutting into another street. He looked over his shoulder only to see the gun directed at him. He quickly took a right. Running between buildings. The infrastructure acting as shields.

He found himself at yet another dark alley for the night. He skated on his feet as he halted. A wall was before him. The only way to escape the alley was to turn around. A dead end. And a black cat atop a dumpster.

What would he do now!?