Barking
By
Joshua Scribner
“The barking came from somewhere upstairs and woke me up. I don’t usually like to complain, but I paid a lot of money for this resort, and there’s supposed to be no pets.”
Tom nodded at the bathrobe-clad man.
“I’ll take care of it, sir.”
He moved to the stairs, where his radio beeped. He took it from his belt as he continued to walk.
“Go ahead.”
“Tom, are you in building five?”
“You found me.”
“Good. You’re not going to believe this.”
Tom quickly turned the radio off, and when he reached the second floor, a woman in a nightgown came rushing toward him. She was frantic with anger.
“What are they doing here?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, ma’am.”
“Very funny! What are you going to do about them?”
Tom was supposed to be as polite as possible to the guest. Anything short of that could cost him his job.
“Ma’am, I’m very sorry, but I’m just not sure what you mean.”
She sighed. “I mean the pack of dogs that are barking.”
“Barking?”
“Yes, barking.”
“Right now?”
“Did I speak in the past tense?”
“No, ma’am.”
He looked at her. She was very serious.
“Where’s the barking coming from, ma’am?”
She growled and pointed up.
He nodded. “Of course. I’ll take care of it.”
Tom was very glad to reach the stairs. He got to a quiet third floor and used his radio to call the main office.
“Sorry to cut you off, but there was an incident. Things are kind of crazy here.”
“I’d say. Do you have your gun?”
“No, just my taser.”
“That should do. I called the police. Animal control is on the way. Be careful.”
A door burst open down the hall and another woman in a nightgown came out. She was hyperventilating. Tom rushed to her.
“Are you okay?”
She struggled to get words through her breath. “Saw you through the peephole. Get me out of here before they come back!”
“Before who comes back?”
“The wolves.”
“Wolves?”
“Yes, there’s a pack of wolves running around this floor. Oh my God! Here they come!”
She pulled his taser from his belt. She aimed it down the hall and backed away. It was so obvious that she thought she saw something that he looked to make sure nothing was there. He looked back at her.
“Ma’am, the hall is empty. Now please give that back!”
She darted away from him and down the staircase.
Tom would have given chase, but he heard shouting come from above. He rushed up the stairs, and just before he got to the next floor, he ran into a man coming around the corner. He used one hand to catch himself on the rail and the other to catch the man. The man looked up at him and whimpered.
“Please don’t kill me! You can make me one of your kind if you want, but don’t kill me.”
“What?”
“Please don’t kill me! I like werewolves.”
Tom felt bad for the man and let him go. The man scampered down the stairs and out of sight.
Tom thought out loud. “It gets weirder as I go up. I’m glad the fourth floor is the top.”
He moved onto the fourth floor, where a woman was standing in the hall, outside her door, smoking a cigarette.
“Sorry,” she said. “I know I’m not supposed to smoke in a public building, but it’s been a rough night.”
“Ma’am, you’re the first rational person I’ve seen since the first floor. Smoke the whole pack if you want.”
She laughed like she was exasperated. “That’s my fault.”
Tom looked hard at her. She was pale and tired looking.
“You did this?”
“No, I didn’t do it. It’s my fault, though.”
She took a big drag from her cigarette before continuing.
“This is going to sound crazy, but maybe you saw enough madness on the way up here that you’ll be able to believe me.”
“I’m listening.”
“Okay. My son was traumatized at a very young age and has severe brain damage. Well, they say damage, but I don’t know. I mean, look what his mind can do to other people.”
Tom nodded.
“He takes medication once at night and once in the morning. It keeps his mind calm. I guess, in the excitement of the vacation, I forgot to give him his last dose, so his mind has been rushing all night. My mind has built up a resistance to his by now, but the closer anyone else was to him last night....”
“The crazier they would be this morning.”
“Right.”
Tom looked around. The top floor was usually the last to fill up. This lady, her son, and the man he had run into on the stairs were probably the only ones on this floor last night.
“I woke up early and gave him his medicine, so he’s calm now, and the effects on the other people will wear off soon.”
Tom peeped around her, into her room, and saw a little boy sitting on the floor. He looked calm, almost lifeless.
“Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking, what was it that happened to him?”
She laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? I mean, think of a child’s mentality. Think of all the dogs. What would his mind be protecting him from?”
“I have no idea.”
She laughed again and then sobbed. “He had a severe allergic reaction.”
“Oh,” Tom said, feeling a little stupid. “He’s allergic to cats.”