Bad Dog

As was his wont when bored, Miles wandered over to the bookshelf. Something, he thought, to occupy the mind ...

Scanning the titles, he spied a favorite:

Farquharsch's Compendium of Weird Facts

Opening the work to a randomly selected page, Miles came across the following:

It is a weird fact that the Dogwood tree was so named because, in medieval Britain, it was first identified in large numbers in a forest called the Doggen Wold. The legendary Doggen were bipedal dog-like creatures considered cunning and dangerous to humans.

Miles grunted appreciatively at this bit of new knowledge, and realized he had not strolled through the local forests for quite a while. It was a glorious spring day outside, and so he got into his car and drove about twenty miles to walk in a forest he had not yet seen.

Surmounting a rise, he descended into a verdant glade at the bottom of which ran a small brook. It was a beautiful area with the glade surrounded by hardwood trees and dotted with large patches of moss near the brook. The shafts of sunlight lengthened as the afternoon ebbed, and their golden hues invited Miles to enter the trees.

Shortly, too shortly, it seemed to Miles, the light began to fade and the areas between the trees became darker. Looking at the trees, Miles recognized a Dogwood, and grinned. Dame Synchronicity, you are a tease ...

Then he began to feel uneasy. It was not a single Dogwood. All of the trees he could now see ... were Dogwoods. How odd, he thought.

Wanting to dispel the sensation of strangeness, Miles lightheardedly called out, "woof! woof!".

His call was answered by a low, loud growl from behind that made the hair on his neck stand on end. Wondering if a wolf was nearby, Miles slowly turned around.

Miles was horrified by what he saw. Not more than ten feet away, a huge wolf-like creature stood on two legs, some seven feet in height. Its amber eyes were locked onto Miles in a predator's stare. Its muzzle was partially open, and a long tongue emerged with which it licked the flesh around its jaw.

Miles stammered. "Umm ... w-well, you're obviously not a wolf ... not standing like that. Surely you're intelligent ?"

The creature continued to stare, and cocked its head a little.

"I- I guess this a big deal ... the first meeting between a human and your kind!" Forcing a big smile, Miles raised the palm of his hand by way of greeting.

Preternaturally fast, the Dogge leapt forward with a deafening scream and seized Miles' neck with its huge jaws. Miles had only a moment to struggle before the creature bit down, slashing his jugular veins and crushing his spinal cord.

. . .

A couple of months later, a pair of hikers came across Miles' remains and notified the authorities. The park rangers were attentive but did not seem altogether surprised by the remains. Local news carried the story for a day or two, warning of the dangers of wild animals in the forests. And a few years later, some thug vandalized Miles' grave by spraying graffiti on it:

Cave Canem

(END)

a reply to: F2d5thCavv2

That made my neck hair stand, and the title made me chuckle after the read.

Well done

a reply to: Terpene

Thanks Terpene, glad you enjoyed it!

Cheers

Nicely written. Let me "give a dog a bone" and award you a star

I really want to know what the creature was????

Thanks for the read, I enjoyed reading it.
Johnny

@Moon68: Thanks!

@JohnnyAnonymous: The Dogge's description is taken from reports of the "Michigan Dogman".

Glad everyone enjoyed the read

Cheers

Sweet Story.

I love the turn of events... and I can't help but imagine the idea of those 'dog' folk as a "group."

Nice, nice, nice.