Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 207: Helpless Reality

Jennie didn't dally and quickly opened the small bottle. A piece of paper was written on the cap with words that say: Bleeding Salve.

She scooped the greenish-red paste with two fingers and applied it on top of the cut wound.

The mutated dog trembled every time she applied the ointment, but it never pulled away nor created noise. It silently endured the stinging sensation coming from the treated wound.

Jennie bit her lips furiously when she realized that the vertical cut was at least one foot long and a few inches deep. It was also around the foreleg portion which prevented the mutated dog from placing the injured leg down.

If it chose to use its injured leg, the pressure from its body weight would hasten the opening of the wound and would cause much severe bleeding.

She etched those two vulgar faces (for her) in her memory and swore that she would teach them a lesson.

When her gaze met with the mutated dog, she smiled and masked her anger with a cheerful expression.

"Auu? Auu, aau?...(Are you okay? It must hurt a lot, right?)"

"Ah! Au! Auu...(Hey! Don't close your eyes! I think its bad omen to close your eyes when you're like this.)"

"Auu? Au...(Are you also by yourself? Like me...)"

Jennie continued chatting nonsensical topics with the mutated dog. Sometimes she even wondered whether it could even understand her, especially with the weird sounds coming out from her mouth.

At one point while she was talking endlessly, the mutated dog closed its eyes which caused her to panic. Thankfully, its chest was still heaving up and down indicating that it's still breathing.

Jennie wiped the tear that almost fell from the corner of her eyes and sighed deeply. 

'Was it tired? Do I need to hunt carriers for it? Should I feed it something?'

Jennie had a lot of questions in mind. It was the first time she cared for something else for the past few days. Normally, she extracted herself from communicating with others because she hates it when she gets treated as handicapped. It only worsens her mood, so he decided not to talk to anyone. Besides, people who talk to her always have hidden motives. Sometimes appearance could lead to trouble if you don't have the capability to secure yourself.

Jennie scanned his dimensional storage and found a few Giant Rats she hid on a corner to be used for later trades. Despite the Giant Rat outbreak from the mines, meat was still a scarce food resource.

An excellent grade Giant Rat with little to no damage could sell for at least two to three thousand credit points. Its hide would be processed to leather while its meat would be sold or served as rat steak or kebab. The bones could be sold at Black Haven Marketplace and would be ground, turning it into bonemeal or additional strengthening material for the forging process which adds +1 Endurance.

Jennie knew nothing about that since she focused on adjusting her movements with her speed. Most of her stats were poured solely into Speed which resulted in her becoming The Blur. She only needed to get velocity, then slam the dagger into the carrier's neck or eye to kill them.

When she meets D1's she would only distract it until others killed it via bow or crossbow. When she encounters an H1? She runs away while making sure that she lures it in the process. This is why the police treat Jennie as an important asset in operations.

She picked an already cooked Giant Rat and placed it in front of the mutated dog. With the new smell wafting its way through its senses, the mutated dog weakly opened its eyes. It saw the cooked Giant Rat in front of it, but instead of gobbling it immediately, it turned and faced Jennie in confusion.

"Aa, auu. (It's yours, you can eat it.)"

The mutated dog sniffed the Giant Rat as if trying to see whether something was wrong with it. After several seconds, due to hunger of feeling weak, it gobbled the Giant Rat in one bite.

It chewed a few times, creating a series of bones crackling which raised Jennie's curiosity. 'Would it spat the bones out?'

The answer was... it didn't!

After chewing repeatedly, the rat bones were crushed into smaller sizes and the mutated dog gulped down the whole Giant Rat without spitting anything out.

'Ohh!' Jennie exclaimed after getting her curiosity satisfied.

As she continued to watch the mutated dog, she was surprised to see that vitality returned into its gaze. It even tried getting up but was prevented by Jennie due to its injured leg.

Then she was further shocked when she witnessed the mutated dog test whether it could lay its left leg flat on the ground. It was able to do so but only for a second before having to raise it again. Unlike carriers who can convert energy into immediate healing, the mutated dog only received slow regeneration after it converted its energy.

Jennie clapped enthusiastically after seeing the drastic change in the mutated dog's condition. She sent a thumbs up and congratulated the dog even though she only produced weird sounds.

The mutated dog turned towards her while limping. Then it started to growl while emitting a murderous aura.

Jennie tilted her head while frowning. She felt something weird. It was like she could feel the seething anger of the mutated dog as it cursed the humans it once served. She could even feel the disappointment and hatred burning inside its heart.

Jennie didn't shy away from those feelings but embraced it.

The sadness, the fear, the anger.

At one point in getting drowned with the intense feelings that washed upon her, she started crying.

Because both of them were alike.

Both looking for their place in this world filled with loneliness.

Assumes that they found the right place, then gets betrayed by their expectations.

In the end, they could only blame themselves for hoping in something unrealistic. With their glaring flaws, who would love them?

She watched as the mutated dog's mouth opened wide and inched closer in a flash. Her eyes naturally closed as she felt her whole body relaxed. 

'Please don't be sad anymore.' 

Jennie wished for the dog's happiness as tears continued to fall on the corners of her eyes. She waited endlessly but the dagger-like teeth she was waiting for didn't come.

As streams continued to flow down on her cheeks, a disgusting, rotten smell engulfed her together with a rough gelatinous sensation.

When Jennie opened her eyes, she saw the mutated dog sitting upright in front of her. Its murderous aura from earlier was gone and turned into goofiness. It stuck its tongue out while breathing repeatedly.

Jennie stared at the mutated dog and smiled warmly, she then said, "Auu. An aau aa? (It stinks. What have you been eating?)"

Jennie exited the public bathroom in one of the comfort rooms. She took a shower then changed to a set of new casual clothes.

In the distance, the mutated dog could be seen swimming on the water. When it saw Jennie come out from the comfort room, it hurriedly went ashore.

Its wet paws climbed the edge of the docks and pulled its body to the other side. Its body rained with water as it successfully climbed to the other side. Its black fur hung low due to getting drenched, so it shook its body and sent forth sprinkled of water around.

The mutated dog barked and ran towards Jennie. She noticed that the ointment she applied earlier was washed away, so she decided to apply another one on the injury.

The two went towards a nearby car where Jennie could comfortably sit down. After applying the ointment, she took her scarf to cover the wound, so the ointment would not fall. Much to her disappointment, the scarf was a bit too small for the dog's leg. She then chose to use her earlier shirt to cover the wound and tied it simply.

They roamed around the market and it was a calm stroll since the clearing group already swept this area. After spending some time together, Jennie bade farewell when night finally came. She still had to report back or the people back at the station would probably get worried.

It never crossed her mind to take the dog back home since she doesn't know whether it has an owner. Although she really wanted to, she could only wait for a few days to make sure that it's on its own.

For the next few days, she kept her eyes and ears wide open for anyone who might have lost their tamed dog. When she was sure that it was really an ownerless dog, she happily thought that she would keep the dog.

She spent the night camping outside together with the mutated dog at the public market parking area. She made a campfire and the two watched the stars in the sky.

With her body leaning on the soft body of the mutated dog, she narrated excitedly about her plans for tomorrow. If by tomorrow, she still doesn't found someone looking for a lost dog, she would adopt and take it as her own.

The mutated dog appeared nonchalant as it continued to chill while listening to the numerous sounds that could only be heard in the evening. On its eyes, there was a glint of excitement together with reluctance, pondering whether its expectations and hopes would be dashed once again.

"Auu? Ao. (Are you sure you don't have an owner? Can you talk? Do you even understand me? Haa...)"

The mutated dog closed its eyes as if about to sleep. Jennie shrugged upon seeing that and talked with herself.

'Tomorrow... I'll give you a name tomorrow.'

The next day, the sun rose up and the sky has slightly turned blue.

Jennie was sure that there was no one looking for their missing dog. Also, the clearing operation announced was divided into two since the remaining places to be cleared were mostly subdivisions and a few barangays.

Jennie became ecstatic when one of the areas to be cleared for today was near her home and since the clearing operation started quite early in the morning, she had no time to visit her soon to be pet dog.

Present time.

Jennie pushed the black metal gate and entered the yard. A small garden with a small nipa hut at the center welcomed her. The massive tamarind tree next to it provided shade for everything nearby.

There were three buildings inside the fenced area. The main house, a sari-sari store facing the road, and the garage.

With once glance, she already knew that the place was empty. The reality that she had been ignoring the whole time presented itself to her. Her father was a doctor and works in the capital city, Manila. Her mother was a teacher who teaches high school students at a nearby public high school.

She looked around and noticed that there were no cars in the garage. Without bothering to enter the house, she left with a shed of tear about to fall off in the corner of her eyes.

On the distance, the clearing team met with a troublesome two-meter tall white-furred house cat.