“The Rise of Zeus – Chapter II (Pt 4)”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

BASIL (cont.)

A hand appears on my shoulder.

“Are you alright?” the man repeats.

This time, my voice works a bit better. “Uh huh.”

Slowly—and quite painfully, I might add—I push myself upright. With a strained sigh, I sit back and rub my chin.

The man crouches down in front of me. His lips move, but I’m only focused on the small brown and black lump of fur cradled in his arms.

“You caught Biscuit,” I say, staring at the dog who’s quite happily licking the man’s cheek.

“Ah, is that this cutie’s name?” the man asks, smiling down at her. “It seems fitting.”

I almost shout “CUTIE?! That dog’s the devil!!” but I restrain myself. If this man adopts Biscuit, then I won’t have to deal with her anymore.

But my hopes are shattered when the man holds Biscuit out to me. “Here you go,” he says.

“Oh. Are you not wanting to adopt a dog? Biscuit really seems to like you.”

He tilts his head, looking at Biscuit. “Well, she certainly is cute, but I was looking for something a bit bigger.”

“Ah, I see.” I reluctantly take back Biscuit, trying my best not to look her in the eye; that just makes her more aggressive. “Would you like me to show you some of our bigger dogs then?”

“Actually,” the man says abruptly, “on second thought, I’d like to spend some more time with little Biscuit here.

Final Comments: I feel like I need to have more descriptors of ‘the man’ and also different ways of saying ‘the man’ other than ‘the man’…

Overall Rating: 🤣