The next day was almost spent in a daze. The annoying customer of his was the first thing he had to deal with and once she was done, there was nothing much in the day that followed at all. Of course, the long day was not going to end just at that but nothing else either matters in the long run here.
He just wanted to spend his time with his precious animals and wanted to forget about the weird encounter that happened.
In the afternoon, he was called in to check up on the animals at the local zoo. Taking his bag with him. Mark made his way toward the nearest zoo hurriedly.
Of course, it required huge manpower to set up the zoo and Mark had been so small when it was first established. But he had enough good memories left of the place to have it hold a dear place inside his heart.
Also, it felt really good to spend time here while he still could. There were rumours that it would be shut down due to low funding in recent years.
Mark did his best to help around when he could but sometimes that was not enough. As soon as he pulled into the zoo's parking lot, he was met with the old gatekeeper.
"Mark, can you take a look at the rabbits again? They're making a lot of noise" the old gatekeeper was someone who knew Mark for a long time.
Perhaps ever since Mark had been a child he had been known by the old gatekeeper. The person had still been here when his parents had been alive a long time ago.
He was really someone who could be said to be a friend of his parents.
"I'll check them out but it's likely that they are just horny and in season" Mark joked around. While Mark could joke around with anyone and on any topic, he generally pulled back his more out-there jokes only for the people he was closest with.
Most people were only faced with a cheerful facade of his which confused them to no end and he referred to it like that too. After all, Mark did not want people to butt into his business. Just be polite enough that they stay away and be rude enough that they do not get overly comfortable.
His clients were bad enough when they started harassing him, he did not want anyone else to actually add to this count anytime soon.
"They're always horny. Those devil things. You be careful out there" the old man joked back and Mark just chuckled. It felt good to be able to talk without fearing the need to offend someone.
"I'll be careful" Mark replied cheerfully before he made his way inside the zoo. The rabbits were awfully noisy and it was due to the reason Mark had joked about. It was not like he had expected anything else either.
Once they were taken care of, Mark allowed himself to move around and to check out the other things that existed all around him.
A few more animals later, Mark allowed himself to relax. Now that once things were over and the sun felt as if it was about to set, Mark allowed himself to head toward back home.
He started the car and sped out of the place as fast as he could. While he had a good sleep for the night, there was still weariness in his steps which could be felt in his bones. They ached quite bad and it made his mood take a spiral down.
Mark rubbed his wrist which had a bite mark where one of the wild animals had decided to take a chunk out of his hands but had obviously failed spectacularly. A deep breath later, the car was out of the zoo.
The ride home was filled with thoughts of animals and tomorrow which filled Mark's head with ideas on how to treat these wild animals. Since this was a once in a week thing, he could not really put it off for long at all.
Parking the car in his garage, Mark made his way toward his home. The garage and his home were situated at a distance of a few houses which was impractical but also necessary as his house did not have a built-in space for his car.
As such, this was the closest space he could find and he did not want to change his house at all. It held way too many memories for him as well as his parents for Mark to move out of here any time soon.
With his bag in his hand, Mark made his way back to his house. He took a huge step but then froze when something growled at him.
At first, he thought it was a dog. But only, it felt way too disturbing to be a normal dog in any case. It felt as if something had disturbed the vocal cords of a dog and dragged them through a mesh to present the result.
It felt charring and disturbing to his ears and Mark almost covered his ears.
But he had to look for the dog. He could be hurt badly and that would be too bad if Mark did not save him.
So, Mark diverted from his path against his home and made his way to the side of the neighbourhood. The way of the sound was not clear at all and hence it took Mark way too long to find the source.
As soon as Mark turned the corner, Mark backtracked the corner. He recognised the shadow that was hovering above a still body of what looks like a dog.
Liam, the intruder from his home stood over what could be a dead dog body in the alley with a bloody knife in his hand.
It made Mark's heart pump in fear and Mark wondered what he should do to rectify this situation at all?
Should he even do it anytime? The dog was after all dead and nothing Mark would do here would help out at all. Besides, this person was a lunatic who might even kill Mark if he interfered.
And yet Mark could not allow the dog to lay there because what if the dog was not dead but alive? What if Mar left him here to die and the ghost of the dog came back to haunt him after his death?
What if that was Mark the one down there and no one helped him out despite every chance?
Mark could not leave the dog down there for long or he would be betraying himself in all this. No, Mark had to help out here at all costs.
"Alright, I need a plan here" Mark muttered to himself as he kept an eye. He could see the person observing the paws of the dog, the knife at a ready at all times. Mark felt his breath hitch as he saw the knife way too close to the paw of the dog but nothing teared up.
The more he observed, the better plan formed inside Mark's head.
"I'll be back," Mark whispered to the dog before he left his place and entered a nearby shop to buy a pepper spray.
His plan was not anything great, but it could work well here. It was simple too.
He would use pepper spray to blind the attacker for now while he tried to get the dog's body out. Or at least buy enough time to get the dg standing and run.
He would be taking an unnecessary risk but he felt good about this risk he was taking. It would help him a lot and somehow it felt right.
Mark made his way toward the pair carefully, the spray held ready in his hand and he touched the back of the attacker.
"Take this," Mark sprayed the pepper spray at Liam's eyes just as the person turned their face toward him. There was a cry of outrage on that voice but Mark ignored it as he made his way toward the dog.
The dog looked bad, his fur and body full of blood and Mark gasped in horror.
"What have you done?" There was blood on the muzzle of the dog and the body looked weak enough to not even be able to stand on two feet. Mark felt his breath catch up.
"You don't know what is going on. That is no dog, but a monster. Get away from him" Mark ignored the person who was howling in pain and focused on the dog in front of him.
The dog really was in pain and the more he treated him the better the dog felt.
"You're alright" Mark petted the dog and the yank on his back almost knocked him off.
Right out of the way of the bit that was coming toward his hand and face. Sharp canines bared at him as the dog stood up, now much more oriented than before.
And horrified purple eyes took in the dog who shook the wounds off with a shrug of his fur. This really was not a dog at all.