Okay guys, this post is going to be a bit longer than usual and I might have to split this into a few different parts today. But, holy shit I have a lot of stuff to share. I think those people who enjoy the macabre and other horrors just might like this. In the most recent post, I had said that I encountered a few things in my waking life that had been in my dreams, before I get to that first, there is a few things I need to share. The reason why I need to share these things first is because they are heavily involved with what has been going on.
ALSO: WARNING to those who might be reading this. Parts of this entry includes explicit material that may not be suitable for others. Read at your own risk.
First off, thankfully the nightmares subsided and I had thoughts of maybe cancelling or rescheduling the appointment with my new doctor because of things getting better. I wasn’t really getting anymore nightmares, I was still doing good in school, and I made some new friends in my classes. However, I realized that after what happened this weekend that maybe it was best for me to still see my doctor.
Friday came around and neither one of us had to work! It was pretty sick. Usually that never happens with Jeff and I because of Target’s hours fluctuating. Thankfully, Danielle works only weekdays, so she had weekends off, which made this weekend the best one to do something. I think with the back to school jam being over with it being mid September and all, things were starting to slow down. So Danielle, Jeff, and I decided that maybe we should go do something fun this weekend. Jeff had one of his classmates of a small town called Firtip with an old-fashioned shopping square that sat in the middle of the town. Not too far away from the town sat a small lake called Saltlick and a park that overlooked it. It was about an hour and a half away. Jeff said that the town square as well as the park by the lake was dog friendly, so we decided to take Jack with us. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?
Saturday rolls by and we head out to Firtip at 8:30 sharp (Danielle’s idea, not mine. I hate getting up early). Regardless, we made it there at around 10 and had in my opinion, one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. We went to a restaurant called Bolly’s and oh. my. god. they have the BEST pancakes in the universe. And thankfully they allowed dogs so we were able to take Jack in with us. That boxer in Jack can sometimes make him a bit naughty, but he is (was) a good dog. Despite the fact that Jack was 10 years old, he still acted like a puppy at times. He begged for food from time to time and Jeff had a habit of sneaking a bit of bacon here and there. Jeff spoiled Jack.
After we go to the restaurant, we went to the bookstore, the antique shop, the pet store, and a number of boutiques that were in the square. Everything from the books to clothes and other antiques just blew my mind. I felt like I was living under a rock for so many years. I saw all kinds of stuff that I knew my mom, dad, and little sister would love. Not to mention, we loaded up on sugar at the local ice cream shop.
Next, we headed to the park right next to the lake. There was a small pier and dock that was set for people who wanted to boat or fish on the lake. The transition of summer to fall was so surreal. The mixture of green to fall hues being reflected off by the water caught my eye. This place was absolutely gorgeous. There were a few picnic areas that lined the shore of the lake. A small child, Doberman puppy, and two young parents played frisbee with one anonther; an older woman wearing blue neon clothing ran on a path through the park, and a middle aged couple sat at a picnic table that sat closest to the pier, drawing the lake with watercolors. As we stepped out, Jeff grabbed a blue frisbee, a chuck it toy, and a collapsable water bowl. We walked past the couple painting the lake and went off to a clearing that was surrounded by lots of greenery.
So all three of us and Jack played with the frisbee and the chuck it toy for about an hour or so. It felt so good just to get outside and feel the cool autumn breeze flow around us. It was refreshing. Suddenly, Jack stopped in his track and stared straight into the trees. Jack started to bark and then he took off.
“Hey! Jack! Come back here!”
“Wait for us man!” Danielle and I took off after Jeff.
We chased after Jack for a good ten minutes or so. His barking only grew louder the longer we were darting through the trees. We could not see nor hear whatever it was that Jack was chasing. What was even weirder was that Jack almost never chased after anything. Not even bunnies or squirrels that would run around in our backyard. All three of us burst through a section of long grass and we were able to see Jack trying to scratch at a burrow that sat underneath a pile of rocks. He was foaming at the mouth and snarling viciously at what appeared to be small black paws from some sort of animal.
“Jack! No! Stop it Jack! Leave it!” Jeff ran after towards Jack and was able to pull him back by the collar. A massive black ball of fur jumped at Jack, scratched his eye and bit into his throat. It was what looked like a very old and injured dog of some sort. Danielle ran up to Jack and tried to grab his collar, but Jack bit the mangy dog straight into the skull and eye sockets, killing it instantly. Blood and foam ran down Jack’s mouth and he was covered in wet dirt and scratches. Jeff let go of Jack and kicked the dead dog numerous times. He picked up the dog’s carcass and threw it at the rocks. This wasn’t unlike Jeff, for he has lost his temper with people or things who have ever attempted to harm a single hair on that dog’s head. Jeff loved his family and friends, and this dog was his world. But Jesus Christ this was really really bad timing.
“Jeff, man stop it! We need to get Jack to the vet asap!” Jeff looked back at me without saying a single word, picked up Jack, and ran through the trees. Danielle and I chased after Jeff, got back to my car, and we sped off to find the nearest vet. The closest vet was 15 minutes away from the town square, and unfortunately we were at least 30 minutes away from the town square.
Jeff was in the backseat of my car and held onto Jack tight. Every so often, Jack would moan or whine in pain. Jeff used a towel and wrapped Jack’s neck as well as washing Jack’s eye. He put bottled water in the top cap and gently washed Jack’s eye.
“Alex, Danielle, I’m not sure if Jack is going to make it. He seems like he’s getting weaker.”
“Don’t worry man, we’re almost there!” God I really wished that was true, but that’s all I could really say in this situation.
“Hey, can you open one of the back windows a little bit so we can get some fresh air?” I did just that without hesitation. Jack jumped up and started to attempt to jump out the window. Jeff grabbed Jack who was half in and out of the window. Danielle screamed and I immediately pulled over. Jack slipped through the opening in the window and fell onto the asphalt. A loud snap was heard and then one final yelp. Jeff and Danielle rushed to the side of the road and pulled Jack back into the car.
“Oh my god Alex! Look at what you’ve done!” Jeff screamed at me. I looked back and Jeff and saw that Jack was lying completely limp. Unresponsive.
“Knock it off Jeff! It wasn’t Alex’s fault!”
Everyone went dead silent… a few minutes passed and we finally got to the emergency vet. Danielle, Jeff, a receptionist, and the vet carried Jack into one of the rooms and immediately put in an IV in his left arm and started CPR.
“Come on buddy. You can do this. Hang in there. You’ll make it.” Jeff kept saying that to Jack over and over, despite the fact that he was barely responsive to every possible form of stimuli.
After 25 minutes on the IV, CPR, and breath support… Jack was gone. Neither one of us could believe it. He passed away from the bite in his neck as well as snapping his spine when he jumped out of the car window. How is it that one bad event leading to another could lead to such a horrific death of an innocent dog? It just wasn’t right and it just wasn’t fair at all. Jeff was completely torn up about Jack passing away. We sat in the vet’s office for what felt like centuries. Jeff cried himself hoarse and refused to leave Jack’s side. I walked up to Jeff and put my arm around his shoulder.
“Al-alex, I’m really really sorry for what I said earlier… I-” He looked up at me. His eyes were completely bloodshot and it seemed that the life was drained from his face.
“It’s alright man. I understand.”
“No Alex, it’s not alright. Not with everything that you have been through before. I was out of line.”
“I know. But I still understand.”
Jeff decided to have Jack transported from the emergency vet clinic to the vet clinic in town. It was going to take up to 24 hours for Jack to be transported, but Jeff didn’t care. He needed time to decide on how to best handle the situation with Jack. The folks at the emergency vet were very kind about the situation and didn’t charge Jeff a single dime.
We got back home at around 6-7ish. No one talked for the rest of the drive back home, nor did anyone say a single word when we got back home. It was like this heaviness was put upon our shoulders when we walked into the door. Jack’s things sat in the living room and kitchen area. It was very haunting just to see those items sitting around. Jeff walked into his room, shut the door, and locked it. He stayed in there for the whole night without saying a single word. Danielle and I sat on our L-shaped couch and tried to watch Netflix. It just didn’t work. We decided to just go off to bed early instead. Truth be told is that we were all dead beat tired from today. How could such a wonderful day turn into one of the worst days of our lives within a matter of minutes, if not seconds?
The horror of the situation only continued to get worse. In the dead of night, I find myself to be wide awake and I see this face staring right at me. Jack, or this thing that looked like Jack was standing on top of me on my bed. Blood and saliva dripped from his jowels onto my sheets and skin. It was colder than ice. The thing opened it’s mouth and gave out a massive growl. The smell of death and decay was so overpowering that it caused me lean to my left and throw up onto the floor. I looked back up from my bed and saw that the thing was gone. The smell was still there even after the monstrocity disappeared.
How was that even possible? Jack is dead! This can’t be possible. It had to have been a dream. Guys, the scary part about this situation is this isn’t even HALF of what transpired this weekend…
Part 1- Intro | Part 2- The Doctor’s Visit | Part 3- The Human Spirit Guide | Part 4- Intriguing Shrink’s Visit |
(All rights of original story belong to Stephen King. This is a fan fiction based off the original stories of Pet Sematary and Pet Sematary 2.)
