The dog, seeing Sam, barked twice and charged straight toward him.  It leapt at him, bowling him over.  Allistor raised his weapon, but couldn’t get a clear shot at the dog.  Instead, he turned his sights on the last canid.  This time his slug went wide, hitting the mob in its hindquarters.  The impact still knocked it over, but it quickly got back up.  Its left rear leg was disabled, but the now maddened beast still had five legs.  And it was now targeting Allistor.

He needed to hurry up and dispatch this one so that he could help Sam.  He fired three rounds as rapidly as he could, punching into the canid’s chest, and finally, its head.  When it went down for good, Allistor turned to Sam.

The man was laughing, trying to calm the dog and free his weapon.  “Stop it, Max!” he pushed at the excited lab. “I’m glad to see you too!  But you brought monsters home with you!  Now, sit!”

The lab ceased its lick-attacks at the command and obediently planted his butt on the ground.  His tail still wagged furiously, and his tongue hung out to one side as he panted.  Sam raised his rifle and scanned the tree line.  “Is that all of them?” he called out to Allistor.

“I only saw three.  But there might be more out there?”

Sam shook his head, looking down at the lab.   “Max doesn’t think so.  He’s too relaxed. Then again, this stupid mutt might not recognize danger if it bit him in the ass.” He reached down and patted the dog’s head.   Max woofed at him softly.

“I take it Max belonged to Frank?”

“Yeah.  Just got him a couple years ago.  When Sally died, Frank was lonely.  Meg saw a litter of lab pups at the grocery store.  We got one, and she brought Max to Frank.  Our Rufus didn’t survive the titan.”  He continued to pet Max.

Allistor started walking across the lawn.  He looted the closest of the canids he’d killed, getting the usual 30 klax, some leather, meat, pelt, teeth.    Sam followed him out to loot the one he’d dropped.  Allistor really needed to figure out if they could group up and share loot so that one person could loot everything.   As he passed Sam’s kill headed for the first canid he’d shot, Max began to growl behind him.   Allistor turned mid-stride to see what Max was upset about and didn’t see the first canid lunge at him.

His first warning was the snarl as it pushed forward, then pain as it latched onto his shin.  The razor-sharp teeth clamped down and punctured deep into his leg.  It shook its thick, well-muscled neck, shredding his flesh and snapping a bone.