Page 8 of Pooch Planet

He tip-toed to one of the large shrubs at the corner of the mayor’s fence then unlocked his laser so it was in fire mode. The barrel broke off then tumbled to the ground. Benji stared at the remaining hunk of metal in his hand and tossed it away in disgust. His hope had been to have at least some form of protection on his way to ring the warning bell.

Benji stilled again to listen for the foreign vehicle. He picked up on the whirr of whatever powered the mystery craft, and while it was closer than before, it seemed to have veered away from the village entrance. Benji chewed on his thumbnail. If only he’d been allocated one of the radios, he wouldn’t be in such a predicament. There hadn’t been enough to go around, so the reserves who had already been on duty that night had claimed them.

This is bullshit.

He was going to have a serious discussion about the lack of proper equipment for the village guards once this whole mess was over with.

After taking a deep breath, he readied himself to tear down the road toward the village center where the emergency bell was located. If he discovered a fellow patrol pooch on the way, then even better. Maybe that guard would have a damn radio to contact their commander.

Right as he was about to rush forward, a whoosh from above his head sounded and he snapped up his head. A massive black silhouette with wings and a tail was bearing down on him and Benji yipped in shock before darting for the woods. If he could make it to the thick forest, he might buy himself some time to shed his close then shift. Once he was down to his Chiweenie size, there’d be hundreds of places he could hide that were too small for whatever was descending upon him.

Unless it changes to a bat.

His lungs burned, but the blessed safety of cover was almost within reach. The breath was knocked from him as he was grabbed and rolled, the beast wrapping him in its deadly embrace. An unholy screech rent the air, but the creature who held him in its powerful grasp hadn’t made the sound. Benji whimpered as the muscled form who held him let out a mighty roar, the vibration rumbling through its body and making Benji tremble even more than he was already. The strength of whatever had captured him would be impossible to escape from.

He was bat food.

At last, the beast stilled and the screeches stopped. All that remained was Benji’s annoying trembling that he could never control, and his captor’s heavy breathing.

“P-please let me go. I’m not very meaty. I’d hardly be worth the effort.” It was a pathetic plea, but it was all he had.

“Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”

The incessant shaking of Benji’s body only increased at the startling query. He didn’t know much about bat demons, other than the flesh-tearing part, but he’d never imagined that one might be concerned with his wellbeing.

“Why should you care? You’re only going to eat me anyway, you big bully. You…you piece of shit!”

If he was about to die anyway, and the rock-solid creep didn’t care that he was only skin and bones, then fuck him. He’d let the piece of filth know what he really thought of him.

The murdering asshole had the nerve to chuckle. “I’m not going to eat you. I’m here to protect you and this planet. I’m part of the Federation sent here to investigate the killings.”

The gargoyle shifted back into a man, but his body mass didn’t seem much different than before. That fact was obvious since Benji had remained in the gargoyle’s embrace.

Benji blinked several times as he let that morsel of information sink in. “Oh.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry about the bully thing.” He drew his eyebrows together. “And the piece of shit thing.”

His would-be protector chuckled again. “That’s all right. I can understand how frightened you must have been to be grabbed so abruptly.”

Benji huffed. “I wasn’t frightened.”

The light from both moons was bright enough that Benji could make out the gargoyle’s amused expression. “Then why are you still trembling?”

The Chiweenie trembles could be so annoying at times. “That’s not because I’m scared. It’s because I’m—” Benji’s eyes rounded. “Uh… Never mind.”

“That’s all right, little pooch.” He gave Benji a soft smile, and Benji’s heart picked up a more rapid pace. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Bat demons are to be taken very seriously.” He sighed. “I spotted one swooping down on you and quickly shifted. I’m sure my team were perplexed by my sudden disappearance.” His expression turned grave. “You’re very fortunate I saw it before it made it’s move. Otherwise…”

“One? You think there’s more?” Benji instinctively burrowed into the gargoyle’s arms. “Why do you say that?”

If Benji wasn’t mistaken, he could’ve sworn the hunk of muscled flesh had given him a quick snuggle.

“I’m not certain, but I’m operating under that assumption so that we don’t become too complacent.”

Benji nodded. “That’s smart.”

The gargoyle stared down at him in silence as he continued to hold him close, not loosening his hold one bit. Benji’s body wouldn’t stop shaking and he averted his gaze. His jumbled thoughts increased and while he never wanted the gargoyle to let go, at the same time, he also wanted to get as far away from him as he could.

“Commander Dubois! Did you see it? Is there another victim?”

The Commander tensed then abruptly let Benji go as he scrambled to his feet.