BluestoneReview

back as hard as I could but in the end it wasn’t worth it. I was dead for all I cared. Even if they were telling the truth, that this life was real and Kayla and her family were not, I couldn’t bear it. “Kill me!” I screamed. “I don’t want to live this life. Kill me, please.” My scream led me into hysteria. I cried and cried and cried. It felt like ages that I sat in that chair while the doctors talked in hushed voices about what to do. Then, the one who told me that I wasn’t real, Kayla wasn’t real, every happy moment, time of trial, and sadness I went through wasn’t real. She knelt in front of me and whispered to me. Her voice was soothing, I sniffled. “Are you sure about this, Carmen?” She reached out one of her hands, perfectly manicured, for my ragged ones. “Kill me,” I sobbed. “Please.” She squeezed my hand and took a syringe from someone I couldn’t see. She stood up and brushed my hair aside to expose my neck. I sobbed harder, muttering. I felt the needle pierce my skin, a brief wave of pain, and then nothing. The doctor removed the needle and turned to her companions. “Project Life is a failure and is to be adjourned. Life cannot be simulated, life should be lived in the present.” Canine Catastrophe By Margaret Rieger This is an excerpt from a novel-in-progress about two house dogs on a mission to rescue their friends from a puppy mill. Chapter 1: Lucy So, let’s get one thing straight: I was here first, and I am the favorite dog. So when Grandma brought this thing home I was not too happy. I expressed my opinion by giving Grandma a good hard bite. This thing’s fur is so long, you’d think he’s a yak. Margaret says he is a genuine pure-blooded mutt, which is an oxymoron—oh the humanity! (I learned that in Mom’s grammar class; I’m so very smart. My name is LuluBelle Noelle Rieger (Lucy or Lulu for short). I’m very talented, pretty, and intelligent. Mommy loves me. I chase away the UPS guy and anyone else who passes by. And then there’s Buddy. Now I adore my Grandma, but what the HECK was she thinking when she brought this thing home? He’s smelly, dumb, and he gets his head stuck in the holes in the fence. Margaret thinks he’s smart, which is PROOF that she is CUCKOO! [At Lulu’s instigation, the dogs escape their kennel and go exploring in the neighborhood.]

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