Read Online Seven Deadly Tales of Terror by Bryan Smith - Free Book Online

of his .357 Magnum, and got out of bed. He pulled on jeans, stepped into shoes he left unlaced, grabbed a flashlight, and hurried out of the trailer.
    “Jasper! Harley!”
    The dogs were straining at the ends of their leads, continuing to bark in that overly agitated, shrill way as they faced the woods. Luke snapped on the flashlight and aimed the beam at the line of trees bordering the property. Seeing no one there, he swept the beam around the barren yard and still came up empty. Didn’t mean there wasn’t someone lurking out there deeper in the woods, but he wasn’t about to go stumbling around out there at this dark hour. Even if there was a trespasser in the area, Luke was confident the ferocious response of his animals would prevent the skulking son of a bitch from coming any closer.
    He approached the dogs and knelt between them, setting the gun and flashlight on the ground in order to reach for the scruffs of their necks. They kept straining and barking a few moments longer, but began to settle down as he cooed at them and kneaded the furry flesh between their shoulders. Jasper was the first to fully relax. He sat next to Luke and lapped happily at his face with his gritty tongue. Harley soon followed suit and within moments he was overwhelmed with canine affection. He laughed softly and tried halfheartedly pushing them away, but they immediately came back for more slavering attention.
    The smile died on his face as he spied something on the ground a few feet to his right—it was a hunk of raw meat, what looked like a slice of store-cut steak. His chest tightened and he couldn’t breathe for a moment. There was only one possible reason it was there. Someone had attempted to poison his dogs. Thankfully, the sliver of meat looked like it had not been touched, a miracle he could only chalk up to the dogs’ agitation at the intrusion of a stranger. The thought of someone trying to harm his animals supplanted the terror he’d felt upon spying the meat, igniting a fury that had him clenching his teeth and reaching for his gun.
    He scooped up the hunk of meat, came out of his crouch and aimed the .357 at the woods, squeezing off three quick shots despite the absence of a visible target. The intent was intimidation, though an accidental lethal result wouldn’t bother him any. Any asshole willing to hurt his animals to get at him deserved whatever they got. The explosive reports of the gun got the dogs all worked up again, making them bark and strain at their leads some more. After a few moments, the ringing in his ears receded some and he began to perceive another sound just barely audible above the barking of his dogs.
    Someone was crying out there in the woods. Whimpering and moaning. Calling out for their mama. Poor dumb bastard. Luke had gotten lucky with one of his shots. He didn’t feel good about it, but this was the chance you took when you intruded on a man’s property out here in the sticks, especially when that man had ample reason to mistrust intruders.
    He carried the hunk of meat over to the steel trash can at the side of the trailer, lifted the lid, and dropped it inside. Then he wedged the lid back down firmly, secure in the knowledge that it was out of the reach of his dogs.
    That done, he returned to the rear of the trailer and knelt next to Harley. He unclipped the wired, straining animal from his lead, gripped him by his collar, and pressed his mouth close to the dog’s ear. “Harley, find!”
    He released his grip on the collar and Harley shot off into the woods.
    After retrieving his flashlight, Luke stood and glanced at the other dog. “Jasper, stay! You watch over things here while Harley and I check this out, okay?”
    The animal sat and gave him a bright-eyed, doggy grin. Luke scratched him behind the ears and took off after Harley.
    Tracking the dog down wasn’t difficult. All he had to do was follow the sounds of growling and screaming. Keeping the flashlight aimed ahead of him, he