Tech Amuck: ALERT! Strays

 

 

My son and I were walking through the park as part of our summer morning stroll. The scenic portion. He was taking charge because he wanted the milkshake waiting for him in the shop across from the park. It was a beautiful day, sparse clouds, bright sun, barely anyone out.

 An alert came in on my phone, now vibrating fiercely, breaking up my thoughts.

It didn’t make a lick of sense. For one, my phone had been turned off. Were they saying the dogs had rabies? Then why not just add that to the text message. Why were they sending vague messages? But better safe than sorry.

“Hey Coop, we got to head back bud, no milkshake today.” No response. I looked up, not hearing my son's protest as I expected. Cooper’s attention was focused on something up ahead. I followed his sight to a dog’s curious snout then, face popping out of the bushes. It tilted its head before wandering out. There was nothing strange or off about it.

And that’s what made it weird, with the context of the text, the dog was a little too normal. The dog trotted closer to my boy.

A weird shiver went down my spine, “Coop, we got to—

Cooper put out a hand to pet the dog. The moment his hand met the fur, his body grew. His form rippled. One minute he was wearing clothes, the next he wasn’t. They hadn't exploded off his body; he simply grew out of them in a matter of seconds and every piece of fabric faded into nonexistence. A naked man stood petting the dog where my son had been.

—

Simon had gotten the text message like everybody else but had woken up late. He scratched his stomach walking out into an empty log cabin. His dad and uncle had dragged him and his younger cousin out here at an attempt at manly bonding. However, now they had only left a note about driving into town to figure out what was going on.

It figured, first ones to pitch the idea of “roughing it out in the woods”, yet also willing to pop back into town. Was kicking it at the family summer lodge even camping? Simon ate cereal out on the deck, watching the trees blow with the wind. At some point his cousin, Rylan, woke up. The boy slid the doors open, joining Simon out on the deck.

“Want some cereal?” Simon lauded up the bowl offering to go pour him some.

Rylan shook his head clearly, still tired. Simon chuckled, perhaps, Rylan just wanted his dad.

“Woof!” There was a soft bark from below the deck. Lucy, their neighbor’s dog, was coming out of the trees. Though ‘Neighbor’ was a generous term for the nearest house being 2 miles away. They had cookouts together often, so it made sense they mentioned Lucy running away the first day they got to their place. She'd been missing for a week by the time Simon’s family got there. Now here she was, right as rain was running up their deck. Rylan went to greet her as she came up on her hind legs.

Simon blinked.

Then his cousin was gone.

Well, not gone. Rylan’s clothes were coming apart as hair grew across his sharpening jaw. Muscles and tattoos appeared on his body that certainly haven’t been there moments prior. Rylan had aged and was now left nude, on the deck.

“Aren’t you going to greet, Lucy?” Rylan’s voice came out deep.

Simon dropped his bowl.

Not exactly what he thought of for strays.

 

— 

My best friend, Malik, and I found an old house that we wanted to take pictures at. I considered myself something of a photographer and he loved video. Was it trespassing? Maybe, but not to the degree anyone would make a big fuss over it. The doors didn’t even lock. I won’t lie we both saw the alert about stray dogs wandering through, but look we were bored teens, we weren’t going to sit twiddle our thumbs.

Hell no! I had my dad’s camera, and it had taken me months to convince him to let me use it. He wasn’t even a big photo guy, just wasn’t chomping at the bit to help me out. Now that he had handed over, I was supposed to turn around when we were halfway to the house? That was never going to happen. Malik and I did stay vigilante though, but assumptions were just wrong from the start. We had been expecting a pack of ravenous beasts trailing about barking at anything in their path. Nothing of the sort happened.

We made it to the house, old sheets over furniture and dust flying about. Light found its way inside easily; we didn’t even need a light source. I started taking pictures of the place and Malik. We were having fun. Then I heard scratches across the floorboard. I looked up at a cute pupper staring at us from a side door.

The dog looked at me, then Malik. The dog walked inside, tail wagging and sat in front of Malik as if he was like a part of our photoshoot. It was kind of a cute framing, so I prepared to snap a Pic. Malik saw my intention and rested and sat a hand on the good boy. Through my lens I watched Malik’s body swell. He went from looking like my best friend to a model as his body adjusted to a new age. I poked my head back up; it wasn’t in my head. There was a naked man with a dog between his legs.

 

—

The alert came on Alex’s phone. Stray dogs in the area, stay inside…blah blah. He was already by his house, just him and his little brother kicking it, while their parents had gone grocery shopping. He was supposed to feed Rex, their little Shiba Inu, but the little scamp had disappeared. Where to though? Rex was an indoor dog to the bone. The sliding back door had been open so Alex could only imagine Rex wandered out during the night. It had to be his little brother’s fault, but Alex wasn't going to bring it up if he found Rex. He stepped outside shaking the rood bag calling for Rex.

“What are you doing?” a high-pitched voice asked, rubbing his eyes. Alex’s little brother, Kye was up and about, standing in the living room, talking through the sliding door.

“Rex got out.” Alex didn't turn around, shaking the bag more. “Wonder how?”

“Sorry,” Kye said.

A yip came along with the sound of tiny legs rushing forward. Rex tore into the backyard and rocketed passed Alex, foregoing the food. He hopped into the house, ran up to Kye, and licked his leg.

“Ew!” was the last thing Alex heard Kye say, as his brother morphed, soaring through puberty. His skiing rippled like waves as a taller muscular form broke out of him. A beard claimed his face, age piled on, refining the edges. Chest hair spread from his pecs, as a treasure trail migrated to his navel. Legs doused in hair took prominence, thighs bulking, all supported by two man-sized feet. A naked man was in Kye's place as he shuddered and the ripples in his skin flowed out into the house. The very space around Kye and Rex warped. Alex watched as the interior of their home distorted caused from waves traveling, through the space as if across water. Shorts appeared on Kye’s form as new furniture decorated the inside. 

A new Alert came though on Alex’s phone.

 

 “Well, fuck.” Alex stared at his phone.