The Contest

I was in the Gatehouse, busily tidying up and putting out clean towels ready for the arrival of new guests, when Zilla came running in, anxious and breathless.

“Eemay you have to come with me straight away, Icon has bitten Hugh.

As I entered the kitchen my parents came rushing over with the shocking news. I was so traumatised, it took a few seconds for me to take it all in.

I then ran over to Hugh, who was deathly pale and visibly shaken. He raised his bandaged arm. “Edward has kindly bathed and dressed it for me, but said I need a tetanus jab.”

I looked from Hugh to Icon, who was now cowering in a corner. “You must have done something to make him bite you,” I said, walking over to Icon, in an attempt to quell his violent trembling. I simply could not believe what he had done.

“What about me?” Hugh suddenly screamed at the top of his voice, his face contorted with rage. “Forget about that damn dog.”

“But, but I don’t get it,” I stammered, as Icon looked up at me with his kind trusting eyes.

“You’ve seen it before remember, at the lake.”

“There is obviously something about you that scares them, because they were both troubled and edgy in your presence.”

“Precisely, that’s why I came down to the kitchen to see if I could get to know them both better, to build up some trust. I decided to take Icon for a walk and was just about to put his lead on, when for no reason, he suddenly sank his teeth into my arm.

I began to sob uncontrollably. My parents came over, trying their best to console me with comforting words, but Hugh interrupted. “I must insist that the dog is destroyed immediately, before it attacks someone else.”

“Hugh is right,” Pop said. “I know how upsetting this is, but we cannot risk another incident and if Hugh says the dog must be destroyed, then so be it.”

The close bond that I had formed with Icon was now so strong that I could not bear the thought of him having to be destroyed. But he had given Hugh a serious injury, and, for the life of me, I could not understand why both dogs had taken such an instant dislike to him. Just when things seemed to be improving, suddenly everything had taken a turn for the worse.

“You had better get to the hospital to have that tetanus injection,” Edward reminded Hugh.

Seeing how shocked and stunned I was, Mum and Pop kindly escorted Hugh out to a waiting taxi, while Roxie went outside for a cigarette, apparently to help steady her nerves.

“As I’m no longer needed, I’ll get back to my duties,” Edward said, shuffling off and leaving his familiar tom cat aroma hanging in the air.

Momentarily I found myself alone in the kitchen, absolutely distraught and completely bewildered. I went over to Icon; his trembling had now subsided, and I gently felt round his legs and tummy, but he showed no sign of any serious injury. He got up, walked unsteadily over to his water bowl and began to drink thirstily.

Suddenly, I had an overwhelming urge to get away, to be able to think things through, and decided to take both dogs for a walk. I bundled them quickly into my ancient car for the short ride to my favourite beach, where I was in desperate need of the calming and tranquil effect it always had on me.

Icon was curled up beside me in the front of the car, staring at me intently, as if he was trying to tell me something. “What’s happened Icon? If only you could speak to me.”

Scott lay, pondering his fate. Hugh has played his ace card and I am now a condemned man. If I hadn’t bitten him, he would have forcibly taken me, and in all probability, I would, by now, be dead. But having bitten him, I have only delayed the inevitable. It was a no win situation. and in this instance, evil has definitely triumphed over good. I have just got to think of some way to communicate with Eemay, this is a matter of life or death.

A short while later, I was walking across the beach. Nettie splashed happily around in the water, clearly enjoying herself, but Icon appeared very quiet and withdrawn and would not leave my side.

I paddled aimlessly through the water’s edge wondering what on earth I was going to do. The tide was going out quickly and the retreating waves soon transformed the rough sand into a smooth hard surface, making it easier to walk on. With a heavy heart, I watched as Icon suddenly bounded after a piece of driftwood, sending tears streaking down my face.

Caught in some seaweed in the tide line, Scott had spotted a piece of driftwood with a sharp, pointed end! He picked it up with his teeth, and began tossing it around, to get a better grasp. If I really try, I’m sure I could write a message in the sand, particularly where it’s now become hard and smooth.

As I mopped my tears and blew my nose, Icon began to bark madly. He stood perfectly still, looking at me, the piece of driftwood still held in his mouth.

OK, I’m coming,” I shouted, thinking he wanted me to throw the stick into the water for him to fetch.

As I approached, I noticed a message written in the sand. It said, “I am Scott.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes, and just stood for a moment speechless. This is impossible, I told myself. Dogs can’t write.

I looked up from the sand and into Icon’s familiar trusting eyes when something occurred to me, which I had not previously connected. At the time of Scott’s disappearance, Icon had miraculously appeared out of nowhere.

“Do you know who did this to you?” I asked, hoping he would understand me.

He then wrote HUGH, in large letters in the sand.

I instantly knew, without a shadow of doubt, that he was Scott. “Well, no wonder you bit him.”

You obviously understand me Scott, so from now on I want you to bark once for yes, and twice for no. He immediately barked back in confirmation.

I’ve always said that dogs can smile, and now I had proof. His cute little face beamed up at me!