It didn't take long to get back to my cabin, " Wait here while I saddle up my horse. "
" Yes Ma'am. " He smiled, I tried not to blush, he really was a good-looking guy. But I swore off dating after the last one, he wasn't abusive, but he was a slob and expected me to do everything for him. Except wipe his ass, that was the only thing he did for himself.
And there were the other dates that ended up with them expecting sex after the first or second date. So yeah, I got bad luck with men. I even tried to date another woman, but that didn't end well either.
But this guy, for some reason, I can't explain, I felt comfortable around him, like he's an old friend. But I still kept my guard up, it's usually the nice ones you have to watch out for.
" Come on Sal, we have someone that needs our help today. " I say to her after I saddle her up.
I also had an alternative motive for bringing Salem with me, she would be a better judge of character than me. Horses are very good at sensing good and bad people.
I watch as Ram and Salem greet each other like they were old friends as well. A branch breaking draws my attention to the woods, I see a dark shape move through the trees, too quick for a bear or a moose. The Dogman was here once again.
---
" Don't you worry about bears or cougars or wolves coming around? " Ram asked from behind him as we go down the dirt road that leads out to the main road.
" I've actually hardly seen them. I saw a moose just the other day and that was also a rare sight to see. I see the occasional track or scat, but as for seeing them? They don't come around. "
" Really? "
" Yeah, you'd be surprised how little of the wildlife you see out here. Now there have been a few deer out in my yard a couple times in the early morning and late evening. "
" So, no Bigfoot either huh? " He joked when Salem stopped walking
" Why did we stop? "
" We didn't, Salem did and it's because she caught a whiff of something she doesn't like. Keep your head on a swivel. And keep your ears open. " I tell him, putting my hand on my hip.
We sit there a good few minutes, listening and looking, I watch Salem's ears and head movements, her senses were sharper than ours.
I can feel how tense Salem is under my legs, she's ready to run at the first sign of danger or threat, I tighten my hold on her reigns,
" Hold on tight to me in case she bolts. Otherwise, you'll fall off. " I cautioned Ram in case Salem did run. He did as I requested and held onto me a little tighter.
" This had to be the one time a bear, or a cougar decided to show up, huh? " He whispered jokingly, as though he was trying to break the tension.
Then a bark-like sound came, it wasn't really a bark like I've heard before, it was like a growl and bark combined. Next thing I know, Salem takes off, back towards the cabin, it was a safe place for her to run, that's why she ran that way and now further down the road, which was where the sound seemed to come from.
Behind us, I could hear the thudding of feet, but I don't look behind me, I knew that if I did, I would be frightened by the sight of what I knew to be the Dogman chasing us.
This was new, the Dogman hadn't shown any aggression towards me before, why now? Because of Ram? Was he not a good man like I first thought? Or was he already hunting HIM and that was what Ram had seen when he got lost and mistook it for a bear? No, Ram said he saw a bear cub and the mother got spooked by him being too close to her baby.
Or maybe he saw a Dogman baby and this was the momma?
I look behind us and I see a large male Dogman running after us on all fours, only, it WASN'T the one I've been seeing around my property, this one had black fur and its eyes were green, the one I had been seeing had brown fur and yellow eyes.
There was TWO of them running around here? Was this the one I saw earlier? Was this the Daddy to the so-called bear cub that Ram thought he saw?
I don't think about it for long, I pull my gun and shoot at the beast, trying to scare it off, not wanting to shoot him unless absolutely necessary, I notice that Ram has his head turned to the beast, probably in shock of what is chasing us, where was the first Dogman? Shouldn't he be here as well? Stopping this male that was in his territory?
One of my shots hits the beast behind us in the shoulder, slowing him down long enough for us to get ahead of him.
Salem runs straight for her shelter, Ram and I jump off as she clears the door, I quickly shut both doors, so she'll be safe, hopefully. Ram and I run back to the cabin, just as the second Dogman comes up the road, I fire at him again to hold him off as we get inside the cabin, we quickly block the front door, then I run to the back to block the back door.
" Check the windows! " I shouted to Ram.
" Do you have any more weapons in here? " He called back as he checked the windows.
" A rifle in the cabinet. " I replied, coming back into the living room.
" You might want to get to it. " Ram said as he looked outside, I follow his line of sight and freeze at the sight of the green-eyed Dogman starring into the living room at us, or rather at Ram.
" What did you do to piss him off? " I ask shakily.
" Nothing. "
" It's something because he's looking right at you. "
" I haven't done anything to him. He's just a young pup that's trying to make a claim on an alpha's turf. "
" What are you talking about...Oh my god! " I exclaim when he turns to me, his brown eyes no longer brown, they were yellow, the same yellow that belonged to the yellow eyed Dogman that's been roaming around my home the past few weeks.
Ram was the first Dogman.