Trading Places [Part 2]

Brandt left the room while I dressed. Then I grabbed my phone and texted my boss. I didn't dare call in case the barking and whining continued to break through. Then I finished my morning routine. Brandt was back to acting like he had when I first bought him, save his new found attention to what I was doing. He would turn and watch me every once in a while. Once I was ready, we went on a walk. In the park, I threw a stick for Brandt to fetch, but my heart wasn't into it. Brandt quickly caught onto that and stopped playing. We returned to the apartment and I sat on the couch.

"Where do we start, Brandt? Where do we even begin to break this…?" I growled.

He whined and his head lowered.

"Do you remember who cursed you?"

His head lowered further.

"Okay." Leaning back on the couch, I rested my hand against my mouth, my elbow on the arm of the couch. Brandt never moved from the submissive position he sat in. "Come here," I said, patting the cushion next to me.

He hopped up and lay beside me. I pet him while I continued to think. So the curse was transferring, but how? It shouldn't be by touch because so many others had handled him already and they were fine. I shifted slightly and Brandt's broken chain clicked in my pocket. I stopped petting Brandt and pulled it out. The tag lay on top of the broken chain. 'Brandt Quire. Squad 210. Unit 36.' Was he listed as AWOL?

Brandt's head lifted and he sniffed at his dog tag before whining. I put the chain in my other hand before I started petting him again. Every once in a while a whine, a yelp, or a growl would escape my lips. Brandt remained still as I continued to pet him. Then I rubbed his ears for several moments before he got excited and rolled over. Smiling slightly, I rubbed his tummy before retiring early. He barked after me and I turned back. His head was tipped to the side.

"When you have a voice again, I need you to tell me what you know of this…" The words got caught in my throat and it felt tight. Not tight enough to cut off air flow, but enough to make it difficult for my vocal cords to vibrate.

Brandt whined and climbed off the couch.

"I'll be…" I barked.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before entering the bedroom. I set Brandt's dog tags on the nightstand before climbing into bed. Brandt joined me and lay against my back. I don't know how long I slept before Brandt's shivering woke me. He was human again.

"Brandt," I said, waking him. "I need you to stand a moment."

He got up on his hands and knees and I pulled the blanket back.

"You can lie down again."

He lay down and I covered him with the blanket before pulling him closer to me for warmth. I caressed his cheek before he took my hand in his.

"Carolynn, I'm…sorry."

"This wasn't something…happen, Brandt. We just… find…curse." In my head the sentence was complete though I could hear the barks intermixed with my words.

Brandt held me tightly and let me sleep. When he kissed the top of my head, I was a dog again, but I hadn't felt the change at all.

When morning came I lay naked beneath my blankets and Brandt was gone from the room. Everything felt funny and I rolled to my back. I curled my arms, expecting someone to rub my belly as I had for Brandt. After a moment I sat up and got dressed. I made it out into the hall when I fell. Pushing myself up, I couldn't get off my hands and knees. No amount of lifting with my core muscles would move my hands from the carpet. The floor squeaked and a set of bare feet entered my line of vision.

"Brandt," I whined.

He crouched in front of me, sorrow radiating from his eyes. "You're… changing faster… than I…."

A mournful howl escaped my lips before Brandt lifted up my torso and let my arms hang awkwardly over his shoulders. He was wearing my bathrobe. Then he grabbed my legs and lifted me from the floor and took me to the couch. Laying me down, he let my head rest in his lap as he ran his fingers through my hair.

What all happened that day or the day after I can never fully recall. All I remember is, at times, being a dog and others human with Brandt covering me with the robe. He changed too, being a dog when I was human; human while I was a dog; human while I was human; and dog while I was dog. The night of the quarter moon was the worst. I felt sick, very sick and didn't dare get up. Brandt checked on me often—more often human than not. He tried to get me to eat and drink at least a little bit. As evening fell, he sat on the bed beside me and moved a lock of hair from my forehead.

"The shift is nearly complete," he said.

I whined despite still looking human. I hadn't been able to speak one word of English since I woke that morning.

"I can only tell you what I remember, Carolynn. The changes you have experienced within the last week came upon me over two weeks time. I had been out camping, doing an endurance training a month before I was to leave with my unit overseas." His hand covered mine before he continued. "I recall a voice in the back of my mind. I don't recall the words they spoke, nor if they touched me or something I had with me, but after they left I felt really dehydrated. I drank some of my water before falling asleep again. I was aware of time passing, but I was not entirely aware of myself until I woke a dog."

I whined and curled into a ball.

"I'm sorry," he said, resting a hand on my head. "I wish I knew what else to tell you."

I pointed to him then to myself.

"I don't know why the curse has shifted," he replied.

Shaking my head I pointed to him, picked at some of the hairs on his legs before pointing to myself again.

"Why did I pick you?"

I barked once in assent.

"I dreamed about you many times in the few months between my change and the day you bought me. You were the one who could break my curse."

Tears filled my eyes and I whimpered. If this was all it took to break his curse, I was doomed.

"Carolynn, I was never shown how you broke it, but it didn't end like this. You never became a dog to break my curse."

My whimpering turned to howls and Brandt lay beside me, pulling me tight against his chest.

"Shh, shh, shh," he said. "It'll be alright. I'll help you figure this out."

I continued to whimper in his arms, but his hand running through my hair was calming and I fell asleep. A few times during the night I started to wake, whining as I did so, but Brandt's hand on my head was enough to calm me once more.

This was when my challenges really began. Brandt was still sleeping beside me when I got up. I padded my way to the kitchen and ate quite a bit of dog food before I realized what I was doing. Looking down, I saw paws. I was a dog. I barked and turned trying to make sure I was really seeing what I was seeing. My barking woke up Brandt and he came out in just a pair of jeans.

"Carolynn, calm down. What's wrong?"

I looked up at Brandt. This was my dream. I felt my tail wag a little at seeing him, but then whined.

He opened the hall closet as I had for him a few times. In the mirror I was faced with a Golden Retriever. Slowly I approached the mirror and Brandt knelt beside me. I sat and my ears flattened against my head. He brushed the fur on my cheeks.

"We need to leave here, Carolynn."

I tipped my head to the side.

"I cannot care for you here. If there are things you need, let me know."

I whined before turning to my apartment.