Birth and Death

Kim laid in bed with his clothes on, the snow from his shoes causing the bedspread to darken. His Whiskey laid on his father's night stand.

-

After 10 hours, a black and white husky with baby blue eyes wandered over and sat his head next to Kim's.

With just the perfect amount of wetness on his nose, Max stuck his nose to Kim's ear and began sniffing with all his heart.

Kim awoke with a moan, then he noticed the speaker blowing out his eardrum.

"Uhhhhh….Max? Is that you?" He said as he hoped he didn't leave the door open, again.

The bright Alaskan Sun was shining in through the window, casting a perfect sun-beam through the room. The dust from Max's tail wagging could be seen falling, along with an absurd amount of hair.

"Ah, summer already? Max, I wonder how my girl is doing? Hopefully she is still in the program." Kim looked over at the sweet puppy Max, his tail was still rotating like a propeller.

Then it hit him.

"THE DOGS!" Kim looked at Max with terror on his face as panic set in.

"Oh shit, Boss is going to be PISSED."

Kim hopped out of bed and went to the window, the sun was too high.

"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!"

Kim threw open the door and jumped into the snow, Max running in tow.

The dogs' lodge was a rustic looking cabin that his Grandfather had built.

The door busted open and Kim could see the furious face of Boss.

[How are his eyebrows so freaking expressive?]

Kim slightly bowed to him in apology.

When no response was given, he went lower.

As he was nearly a 90 degree idiot, Boss gave him a loud bark.

"I am sorry. There is no excuse for not providing for you."

Boss sauntered over and looked him in the eyes, then just gave a little lick.

"Thank you, Boss. It has been so hard...I have to quit drinking."

Boss just stood there while giving a knowing glare. Then he nodded his head back.

Kim straightened his back and got to work. He had a proprietary blend that the family loved. A little bit of seasoning, and hot-sauce for Jimmy...weird guy.

As the bowls of food were thrown together with masterful precision, the Lovers came out; Sarah and Mr. Alverson who are the parents of Maximilian, the youngest member and the new wheel for his parents' team of sled dogs.

Or...was.

She had a beautiful light brown coat, while Mr. Alverson had a pitch-black coat. He walked up and licked his boy, Max.

Boss just nodded.

Kim laid the bowls of food out on the ground and heard the classic patter of Jimmy's paws.

[How on Earth does that dog ONLY hear the sound of the bowl?] Kim shook his head in wonder. He had always woken up at the perfect time, even when he was late.

Kim stood and watched as the late arrivals finally showed.

"Mornin' Shade, you are looking beautiful as always." He said to the mostly black husky. She was an older gal and the Mother of the pack.

"Oh, and look who decided to wake up. Diesel, how is it hangin' my man?" The black and gray dog just yawned and stretched himself out on the floor, completely ignoring Kim.

As Kim looked around, he noticed the room was pretty empty, even Diesel was here.

[Something is definitely going on. Where are the rest of the boys and girls?]

Kim began walking to the beds that were located in the cold room. He heard growling and a strange high pitched whine…

"Oi, what the hell are you guys doing to the ladies?"

As he peered in, he noticed that Killer and X had their heads down and were being circled by Samantha and Karmen.

A snarl and a yip later, he understood.

"Tough break lads…" he hung his head in shame with them as they were literally in the doghouse for trying to mate with the older gals.

After the chastising was done, they headed out and got bre-lunch. They got lunch.

Kim scratched the back of his head as he felt the headache wash over him.

"Ugh, I need to get more beer and Whiskey." His sunken face looked down and noticed a dog had sat on his foot.

"Hey Max…" The nausea was kicking in, so he sat down. Max was wanting to be pet and hugged.

Then he thought about his parents.

[How would dad feel if he found out I quit college? I'd get my ass beat for sure. And mom would be so disappointed.]

He mimicked her, "After all those years of studying, you are quitting over a couple of old farts biting the dust?"

He just shook his head as Boss walked over to him and licked the tears from his face.

"I know Boss, a leader doesn't cry. I just miss them. I miss them so fucking much."

Boss just stared at him, another knowing look. The dog's eyes began to water and they wet his fur.

Kim wiped Boss' tears in turn and received a nod.

"Thanks Boss." Kim looked at the crusties on his hand and thought about what it was like for Boss. Being here and unable to stop the intruder. The pain of being the guardian of the pack. The silent protector.

Kim remembered how Boss had been an older and happy dog, but now he was the Alpha. He had always been the leader but when...the incident…happened, he became different.

[I guess I have to change too.]

Kim sat on the wooden floor in contemplation when there was a sudden shaking.

The dogs began to bark and Kim's vision began to fade, but for a moment, he could swear everything began to elongate.

Then.

There was a sudden pause.

Reality was halted as a supreme force took over the basic principles.

A concept was forming.

Blood.

Pain.

Need.

Sacrifice.

He could feel a pull towards this...God.

It was real.

A mass of red blood was churning.

The planet was splitting open, magma was spilling out. The core of the planet was bright red and slowly...no, it was traveling fast enough to immediately ignite the atmosphere, but for some reason, it didn't.

Power.

Then with a silent Boom, the God was slain.

A being nodded towards the Earth.

Respect.

Understanding.

Then, like magic, small beings injected a green liquid into Kim and the dogs.

[-Analyzing-]

[-*@H4 $*@()#*(*) HR)*#(@$$@*H-]

…

[-Neural Copy Obtained-]

[-Starting DNA/RNA Injection-]

[-Carbon-based AI being generated-]

[-Proliferating Stem-cells and beginning Compression Preparation-]

[Uhhhhhhh, what the hell?]

An eternity seemed to pass, feelings came and went. His head began hurting after a [-Neural Compression-] took place, but now, he felt better than ever.

Then, with a snap, everything was returned.

Kim stood there.

"Uh, Max?" Nervousness filled his voice, "A-are we okay?"

The dog looked like it was violated, and Boss was staring off into space.

"The world...died?" Kim asked aloud, and a voice returned with an answer, [-Yes-].

"WHO IS THERE?" Shouted Kim, "I'll FUCK you up, you picked the wrong house, BITCH!"

…

…

[-Hey. Dumbass. Did you happen to miss the Steward slay your God? Or are you slow?-]

"I-" Kim stammered.

[-Don't answer-]

Kim closed his mouth as the voice began to mumble about "Inaccurate Neural Scans?"

"Uh, hello?"

[-Howdy, you finished pissing your pants?-]

Kim just nodded slowly.

[-Good. I have good news, and I have bad news. The bad news is that your life is over. The good news is that your life is starting again. Or, technically, it has already started-]

"Continue."

[-Wow, you are taking this much better than most species do. Now. We would do a course correction. So, stop everything-]

Kim looked around the room.

"Done? I guess."

[-Good, uh, this might hurt a little tiny bit. Your nerves are hard to access but I can divert most of them in the brain-]

Suddenly Kim's body stopped. His heart paused. He was dead.

[-ANNNNNNDD WE ARE BACK ONLINE-]

*Thump*

Kim went to the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK???"

[-Uhhhh, sorry. New species always cause problems-]

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN NEW? WHAT IS HAPPENING?" Kim's heart was pumping with fervor and spread warmth all over his body.

[-I am rerouting all biological functions to an optimal state, thank me later. Oh, and one last thing, sweet dreams-]