Synthia snarls and brings the shotgun up, aiming for Dober’s head. 

Dober ducks rights as an explosion of fire and molten metal spews out of the weapon, making the shrapnel light the wall on fire.

“Wait, no! Don’t fight, please!” I yell, running to put myself between them.

They pay me no mind, Doberman already rushing towards Synthia.

Another shot, another dodge, this time to the side.

I managed to reach them in time, standing in between the shotgun and my familiar.

“There is no need for this! We need to work togeth-”

Dober kicks me in the stomach hard enough to send me flying in the air for a few seconds. I hit the floor and roll a few times.

“No! Jesse!” screamed Synthia. But, she can’t check on me, can’t even turn her head. Dober is now almost within arms reach of her.

She pulls out a canister of some kind out of her stained tank top and starts spraying its contents right for the Other’s eyes.

Dober’s monstrous reflexes save her, allowing her to put one paw in front of her face. The fur and flesh start smoking and dissolving. 

Synthia starts to raise her shotgun for the third blast.

But, before she can press the trigger, Doberman’s other claw comes down in a vicious arc, catching her in her midsection.

No! No, no, no! All I can do is crawl towards them. I can barely breathe from the strike.

Synthia stumbles back, holding her stomach. Four big, grievous looking slashes decorating it, a few small loops of intestines poking out.

“Ughk… Agh… even if I…die…I will..”--the last part is unintelligible--”Ornias! Ornias. Ornias…”

Synthia begins chanting a name and something flashes across Dober’s face. Worry? Fear?

The dog woman starts attacking even more frantically, but even injured, Synthia still has talent. She dodges two strikes and fires her shotgun once, catching Dober with a glancing blow in one thigh.

“Ornias… Ornias…”

The room is now beginning to shake, the ceiling turning darker and darker, red little stars covering the black canvas. They observe us.

“Orn-”

Synthia’s luck runs out and a set of red glowing claws hack through her face, making a wreck of it.

“O…r..n..i-” she says stumbling, blinded on both eyes.

Doberman seizes her by the throat preventing her from finishing off. 

“Fucking die, slut!” she growls, before she swoops in for a bite.

The monster tears out Synthia’s lower mouth and jaw with a great chomp. She chews on it, disgusting bone cracking noises ensue.

The room and ceiling start returning to normal slowly.

“Stop! Please, stop!” I howl, finally having enough air to speak, crying in desperation. “I’ll give you what you want, just stooop!”

The Doberman considers this for a second, but when she sees Synthia pulling a knife out of her tank top, she goes down for another savage bite.

This time its Synthia’s neck and it’s lethal.

“Alwight…Igh..” she said, munching, then swallowing. “Accept your deal. I’ve stopped now. Waste of food in my opinion.”

“No, you fucking bitch! I meant to leave her alive! What the fuck’s wrong with you?! You didn’t follow what I meant so the deal’s void!”

She shakes her head, grinning. “No, it’s not. You didn’t specify when I had to stop and how. There are few things I dislike more than a liar: follow through or I swear I will call you forsworn. This said, put out the fire and cook something you would consider tasty for me within two hours. I want you to wear nothing but an apron."

Finished, she walks out, showing me her back. 

The audacity of this bitch. I unsheath my sword silently, holding it in a white knuckled grip. 

I then begin sprinting madly towards her, wanting nothing but to run her through with my sword.

She doesn’t even turn around, just says: “Don’t perform any actions that you think will harm me in any physical way.”

That stops me right in my tracks, makes me grit my teeth till I think they will crack. If I attack her there is no guarantee I will be able to kill her, much less if I get forsworn through the fight.

She keeps walking and I am left standing there with Synthia’s mutilated corpse.

I kneel down and lay my head on her chest. It hasn’t gone cold yet thankfully but it probably has cooled down a few degrees.

“What do I do, Synthia?” I mumble, waves of choking sobs grabbing a hold of me. “I don’t know what to do anymore… I need you…I don’t think I can do this without you…”