“How’d you get in here?!”, Phil questioned.

“I was hungry. And as it turns out, your fridge had a cup of yogurt sitting in the far corner”, he said. He stood up and began approaching them.

Phil gulped. He didn't know why, but this man made him feel uncomfortable. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt like the man walking towards them wasn’t normal. Everything, down to the man’s bizarre wardrobe of what looked to be a track and business suit, to his pale white tight skin, to the monotone sounding voice, and his sunglasses sent alarm bells through his head. 

On the inside, Phil was screaming to run away from this person as quickly as possible. That this person probably wasn’t even human and that staying would put him and Jim in grave danger. But, he was also curious about who this guy, who clearly wasn't an animal control employee, was and what he had in store for them. 

Suddenly, the man reached into his pocket and pulled something out. It was a business card.

“Where are my manors? My name is Jaxon Cox. I'm a representative from the Homer Institute”

He handed Phil the business card, where he and Jim both took a quick glance at the plastic card.

“Homer Institute?”, Phil repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Never heard of them before”

“That's because what we do isn't that important. Well, to the American public that is”

Jaxon Cox shrugged his shoulders before continuing.

“Anyways, this red eyed dog you two were talking about. It's been giving you trouble lately hasn't it?”

Jim nodded. “Yeah. That Golden Flash has been a complete menace in Brooklyn for the past couple of weeks now”, he said. “We’ve tried our best to catch her but there’s something wrong with that dog. She’s far stronger than any of us and fast too! I know it sounds crazy but that’s true!”

“Don't worry. I believe you two”, Jaxon said as he adjusted his sunglasses. “In fact, it lines up with previous cases our company has been keeping track of over the years. That's why they sent for me”

Phil and Jim looked at each other with confusion.

“I know you boys are hell bent on finding this ‘Golden Flash’, which is why our organization is commissioning this agency to properly hunt her down. We’ve gone ahead and contacted your boss about this so he should be confirming it as we speak”

Jim cocked an eyebrow. “I don't know. I don't think more tranquilizers and nets will be enough to catch her”

Jaxon laughed. “Who said you would be using those again?”

He then turned and made his way towards the door, motioning them to follow. While both of them were unsure about the whole situation, Phil and Jim decided to follow Jaxon anyway. What harm would it do?

The three exited the building to find a black van parked right outside the entrance. Jaxon led the men to the back of the van and flung open the doors. Phil and Jim’s eyes widened in shock. Inside was every kind of gun, bomb and military weapon they could think of.

“You two will randevu at a junkyard in East New York with several others. I've determined from reliable sources that the Golden Flash’s base is there. I hope you’ll use these weapons well”

“Okay look”, Phil began, backing away from the open van. The weirdness of the situation was getting too much to handle.

“I know that the Golden Flash has been causing us trouble with our existing tools, but this seems a bit like overkill”, he said as he held up an ak47, “At the end of the day, she’s just a dog”.

Jaxon’s smile turned into a frown as he leaned in close, staring at Phil with an intense look.

“That ‘Flash’ is no normal dog. Her power is enough to turn this world upside down”, he said.

Phil gulped. “What do you mean?”

At this, Jaxon just smiled.

With the sky turning gold, Cotton swiftly made her way back to the junkyard on the southern edge of Brooklyn. Trundling through the maze of trash piles, she eventually found the little hut she had made for herself. It had been another long day, and she was ready to pass out for the evening. Despite her tiredness, she couldn't help but think about Butch’s proposal from earlier. To be a part of a pack. A group. A family.

“What a load of beeswax”, she muttered, “I’m better off being alone”.

And with that, she fell into a restless sleep.

A cozy apartment.....a fire.....a scared pup.....a figure standing in an open doorway.....

Cotton woke up with a jolt. She had the nightmare again. It wouldn't have been the first time she had it, but it was always unpleasant when she did. If anything, she would’ve preferred if the memories from that horrible night would just go away. But they never did. The best she could do was shove them back deep inside where they wouldn't bother her again. 

As she lay there, trying her best to find sleep but failing, she could hear footsteps. Light, and slow, as if someone was trying to be quiet and sneak up on her.

‘Must be Philly and Jimmy trying to get me again’, she thought. ‘Can’t they wait until morning?’

She jumped when she felt something fly through an opening in her hut and land hard right beside her. She inspected it closely, thinking it was a rock or something. But as her eye’s focused, she could see what looked to be a black soda can, with a red light blinking towards the top, blinking at a faster and faster rate. In an instant, she realized what had just been thrown into her hut. And then.....

KABANG!

It exploded, destroying the hut and the trash mountain right behind it, and sending chunks of debris and bits of trash everywhere. Cotton had managed to evade the blast just in time and stood atop a trash mountain, staring at the tower of fire that once was her home. She couldn't believe it.

“Was.......Was that a bomb?!”, she exclaimed.

Then, hearing the sound of a gun being loaded, she shifted to the right as a stream of bullets flew past her.. As she looked down into the valley of trash, she could see the dog catchers appearing from the shadows carrying everything from hand pistols, assault rifles, to even tommy guns. All aimed directly at her.

“You’ve gotta be fu-”

Her sentence was cut off as she dodged even more gunfire. Dashing down the mountain, she sprinted her way through the valley of trash, stopping when a dogcatcher stepped directly in her path, aiming his gun squarely at his head. She bounced off the pile and bit down on his neck, body slamming the man to the ground. 

Spitting out some of the man’s blood, she took a moment to properly take in the situation. This was extreme. She had never expected this level of retaliation from anyone in her life, especially from the dog catchers she would outrun. But she never thought they would resort to using actual weapons on her. 

But despite this, she couldn't stop the smile slowly growing on her face as excitement coursed through her veins. For the first time in forever, she was being presented with an actual challenge. And she loved it!

“Well Philly and Jimmy. I see you guys decided not to hold back anymore”, she said.

She then spun around and saw two dog catchers aiming their guns at her.

“Then I wont too!”

Within an instant, Cotton closed the gap between them in a second, taking them down with two kicks to jaw and cheek. Going on the offensive, she dug into a trash mound, ready to pop out and merk the next dog catcher she saw. Popping her head out on the other side, she saw a dog catcher’s head turned away from her. 

Letting out an excited laugh, Cotton flew out and hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out instantly. The next few minutes played out the same manner, with Cotton evading bullet fire and taking out the dog catchers in the process; grappling, biting, slashing, kicking, and even giving a barrage of jabs with her front feet. 

Eventually, Cotton managed to knock out nearly all of the dog catchers but at no point during the frenzy did she encounter Phil or Jim. As she wondered where they were hiding, she saw something flying straight towards her. She jumped, but ended up getting caught in the explosion as she tumbled across the ground. Regaining her footing, Cotton looked up to see where the blast had originated from. Her eyes led her to an old factory across the street from the junkyard that had been abandoned for years. In the window stood Jim, holding a rocket launcher.

“There they are”, she smirked.

Jim looked through the scope of his launcher looking for Cotton, but she had completely disappeared.

“Where’d she go!?”, he exclaimed.

Just then, he could hear the faint sound of fast pitter patting from below him, getting louder and louder. Before he could react, Cotton popped from the floor below him and headbutted him square in the jaw. He flew through the air before landing on the floor, completely knocked out.

“Jimmy’s down, but where’s Philly?”

As if answering her question, the corners of the room exploded into flame, towering up to the ceiling. Weather it was intentional or not, the pomeranian realized she had fallen into a trap

“This is the end of the road, Golden Flash!”

She spun around and saw Phil, walking through the only opening in the ring of fire as he carried an assault rifle. She froze. The joy she had felt from earlier had now been overcome by fear. She had been in this situation before, when the man had broken into their apartment. When the man had killed every single soul except for her. When the man had set the place on fire to cover his tracks. 

The horrible emotions associated with night came back to haunt her as she turned back into the scared puppy that lost everything thanks to the cruel hand of fate. She slowly began backing away from Phil, who only smiled. He had won.

“Not so tough now, huh?”, he said as he pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The shot rang throughout the building and into the surrounding area, followed by a dead silence. Phil watched as the body of Cotton flung through the air, blood spurting from the hole made in her head. However, the smile plastered on Phil’s face vanished as he watched Cotton land on her feet. The bullet, now flattened like a pancake, fell onto the floor beneath her.

“I-Impossible!”, he exclaimed. “I shot you straight in the damn head!”

“Bastard...”

Phil’s breath stilled. For a moment, he thought he had heard her speak English. Cotton, however, began to tremble in anger, her head looking down at the ground.

“YOU’RE GOING TO REGRET MAKING ME RELIVE THAT NIGHT!”, she roared

Her head swung up to face him, a crescent mark now glowing on her forehead.

A golden aura suddenly enveloped her, as the feelings of fear give way to pure anger, triggering a power she never knew she had. Phil could only stare in horror as Cotton lunged toward him, throwing her front legs back as they glowed a fiery red. Her body began to spin like a pinwheel.

Golden Cleaver!

With a single strike, she obliterated Phil’s rifle and left a large slash stretching from his left lower abdomen to his right shoulder. Blood spurted out of the wound as he collapsed to the ground. Cotton had landed a few feet away from his head, beginning to feel the power dissipate as she began to calm down. As the rage faded, she couldn't help but utter a single question.

“What was that?”

Her train of thought was broken when she heard Phil coughing behind her. Putting on a stern look, she began walking toward him.

“You know Philly. I knew you wanted to catch me that badly, but this was a bit overkill. Can't say I didn’t have fun though”,  she said.

Opening his eyes, Phil slowly looked up to face her. Despite the deep wound, he was somehow still alive.

“That’s funny. For a second, I thought I could understand you”, he weakly muttered.

Cotton cocked an eyebrow, confused about what he was talking about.

“Seems Mr. Cox was right after all. You really are a Lunite...”

After that he passed out, leaving Cotton with even more questions. What the hell was a Lunite?! But she couldn’t dwell on that for too long, as she heard the sounds of rapid footsteps coming closer. She ran through the opening in the fire wall and out of the burning room into a hallway.To her right was a stairwell where she could hear the approaching dog catchers. 

Normally, she wouldn’t have had any qualms in fighting them but her attack against Phil had left her feeling quite drained of energy. She knew that if she fought them in this state, she wouldn’t survive. She needed to escape. 

Looking to her left, she saw an open window. Thinking it was her key to freedom, she ran towards it; and her heart sank as she peered out through the window. The floor they were on was much higher than she realized and she wasn’t sure if she could survive the fall. But as she heard the footsteps getting closer and closer, she knew she was running out of time. 

She had to decide now.