Sugarcane

the dog collapses in on himself in silence\n\neyes fall from their papery sockets and roll onto the ground\nmucus forms a luminous [[pool|end4]] around his body\n

the dog collapses in on himself in silence\n\neyes fall from their papery sockets and [[roll|end3]] onto the ground\n

the dog collapses in on himself in silence\n\neyes fall from their papery sockets and roll onto the ground\nmucus forms a luminous pool around his body\nshreds of skin go limp, exposing brittle [[bone|theend]]\n

<<silently>><<set $pool16 = "no">>\n<<set $park6 = "no">>\n<<set $junk12 = "no">><<endsilently>>the dog's been acting pretty [[weird|dog1]] lately\n\n\n\n\n[img[olddog.png]]

it's understandable, you guess\n\nhis eyes are swollen pinkish and glazed,\nhe's seeping some sort of mucusy substance, \nhis skin is falling off in chunks\nrevealing hints of [[bone|junk10]] underneath

Dog

it's [[understandable|junk9]], you guess

you stand up to get to a phone and call the vet\nthe dog tries to stand up [[after|wobble]] you

the dog collapses in on himself in [[silence|end2]]\n

you scratch the dog's ears\nflesh peels off in flakes, you remove your hand from his head\n\nwhoops\n\nhe shivers a little, his skin feels cold\n\nyou give him a [[blanket|blanket]]\nyou call the [[vet|vet]]

his legs quickly give way, breaking in half with a tiny crack \nmucusy substance flows from the wounds\n\nyou turn back to the dog as his eyes begin to [[glaze|oh]] over

you and the dog are back in your room, watching TV\nboth tired and excited from the past few days\n\nyou [[pet|pet]] the dog's head\n\nyou [[ask|ask]] the dog where he'd like to go next

the day passes, and the sun begins to set\n\nit glints off the water, casts a warm light on the dog's wilting [[fur|pool10]]

the day passes, and the sun begins to [[set|pool9]]

the blanket sears at his skin,releasing a flood of mucus and bile from his dilapidated stomach\n\nyou throw the blanket away from him as quickly as you can \n\nhis eyes begin to [[glaze|oh]] over

you solemnly push the ship back down into the heap as your dog watches, [[confused|junk12]]

a black eel slips by, lightly brushing his paws\nthe dog lunges at it with his [[nose|pool4]], splashing water onto his face\n

it's been a while since you made it out to the pool with the dog\nfeels like it's grown some since you last visited\n\nthe edges of the pool extend further than you can see\na few other people stand with their dogs in the distance\n\nthe dog [[looks|pool3]] all around him, takes it all in\n

he's still sort of hard to look at, though\nwhile he's swimming around, little clumps of fur fall off into the water\nthe mucus around his eyes is getting worse,\nlarge globs of translucent whitish stuff seeping into his fur\n\nbut he looks like he's having [[fun|pool8]] \n

you spend most of the day sitting in the water,\nwatching your dog putter around\n\nhe's wearing red swimshorts and a red swim cap that hasn't been used since his youth\nhe still looks pretty okay in them, you [[think|pool6]]

a black eel slips by, lightly brushing his paws\nthe dog lunges at it with his nose, splashing water onto his face\n\nit darts out of sight instantly\nthe dog looks [[excited|pool5]]\n

you and the dog have always liked to wander through the junkyard,\nscouting out interesting or mysterious [[objects|junk2]]

the sun finally disappears\nyou look over to your sickly old dog\n\nthe mucus pouring from his eyes, nose and mouth has a faint greenish glow in the [[darkness|pool14]]

his fur is blowing around a bit with the breeze\nhis stare is very intent\nyou think to yourself he looks sort of [[regal|pool13]]

you watch him stare at the sky\nby now the water is littered with fur and skin\nthe mucus continues to leak out his eyes and nostrils,\ntrailing down and leaving little [[puddles|pool11]] in the water

the day is overcast, so when you arrive at the park it's mostly [[empty|park2]]

<<set $pool16 = "yes">> you pick up the dislodged eye and gather as much of the debris from the water as you can\n\nit's been a nice day\ntime to [[head back|where]]

the sun finally disappears\nyou look over to your sickly old dog\n\nthe mucus pouring from his eyes, nose and mouth has a faint greenish glow in the darkness\n\nan eye slowly dislodges from its drooping socket,\nfalling into the water with a pathetic plop\n\nyou figure it'd be best to [[leave|pool16]] now

body { background-color: white; h1-color:black; }\n.passage .content { color:black }

the dog stares weakly back at you\n\non second thought, now might not be the best [[time|whatnext]]

<<set $junk12 = "yes">>your hunt continues through the rest of the day\nthe dog uncovers many more objects,\nand seems to feel all his old excitement over the search\n\nyou count the day a success, and [[head home|where]]\n

it's been a while since you made it out to the pool with the dog\nfeels like it's [[grown|pool2]] some since you last visited

but it's still [[rude|junk11]]

some of the organisms gasp in shock, others wiggle their puny arm-things in [[horror|junk8]] at your old dog's condition

you climb toward the object, the dog's filmy eyes widened with excitement\n\nas you stand over it, you can make out that it's the very tip of a small sailboat, inching slowly through the sea of junk\n\nin the sailboat are a group of tiny, amoebalike organisms who immediately take notice of you and your [[dog|junk7]]

you climb toward the object, the dog's filmy eyes widened with [[excitement|junk5]]

he's giving the familiar wriggle now,\ncasting a pointed gaze at something just barely [[obscured|junk4]] from sight

you and the dog have always liked to wander through the junkyard,\nscouting out mysterious objects \n\nnowadays, the weak old dog has to be carried while you trudge through the piles of garbage\nbut he still knows to give a [[wriggle|junk3]] when he detects something worthy of note

"[[oh|TV]]" you say\n

you give the swing a few pushes and soon your dog is whooshing back and forth,\nhis skin flying behind him\nspit and slime sparkling in the dim light\n\nthe two of you are overcome with [[laughter|park6]]

the dog's been acting pretty weird lately\n\nhis fur's been falling out \nhe can barely keep his food down\nhe's always tired\n\nyour family says he probably won't last too much longer,\nyou guess they're probably [[right|dog3]]\n\n

<<set $park6 = "yes">>after awhile, the dog tires out and rain begins to fall\nyou scoop up the old, drooping mound and sit down at a nearby bench, \nwatching the rain fall for a few minutes before deciding it's time to [[head home|where]]\n\n

he immediately hustles over to the swingset,\ntossing you an expecting [[look|park4]]

the day is overcast, so when you arrive at the park it's mostly empty\n\nthe dog spots the swingset and seems to perk up\n\nlast time he saw this place he was just a [[child|park3]]

you reach over to click off the TV \nthen sit back down on the [[floor|end]]

he immediately hustles over to the swingset,\ntossing you an expecting look\n\nyou oblige, lifting the dog onto the seat\nyour hand sinks into drapes of loose [[flesh|park5]] as you carry him \n

you get an idea\n\nyou want to take the dog someplace, have some fun while he can still get around well enough\n\nyou tell the dog your idea, he turns his head toward you and [[wags|dog7]] his tail a bit

you get an idea\n\nyou want to take the dog someplace, have some fun while he can still get around well enough\n\nyou tell the dog your idea, he turns his head toward you and wags his tail a bit\n\nit's [[decided|where]] then

you turn your head and [[stare|dog5]] down at the dog

you turn your head and stare down at the dog\n\nhe's pathetic to look at,\nskin loose and sagging off his bones, \neyes droopy with little beads of mucus squeezing from the corners \n\nyou reach to pat his head, lightly scratching behind his ears\nhe blinks [[slowly|dog6]] in response

where will you go?\n\n[[the park|park]]\n[[the pool|pool]]\n[[the junkyard|junk]]\n\n\n<<if $park6 eq "yes">><<if $junk12 eq "yes">><<if $pool16 eq "yes">>[[what next?|whatnext]]<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>

right now he's sitting next to you in your room\nit's dark except the flickering of the TV \nyou both stare at the screen quietly \nhis fur is matted and [[oily|dog4]] against your leg

the dog's been acting pretty weird lately\n\nhis fur's been falling out \nhe can barely keep his food down\nhe's always [[tired|dog2]]\n\n[img[olddog2.png]]