• It was a still evening; not much going on to speak of. However, at a nearby animal shelter, loud barking and ear-piercing whimpering made silence nearly impossibly. There were various breeds of dogs in cages that were packed with nearly no room for movement. The next room over contained cats. The dogs could hear yowling and loud hissing nearly every night from vicious cat fights.
    There were only two dogs that paid almost no attention to the hype. Bone and Moon were brother and sister born as stray Border Collies, and were captured at least a month after their mother left one day and never returned. Fortunately, they still had each other. They had their own cage in the shelter, which was rather small, but was like a home to them. They never paid much attention to the other dogs around them, and were never intimidated by them.
    The only thing that could really grab their attention and break them away from their silly, playful lives would be when a certain man entered the room. When someone other than him entered the room, it was different... but when it was him, every dog in the room would fall silent. The reason for that was when he would come in, he'd take a dog from one of the cages, and that dog was never seen again. He had a frightening vibe to him... A certain chill of fear would be sent through every dog's back.
    One night, Moon and Bone were wrestling and yipping without a care in the world... Until it happened. The door creaked open, allowing some light to stream through. In the shadow of the light was a tall, burly figure who was slightly bent over. The door opened all the way, and every single dog fell completely silent. The only noise to be heard was the heavy breathing and grunting with every step the figure took. Moon and Bone had a horrible feeling in the pits of their stomachs. As the man drew closer and closer to their cage, they got a really good look at him. His face was smudged with dirt and his hair was thick and matted. And he had kind of a bald spot on the left side above his ear. As he stopped at their cage and stood over them, glaring down at them, Moon was shaking in fear. Bone, on the other hand, was trying to keep his cool and stay strong. He glared back at him and barked. That one bark set the other dogs off until every dog in the room was barking ferociously.
    "SHUT IT!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs with a red face and a large vein popping out of his neck.
    Once again, all of the dogs quieted down with their tails between their legs as they whimpered quietly. The man's eyes bolted back to Moon and Bone. He opened the door to their cage, and roughly tied dirty leather leashes around their necks. He pulled the two frightened dogs out of their cage and began to lead them out the door. Moon was terrified, so she began to struggle with all of her strength, trying her hardest to free herself from the leash.
    "Stoppit!" the man yelled out, frightening Moon and causing her to stop and simply submit. Bone was tempted to bite him, but went with his better judgement and decided not to.
    Moon and Bone were pulled roughly out of the dark room that they had spent nearly three years of their lives in, and were brought into another room with objects on the walls that they were completely unfamiliar with. They were heaved up and placed on tables, and the man left the room. The two terrified dogs felt a deep feeling of relief shoot through them. They sat there quietly for a few minutes, wondering what would be coming to them next.
    It wasn't long before the door opened again, and someone walked in. It wasn't that creepy guy that mistreated them, it was a woman. It was a rather sweet looking woman who seemed like she wouldn't do anything to harm them in any way. Moon and Bone relaxed again and let their guard down as she examined them.
    Just as they felt as though they could trust her completely, she pulled out a syringe and stuck the sharp end into Bone's side. He perked up and Moon's eyes bolted in his direction. She watched him as he slowly relaxed and closed his eyes, and thought that he was just suddenly feeling sleepy. As a matter of fact, he was feeling sleepy. He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and could feel himself drifting off into a deep sleep. Moon continued to watch him and saw as the woman pulled out another syringe. She injected it into Bone's body and his breathing pace slowly started to decrease, and he seemed so relaxed.
    Bone's dreams were peaceful though. He started to see his life, and everything that had occurred in it. All the good memories with Moon, and the sadness of waiting for his mother to come home, and slowly giving up hope of ever seeing her again. Mostly the happy memories filled his mind.
    Moon, on the other hand, was watching his breathing come to a slowdown until it finally stopped altogether. Bone laid there completely still. Moon could no longer feel Bone's presence in the room, and for the first time in her life, she felt completely alone.
    Her eyes began brimming with tears as she whimpered quietly. She knew exactly what had happened to her brother, and she knew what was in store for her as well. The woman turned to look at Moon, and Moon's tear-filled eyes widened. She was frozen and couldn't find it within herself to move and attempt to escape out the door that was gaping open. Moon watched in terror as the woman approached her, coming closer and closer, pulling out another syringe. Moon finally lost hope completely, so she put her head down and waited to be injected with the needle that was coming her way. The sharp needle finally pierced through her skin, but Moon didn't make a sound. It didn't take long before she began to experience what her brother did. Her eyelids began to feel very heavy, and drowsiness consumed her. Sleep wasn't difficult for her to come by for once. She drifted off into a heavy sleep immediately. Not long after that, she began to dream about her life and everything she did during her life. She saw herself playing with Bone, and playing tricks on him. She herself watching Bone wait for their mother while she knew that she wasn't going to come back. She even saw that dreadful moment when her brother's presence faded from the world. However, she suddenly felt something warm and welcoming approaching her from behind. She turned around and saw something very bright and mysterious. She was tempted to walk towards it, and did so mindlessly. She stopped just short of it, and suddenly saw two familiar figures coming toward her. She soon figured out who the shapes were.
    'Bone? Mother?' she thought to herself in amazement. At that very moment, she knew where she was. She knew why she was seeing her family. They were coming to greet and welcome her to Heaven. With a swift movement, Moon was reunited with her mom and her brother. And she felt truly happy and peaceful from there on out.

    ~THE END~