Snippet #2183310

Woof!
Woof!
The racketing barks that echoed through the room, filling it with noise, caused Ariana to spring up out of her seat. A notebook paper stuck to her forehead and cheek, wet with drool; had she fallen asleep while studying again? Well, it wasn’t really her forte; after just barely graduating high school, she was studying her ass off to get into college. Her head turned towards the barking, ripping the paper off of her face. “Ralph!” She called over towards a dog that seemed to have just as much drool as she did herself.

The sleek dog turned his head over towards her before putting his front paws onto the ground from the windowsill. He whined for her to come over before spinning, twirling in anxiety and then lying down, whining high pitched whines. Ariana rolled her eyes, suggesting that it was only a squirrel that had provoked poor Ralph; she scooted herself out of the small desk, wiping her face off and cleaning her eyes before she placed her hand onto the windowsill and looked up at the sky.

Ariana’s dark eyes widen, before she was accompanied by Ralph, whom had replaced his paws back onto the sill, almost happy that she was seeing the same thing he was. “Damn…” She cursed underneath her breath as she watched the beautiful yet ominous lights light up the sky like the fourth of July in the country. Within the few minutes she had just awoken, Ariana was already heading out of her room door, fiddling on a sweat-jacket over her black tank top and army colored capris.

“Dad!” She called out, her hands on the railing. “Hey, Dad,” there was no answer to her calls as she made her way down the steps, Ralph following after her, licking up the drool that seemed endless. As she made her way down the steps, Ariana saw her father’s figure, along with some blonde broad he must’ve brought home for dinner; the odd thing about them though, was that they were completely still- almost as if they were wax figurines.

Ralph trotted ahead of Ariana’s shocked stance as she stared at them; his whines now becoming more apparent as he neared the couple and engulfed her father’s hand in his mouth. “Dad?” She questioned, slowly walking over towards him. Her hand raised sluggish towards his face, swishing it back and forth. It wasn’t long before she let out a slight laugh and rolled her eyes.

“Very funny, dad; I got your joke, you can stop now.” Ariana crossed her arms and leaned on her hips. Her eyes wondered up and his lifeless body before she took a slight step back. “Fine, if that’s how you want to play, then so be it.” Her voice was now more irritated than before, as she walked over towards the island that stood in their kitchen. It only took her a few minutes to find what she was looking for- a fat sharpie marker- and then she made her way back over to the still bodies.

Ariana popped the cap off and leaned close to her father, grabbing his cheeks; Ralph released the hand, allowing his long sting of drool drip onto the floor as he walked off, his nose to the ground. While he did this, Ariana drew on her father’s face, creating glasses, a uni-brow and a mustache; she moved over and made the blonde broad look as horrifying as possible before she rose back up, a satisfied look on her face. Perhaps she was having too much fun with the drawing, but it wasn’t until she popped the marker’s cap back on when she saw the fish tank- how the fish was also so still.

She dropped the marker and slowly made her way, once again, towards the tank. Ariana’s hands went to her knees as she crouched down to get eye-level with the fish. “What the…” She said, astonished as she tapped on the tank. “I must be dreaming…” She whispered, as she knocked harder on the motionless tank. To make sure she wasn’t dreaming or going crazy, she bit her lip hard enough to taste blood and even slapped her cheeks several times. Yet, each time she’d open her eyes, it’d be the same, still and lifeless scene.

It wasn’t long before the barking of Ralph broke her from her attempts as she leaned back up, walking towards the dog, which was now scratching and whining at the front door. Afraid of what might be outside, she hesitated at first to open the door, but eventually did, causing Ralph to charge out of the house and jump and leap into the air, doing nothing but barking at the colorful sky. She stared for what seemed the longest time before she shuffled on her shoes and chased after Ralph, beckoning him to stop barking.