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5.
In the three days that followed, Baylee became rapidly convinced of the thought that it had all been a stupid dream. Although he hadn’t seen Keeko anywhere, although he swore he sometimes heard noises from down the basement stairs, it must have been a stupid dream.

Keeko had probably found herself locked down there and was making those noises and without Baylee or Dad opening the door, there was no way she could come out.

Although Baylee had convinced himself of having had a nightmare, something still stopped him from going down, so he wouldn’t be able to free his dog.

And Dad… well, Dad was still gone. Longer than usual. It made Mom and the others a little anxious, but Baylee knew he’d come back soon enough and life would go on like nothing had happened. He always did.

Baylee didn’t know what eventually gave him the courage to walk down the basement stairs four days after his traumatizing, nightly expedition. Maybe it was concern for Keeko, who was still locked down there somewhere without much food other than bags of chips and the occasional candy. Maybe it was the sheer curiosity and need to prove that he’d been dreaming before. Cause if he hadn’t been, that wolf was most likely still down there, trapped into the confined space of the studio’s office desk and probably mad as hell for being left alone for four days without a possibility to escape.

That fact alone prevented Baylee from actually getting in. No thank you sir, he’d just look through the tiny window of the office door to see if Keeko was there.

Only a little confidently, he peered inside and his heart sank to the ground, then started pounding madly in his ears as he saw the white wolf curled up on the desk, obviously asleep. The drawers of the desk were ripped open and Baylee saw several torn bags of snacks and mutilated bottles of soda lying haphazardly scattered on the floor.

But that wasn’t what surprised him most. The biggest surprise was Keeko. Or the fact that she was still alive. Baylee watched with his mouth wide-open as the small, white ball of fur raced around the room, sniffling several empty bags of chips before taking off in a mad run again. She didn’t seem to mind the giant white wolf on top of the desk.

Baylee turned around in astonishment, exhaling as he pressed his back into the wooden door with wide-open eyes. He closed his eyes, counted to ten and turned around to watch through the window again as he opened his eyes.

He wouldn’t have believed his dogs behaviour if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. Did Keeko have a death wish? That was the only explanation that he could think of when he saw her getting closer to the desk, hesitating only a split second before jumping on the table, inches away from the wild animal asleep on it.
Maybe it wasn’t asleep? Maybe it was dead? Maybe Keeko had killed it?

Baylee quickly discarded that thought when he saw the wolf move its tail slightly when Keeko jumped on top of it. Its ears flattened against its neck and Baylee’s eyes went large when he realized what that meant.

Forgetting that the studio was more or less soundproof he began to yell at his dog. What was she thinking?

That thing was going to eat her and she was just going to let it happen? She was practically asking for it.

Keeko didn’t care less for the wolf’s warning attitude and happily trotted over the animal’s back before reaching its head and jumping off, suddenly yapping in ecstasy. The wolf’s eyes opened and revealed two pissed off puddles of blue. Baylee inhaled sharply and held his breath as he watched how the carnivore turned its head, growled at the yapping Maltese and listlessly flapped its tail at Keeko. Keeko only saw this as an invitation to start running in fast circles around the larger animal, almost becoming a white blur with the sudden speed she possessed.

“Oh my God,” Baylee choked out as he suddenly remembered where he’d seen this ritual before.

This was exactly the way Keeko reacted whenever Dad came home.

The pieces fell together in a dizzying speed and Baylee felt lightheaded as he stumbled back into the wall across.

The blue eyes, the strange behaviour, the fact that his father was missing…

He took a deep breath, opening the door slightly, immediately greeted by his ever so happy Maltese dog.

He stared at the desk table, not paying Keeko any attention as he saw the wolf slowly raised its head and watched him with an angry expression on its animalistic features. The large carnivore slowly got upright, stretching its muscles and Baylee took a careful step back, suddenly not so confident anymore.

The wolf never broke eye-contact as it jumped off the desk, growled something at him and then headed for the door.

Baylee stayed frozen for a few more seconds before following the animal into the basement. “No, wait!” He called. “Dad, wait!”

At lightning speed, the wolf turned around, baring its teeth as it barked at him, and clumsily bumping its tail into a piece of furniture that was gathering dust in the basement. Its nostrils flared as Baylee slowly came closer, kneeling in front of the animal and staring into its light blue eyes.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault,” he spoke quietly. A low grumble from the wolf’s throat confirmed his statement. “I’ll fix it, alright? I’ll find a way to fix it.”