Scorpion [Scorpions 01] Read Online Free PDF Page B

pet right down to the tip of his tail. He would go off and sniff his way through the grass and over the green fields, ignoring all forms of wildlife, and when he’d had enough he would return to where his master was waiting and curl up at the foot of Maurice’s sleeping bag.
        ‘Come on, Rex,’ Maurice called, and carried on reading. He glanced up after a few moments when the dog failed to appear. That was unusual. Rex always waited for that command and then he would dart inside the tent. Maurice sat up, his head forward as he listened to the sound of the dog prowling restlessly around the campsite. ‘Here, Rex!’ he called sharply. The dog stayed outside - but it made a low, throaty grumble. Maurice frowned. He hadn’t heard Rex make a sound like that for a long time.
        The rumbling increased as the dog neared the tent. Maurice, faintly aware of something not quite right, unzipped his sleeping bag and drew his legs out.
        Rex’s head appeared in the open tent flap. At first Maurice didn’t notice anything different. Then the animal eased forward, light from the lamp falling across the head and neck.
        A sharp cry escaped from Maurice’s lips, and he drew back with a sudden movement.
        The dog snarled, lips peeling back from glistening teeth. Frothy saliva dribbled out over the swollen tongue. Rex swung his head from side to side, as if trying to dislodge something from his fur. The light fell across the left side of the dog’s head. The eye was lost in a puffy, swollen mass of discolored flesh. Maurice was able to see other swollen mounds under the dog’s fur, along the neck and the body. And now, as the animal stepped further into the tent, Maurice could distinguish dark objects in the tangled fur. Abruptly the dog lunged forward into the tent, moving past him to cower in the dark rear corner.
        ‘Rex!’ Maurice called, holding out a hand. ‘What happened, boy? Are you hurt? Come here! Here!’
        The dog remained where it was. Its eye gleamed as it caught the light from the lamp.
        Maurice leaned forward, stretching out his hand. ‘Come on, old pal. Surely you’re not frightened of me.’
        The low rumbling in Rex’s throat rose to a wild, slobbering snarl. As Maurice’s gentle hand reached out to touch it the dog darted forward, jaws opening wide. There was a moment of frantic confusion, and Maurice cried out in agony as Rex’s teeth tore into the flesh of his outstretched hand. He wrenched his hand back, lacerating it as he freed it from Rex’s jaw. Blood welled up from the wounds as Maurice scrambled away from the dog. His heel caught in the folds of the sleeping bag and he fell, sprawling on his back. He threw his hands up in front of his face as the dark shape of the dog rose above him. It landed on his stomach and chest, digging in its claws as it struggled to maintain its balance. He saw the frothing jaws coming down at his face and tried to push the dog away. Sharp teeth tore at his hands, tearing, ripping the flesh. Blood spurted from the ragged gashes, spattering Maurice’s face. Resistance was futile. Rex was in a paroxysm of fury, oblivious to the fact that he was attacking the one person in the world who cared for him. There was a single, brief moment when man and dog stared deep into each other’s eyes. And then it was past, gone, and Rex gave a chilling snarl as he lunged forward, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of Maurice’s throat. He gave a single, despairing scream before Rex’s bloody teeth tore out his throat. Blood spurted out in scarlet fountains, soaking the dog’s fur, yet it continued to savage the man’s flesh. Even as Maurice Jenkins was dying, ruined hands twitching, legs jerking in final spasms, Rex was still snapping and clawing, opening more wounds in the quivering flesh.
        Gradually the dog’s fury abated. It crawled off the mutilated, blood-spattered body and stood motionless, head