1 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:13,039 Speaker 1: The Baptism of a dog Man, Mumbai, India. I would 2 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:15,480 like to share a dog man's story that I've written 3 00:00:15,919 --> 00:00:20,120 inspired by a true event that happened with me. I 4 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,679 still can't wrap my head around it. Writing this story 5 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,120 is probably away from me. To make sense of it, 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,480 I will reveal to you what part of the story 7 00:00:29,719 --> 00:00:35,000 is true toward the end. Usually we have heard stories 8 00:00:35,119 --> 00:00:40,119 only about encounters with the vicious, cryptid dog man. Here 9 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,200 is a legend about how a dog man probably comes 10 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,320 into being as a result of the apathy of the 11 00:00:46,439 --> 00:00:50,320 very society we live in and certain dark forces we 12 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:55,679 know almost nothing about. I grew up in a part 13 00:00:55,679 --> 00:01:00,479 of Mumbai, India that has always identified themselves as nastis, 14 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,000 meaning non believers, non believers in everything from the great 15 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,920 gods to the damned devils. But something happened in this 16 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:15,359 quaint town that crushed this belief to blunt yards. My 17 00:01:15,439 --> 00:01:18,640 town is located on the outskirts of the National Park, 18 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,040 so close to the woods that it gets preposterously chilly, 19 00:01:23,359 --> 00:01:28,519 especially at night. Outsiders find it eerie, but to us 20 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:33,120 it just means that ice cream lasts longer. I was 21 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,400 employed for the longest time but managed to get a 22 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:40,040 job as a postman thanks to my childhood friend Tahas, 23 00:01:40,519 --> 00:01:44,799 who works as an accountant at the local post office. 24 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,560 Postmen get designated zones in which they have to deliver. 25 00:01:49,439 --> 00:01:52,200 Lucky for me, I got to sign. The area where 26 00:01:52,239 --> 00:01:55,319 Tahas and I have lived all our lives is on 27 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,480 the outskirts of the National Park. Unlike in foreign trees, 28 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,439 Indian postmen do not get vehicles for delivery and have 29 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:09,080 to deliver mostly on foot. I didn't mind that. I 30 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:11,360 thought it would help me shed the extra pounds that 31 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,919 I had put on while I was unemployed. But delivering 32 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,680 posts turned out to be a thankless job. To pull 33 00:02:19,719 --> 00:02:22,319 my spirits up, I would plug in my earphones and 34 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,039 try to bob my head to the sickest beats on 35 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,840 the way to the houses. It seldom helped. Now, I 36 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:33,039 would often cross our town's colorful marketplace, where I was 37 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,680 always greeted by this cute little black and white Streek 38 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:41,919 dog I called her Patchy. She would jump in glee 39 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,599 and put her four limbs on my hips because she 40 00:02:44,719 --> 00:02:48,919 knew I carried in my shirt pocket the tastiest roasted 41 00:02:49,039 --> 00:02:53,360 chickpeas a form of healthy energy replenishment. In case I 42 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,120 got really tired, which was often, but I would still 43 00:02:57,159 --> 00:02:59,879 give her a handful of chickpeas as it was extra 44 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:05,080 extraordinarily amusing to see her relish the snack. She'd nibblely 45 00:03:05,159 --> 00:03:07,800 licked my hand clean in a matter of seconds, but 46 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,159 made sure that her teeth never hurt me. Patchy was 47 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:16,680 undoubtedly the highlight of my day, the smile in many 48 00:03:16,759 --> 00:03:21,759 miles of misery. One morning, I got an earfull at 49 00:03:21,759 --> 00:03:25,319 the post office for having a delivery backlog, and I 50 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,800 was given an ultimatum by my superior to finish off 51 00:03:28,879 --> 00:03:31,120 all of the deliveries by the end of the day 52 00:03:31,319 --> 00:03:34,960 or else he would fire me. I was not ready 53 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,240 to face the demons of unemployment again, so I was 54 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,199 hauling ass across town to deliver the backlogged post and 55 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:47,000 new post. I was rushing past the marketplace when I 56 00:03:47,039 --> 00:03:52,000 heard a bark from across the street. Oh no, not today, sweetie, 57 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,080 I thought, no time for doggy loving when your ass 58 00:03:55,159 --> 00:03:58,080 is on the line. But the black and white qutie 59 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,840 barked again and gave the cutest smile. It was enough 60 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,199 to make a heart of stone melt, and mine is 61 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:08,719 merely made of tender. I reached in my pocket for 62 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:12,360 her favorite roasted chickpeas, and her ears perked up, and 63 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:17,439 I know she was salivating in anticipation. Patchy darted across 64 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:21,480 the street, and in a flash, a sedan just steam 65 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:26,600 rolled over her out of nowhere, the horrid yelp. It 66 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,639 is an imprinted scar in my memory, like a third 67 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,959 degree burned passers by. I tried to stop the car, 68 00:04:34,079 --> 00:04:37,879 but the reckless ass sped away. I didn't care for that. 69 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,199 All I cared for was the highlight of my day, 70 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,600 and she was just crushed under its wheels. I ran 71 00:04:45,639 --> 00:04:48,120 to her and sat down on the filthy road where 72 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:53,000 she laid, and she looked surprisingly fine but motionless. So 73 00:04:53,079 --> 00:04:56,319 I lifted her head in my palm and it felt wet, 74 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:01,240 but it wasn't blood. It was her brains. One side 75 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:03,759 of her skull was missing and her brain was spilling 76 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,800 out and in shock. I sat there with the dog 77 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:11,680 in my arms for the longest time. My buzzing phone 78 00:05:11,759 --> 00:05:15,079 jolted me out of the days. It was my supervisor. 79 00:05:15,759 --> 00:05:19,079 I hope you're done with most of your deliveries. Report 80 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,040 back to me at six pm on the dot, hopefully 81 00:05:22,079 --> 00:05:26,120 with your post bag empty. The fact was I had 82 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,959 barely started for the day. I laid Patchy back down 83 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,120 and wiped her brains off my fingers with my handkerchief, 84 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,279 and I looked around for help. I was lucky a 85 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,759 nearby shop owner was already on call with the authorities. 86 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,319 He gave me a nod, and I'm not proud of it, 87 00:05:45,439 --> 00:05:47,920 but I left the beloved street dog and I rushed 88 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,399 to complete my deliveries. I had lost one worthy thing 89 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,720 in my life, and it made no sense losing another. 90 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,399 I ran, and I ran like the wind, even though 91 00:06:00,399 --> 00:06:03,439 my appalling fitness allowed me only to move like a 92 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:08,519 slow breeze across the marketplace many times. But Patchie still 93 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,600 lay there in the middle of the street. This is 94 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:15,199 what often happens in my country. The authorities don't give 95 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:19,160 a shit about us, much less a dead dog. And 96 00:06:19,199 --> 00:06:22,639 then the late evening heat scorched her dead body to 97 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,959 the point where it began to emit the odor of decomposition. 98 00:06:27,439 --> 00:06:30,560 I covered my nose with my handkerchief until I realized 99 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,800 I was inhaling Patchi's brain off of it, and I 100 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:37,000 shoved it back into my pocket. I couldn't help but 101 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:42,079 just go on with making my deliveries. The deadline of 102 00:06:42,199 --> 00:06:46,519 six pm flew by as if in seconds. I made 103 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,439 deliveries into the dead of the night, and I was 104 00:06:49,519 --> 00:06:53,560 cursed by sleepy homeowners. And still I was unable to 105 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,519 finish all the deliveries. It was impossible with the backlog. 106 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,240 My crazy supervisor called me to the post office at 107 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:04,920 that hour, only to fire me and take away my 108 00:07:05,079 --> 00:07:09,279 ID card in the remaining post letters. I phoned my 109 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,360 friend the post office account at Tahas, but even his 110 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,639 pleas to the supervisor didn't help. I was having the 111 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:23,199 worst day of my life. I was dejected and defeated, 112 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,920 and I walked home alone. The chill, the fog from 113 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:32,000 the National Park crept in once more. Crossing the marketplace, 114 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,399 I dreaded seeing the dead dog again, but she wasn't there. 115 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:38,480 Thank god, the authorities had picked her up for a 116 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,079 decent burial, I thought. I walked up the druid, desolate 117 00:07:43,199 --> 00:07:46,920 street and shop shutters down. Not a sound but that 118 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,399 of the wishing wind. I saw a shadow moving down 119 00:07:51,439 --> 00:07:55,040 the street. It went past the light of the street 120 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:59,160 lamp and appeared beneath another. This time it was not 121 00:07:59,279 --> 00:08:03,480 a shadow, but because it was clearly lit, my eyes widened. 122 00:08:04,279 --> 00:08:06,920 It was a dog, and I couldn't believe it. It 123 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,959 was black and white. It was Patchy, no doubt about it. 124 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,879 But she looked strange, a little off. I felt a 125 00:08:15,959 --> 00:08:19,399 lump in my chest and a ball of fear or happiness. 126 00:08:19,639 --> 00:08:23,720 I didn't know. How could she be alive? I saw 127 00:08:23,759 --> 00:08:27,120 her die this morning. I saw her brains in the road, 128 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:31,480 and I smelled her decomposing body. How could she be alive? 129 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,360 I couldn't wrap my head around this. And then she 130 00:08:35,399 --> 00:08:39,960 started limping toward the curb. There was a decrepit woman 131 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:43,799 sitting there. She had white hair and a multicolored surrey. 132 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,879 But I couldn't see her face, not that there wasn't 133 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:52,120 enough light. There was. She was sitting under the street light, 134 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:56,639 but her face was complete darkness, as if she were faceless. 135 00:08:57,799 --> 00:09:01,639 She stretched her hand out to Patchy and started applying 136 00:09:01,759 --> 00:09:04,480 a yellow paste on the dog's head where the skull 137 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:09,440 had broken off. Ah, it's t merick, I thought. Tameric 138 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:14,559 is a local aniseptic found widely in Indian kitchens. She 139 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,279 was applying it to heal the street dog. Maybe I 140 00:09:18,399 --> 00:09:23,159 was misreading the situation. The woman was here to help hell. 141 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:28,159 She practically resurrected my beloved Patche using ancient Indian medicines. 142 00:09:29,759 --> 00:09:32,919 Still applying the tameric, the woman looked at me. The 143 00:09:33,039 --> 00:09:37,159 chill ran through my entire body. My muscles, which were 144 00:09:37,159 --> 00:09:40,399 aching after the horrid day, throbbed in much greater pain, 145 00:09:40,759 --> 00:09:46,200 and then suddenly relaxed. Feeling strange but relieved. I smiled 146 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,360 at her, and she picked up something from beside her. 147 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,679 It was pieces of brain, and she shoved it inside 148 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:57,240 the dog's head. Her entire fist was inside. The dog 149 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:00,679 let out a deafening howl, brandishing her teeth, which appeared 150 00:10:00,759 --> 00:10:04,960 much larger than before. And then it struck me why 151 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:09,320 Patchy looked so strange. She had somehow become larger in 152 00:10:09,399 --> 00:10:13,360 a matter of hours, but still she was supposedly dead. 153 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:16,919 This is not my Patchy, and this is not a woman, 154 00:10:17,039 --> 00:10:21,399 I thought. I gasped out loud at the realization, as 155 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,480 my gut sank a thousand feet. But now Patchi turned 156 00:10:25,519 --> 00:10:27,639 toward me and growled as if I was the one 157 00:10:27,639 --> 00:10:31,720 who shoved a hand on her skull. I backed up, 158 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,679 and Patchy jumped up onto her hind legs, just as 159 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:39,759 the old decrepit woman stood up I waited for the 160 00:10:39,799 --> 00:10:42,679 dog's fore legs to come back down, but they didn't. 161 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:49,000 What the hell? The darkness in the woman's face became bigger, 162 00:10:49,399 --> 00:10:52,720 as big as a wrecking ball. It seemed as if 163 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:55,320 she had opened her mouth wide, and a low rumble 164 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,879 filled the air, and my chest vibrated like a tuning 165 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:03,799 fork and my stomach I vomited. My ears hurt like hell, 166 00:11:03,879 --> 00:11:08,480 and blood ran out of them. The damn dog started 167 00:11:08,519 --> 00:11:13,039 sprinting menacingly on his hind legs toward me. The black 168 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:16,720 and white face with ghoulish, shining black eyes and a 169 00:11:16,799 --> 00:11:22,200 yellow red head, scowled and drooled. I ran back down 170 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,679 the road as fast as I could, not looking back 171 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,039 even once, and I dashed into the post office and 172 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:32,759 locked myself in the strange booth. Outside the door, there 173 00:11:32,799 --> 00:11:36,919 was a loud bang, and then howls, and then scratching claws. 174 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,399 Why does Patchie want to kill me? I was good 175 00:11:40,399 --> 00:11:43,559 to her, I fed her. Now she can't be Patchy. 176 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:48,440 The thoughts plagued my mind all night. I don't remember 177 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:54,320 whether the scratching stopped first or exhaustion consumed me. I 178 00:11:54,399 --> 00:11:58,240 was woken to Knox and my supervisor's bossy shouts early 179 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,559 the next morning, who locked this room? And what are 180 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:06,279 these scratches? I have important files in here. Relieved, I 181 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,480 opened the door for the supervisor and standing behind him 182 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:12,559 was ta Haas. They were shocked to see me and 183 00:12:12,639 --> 00:12:16,000 my clothes were stained. I had shit in my pants 184 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,320 due to the fright during the night's ordeal. I hadn't 185 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,240 realized it at the time. Tahas took the day off 186 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,720 and he took me home and he bathed me and 187 00:12:26,759 --> 00:12:29,200 sat with me patiently, even though I didn't say a 188 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,840 word to him. He prepared some food and we ate 189 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,440 and then he put me to sleep. He is a 190 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:40,279 true friend. Indeed, that evening I said to him, I 191 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,519 want to tell you, but I don't understand it myself. 192 00:12:44,519 --> 00:12:46,759 There is no need. He said, Let's go out for 193 00:12:46,879 --> 00:12:50,799 drinks to your favorite place. Well that brought a smile 194 00:12:50,879 --> 00:12:55,320 to my face and a time that seemed the darkest. 195 00:12:56,159 --> 00:13:01,399 Our favorite, extravagantly secret, magical place for locals to drink 196 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,879 was the National Park. The park stays shut at night, 197 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:09,759 and so we entered unnoticed from a secluded end of town. 198 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:13,120 We had broken a hole at the bottom of the 199 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:17,120 National Park's boundary wall. And that night, Taos and I 200 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,279 purchased our whiskey from the local liquor shop and we 201 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:25,879 entered the park woods. It was serene and quiet and calm, 202 00:13:25,919 --> 00:13:29,360 like this town is always supposed to be. It took 203 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,799 my mind off the horrific memories of last night, the 204 00:13:32,919 --> 00:13:36,600 dog and the shadow woman, the howls and the yelps. 205 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,720 Oh God, I closed my eyes while walking, and a 206 00:13:41,799 --> 00:13:44,919 tear fell down my cheek. It was a good thing. 207 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,639 It was pitch dark in the woods, so Tahis couldnot 208 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,639 see them. What sort of man cries in front of 209 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:55,240 another man? I thought, A manly one, I realized later. 210 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,080 Soon we were drinking and smoking heavily, reminiscing about how 211 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,639 we used to score on girls and all the mischief 212 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:09,360 we would gravitate to, and we laughed and laughed. A 213 00:14:09,399 --> 00:14:12,440 haunting image came screaming back to me, that of the 214 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,759 decrepit woman shoving her hand inside Patchie's head, and I 215 00:14:16,799 --> 00:14:21,440 stopped laughing. Though Tejas could not see my face, he 216 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,799 could sense something was wrong. Do you hear that too? 217 00:14:25,039 --> 00:14:30,200 He asked me. Hear what? The faint sound of hoofs 218 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,279 thumped the ground. The thumping increased as if there were 219 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:38,159 hundreds of animals approaching and we could not decipher what 220 00:14:38,279 --> 00:14:43,639 they were. The woods were laden with ferocious leopards infamous 221 00:14:43,679 --> 00:14:49,159 for claiming many innocent lives. Run whispered Tajos, and we 222 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,240 took off at a sprint, blind and in the opposite direction, 223 00:14:52,399 --> 00:14:56,519 leaving all our booze behind. I crashed into the thick 224 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,200 trees and I couldn't see a thing, but I could 225 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,840 feel fear like water up the nose. Tahis helped me 226 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,159 up and we darted through the thicket, bruising ourselves with 227 00:15:07,279 --> 00:15:11,960 whips from the bushes. But then we heard approaching hoofs 228 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,600 from this direction as well, then the left, and we 229 00:15:15,679 --> 00:15:19,879 ran towards the right, and something surrounded us. The thumping 230 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,480 was so loud that Tahas and I huddled together and 231 00:15:22,519 --> 00:15:27,200 we sat down, waiting for an inevitable stampede. The hoofs 232 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,440 sped toward us, but stopped merely a centimeter short, and 233 00:15:31,559 --> 00:15:34,720 wind gushed past as dust filled the air to a 234 00:15:34,759 --> 00:15:41,679 stifling point, and then everything went silent. We couldn't see 235 00:15:41,679 --> 00:15:45,440 a thing. With trembling hands, I lit the flashlight on 236 00:15:45,559 --> 00:15:48,399 my mobile phone, expecting to see a leopard or a 237 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:52,679 panther or a wild boar, But no, what we saw 238 00:15:52,759 --> 00:15:58,080 were deer, hundreds and hundreds of deer like mannequins, standing 239 00:15:58,159 --> 00:16:04,159 paralyzed in fear. What were they petrified of? Was it us? Well, 240 00:16:04,159 --> 00:16:07,639 that was unlikely. I couldn't understand, but I hope that 241 00:16:07,679 --> 00:16:09,919 they weren't scared of the same thing I ran from 242 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,840 the night before. I reached for Ta Hoos's hand. It 243 00:16:14,919 --> 00:16:18,559 was frigid, much colder than mine, and we slowly stood 244 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,080 up and started squeezing past the deer, making sure not 245 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,879 to touch and alarm them, and we heard footsteps. They 246 00:16:26,919 --> 00:16:32,080 were bipedal something heavy beneath which twigs and branches snapped 247 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:37,360 like crackers. Whoever or whatever this was, stealth was not 248 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:44,080 its tactic. Fear was its tactic. I tugged at Tehos's shirt, 249 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,000 indicating him to be still, and then a loud thud, 250 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,000 as if something jumped into the crowd of deer and 251 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:56,320 between us. Chaos ensued as the deer ran helter skelter, 252 00:16:57,159 --> 00:17:00,919 slashes and growls and yelps and pounding hooks filled the night. 253 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:05,480 Warm liquid sprayed over us from all directions, and I 254 00:17:05,519 --> 00:17:08,680 still remember the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. 255 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,799 Something was slaughtering the deer ruthlessly, and I shined my 256 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:17,160 flashlight in the direction of the pandemonium, and beyond the 257 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,279 carnage of the bleeding dead and scurrying injured, we saw 258 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:25,279 it me for the second time in Tahas for the first, 259 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,799 and standing on its hind legs was the dog Patchy. 260 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:36,200 The dog had become grotesque and taller, nine maybe ten 261 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,160 feet tall, still with the yellowish shade on its head 262 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:45,480 and a throbbing brain poking out with vicious claws and incisors, 263 00:17:45,839 --> 00:17:50,480 and its muzzle was covered in blood. It saw us 264 00:17:50,559 --> 00:17:53,559 and shoved aside the deer in our path, and it 265 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,680 curved its lips ominously back when it looked at me, 266 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,599 almost like a smirt has pulled me back. But I 267 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,440 was trampled down by the running deer, whose hoof snapped 268 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,839 in my right forearm in half. But I somehow managed 269 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:12,440 to stand back up despite the piercing agony. The sinister 270 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:17,240 dog growled at Tehos and he charged. Instead of running away, 271 00:18:17,319 --> 00:18:21,000 tey Haas too, charged at it with clenched fists. The 272 00:18:21,079 --> 00:18:24,359 dog opened its mouth wide and I pleaded with tey 273 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:27,799 Has to stop, but it was too late. Nick cleanly 274 00:18:28,079 --> 00:18:32,359 bit Tajos's head off as swiftly as plucking out flowers. 275 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,720 Just when did life leave his body? I don't know, 276 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,400 because even without his head, his clenched fist delivered an 277 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:46,240 almighty punch square to the dog's muzzle, but it didn't 278 00:18:46,279 --> 00:18:51,119 affect the dog at all. It approached me slowly, and 279 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:54,200 the gore and shock of my best friend getting brutally 280 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,599 beheaded made me freeze where I stood. It spat my 281 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:02,000 friend's head at my feet, all slimy and bloody and 282 00:19:02,039 --> 00:19:06,400 cut up by the dog's incisors. The dog started bending 283 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:11,480 and letting out steamed breath onto my bloody face. It 284 00:19:11,599 --> 00:19:14,839 smelled horrific, like the right of many bodies that had 285 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,480 just slain before my eyes, and it went past my 286 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,200 face below and poked its chin at my shirt pocket. 287 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,960 I didn't understand it first, but when I noticed the 288 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,519 crunching sound coming from my pocket, I realized that the 289 00:19:29,559 --> 00:19:33,839 dog wanted the roasted chickpeas within I'd carried it to 290 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:39,519 chomp on while having drinks with Tahas. This monster, this 291 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:44,200 monster wants roasted snacks. Perhaps a part of my cute 292 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:49,240 little patchy was still alive inside this insidious, abhorrent, despicable creature. 293 00:19:50,559 --> 00:19:54,079 With my working left arm, I fished out a fistful 294 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,759 of roasted chickpeas and I threw it to the ground. 295 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,359 The dog roared and spat right in my face, and 296 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:05,559 I thought I would disintegrate. I took out another fistful 297 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,519 of the snack and held it out in my trembling palm, 298 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,759 and just like the patchy, I knew the monster nibble 299 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,839 and licked my hand clean in a matter of seconds. 300 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:18,680 I thought, surely it would chew off my hand, but 301 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:23,039 the teeth shockingly never hurt me. The brute licked my 302 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,559 face and the roughness of its tongue scratched my skin, 303 00:20:27,599 --> 00:20:30,559 and then it grabbed Tahas's limp body between two of 304 00:20:30,599 --> 00:20:34,200 its long, skinny fingers and dragged him into the murk, 305 00:20:34,319 --> 00:20:38,960 away from the reach of my frail flashlight. I dashed 306 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,799 away from among the slain bodies as fast as my 307 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,559 aching body could. The pain was unbearable, to the point 308 00:20:45,559 --> 00:20:49,200 that I could see darkness blacker than the blinding wooded 309 00:20:49,319 --> 00:20:53,240 night creeping in front of my eyes, and I stumbled 310 00:20:53,279 --> 00:20:56,079 out of the hole into the National park's boundary wall 311 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,559 and collapsed to the coal numbing ground, and I whirled 312 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,240 my eyes to stay open. I had to do one 313 00:21:03,279 --> 00:21:07,680 more thing. I saw the slabs of the wall that 314 00:21:07,759 --> 00:21:11,000 we had broken and thrown aside, and I crawled into 315 00:21:11,079 --> 00:21:15,119 it on my elbows, the stony glacial earth, cutting deep, 316 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:18,839 grabbing the wall slabs between my left and both hands, 317 00:21:18,839 --> 00:21:23,759 and painstakingly sealed the wall. Only then did I allow 318 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:27,640 my knees to buckle below me. But something held me up. 319 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:32,480 It didn't let me fall. I turned to look, and 320 00:21:32,519 --> 00:21:37,279 I saw first a multicolored serri and then her face, 321 00:21:37,559 --> 00:21:42,720 as dark as a black hole. The shadowy, sinister face 322 00:21:43,039 --> 00:21:47,440 moved as she spoke, you seem hurt. Won't you let 323 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,759 me apply some to merit to your wounds? You'll feel 324 00:21:50,799 --> 00:21:54,799 better than ever. She put her hand in my pant 325 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:58,079 pocket and pulled out the brain smeared handkerchief I had 326 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:03,359 almost forgotten about, and she swallowed it. The low rumble 327 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,880 echoed it once again, engulfing me in waves of misery, 328 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:09,920 and I let out a scream, through which escaped every 329 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,119 ounce of my depleted energy, and it drowned in the 330 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:16,839 cackling laughter of the decrepit old woman. As I faded 331 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:22,559 into the killing night. The town still mourns the death 332 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:27,400 of Tahas's young, brave life. As for me, I try 333 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,759 to get by with PTSD counseling to deal with my 334 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:35,160 survivor's guilt. We should have never gone out that night, 335 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:37,920 and especially with all that had happened with me the 336 00:22:38,039 --> 00:22:43,039 night before. My hand had healed overnight courtesy of the 337 00:22:43,079 --> 00:22:48,119 decrepit woman. I'm still awaiting its haunting repercussions, keeping in 338 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,839 mind what that kind of healing has done to the 339 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:56,240 once lifeless patche my quaint town. And now you too 340 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,759 know the story of the birth of our town's dog 341 00:23:00,799 --> 00:23:05,480 or dog Woman, to be precise, It is as if 342 00:23:05,519 --> 00:23:11,039 I got baptized by consuming my dear friend Tahas. Even 343 00:23:11,079 --> 00:23:14,240 though the National Park is now permanently shut and its 344 00:23:14,319 --> 00:23:18,000 boundary wall is completely sealed with the dog Man inside, 345 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,680 we are not safe. From time to time I see 346 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,480 the monster standing atop the tall boundary walls, now even 347 00:23:26,599 --> 00:23:32,079 taller eleven feet. Its body structure looks oddly like that 348 00:23:32,319 --> 00:23:36,160 of my dead friend. It lurks in the darkness of 349 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:40,160 the streets and people go missing. I'm sure they're dead, 350 00:23:41,039 --> 00:23:43,960 but not me, even though I have felt it stalking me. 351 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:46,880 Now I can't help but accept the fact that there 352 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,039 is still some kind of weird bond between me and 353 00:23:50,079 --> 00:23:56,480 the killer creature, the monster, the dog man, my sweetie Patchy. 354 00:23:57,079 --> 00:24:00,200 The end. Now for the part of the story that 355 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:05,400 is true. The dead dog was really resurrected by that woman. 356 00:24:06,279 --> 00:24:08,559 I would see this patchy dog every day on my 357 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:12,279 way to work. One day, a car ran over its head, 358 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,319 crushing a part of it, just like I have stated earlier, 359 00:24:15,839 --> 00:24:18,519 And for two whole days I walked past it as 360 00:24:18,559 --> 00:24:21,440 it lay on the side of the road, stinking like 361 00:24:21,559 --> 00:24:26,160 any dead animal. It had shrunken to half its size 362 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,559 than when it was alive. The next day, the body 363 00:24:29,759 --> 00:24:34,000 had just disappeared. Five days after that, while coming back 364 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,799 from work way past midnight on a one lane empty road, 365 00:24:38,279 --> 00:24:41,000 I was stopped in my tracks by a dead dog, 366 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:46,319 now miraculously alive. I was shivering, and it had become 367 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:50,000 fat again, but its brains were still hanging out. They 368 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,359 were glistening in the light. And I saw it walk 369 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,880 to this woman in the darkness who was applying to 370 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,960 Merrick on its head, muttering something I couldn't hear. When 371 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,839 they noticed me, they just stared at me for an eternity. 372 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,440 I was so petrified that I couldn't move. I called 373 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,279 up a friend, waking him up from a deep slumber. 374 00:25:11,759 --> 00:25:14,440 I didn't care. I told him, dude, get your car 375 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,880 pick me up right now, and that he did. But 376 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,960 the four minutes he took to reach me felt like ours. 377 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,440 My friend saw the dog, but strangely not the woman. 378 00:25:26,559 --> 00:25:28,799 I thought maybe he missed seeing her since we were 379 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,079 in such a horrid hurry to get the hell out 380 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:33,880 of there, but my friend kept saying that there was 381 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:38,599 no one there. What the hell. I still can't understand 382 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,119 how a dead dog can come to life just by 383 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:46,279 applying to merit. Surely some dark forces are at play here. 384 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,960 I really don't know. Now that dog is healed completely 385 00:25:51,319 --> 00:25:56,079 and actually acts quite normal. I see this dog every day, 386 00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,680 but I've never seen that woman again, and I never 387 00:25:59,759 --> 00:26:04,799 wont to PostScript. It is okay for you to reveal 388 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:07,240 my name, even if you decide to read out the 389 00:26:07,319 --> 00:26:11,200 real part of the story, because fortunately in India, telling 390 00:26:11,319 --> 00:26:15,960 such stories is not frowned down upon. Unreal things keep 391 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,200 happening to many around here, and I've told this story 392 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,319 to my parents and friends, as they have shared their 393 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:25,759 true experiences with me, and I believe them just like 394 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:30,279 they believe me. If you or your listeners would be interested, 395 00:26:30,319 --> 00:26:33,119 I would love to share their stories with you too, 396 00:26:33,279 --> 00:26:37,480 but sadly they're not cryptid stories. There are more about spirits, 397 00:26:37,559 --> 00:26:39,000 both good and bad.