WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:13.039 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.