An enjoyable movie for sure, I can see the influence of “Alien”, but certainly not in a bad way. I liked the set design, the creatures were awesome, the acting was on point.

I think a few little nit picks I have is, less slow motion, more long takes-let a scene breathe. Don’t keep cutting back and forth during scenes of horror, let the audience take in the atmosphere and really feel the dread.

But, I don’t think the hate for this movie is fair at all.

Dragonheart- Charles Edward Pouge
Hell Hound- Ken Greenhall
The Art of Racing in the Rain- Garth Stein
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson
The Hunt for Elsewhere- Beatrice Vine
The Plague Dogs- Richard Adams
The Warring Son- Bryce O’Connor
Watership Down- Richard Adams

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DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 8

DAY 13

DAY 14

The sound of a bedroom door closing was what got Cooper out of his deep unsuspected black out. A chill went over his furry body as he realized he was only in tighty whities. His six pack and arms exposed to Riley, who stands over him smiling slightly. Now wearing a brown tight t-shirt and blue skinny jeans with sneakers.

“I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it. You going to work for a while and looking after our son. Living the life of a housewife while my muscular boyfriend went out and made money. Then I realized, you’re gone too long.”

The dog tried to break free from the thick ropes which bounded both his wrists to the wooden bedposts. His ankles immovable due to them being stuck together by the same rope. He tried to speak through the leather ball gag, but it was no use. His eyes go big as he could do nothing more then look up at the cheetah. Sweat drips down his forehead, which only turned Riley on more.

“You like being tied up; don’t you love? I’m gonna let you speak-but if you scream, your chances of being let loose will be extremely thin.” Removing the gag slowly, the lab growls and thrashes about more, trying to bend the bedpost but as strong as he was, he couldn’t make it budge.

“I know men can be forgetful, I know you probably didn’t mean to do a lot of this. Fact of the matter is, I think you need a reality check.”

Walking to the other side of the bed, she reached where Cooper couldn’t see and pulled out a red toolbox. After knocking over a lamp on the bedside table she was able to put the toolbox comfortably on the surface. From her back pocket she grabbed a pair of leather gloves.

“Riley-please. I’m sorry! I-I do love you. It’s like you said, I can be forgetful.” She nods and takes one finger, tracing it along the lines of his chest, Cooper shudders at her smooth creepy touch.

“I know you love me, babe. I know you wanna do the right thing. What if-what if you never had to work? What if the three of us could just stay in this house. Have a perfect little family here? Maybe I was wrong about you leaving and working. That seems to be the problem. Not your son, not your silly, forgetful nature. You. Leaving the house. That’s what the issue is.”

Cooper sighed deeply as a tear rolls down his cheek.

“Awe. Don’t cry hon.” She placed the gag back in his mouth and licks his nose with her rough cat tongue, after she runs her hand over his silky yellow ears.

“Mmm. So smooth. Maybe to calm you I should give you a little relaxation. A little distraction, hm?” She slowly slipped her other hand into his undies and felt his manhood. Taking deep breaths Cooper cried a bit more. Trying to speak through the gag was impossible, he tenses his body as he felt the warm leathery glove stroke him. His heartbeat seemed to go a million miles a second, he closed his eyes trying to lessen the terror in his soul.

***

Waking from a pleasant slumber, Seth rubbed his eyes. What puzzled him was he didn’t smell the sweet cooking of Riley’s signature breakfast. Getting out of bed he ruffled his hair and put on shorts and a t-shirt. Not knowing of the horror going on in his very own home.

***

Cooper wasn’t very relaxed, Riley softly hummed as she reached into the toolbox and grabbed a scalpel.

“Well, I tried calming you down, but I guess we’ll save that for later. This might hurt quite a bit, but you must realize it has to be done. I did this once. To a high school student. See, I fell in love with a human once. I was eighteen. It got to the point where I had to kidnap him from his home and drag him to my basement. I pleasured him. I kissed him. Treated him like a king, like a man should be treated but he didn’t learn. I had no choice but to slice his little ankles up. Oh-he cried. Begged me to stop. I realized he wasn’t manly enough for me after all that fucking whining and crying. I left him there. To starve.”

She chuckled, then continued her twisted childhood story.

“Police found him. He was so hungry-he ate his own tongue. But you, Cooper. You will not cry or beg. You will let me worship you. You will stay here with your wife and your child. Now-relax my love.”   

Putting the blade in her pocket she placed a towel under Cooper’s ankles and spread them apart, tying the rope to the bedposts closest to his feet, movement was impossible for the dog. She had planned all of this so that escape seemed damn near impossible. She grabs his left ankle in a vice-like grip. Cooper whimpers like a lost puppy through the gag, the sound grew louder. “I don’t want to cut more then I have to-so I’d stay still if I were you. Know I’m doing this for your own good.” He hoped to wake up. This seemed like a surreal psychological nightmare. Oh, how desperately he tried to wake himself up, feeling the cold metal tip of the instrument the dog nearly passed out-that is until his ears perk to the sound of a loud crack, following the crack was the sound of Riley gasping and falling to the ground.

Seth stood where she stood, holding a baseball bat which dripped with blood.

Crying slightly, Seth ran to his father and untied the thick ropes and removed the gag, Cooper wrapped his arms around the terrified human.

“Seth! Thank God she didn’t hurt you!”  

“What’s going on dad?!” His voice trembled as he looked at the dog in desperation.

“I’ll explain everything later son-now we need to get out and call the police.”

That would have happened, but Riley wasn’t quite knocked out enough as she shoved Cooper to the bedroom floor, yelling like a crazed lunatic. “GET BACK ON THE BED YOU FUCKING COCKSUCKER!” Seth did nothing but stand back and watch as Riley strangled his father.

“You’re nothing but a crazy bitch!”

“After I’m done with you, your son is NEXT! Maybe HE will appreciate me!” The dog and cheetah wrestled on the ground. Her fist collided with his face, causing momentary headaches and blood to fly in different directions. She squeezes her hands around his throat.

“Stop fighting me and I can LOVE YOU AGAIN!” She shouts into his face sending spit into his eye. His breathing became shallow and weak, he had to fight. Not for himself. For his son.

Cocking his head, he saw the lamp that had been tipped over from earlier, with a mighty reach he grasped whatever part he could and slammed the object directly into her face which toppled her to the ground. Now lying on her stomach, Riley was going to push up and off the ground and leap onto the dog and scratch him with her claws.

However, Cooper stood over her dripping with blood, grasping the back of her neck-positioned right over the bedside table Cooper growled louder then he ever had as he slams her face into the table. With a few sickening smacks and a wound that split her forehead down the middle as a geyser of blood shoots from the deep wound, he dropped her carcass and knelt to the ground, coughing loudly as his son hugs his arm.

***

Police of all different species wanted to get the full story, Seth was with his best friend Andrew as Cooper spoke to a detective, a black lab named Leonard. It was soon revealed to Cooper that Riley was the one who killed Jameson, and at this point it wasn’t much of a surprise. Leonard was also the one who found the tracking device under Cooper’s car, and after a quick look at Riley’s phone and the obsessive texts the evidence mounted against the cheetah.

 ***

Drinking a hot chocolate, Seth stayed quiet sitting at the kitchen table. Both were freshly showered, slipping quietly into the kitchen Cooper sat by his son and put an arm around him.

“Holding up okay buddy?”

“Yeah. I think so. I guess it’s hard to know what people’s true intentions are. I would have never guessed Riley was-well a psycho. Guess it’s hard to tell who’s truly good and who isn’t.”

“I think they’re truly good people in the world, Seth. Not like everyone is gonna be like her in our future. I feel bad for her in a way. Lonely, isolated, wanting love-if it wasn’t for her tendencies, I guess we could have had a good family.”

The dog and human both sit silently. A nearby radio in the living room which remained on, played the song “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick.  

END

The coffee machine made its typical noises. Cooper sat with his beverage, letting Seth sleep in as long as he wanted being that it was school vacation week. Riley kisses his nose as she entered the kitchen, wearing a bathrobe with nothing underneath. “Hey handsome.” With his usual smile he nuzzled and kisses her back. He had already cooked breakfast, Riley eyed the containers full of eggs and bacon set up in a buffet style.

“So, you and Seth have any plans?” Cooper asked with a yawn as he sat at the table. Riley and Cooper’s son had formed quite a friendship, especially now that school was over. Riley was the cool girl. The fact that she was strikingly beautiful didn’t hurt either.

“Not sure, but he’ll be fine while you’re at work. I’m sure we’ll do something.” Once coming downstairs Seth smiled at Riley and his father. The cat looked over the human.

“Someday you’re gonna get a lucky girl or guy.” She ruffled his hair and put a plate of food in front of him, with a small smile he shrugged as he took a bite.

“Maybe one day. Someday I should make you a meal for once.”

“Nah, I like cooking. Not like you don’t have enough to do with your book report and getting school supplies.”

As Cooper showered, the dog was the happiest he’d been in a while. Washing his fur and scrubbing his muscles, he really was so glad to have a girlfriend. Yes, it was official-but perhaps it was no surprise. After Jameson’s funeral-the two needed someone to lift them up and the cheetah was it. Riley and Cooper so far hadn’t gotten on each other’s nerves. He felt a lot better now that Riley and Seth could watch the house, not that Seth wasn’t able to do that-but he was overprotective. He knew that, everyone who knows him knew that.

***

Work wasn’t the same. Sure, Cooper kept his smile up, but there was one inch of the dog’s heart that wasn’t as joyful. Knowing that he’d never see his stallion friend again was odd. It would be like that forever. He knew it. No one had picked up Jameson’s shift, so Cooper was asked to work late, which would prove to be a mistake. The poor innocent pup thought he was doing the right thing, but that’s how some bad things start. Thinking you’re doing something that’s good-when behind the scenes it all turns out to be-well, bad. The best of intentions goes to shit.

With the sky pitch black and only a few cars parked in the department store lot, Cooper walked the aisles, checking off items in stock (AKA inventory check). He knew for a fact the employees who had this job rushed it. He knew items were often miscounted or not even mentioned. He wasn’t a slacker, that was one thing that anyone could say about the dog. A job was a job, he wanted to make his boss happy. He wanted to feel like when he got home, he had fully completed his tasks.

With a clipboard in hand and pen, he made a brisk walk up and down the oh-so-familiar halls. Looking over the many tools and woodworking equipment the place had to offer.

***

Pulling next to the house, Riley and Seth hopped out of her car and gathered the bags they’d collected from their trip to the mall. Not the little mall close by, the big one. The outdoor mall. The special one Cooper didn’t have time to take Seth to-of course Seth never blamed his dad for this. Wasn’t like the dog had ample amount of time to do whatever he wanted.

After opening the door for Riley, Seth put his brand-new clothes in his room after giving the cheetah a friendly hug.

Cooper would be home she assumed in an hour. The feelings of dark eroticism were boiling over. She could plaster a fake smile for Seth-but as the night went on at the mall and she had to keep up small talk with the teen, the more she wished for Cooper.

Normally buying things at the mall was nice. Especially now that she’d most likely be living with the dog-how nice it would be to decorate it. That could all be done in the future.

The thought of her love being away wasn’t something she could cope with any longer. She tried. For weeks letting Cooper go to work while she hung out with Seth. Yeah, in the evenings, her and him may fool around, but that was only for an hour or so. Perhaps even shorter if the dog had had a busy day.

Listening for Seth in the shower upstairs, she began to obsessively clean the kitchen. Cooper would be hers. She made the decision. No matter what. Her life was good-but it could be much better.

***

Setting his jacket on the nearby hook, Cooper sighed tiredly. At 1:00AM he didn’t expect anyone to be up. Removing his flannel and stretching his arms he entered the dark kitchen, switching the light on he saw a very minimally dressed cheetah, both hands under her chin and elbows resting on the kitchen table.

“Hey. How was work?” Her eyes light up as she pours two glasses sitting directly in front of her with red wine. With a smile the dog kisses Riley’s lips and grips the wine glass, taking a small swig.

“Busy. We’re still trying to fill Jameson’s position, so I’m kinda the go-to guy for now until that gets done. How’d you and Seth do?”

“Good. He’s asleep. Let’s not focus on him, let’s focus on you.”

Smiling, Cooper kept drinking the beverage. Maybe he could go for a night of action. Seems like Riley was practically begging for it in her black lace panties. Well, that would have happened. A night of fun and adult shenanigans, but a shooting pain entered the dog’s brain like the sudden sting of a honeybee.

Standing, Riley smiled as she watched the confused canine try to resist this feeling he’d never felt before. Dropping the glass to the floor, he took a deep breath and fell face first into the tiled kitchen floor.