Where the Tiger Roams

Kodiak lay in the corner of the living room as the medical personnel attended to his best buddy James. An EMT passed by and patted his white and brown spotted head. "That's a good pup. Don't worry. We will take good care of him."

Minutes later, a gurney with James secured by straps rolled past him. The young English setter jumped up with his front paws on the gurney and whispered in his partner's ear.

"I love you, James."

James opened his eyes, turned his head and said, "Love you too. Finish it, Kodiak," and lost consciousness.

The ambulance departed, and Kodiak blathered aloud in a panic.

"How can I finish it? We are a team and we write together. It's like asking a three-legged dog to win the Iditarod. It's impossible."

Shadows cloaked the room, and the mantle clock chimed four o'clock. In eight hours, the Vocal challenge would close and they’d lose before the judging started. Rent wouldn't be paid, power would be shut off, and James would be moved to a nursing home where dogs were not allowed. James's disability income was stretched with doctors' bills and the special medications for multiple sclerosis. The disease had brutalized James's body over the years and exhausted their resources. The writing team had counted on winning first place and the twenty-thousand dollar prize.

Kodiak jumped onto the desk chair and stared at the open laptop. He slapped the keyboard with his paw. On the third attempt, the screen illuminated a multitude of icons, and he maneuvered the mouse until it settled on Dori's Voice to Text. The program interfaced with the Word processor and Vocal. It's like James anticipated this MS episode would come. His paw slapped the mouse, which felt good because he had disliked mice since he’d caught one in his food canister.

"Dori, open Where the Tiger Roams," and the document filled the screen.

"Dori, begin writing," and he dictated the story's final words for hours and concluded,

"The back streets in the wild jungle of the city slept through the night, without a single siren, gun blast, or emergency for the first time in months. Effie, the tiger striped feline cuddled with her kittens knowing no one would believe the Tigress of Manhattan had saved the city. Though she only had one of her nine lives remaining, her Tomboy and Isabel would have the chance for a good life," he paused, "Dori, end."

Kodiak reread it from the beginning and made some corrections. The mantle clock chimed eleven times, announcing one hour to the deadline. He commanded Dori to transfer the pre-formatted document to the Vocal site. When he clicked the mouse to submit, the house went dark. The power was out from a total blackout.

Kodiak barked and screamed, "No!" and ran in circles around the living room.

"This cannot be happening, not now."

He ran through the kitchen, out the doggie door into the backyard, and peed on the bushes. The act relieved his bladder and his wired nerves. The entire neighborhood was dark.

Inside, he leered at the spring wound clock and prayed.

"Please, for the love of all that's good, let the power come back on in time."

Minutes later, the lamps flashed on and off again. Another dark minute passed. The lights illuminated the room, and the laptop rebooted. The clock read eleven-fifty-nine. Kodiak leaped through the air into the chair and pounded the mouse until the screen read the glorious words, Submitted. Seconds later, the twelve chimes rang in the morning.

***

Two weeks passed, and Kodiak ate from the automated feeder and water dispenser. The entire container was another sign James had anticipated his hospitalization. Kodiak ignored the urgent messages from the landlord, but his attitude brightened when James called.

"Hey Kodiak. I am doing much better and will be home in two days. I miss you, love you, and hate we couldn't finish the story. We can't win what we don't enter. It's okay. We will figure things out."

The phone rang again. A woman's voice recorded a message.

"Hi, this is Jamie Hostetler, with WGM studios. We partner with Netflix, Hulu, and Prime to produce limited productions. Congratulations on winning First Place in Vocal's Fictional Hero Challenge. We would like to speak with you about signing your story to a contract for a screen play. I happen to be in your part of the city. In fact, I'm parked in front of your house."

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Kodiak ran around the living room, to the bedroom, back to the kitchen, and stopped in the living room to stare at the door. The doorbell rang again.

"What do I do? Hotdog, our story won and we won't be evicted, but what do I do with her?"

He ran out the doggie door, into the side yard, and stood on his rear legs to peer over the fence. A woman in a wheelchair rolled down the driveway to a waiting van.

"No, she can't leave. I've got to stop her. What would James do?"

Back inside the house, Kodiak's tongue lolled from the side of his mouth as nervous perspiration dripped from his tongue. The decision made, he launched his front paws into the square handicap pad to actuate the automated front door. The door mechanism clicked, electric motors hummed, and the door swung open. He was convinced this grand opportunity may never come again, and James deserved good things with all he had suffered.

"Wait! Come back," he yelled.

The WGM agent swung her mechanized chair around and returned to the front step. Baffled by the unattended open door, Jamie peered inside.

"Anyone home? Are you okay?"

She spotted Kodiak wagging his tail like a fan putting out a flame and grinning like a wild banshee.

"Hello, tiger. Is anyone else home?"

Desperate and all for the love of James, Kodiak replied,

"Can you keep a secret?"