PodCastle

* Author : Derek Künsken
* Narrators : Jay Odjick, Charlotte Ashley, J. M. Frey, Rati Mehrotra, Sylvain Neuvel, KT Bryski and Brandon Crilly
* Host : Jen R. Albert
* Audio Producer : KT Bryski
*
Discuss on Forums



PodCastle 602: Franken-Puppy is a PodCastle original.


Rated PG-13, for revivified urges and the joys of transgression.
Franken-Puppy
By Derek Künsken
In the third yard, the puppy darted a suspicious look back at its tail. Then, as if remembering what he’d been doing, he swung his head forward, panted, and sat in the grass. Beyond the ratty picket fence, patched skyscrapers stood in the hazy blue distance like uneven teeth. The puppy delighted himself with a high bark. The red bricks of the house behind him were re-mortared, but straight. The puppy’s tail thumped the ground. He lay down, rolled onto his back, then looked at her, barking as his tail resumed thumping. Child fingers — some bright pink, others brown, sewn with tiny stitches to a strong dark hand — brushed wonderingly at the soft fur before wriggling and tickling.
“Who’s a good boy?” Francesca said.
The puppy stretched, then playfully wrapped his paws over her wrist and nipped at the tough skin with teething canines. Francesca giggled and yanked her hand away. The puppy yipped and followed her fingers, his swinging tail swaying his whole body. Two skinny arms, scarred and mismatched, lifted and hugged him. Her brown hair brushed the top of the puppy’s head. The puppy wriggled a bit, his tail stilling. One arm was across his belly and one was under his snout. He struggled uncertainly, his mouth opening wide.
“I love you sooooo much!” Francesca said, eyes closed, cheek against the softness of his head as she hugged him with all the love in her revivified heart. A snap sounded and the puppy stopped struggling. She loosened her grip. The puppy was limp.
“Mommy!” Francesca wailed.
“Oh no!” her mother said from the kitchen doorway. “Francie, I told you to be careful with real puppies! Dennis! It happened again!”

“This is the fourth one!” Melanie said. “Why do you keep getting the cheap ones?”
Dennis stood in the middle of the kitchen, a trail of oily steps leading from the garage behind him. His gray shirt was clean, buttoned to the bolts on his neck, sleeves ripped off at the shoulder seam, leaving his wiry, mismatched arms showing.
“Puppies aren’t cheap!”
Melanie eyed him skeptically from under hair piled into a dark beehive.
“Mommy!” Francie pleaded. She sat teary-eyed at the table, the plastic straw spearing her unsipped Mummy’s Curse juice box. Melanie wiped Francie’s tears with her palm.
“Puppies are filthy anyway!” Melanie said. “We might as well build a dog!”
“Don’t be crude in front of Francie, dear.”
Francie tugged on Melanie’s arm.
“Mommy. No! Pleeeeeease. I want a puppy, not a big grown dog!”
Melanie watched Dennis defiantly. “Why don’t you build one?” she said.
“Sew an animal? Don’t say adult stuff in front of Francie!”
Melanie’s muscled shoulders, both pale with a slight grayish tinge, slumped a bit.