The Cursed Year

C/W: violence against animals

“Shit.”

Terra had just opened another piece of mail left at her front door. Another bill. This time it was a late fee for paying her rent on the 5^th when it was due on the 4^th. She had forgotten that this month the rules about late rent had changed since the pandemic was almost over. She always paid her rent, but with her new job change her paydays were now on the 5^th and the 20^th. Did companies not realize that rent in almost all corners of the globe is due by the 4^th? 

           “Well, there’s another $100 bill added to the crap pile.” She said with a sigh as she put in in a stack of bills next to the coffee pot in her kitchen. 

           This last year had been difficult for everyone, but Terra had an especially difficult year. She had broken her ankle in several places (by just falling off her bike) and was out of work for 3 months. It had taken 3 weeks for the swelling to go down enough for her to have surgery to fix it. Then there was a worldwide pandemic.  Then someone had done structural damage to her car where it sat waiting for her to be able to drive again. She lost her job. Her husband had left her. When she had gotten another car, the brakes went out, the engine needed work, and then a tire went flat. She had found a new job working as a mental health residential associate and got attacked at work. Then came the fire. It had been a non-stop bad year.

           “Somebody must have put a curse on me.” Terra was close to the end of her rope. She did not want to continue this life if it continued being like this. Depression had set in hard, and her Zoloft had stopped working, but without insurance for another 2 months, she could not afford to see a doctor. 

           Terra cracked open a hard cider and sat down on the couch next to her dog Coon. It was 11pm on a Friday and she had to work tomorrow, but not until 11am. “Thank God for swing shift jobs.” Coon just looked at her and sighed. “Maybe tomorrow will be better.”

The next morning Terra got up and put on her favorite burgundy sweatshirt and jeans, drank a cup of coffee, and headed out the door with Coon next to her. Coon was a registered therapy dog and on Saturdays he got to go to work with her to help the residents. He loved all the attention and having Coon at work made her less stressed. The residents knew that if there was any aggression towards him that he would not come back. 

“Terra and Coon! You guys are always so early! Glad to see you this morning!” Emily, Terra’s coworker, beamed. Emily had a good outlook on life and was always cheerful, especially when she had her energy drink. 

“Anything interesting happening here today? Terra asked.

“Oh, my goodness. Be careful, Joan is on one today. She seems to be gunning for you for some reason.” Emily replied in quiet tones. 

“Ugh, again? Thanks for letting me know. Maybe today she really will hit me, and we can get her to a place that can truly help her.” 

Joan had her good days and her bad days. Some days were really bad days, which sounded like today would be one of those days. 

“Everyone else at baseline?” Terra asked.

“Yep. Although Grant was asking when Coon would be here today.” Emily said with a wink as Grant came around the corner and spotted Terra and Coon.

“Can I be the first one to spend time with Coon today?” Grant requested. 

“Sure, just remember to stay in the main area with him.” Terra replied.

Emily and Terra got to their necessary paperwork and divided the workload of the day. Luckily one of the managers was in the back office for the day, putting a third employee in the building or else Emily and Terra would have working lunches. There needed to be always two staff in the building since it was a secure facility. 

As Emily and Terra were working on their paperwork they chatted about life. Emily was searching for her next girlfriend and Terra was complaining about her newest bill.

“Aaarroooooooooo.” The worst sound in the world reached Terra’s ears. It was Coon howling mixed with whimpers. 

“Help! Terra help!” Grant started screaming.

Terra, Emily, and Jason, their manager, all started running towards the sound. Terra beat the others. There was Joan, Coon’s face in her grip, and Grant with a look of horror at the blood dripping from the dog’s side. Terra ran towards Coon and said in a firm voice, “Joan, you need to let Coon go.” Terra was using all her training to not just run up to Joan, but at the moment she couldn’t help but to think about the pepper spray on her kitchen counter. 

“It’s all your fault, Terra. If you weren’t such a lying bitch, I wouldn’t have hurt him.” Joan shouted and cried. She threw howling and whimpering Coon at Joan. “Take your stupid dog and leave.”

Terra did not think twice. She picked up Coon, grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch, wrapped him in the blanket and walked away. She had to have Emily unlock the door so she could get out, but with one look, Emily ran to the door and held it open. Jason stayed back in the living room to find out what happened and to deal with the situation. He probably would be calling the police to have Joan put back in the state hospital. 

Terra fastened her seatbelt as she pulled out of the parking lot. She was speeding as she was heading towards the emergency vet, but it did not matter. She needed to get Coon there as fast as possible. Terra wasn’t even worrying about how she would pay for an emergency vet. She knew she would figure it out and she would let everything go if she could just make sure Coon survived. 

“Just hold on, Coon. We’re almost there. Just please hang on.” She begged. “If there is a God, please save Coon. I would do anything for Coon to live!” She prayed as she skidded to a halt outside the emergency vet. 

She picked Coon up, still wrapped in the throw blanket, and ran in through the double doors. “He was attacked by a human at work. He’s bleeding a lot and is in a lot of pain!” Terra practically screamed at the doctor when she saw her. “You’ve got to help him! He’s the only good thing left…” She trailed off as the doctor took Coon from her. 

“Tell the vet that Coon was attacked with a butter knife” a text came into her phone from Jason. “Joan is being transported back to the state hospital. Take as much time as you need. The company will pay for Coon’s vet bill. Just have it sent over.”

Terra stood up and walked to the receptionist and told her what the text had said. “I will let the doctor know and we will send the bill to them. Don’t worry, Doctor Yasmin is the best vet in the state.” The receptionist stated calmly, trying to ease Terra’s anxiety. 

“Thank you.” 

Terra went back to the waiting area and sat with her head in her hands. She didn’t know how she would survive if Coon didn’t. 

BOOM BOOM BOOM

Gunshots rang out across the veterinarian office. Terra took a sharp inhale of air at the pain. She had been shot! The world was starting to get blurry and breathing hurt. She could hear some sounds in the distance but could not make out what they were. She felt a light nudge under her hand and a lightness in her body. 

Terra sat up. And then stood up. She no longer felt any pain. Coon was standing next to her looking whole. There was no blood, and his tail was wagging.

Terra looked around and saw herself laying in a pool of blood. “Coon, did we both die?” She asked in wonderment. As she continued to watch what was going on around her, she realized that she was free. “Coon! We’re the freest we have ever been! I can’t wait to start this new adventure.” 

Coon woofed in agreement as they walked out of the door and stepped into the sun.