They wouldn't go down the stairs with him, not even Jordan. Apparently this was something he had to do himself. And that was okay, he was much more stable on his feet now and only shuffle-tripped once in a while. Andy made his way slowly down the steps, cringing slightly because it felt cramped and claustrophobic and reminded him far too much of those stupid pods - the dark didn't bother him, the smallness did. Blunt fingernails dug into the meat of his hands and a fine sweat broke out over his body. 'Get it together, the walls aren't moving-- I wish Jordy were here, ******** me...'

At the base of the stairs he had to stop and lean against a wall as a flash of what he thought was memory hit him. Only...it wasn't Wonderland...and it wasn't from that gymnasium? Instead he saw a great field and a shadowy form with lolling tongue. A violently wagging tail. A rotted-looking beast with four paws in the air shimmered with another sight - A...zombie...guy sprawled on the grass with his shirt rucked up? The hell?

Impatient. Andy pushed a hand against his forehead - no fever. No, the fluttery feeling he should be moving, doing something wasn't because he was ill. From the corner of his eye he thought he saw a well-chewed tennis ball go bouncing by and that made him question his sanity - could being pod-bound for four years have made him crazy?

But no, he'd always had a good imagination. He was down here to meet his partner, right? But there were just...stone tablets with stuff carved on 'em. So...maybe...

"Okay. I'm here. Now what?" Suddenly there were more bright flashes, emotions that weren't his own crashing into him and knocking him to his knees. "Je--sus, stop. Stop." It continued, a parade of balls, bones, rotting things and the feeling of running, biting and digging and Throw the ball throwtheballTHROWTHEBALL hammering at him until finally he snarled, "HEEL, GODDAMMNIT"

Andy held his breath, the emotions were still there - held in check, vibrating with barely restrained excitement - but he was able to push up onto his feet again. Wait...was he - he was closer to one of the walls. He'd crawled without knowing it. "This day is so ******** weird, what the hell did I sign up for?" Without thinking he put his hand against the strange wall to help right himself and snatched his hand away immediately - the wall felt weird. Like, it thrummed with some weird sort of magical life. 'Okay...clearly...these are weapons and are...magically alive. Okay. I can deal. So...my new partner is...a dog?'

A dog. That clicked and he felt a hum of satisfaction slide across his consciousness. A dog was his new partner? He'd never had a dog, didn't know what to do with one...and well? One that wasn't actually a dog? More questions for Jordan, later.

"Uh...here...boy?" Andy hazarded a guess and was rewarded with the phantom sensation of a tail bashing against his legs and - interestingly - the feel of a leash tugging him further along the wall he'd touched. Andy put one hand out, not touching the runes but close enough to feel the energy humming through his flesh. Here! Here! HERE HEREHEREHERE!!!! One of the shapes seemed to flicker as his hand came near - low on the wall but wholly insistent that he pay attention to it. Master! Maaaaaster!!! HERE! HEREHEREHERE!!! Naturally, he'd have an annoying partner...wouldn't it just figure?

The blond touched the stone tablet calling for him noisily, fingers tracing across the rune shape - a shotgun? and felt a surge of triumph course through him, along with a flurry of mental images that basically said "[zombie] doggy happiness". Andy pulled it from the wall before he'd even realized he meant to. Rex is good dog! Rex is good, so good! Master! Master's good boy! In his hands the tablet shined brightly and stopped being stone and runes, instead settling into a heavier shape with two barrels wrapped in a thin chain that attached here and there to barrels, stock and butt (where it dangled with a weight). "Rex. I'm Andy." Andy gave the gleaming stock a gentle caress and felt - Rex's - happiness. "Wow." 'This is so ******** cool oh my god this is insane holy Mother I have a shotgun that's a dog-- Madre de Dios...' His mind was just going - if he'd been unsteady before he was worse now. But it was a different sort of unsteady, full of excitement that even managed to drown out his claustrophobia completely.

Andy! AndyAndyAndyAndy!! Rex's Andy! Goodgoodgoodgoodgoooood!

Another flash and the weapon was gone from his hands, but before he could feel any sort of panic over this there was a bite at his right ear and then weight. Hazarding a guess (okay so this was cool and like a ******** comic almost) he reached up to touch it. "Good boy." Rex good. Ball? Baaaall? Throw ball?

If Rex could 'talk' into his mind directly...shouldn't he be able to do the same? 'Ball later, Rot for Brains. We gotta talk to Jordy.' Rex seemed to settle, warm and happy, and Andy turned back to the stairs and went up to meet his brother and Peyton now that he was complete.

A Boy and his Dog.

897 words