The Silent Stray Seeking Deadly Vengeance

I was the youngest tenured professor at the City Medical School, but five years ago, my wife’s testimony sent me to prison, where I became a convicted rapist. After my release, I scavenged for scraps, fighting stray dogs in the junkyards. I was a mangled, bleeding mess, often sleeping in ditches beside the dead. I curled up in the sludge, agonizing over the throbbing bites on my limbs, lost to the current of the putrid water. I opened my eyes to see a sleek black sedan gliding toward me. My wife, Genevieve—Gen. Five years gone, and she emerged—serene, pristine, her body already showing the curve of a pregnancy. Beside her sat Marcus, the scholarship student I’d personally mentored. In the back, my daughter, Sadie, covered her nose, her eyes wide with undisguised disgust. I staggered up, sludge dripping from my limbs, then crawled toward Gen, a sickeningly eager smile plastered on my face. “My dearest Gen. I’ve learned my lesson…” She watched me with the satisfied air of someone admiring a successfully broken animal. “You wouldn’t have learned without consequences, Alistair. Now that you know how to behave, come home.” I slammed my head on the ground in gratitude. But as I reached for the car door, Sadie kicked my hand away with her patent leather shoe. My hand froze mid-air. “Leave it, Alistair,” Gen said coolly. “You can walk back.” Once inside the estate gates, I became their most obedient mongrel. By day, I protected their home and performed humiliating tricks that had them roaring with laughter. At night, I knelt by their bed, ensuring their comfort, and afterward, wiping the sweat from their bodies with warm cloths. It continued until the anniversary of my parents’ death. Gen casually informed me that Marcus had my parents’ resting place bulldozed to make way for a cheap amusement park. Then, he ordered me to take the fall for his criminal workplace harassment suit. I didn’t hesitate. I simply nodded. I saw a flicker—a true, deep shock—in Gen’s eyes. “Alistair,” she whispered. “Don’t you hate me?” Hate? It was the blood in my veins. But I knew the truth: I had to be their most obedient mongrel. Only then would I get close enough to sink my teeth into their throats.

… I managed to conjure the eager, fawning smile. “They’re dead. What good is hate now?” “My master is calling. Time for my daily entertainment routine. Care to join, mistress?” Gen’s expression instantly froze, a trace of confusion in her eyes. I was only repeating her old words. Five years ago, when Marcus framed me for assaulting her younger sister, using planted fluids and hair as ‘evidence,’ Marcus had driven my parents to suicide. I lost my last vestige of sanity and went for Marcus with a knife, but the police were already waiting. In the visitation room, Gen’s voice had been light, dismissive. “They’re dead. Why cause a fuss?” That was the moment I realized my wife had utterly, completely betrayed me. The girl who once swore tearfully to love me forever had been dead long before I went to prison. Gen’s expression softened. “I spent the last few months wondering if this was all a cynical act. But your spirit truly has been broken.” Marcus walked in, looping an arm around her shoulder. “He’s learned to keep his head down, Gen. You always hated how arrogant and self-righteous Professor Alistair was. Besides, Sadie loves her new daddy, doesn’t she?” He emphasized the last two words, testing the air between us. At the sound of that, Sadie suddenly hurled the pair of craft scissors in her hand directly at me. “He’s not my daddy! A rapist doesn’t deserve to be!” The metal sliced the skin near my eye. My vision instantly blossomed with red, but I didn’t flinch. Gen’s voice was sharp. “Sadie!” My daughter bit her lip and turned away, but her eyes were still full of challenge. I picked up the scissors, dusted them off, and held them out. She slapped my hand away. “Filthy! I don’t want them!” Gen frowned, then looked at the line of blood tracing my left cheek. “Go clean up your cut, Alistair. I’ll speak to Sadie.” I offered a servile smile. “Mistress, you honor me, but a man like me is not worth the trouble of changing your daughter’s mind.” “You…” Gen trailed off, her brow furrowed. She couldn’t understand how I could so calmly accept the venom of the girl I once adored. Sadie glared at me, her lips silently forming the word: Animal. I pretended not to see, bowing to gather the props for the day’s entertainment. Marcus’s polished leather shoe came down on my hand, grinding the bones against the wood floor. “Perform well, Professor. You look far better kneeling than you ever did lecturing.” Pain shot up my arm, turning my face crimson. Sweat beaded on my forehead. “Yes, Master.” I’ll give them a show, all right. I just wonder if they’ll still be laughing when the final curtain drops. Marcus enjoyed the daily entertainment ritual. His low-life cronies, whom he now called friends, loved it too. “Marcus, you’re something else! Not only did you score a rich wife, but her famous ex-husband is your obedient dog!” “He was supposed to be the medical field’s rising star, and look at him now.” Marcus blew a smoke ring, his laughter mocking. Just then, Gen’s tired voice drifted out from the house. “That’s enough for today, Marcus. Let him rest.” Marcus’s face instantly hardened, his eyes blazing with fury at me. “Tired?” I immediately prostrated myself on the ground, forehead pressed to the dirt. “N-no, Master. Not tired.” I couldn’t be tired. Last time, Gen had carelessly mentioned the old injury on my right hand from prison. That night, Marcus had me tied in the garden and used a pair of pliers to slowly, deliberately break each of my fingers. Ten fingers. I passed out three times. Marcus’s cold voice ripped me from the memory. “Good. Not tired.” He slowly walked up, grabbed a handful of my hair, and yanked my head up. “I spent five years making sure you were ‘specially looked after’ in prison, Alistair. You were expensive labor, but I finally got my obedient dog.” My pupils constricted. Five years. As a convicted rapist, I was the bottom of the hierarchy. At first, it was just isolation and beatings. Then, I became the forced object of compliance. The countless tortures—the sheer degradation—made me repeatedly cut my wrists, just to feel the clear, cleansing pain of my own blood and know I was still alive. I cannot die. Not yet. Not before revenge. When I gave no response, Marcus abruptly lifted his foot and stomped hard on my head. My face sank into the dirt, my nostrils filled with mud and the metallic scent of blood. The men’s laughter and whistles erupted around me. Just then, Gen stepped out, saw me groveling in the dirt, and merely sighed. Marcus spun around, pulling her close. “Gen, you shouldn’t be walking around with the baby. I worry about you.” His voice was all honey and possessive pride. They left. Moments later, I felt a sudden, warm splash on my head. A vile, hot liquid streamed down my face and into my mouth. The stench of urine, metallic and sour. The chorus of laughter exploded again. I closed my eyes, remaining perfectly still. The next day, Gen hosted a lavish dinner party to celebrate Marcus’s promotion to Senior Partner at his law firm. I was assigned to drive them. Midway through the journey, Marcus instructed me to pull over in a remote area, then ordered me out to fetch Sadie. I caught his smirk in the rearview mirror. “Go get Sadie. Don’t be late.” I heard the tearing sound of Gen’s dress as I got out, but I didn’t look back. I hailed a cab for the school. Sadie’s smile vanished the moment she saw me walk through the school gate. “Mistress sent me to fetch you, Miss Sadie.” She frowned, her voice dripping with utter distaste. “Why you?” She threw her backpack, slamming it into my chest. Her classmates glanced over. “Hey, isn’t that her dad? The one who went to jail…” Sadie’s face turned scarlet. She glared at me, then turned and ran. “Go away! You’re disgusting!” As I watched her run, I remembered the years when she wouldn’t sleep unless I tucked her in, when she spent twenty-four hours a day glued to my side. Now, I was a dirty stray she wanted to shoo away. Seeing them play the role of the perfect family, hearing her call another man ‘Daddy,’ caused a familiar, dull ache in my anesthetized heart. She had been my world since the day she was born. When I finally arrived at the restaurant, Marcus was surrounded by well-wishers, raising their glasses. He caught sight of me and his eyes lit up. He waved me forward. “Just in time! Our good Professor Alistair is a man of many talents. Come, entertain the guests!” His voice was loud, ensuring the entire hall heard. The guests chuckled. I stood rooted, my blood turning to ice. Gen sat at the main table, lightly swirling her wine glass, refusing to meet my eyes. “What’s wrong? Reluctant?” Marcus raised an eyebrow. I immediately obliged, performing a ridiculous, clumsy routine that sent the crowd into fits of laughter. I saw several familiar faces, including some students I had funded over the years. After the performance, Gen suddenly asked the waiter to add a chair. “Alistair, come sit and eat with us.” I froze, and the juggling bottle slipped, shattering on the marble. Instinct took over. Before Marcus could even open his mouth, I was on my knees. My kneecaps slammed down onto the broken glass. “I apologize, Master.” My head was bowed, my voice trembling. The patrons watched in scorn as the former medical professor knelt like a dog, picking up shards of glass for his wife’s lover. Marcus laughed—a cruel, sharp sound that sliced the sudden silence. “See, Gen? You try to be kind to him, and he refuses to accept it. Some people are just born to grovel. They’re only comfortable on their knees.” Gen didn’t respond. She simply stared at me, her expression complicated. I gathered the last piece of glass, stood up with bloodied hands, and bowed deeply. “Master, Mistress. I will go treat the injury now.” Late that night, I was in the utility closet, cleaning the shards from my hands. I looked up at the mirror—my face, gaunt and pale, looked spectral. I turned around. Gen was standing behind me. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me from behind. “Marcus has been excessive lately, Alistair. Try not to hate him for it.” I lowered my eyes. “Mistress, you exaggerate. Master has been nothing but kind.” Gen was silent for a few seconds. “Alistair, I sent you away for five years to teach you obedience.” She sighed. “But this… this isn’t you anymore.” I almost laughed aloud. When I used to fight Marcus, I was met with Gen’s scolding. That Alistair, she’d said, was too abrasive, making her feel insecure. Now she had succeeded in beating me into an obedient dog, stripping away everything she once disliked. And now, she missed the old me. I looked at her reflection in the mirror and forced a hollow smile. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” Gen’s pupils contracted slightly. Her hands searched my ribs, her voice hollow. “You’re nothing but bone… There’s no light left in your eyes.” The utility closet door flew open. Marcus stood there, his face thunderous. “What are you doing?” Gen immediately released me and spun toward him. “Marcus, I just came to tell Alistair that Sadie woke up and is asking for his rice porridge.” She tugged him away, perhaps her fleeting moment of guilt having saved me from punishment. As he left, Marcus looked over his shoulder, his eyes dark and complex. I knew. Things were about to get much worse. The next morning, I carefully approached Marcus. “Master, what entertainment would you like today?” Marcus slowly ate his breakfast, barely glancing up. “No show today. You’re coming with me.” My heart plummeted. I instinctively looked at Gen, sitting beside him. She kept her head down, a silent nod of consent. What was I expecting? “Yes, Master.” I lowered my head, my voice flat. The car left the affluent neighborhood and drove onto the highway. The scenery outside became desolate. The familiar route, like a needle of ice, slowly pierced the depths of my memory. This was the road to my parents’ cemetery. My breathing hitched—a tiny, traitorous intake of air—but I forced it smooth. In the rearview mirror, Marcus watched me, his smile widening, the pleasure radiating off him like heat. “What’s wrong, Alistair? Remembering something?” His tone was light, like a predator toying with its prey. “No, Master,” I whispered. Marcus laughed. “Don’t worry. You will soon enough.” The car stopped at the gate of the abandoned, overgrown cemetery. I barely had a foot on the ground before a crushing blow landed on the back of my head. The world tilted and spun. Several thick arms pinned me to the earth. I struggled to lift my head and saw the faces of the men who had owned me in prison for five years. The terror was instant, absolute. “Professor Alistair. Long time no see.” One man grinned, then swung a pre-positioned baseball bat down on my knee. CRACK! A loud, awful sound of bone shattering. Blood instantly surged into my throat, spilling from my lips. Seeing the blood, the others’ eyes flashed with excitement. They closed in. I felt like every bone in my body was being pulverized. Marcus stood a short distance away, idly playing on his phone. “Easy, boys. Don’t kill him. He still has to take the fall for me tomorrow.” They roared with laughter, pausing the assault. Then, exchanging knowing glances, they hauled me up. “Professor, we haven’t had a dog like you for a long time. Miss your old friends?” My body shook uncontrollably. I tried to beg, but I had no breath left. For the next hour, my body swayed with the impact of their blows. I was an empty shell, completely still, like a corpse. Soon, they found a new form of torture. They found a shovel. A minute later, one of them held up the urns. “No… Please, stop—” I fought, screaming, but my voice was useless. They forced my jaw open and began pouring the white, gritty ash into my mouth, mocking me. “Dogs love bones, Professor! Eat up!” My eyes rolled back. I retched, struggling violently, the tears mixing with the blood on my face. My sight turned black. My mind shattered. I faintly heard an engine. Gen’s car. She had come. Marcus quickly rushed over, instantly switching to a panicked expression. He clutched his own bloody arm. “Gen! What are you doing here? It’s dangerous!” “It’s Alistair’s old prison enemies. They came for revenge! You have to go!” Gen’s gaze landed on me. Her pupils contracted violently, but only for a second. She turned away, helping Marcus toward the car. As she walked, she paused. “Alistair, you… hold on. I have to get Marcus to the hospital. I’ll come back for you. Later.” The car sped away. I fell unconscious. I don’t know how long I was out. I woke to the vibration of my phone. A text from Gen. “Stay put. Someone will be there to pick you up.” I ignored it. Instead, with a finger caked in mud and blood, I dialed a number I’d kept hidden for five years. “It’s time. I have the ledger.” I closed my eyes again. The next day, just hours before he was due to take the fall for Marcus, Alistair was nowhere to be found. Marcus burst into the utility closet. His smile instantly vanished. “Where is Alistair?!”