Justice for Justice; Chapter 1: A New Day Dawns.

He wakens shortly after the sun rises over the distant hills, shedding its wondrous silvery light over the town of Hidden Springs. For Justice, yesterday had been somewhat of a disappointment; though he knows today may be better for him. His eyes are still closed, but his sensitive ears pick up a snuffling and what sounds like claws on pavement. As he opens his eyes, he sees a mottled brown and tan dog wandering around on the empty lot, licking its chops and searching the thick brush for bugs or something edible. By the lack of a collar and slightly pungent smell, he can tell the dog is a stray; much like himself he thinks ruefully. He slides out his sleeping bag and rolls it up, stopping when he realizes that the dogs head is cocked slightly to one side, looking directly at him.

Since he was a kid running the streets of Sunset Valley, he has always had a little trepidation of dogs; especially ones as large as this. He had been playing with his friends, minding his own business when a stray dog much like this started chasing him. It had nipped at his bum and his ankles, nearly tripping him twice and he had been forced to vault over a fence into a thick bramble of wild blackberries to escape. He had cowered in that bramble, scratched and bleeding from numerous small wounds for several minutes before the dog gave up and left. This one before him seems a little more passive, so he slowly gets to his feet so as not to startle it and as he does so, the dog comes closer.





The dog seems to be more curious than anything and as Justice holds his hand out, the dog moves in and snuffles his hand warily, backing up almost as quickly as it has advanced. He comes in a second time and this time he simply drops to his haunches and sits there looking up at him, licking his chops and Justice is hit with the revelation that perhaps the dog is looking for something to eat; maybe the dog even expects him to have something. He hasn’t eaten since yesterday and he has no food at all, even for himself, so he decides to check the dumpsters for anything he can take to be recycled. He had long got over his aversion to climbing into trash heaps and while he doesn’t find much there worth anything, he stops in at the recycling center inside the grocery store for the two simoleons the cans are worth.



Like any city, the town has a dump for its waste products and he finds his way over and searches for anything else that can be recycled. Most people in Sunset Valley have no regard for nature and throw away soda cans, plastic jugs, metal containers and what not, and the same is true here; though not to the same extent. He finds plenty of stuff to take in; enough for twenty two more simoleons and though he is hungry, he will save it.



He washes up in the public restrooms at the community garden and when no one is looking, swipes some tomatoes sitting ripe on the vine untended. He wolfs a couple of them down on the way home, his rusty bike carrying him quickly away from the scene of his theft. As he rides the lonely road leading to the center of town, he sees numerous stray dogs quarreling for scraps left by the townspeople or chasing squirrels and birds on the off-chance they can catch one. Cats slink through the shadows in search of food and Justice realizes this place isn’t very animal friendly at all. Concern for the stray dog that had visited him that morning suddenly wells up in him and he makes a detour in his route; stopping when he sees a thrift store.



Stopping inside, the cashier gives him a snort of derision at seeing him, but haltingly answers his questions about whether or not he has any simple plastic or metal container; probably wanting nothing more than for him to leave his store. He finds an inexpensive plastic container and buys it, then stops off at the market on his way home. When all is said and done and he rides up to the abandoned lot, the dog is still lingering, licking its paws and lifts its head when Justice walks up.



The yellow plastic tray is soon filled from the small bag of kibble he bought at the store for 10 simoleons and the dog wags happily at seeing it, though uncouth; charges over and chows down before Justice can even get out of the way. They spend the afternoon and evening in tense silence; the dog paying more attention to digging holes and sniffing everything than to him. Justice eats the last of his pilfered tomatoes as the sun goes down and idly wonders what tomorrow will bring for him.



The afternoon drags on, and he spends a little time trying to convince the dog he means no harm by speaking in low tones in an unthreatening manner; but the stubborn critter pays little mind to his rambling. It is a couple hours later; as Justice is preparing for bed that he watches as a Hidden Springs Police car pulls up and a lady officer gets out of the driver’s seat and approach to speak with him.



Officer Michelle Matlin is a young beat cop on a simple patrol through downtown. She had joined the force last month after passing through the training academy and was so excited to finally get her own squad car; to battle ruthless criminals and weed out undesirables in town. The job isn’t as exciting as she had imagined; having made only a single arrest in the peaceful community in the last month and that for drunken disorderly. When she had passes this lot yesterday in her patrol it was empty and when she saw a filthy, bedraggled man wandering around on the lot with a sleeping bag, she decided to take action.

Approaching him, she forcefully gives her name, putting particular emphasis on “Officer” Matlin, though keeping a little distance between herself and him; mostly from the smell of him.“You cannot stay here... city ordinance 10-2 states that public lots may not be used by indigent persons as a place to stay.” She says gruffly. He is crestfallen, suddenly wondering where he will go if he can’t stay here. He had hoped that people here were as accepting of people like those in Sunset Valley, but he is mistaken in that assumption. “The Hidden Springs Outreach Center is near the eastern edge of town and is a place for people like you.” She says disdainfully; as though homeless people were the cause of all of mankind’s misery.

“Can you tell me where they are so I can make my way that direction…” He says with a sigh and the dog just looks over at him, tongue hanging out of its mouth as it watches the drama. The officer glances at the dog, nervously fingering her sidearm. “There is a dirt road off the highway if you head west, right around the first bend you will see a black house… that is where you want to be.” She says simply; a bit nervous having the dog nearby. “They are closed at the moment, so you can stay here tonight; but I expect you gone by morning.” She finishes and walks away.



He falls asleep after lying awake for some time, pondering his newest problem and hoping the outreach will have a place for him; places like that tend to fill up fast and stay full. Maybe at the least he can get a meal and take a shower; most shelters will at least give those even if they don’t have a bed for you.



The dog had wandered off just after the human had fallen asleep, on his nightly escapade in search of food. While he really doesn’t really need it tonight after all the kibble he had eaten, it is still something he enjoys doing, so goes down the street a short distance until he sees a big house with the porch light on. Padding across the porch, he scratches at the door; having learned this trick long ago as a possible way of getting food from humans, but after a long wait he figures no one is awake to hear him so goes back down the stairs.





Another trick he learned was to knock over the trash cans; humans are always putting half-eaten food in them; potentially he could find something tasty. The can hits the grass with a loud crash and the top comes off and rolls out into the street, spilling the garbage out onto the ground. He sniffs the pile and dives right in searching for goodies. He finds a half-eaten ham sandwich and a chunk of bone from a roast and eats the former in one bite and carries the other back to the abandoned lot, sitting next to the human and scraping his teeth on the bone to dislodge the particles of meat still clinging to it.



Like Justice, he wonders what tomorrow will bring; hopefully something good to eat and a nice stretch of grass to run and play on; all a dog really needs; that and a human to take care of. He curls up on the hard ground and lays his muzzle onto the dirt and falls into a deep doggy sleep; dreaming of chasing cars and squirrels running through endless fields.



The next afternoon finds Justice at the black structure that houses the Hidden Springs Outreach Center, meeting with the apparent manager of the facility outside. The man had been just returning when Justice rode up on his bike, the dog running behind and happily barking at whatever suiting his fancy. He hadn’t been expecting it; but maybe that old adage is true; the one that goes “if you feed a stray dog, he’ll keep coming back.” or something like that. Darren Winter is the owner/operator of the shelter and greets Justice with a firm handshake and a warm, welcoming smile. He is an older man; likely in his late 50s or early 60s, but maintains a youthful vigor that Justice hopes to have at that age.

“I was told that you may have a bed available for me?” He says, once the introductions are concluded. The old man nods and walks up the stairs and into the facility, turning while on the porch. “I do indeed have a bed available for you; and also for your furry friend too.” He says cheerfully and passes through the door.



“We can do this okay?” Justice says, stooping down to run his hands down the dog’s flank softly; hoping to put the dog at ease. The dog perks his ears, listening to the strange man, but doesn’t really understand what he is saying. He does enjoy the attention though and stands placidly while the man pets him and turns to walk into the building.



The dog follows him up the stairs as the old man gives Justice a tour of the facility and he sniffs everything; sensing some other creature is a resident in this place. Darren starts by going over the rules of the shelter; shows him the living room and kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities. There are also shower rooms for the residents use and of course the bedrooms; one for women, one for men since they are the only shelter in town.



He is shown to his new quarters and given a bunk, finding them abandoned at the moment; but that is hardly surprising considering the first rule of living here is that you must be out of the shelter from nine in the morning to five at night; looking for gainful employment or going to school; since teens often find their way here after running away from home. He is given a change of clean clothes, a toothbrush and razor and a pair of shoes all of which are put to use that evening when he finds one of the shower rooms and feeling refreshed, gets a bite to eat from the kitchen before wandering the rest of the facility. 

The dog enjoys running on the expansive lawns on both sides of the house and gets some kibble from a bowl in the kitchen to tie him over until morning; one with a strange scent attached to it… something he isn’t familiar with.



Justice falls asleep first; having had a very exhausting day getting food for himself, earning a bit of money from recycling and taking care of his new companion. Though the dog searches for the elusive other animal that he will be living with, he finds nothing but tufts of fur here and there and that strange smell in every room of the house. He curls up and falls asleep on the carpet near Justice’s bunk soon after and has his regular doggy dreams; chasing squirrels and cars and this time with a shadowy figure, one that he just can’t seem to catch.