Beyond The Stars. Sarah Webb

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СКАЧАТЬ and pushed her, almost threw her, back into the cage. The steel of the lock screeched as he pushed it into place. It was a sound like pain.

      Pavel examined his wrist again.

      “No blood,” he said. “Come, dogs.”

      He led them across the snow to a large metal door. The dog noticed a sign on the wall, a picture of something flying through a cloud, and she wondered why they’d been brought there.

      Pavel pulled open the door, and they were now in a dark, damp corridor. The dogs fought against the leashes. They fought each other. She snapped at a dog who tried to get ahead of her. The other dog yelped and fell back. She was at the front. No other dog tried to pass.

      They came to the end of the corridor and Pavel pushed open another metal door. They were now in a much brighter room. There were big windows along the high walls, and sunlight broke through the snow that lay on top of the windows in the ceiling.

      And cages. There were cages here too, in the centre of the room, piled neatly on top of each other. There were rows of them, like one of the human buildings in the city. The dog could see that the cages were clean and shining. And empty.

      More humans, all of them wearing white coats, came towards the dogs and surrounded them. They got down on their knees and patted the dogs. They laughed and looked excited.

      A female white coat – Pavel called her Svetlana – stared into the dog’s eyes.

      “This one I call Tsygan,” she said. “Gypsy.”

      The dog had never had a name before. She had never belonged to a human, or been inside a human home.

      The white coat, Svetlana, held Tsygan’s head. Tsygan didn’t bite her.

      “You have had a tough life, I think,” said Svetlana.

      Another human, an older one, arrived and, immediately, the others stood and stopped looking excited. Tsygan could tell this new human was the leader.

      He spoke to Pavel.

      “All female, yes?”

      “Female?” said Pavel. “I was not told this, Comrade Gazenko.”

      “Does no one ever listen?” said Gazenko.

      “I am sorry, comrade doctor,” said Pavel.

      “But why must they be female?” Svetlana asked.

      “You will see tomorrow,” said Gazenko. “They are all light-furred, yes?”

      “Yes, comrade.”

      “Before you ask why,” said Gazenko, “it is because of the cameras. The dark ones cannot be detected. Now, feed and cage them. Selection starts tomorrow morning.”

      *

      Tsygan woke. It was dark. Another dog yelped in her sleep. There was no other noise. The white coats weren’t there.

      She slept, she woke, she drank water from the bowl in her cage. It was still dark. She slept again.

      She woke.

      The white coats had arrived. They moved around the room, they sat and examined papers, they stood at machines. There was no laughter. It was not like the day before. Tsygan knew this was an important day, a day to be careful.

      The little dog in the cage beside Tsygan whispered.

      “Why are we here?”

      “I do not know,” said Tsygan.

      “My name is Dezik,” said the little dog.

      Tsygan didn’t answer her. They heard the older white coat, Gazenko.

      “No food until after testing,” he said.

      “What is testing?” Dezik whispered.

      Tsygan looked at her. She was younger than Tsygan, and frightened.

      “I do not know,” said Tsygan.

      Something in her, a feeling, nudged her to say more.

      “Do not be frightened, Dezik,” she said.

      All the dogs were taken from their cages and brought to a corner of the bright room.

      Pavel lifted Tsygan. He put her on to a metal basket. Tsygan had seen machines just like this before, in many of the shops in the city. They were used to weigh meat and other food. But why were the white coats weighing Tsygan? She wanted to jump, to bite, to run. But she stayed calm, she sat still.

      Gazenko gazed over his glasses at the dial.

      “Eight kilos,” he announced.

      “Good dog,” said Pavel, as he lifted Tsygan out.

      Tsygan knew she’d passed a test.

      Another dog was lifted, and weighed.

      “Ten kilos,” said Gazenko. “Too heavy.”

      The dog was taken away.

      The little dog, Dezik, was once again beside Tsygan.

      “What if I am too heavy?” she whispered.

      Tsygan looked at the little dog.

      “Dezik,” she whispered. “You are smaller than me. Do not worry.”

      “What if I am too small?”

      “Don’t worry.”

      Dezik and other dogs were weighed. No more dogs were taken away.

      “This is good?” Dezik asked.

      “I think so,” Tsygan whispered.

      Large bowls of water were placed in front of the dogs and a the white coat stood with each one as they drank and drank until the bowls were empty.

      “Now, comrades,” said Gazenko. “The time has come to explain the male-female issue.”

      He pointed at Tsygan.

      “This one I like,” he said. “Female, yes?”

      “Yes, comrade.”

      “And this one,” said Gazenko, pointing at the last remaining male dog, Boris. “Dress them in their suits.”

      Two of the female white coats dressed Tsygan. She didn’t bite or pull away from them. They pulled something, some garment, over her hind legs, and up across her back.

      “It is like a nappy,” said Svetlana.

      The other white coat СКАЧАТЬ