The Morton family were enjoying a beautiful day in the park. Dad was flipping burgers on the portable grill he had brought from home. Mom was laying out various goodies on a blanket, including a cake to celebrate dads promotion. Billy and Suzie were playing tag not far off, laughing and tumbling over the grass whenever one of them caught the other. Birds whistled sweetly in the nearby trees and a squirrell bolted across the grass with a nut in it's mouth, scurrying up a tree to secure it's prize. The sun beat down overhead but was counteracted by a gentle breeze, setting a nice temperature. It was altogether a perfect day.
When the food was almost ready, mom shouted for the kids to join them and they came running.
They weren't the only ones.
Bounding out of the trees, causing a number of birds to scatter in surprise, came a vicious looking beast. All muscles and teeth and heading straight for the Mortons. Mom was quick to scoop up the kids and get them out of harms way but dad seemed to be frozen in fear and when the massive dog barrelled into his legs, he was sent tumbling head over heals to the ground.
The dog had no interest in the idiot in his way. All he wanted was the food. He made a beeline for the burgers on the grill, toppling the entire thing over as he leaped at it with forepaws forward. He didn't even pay any attention to the small fire he caused on the corner of the family's picnic blanket. He was too busy chomping down on the dropped burgers.
Pulling himself back to his feet and putting his hand to the back of his now aching head, Dad took a moment to get his bearings and when he spotted the dog chowing down yelled "Hey!". The dog only continued eating until he heard "Bad dog!".
He turned and informed the idiot
"It's Jake"...Or at least he tried to. Only a small growl came from him. Jake turned his head to return to his burgers but as he did so, he caught sight of a rather delicious looking cake.
"Oh. No no no" said the human, waving his arms in a feeble attempt to get Jake's attention. But Jake's attention was already firmly locked on the cake. His eyes glazed over slightly as he licked his chops. He pounced upon the delicious treat as though it were prey, making short work of it. "No! No! No!" yelled dad as he dug his fingers into his hair. He made a step towards Jake but the dog quickly turned his head and let out a loud bark. So loud, in fact, that the soundwaves it caused sent the annoying human tumbling to his ass. Jake continued to fill his belly until he heard a young girl cry and his head snapped up again. He turned to see young Suzie with her back pressed against her mother as she watched their picnic be destroyed. The dog felt a twinge of emotion himself at the sight of the girl. Damn it. She ruined it.
Jake regrettably turned and ran off, his emotions conflicted by the crying girl and her brother yelling "Coooool!"
Out of earshot of the crying, Jake began to relax again. He hated crying kids. The sound hurt his heart as much as it hurt his ears...Okay, maybe not quite as much. But other than the crying, this had been a pretty good morning. He had spent most of it in the park, thoroughly enjoying the open air. He had spent almost an hour chasing ducks around the pond, hassled a couple of hipsters, gotten briefly stuck in a tyre swing and scoffed some burgers and cake. He was still hungry though. Damn it, why was he always so hungry?
He began to make his way slowly out of the park. Maybe he could raid some trash from behind a restaurant. They always threw out such good stuff. But then all hell seemed to break loose. Sirens everywhere. Gunshots. Screams. People running. Jake had no idea what was happening but ducked behind a tree just to be safe. His curiosity quickly got the better of him though and he ventured further out, eventually finding himself near the a police shootout with...What were those things? He had no idea but an even bigger question was why was there a massive hole in the ground. Curiosity only caused him to inch closer.
