The Labrador was the first of the dogs to wear the device, its barks converting to human speech. Just a single repeating word, really. Mel could hear it clearly from his desk.

The other dogs bared their teeth, and panic rose in Mel’s chest. It was only one word: “Attack!”

Daniel Pereyra is a Phoenix, AZ-based writer of fiction and poetry. He’s had fiction featured in the online magazine The Artist Catalogue and his poetry has appeared both online and in print. His poetry chapbook, Sunday Morning Ponderings, was published in August 2015 by Flutter Press.