The Storm Read Online Free

no human noise. He was alone. His family had abandoned him for the night. They had never left him alone at night before.
    Shep had to go, and so he used the same corner to mess as before. His shame was somewhat less — the humans had left him with no other option.
    Shep went into the kitchen and lapped up some water. He snuffled the bowls he’d already licked clean. Now he was hungry again and there was nothing to eat.
    He sniffed at the cabinet where his kibble was kept. He pawed at the door, hooking a claw on the corner. It opened briefly before snapping shut. Shep tried again, this time careful to keep his claw on the cabinet. It opened a little farther before it snapped shut once more. After several tries, Shep got the cabinet open far enough to stick his snout into the opening. He pushed the cabinet door all the way open.
    Inside, he found his bag of kibble. It fell out of the cabinet easily; only a few kibbles rattled around inside. Using his sharp teeth, he tore the bag apart and ate what remained. He was still hungry.
    There must be more food for me in here , Shep thought. He sniffed inside the cabinet and smelled his treats. Shep pawed at all the bags in the cabinet, knocking each out to examine it. At last, he dragged out a shiny bag that smelled like his treats. Holding the bag between his paws, he used his teeth to rip it apart. The bag itself tasted terrible, but inside he found the sought-after long, thin strips of dried meat. He ate them all gleefully, slobber dripping from his jowls.
    As he licked the last crumb of treat from the floor, Shep’s stomach gave a low growl; he was still hungry. He nosed through the other bins and bags in the kibble cabinet, but none smelled of food. He decided to explore the rest of the food room.
    The cabinets along the floor contained bowls — some metal with handles, some made of chewy plastic, some hard and clear — but no food. Shep stood on his hind legs and tried to scratch at the cabinets on the wall, but he couldn’t catch his claw on their doors for long enough to swing them open.
    One cabinet that he hadn’t tried was the tall metal box that hummed. Shep knew that there was food in that box — he’d seen the humans open its door, felt the cool air from its insides, and smelled the kibble inside. He snuffled around the edge of the cold box’s door, testing its seal with his nose. Then he scratched at the crevice between the door and the box. After a few swipes with his paw, the door opened with a sucking sound. A light shone and a cold mist wafted down. Shep sniffed the bottom shelves. Everything smelled wonderful.
    At nose-height, there was a tray covered in shiny metal. Shep hooked a claw along the edge and dragged the tray onto the floor. It landed with a crash, splashing a brown liquid all over the floor and his fur. He licked it — the fresh meat and spices pranced on his tongue.
    Shep lapped up the brown liquid, first from his fur, then the floor, then from inside the tray. To his delight, the tray also contained meaty morsels soaked in the brown stuff, which were so much better than that scrap of pinkish meat he’d found on the Sidewalk that one time. He had to find out what other delicious things were hidden in the box.
    Shep pulled down every tray and box and bowl he could reach. They clattered to the ground, spraying bits and syrups and juices every where. Some tasted good, some awful. But by the end, both Shep and the floor were covered in muck.
    Having emptied every thing he could reach in the cold box, Shep stepped back and sat. His belly was stuffed; he panted gently. Eyelids low over his eyes, he scanned the floor. The full weight of his exploration hit him like a rolled newspaper: He had ruined the entire room. The woman would be furious!
    Shep ran out of the food room and crawled inside his crate, trembling from nose to tail. Why did the boy leave him? And why for so long? If they hadn’t left, Shep