Like Porno for Psychos by Wrath James White Page A

beautiful lover fulfill her fantasy.

Joey squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated hard. He was sick of being hurt, sick of being afraid. He had never been afraid when his dad was still around. He’d always felt safe wrapped in his father’s enormous arms. But now, it felt like he was always terrified, always being victimized, by the bullies at school, the bigger kids in the neighborhood, and, worst of all, the sitter.
    Joey’s mother had bought him a dog after his father had left them to keep the house safe while they slept. A big Rottweiler named Hades who’d been Shutzhund trained at the same academy where they trained the police canine units.
    “Who needs a man,” she’d said, “We’ve got Hades to look after us. She’s like a burglar alarm that bites!”
    But Joey was the only one who needed protecting.
    “Joeey? Joooooeeeeey?”
    Her voice was malevolently sweet like Halloween candy filled with razors. Prickles of fear dashed the length of Joey’s spine raising goosebumps on the back of his neck and causing his scrotum to shrink up tight against him. An involuntary whimper escaped his throat and his knees began to shake. He could smell his own fear, an acrid musk like sweat and urine that made his eyes water and glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth. He was ashamed of his fear. Tears wept from the corners of his eyes and he wiped them away with the sleeve of his pajamas. He was determined to be strong.
    Joey tried to tell himself that he had nothing to be afraid of. He had Hades there to protect him. But she was locked up downstairs in her kennel and he was upstairs. Alone. And the bad woman was getting closer. He could hear her.
    “Joooey? Where are you little Joey?”
    He tried to ignore that repulsive sing song voice. To shut out the sound of her stealthy footsteps creeping towards him down the hall, to steady his breathing, clear his mind, and reach out for Hades , downstairs in her kennel.
    Joey had asked his mother to leave Hades in his room so she could watch over him. But the babysitter insisted the dog be locked up. Now he could hear the fat , perverted sitter getting closer to his door. He knew she’d be coming in soon—to touch him. Joey quieted his thoughts and washed his mind clear.
    “Help me, Hades.”
    The huge Rottweiler sat locked in a cage downstairs in his father’s old den. Joey could feel her rage boiling up through the floorboards; feel it filling him, giving him strength. He could feel her breath, her heartbeat. He could taste the dog food stuck between her teeth; feel the long ropes of saliva drooling from the corners of her mouth. He could even feel the tick behind her left ear. Joey’s heartbeat sped up and fell in sync with the powerful metronome thundering in the big dog’s chest. His breathing grew deeper, huskier. A growl rumbled low in his throat.
    Joey let himself slip away. He concentrated on his monstrous pet until everything else disappeared. Until he felt their consciousnesses merge. Joey’s bedroom doorknob turned. The babysitter was coming.
    “Where are you Joeeeey?”
    Hades went wild. Savage growls and barks echoed from down in the den. She wanted to protect him, to keep the bad woman from hurting him. Joey knew the big dog would’ve torn the babysitter apart if she could, if she weren’t imprisoned. The dog’s thoughts filled his head with images of ripping flesh, crunching bone, severed arteries and ligaments. The dog’s muscles tensed, her massive jaws clenched as her lips pulled away from her fangs and her snout wrinkled into a snarl. She lowered her head toward the floor with her ears flattened back against her skull and paws splayed out in front of her, preparing to launch forward and pounce on her prey. The doorknob continued to turn.
    “Help me. Help me. Help me.”
    The growls and snarls grew louder.
    “Shut the fuck up, you stupid dog!”
    The babysitter’s voice was so close now. The door opened and the obese woman shambled in with the