Shriker The Plague Dog

	All around the world, The Black Death has remained in world history as one of the worst epidemics ever recorded. It had been a terrible time, full of death and sadness. Eventually, the terrible Plague did pass after many years of suffering and it had disappeared… Or so everyone thought.
	I am Shriker. I am a more complex type of Canis lupus familiaris with a brain that can hold more knowledge than the smartest of scientists. I had lived during the time of the Black Death and I am still living till this day like how the Doctor had wanted me to. It is not difficult to carry on with my duties as long as I am never caught, but I shall never be caught… I am smarter than a lot of the foolish creatures on this wretched planet known as Earth.
	During the plague-infested time, I had been a lowly stray dog on the death-filled streets of London. Bodies of the unlucky lay amongst the streets, the reek of death being the only scent I could comprehend. I had lived through the terrible years so far without getting ill, but living was a great challenge.
	As a pup, I had been separated from my family of strays and left alone on the harsh streets. Dodging horse carriages and malicious people, I managed to live somewhat decently, finding just enough food so that my blistered paws would still function. My legs grew longer and longer throughout the years as the sickness became even harder to cope with. My tan fur was torn and I was never clean; I would always be soaked to the bone in substances such as mud and blood. Most would probably find it impossible to live in such conditions, but I lived on in agony until The Doctor finally found me.
	The Doctor had been a sick, twisted man but with large hopes and dreams. I had not known that he took a fancy in witch craft and black magic, so when he found me one day, I became blinded by his affection and delicious foods he spared. Soon enough, I was taken from the dangerous streets by this man who wore a frightening plague mask, a strange hat, a long cloak of some sort, and took part in ‘burning rituals’ for the black bodies of the Plague’s victims.
	I remember being brought to a lab of some sort which held cages, tools and shiny, silver tables. It had been like nothing I’d ever witnessed, but then again I had been a stray so I had not ever had a specific residence to stay at.
	The Doctor had strapped me down on one of those silver tables and brought out all sorts of tools and gadgets. I remember feeling fear and regret for letting this man persuade me, but my thoughts and senses had soon been drowned out by his magical potions and strange magic. He had cut me open with sharp tools and taken out my organs and a lot of important properties that were crucial for survival. My eyes had been ripped out of their sockets and my screams were silent as The Doctor took every single piece of fur off of my body. As my face was smashed and my head distorted, The Doctor’s strange magic kept me alive throughout this horrible process of change.
	Crimson blood had covered the floor that night as my brain was possessed by this man’s strange powers. I had listened to his quiet whispers as he began to stitch the beak of a plague mask to my broken face. “You will rise…” he had whispered softly to me, his voice cracked and full of dark energy. “You and I will be unstoppable. We will save this world and they will all bow down…”
	His tone had ended similar to the Ring around the Rosie song which had been invented long after this time period, and I had just listened as he kept whispering on and on. Leather was soon stitched and stapled tightly to my body and I could not feel the pain. I was a bit confused as to how he had gotten this layer of material on me so tight, but I’ve had to keep reminding myself till this day that The Doctor’s powers were capable of many things. The strange magic that he possessed had allowed the leather covering to stick to my frame quite well and even though my eyes were now goggles, the magic also let me see clearly and they also functioned like normal eyes. The ability to talk came with the dark magic as well, for I had no tongue or organs crucial for said action to occur. Even though I lacked the organs, I was still able to speak clearly, and because of my increased intellect I could use the human language quite easily.
	I had changed in many, strange ways that day; my brain became like that of a human’s, allowing me to speak and think like them and my body was turned into a frightful image. I later on found out that The Doctor had done these things to make me more like him and to also keep the Plague locked away inside of me.
	The Doctor had kept me away from all people except for the patients that he would bring into his lab. I would sit and observe as my companion failed to save the lives of many, and each time I would listen to his crying and acts of sadness.
	We had been a duo that wanted to change the world and rule it so we could make it a much better and suitable place. The Doctor had taught me everything he knew and everything about the rats and their fleas and the Yersinia Pestis that they contained. He had said that there was no known way to stop it, but we coped and coped while taking care of patients the best we could. We saved few lives but most patients would have to be burnt, and we would have to watch.
	This went on for a protracted amount of time, death after death and infection after infection. This went on until The Doctor became unlucky and infected as well, and had died in his bed with me at his side. I had never felt such sadness, let alone my confusion for wondering why he had not saved himself with his magic, and thanks to my new and improved mind, I had whispered my farewell: Goodbye, Doctor.
	I had been abandoned and left alone amongst the cruel world once more. My sorrow drove me onward but all I would do was sit in the shadows and watch more lives be wasted. It had been a blessing when the sickness finally disappeared and life gradually became normal again, but it was just a sad reminder for me that my companion had not made it and that I was left alone.
	Now, I live throughout the world, keeping the Plague locked inside of me as I watch Earth change day by day. Every day I would pray to the sky that my long lost friend was alright. He was the only reason I was still here, of course. I had been given a job and I had been given immortality, and both were a blessing and a curse to me. I was determined to make The Doctor proud even if he wasn’t with me any longer, and I will continue to live in the shadows and keep the Plague locked away. Our dreams of saving the world have been pulverized like a squashed bug, so all I could do was sit and observe as our wretched planet became colder and colder with a sickness much worse than the Plague: the terrible acts of humans and the destruction they cause.