JUST A QUICK NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

For those of you following this story, I had to do a complete rewrite of chapter 13. You will want to go ahead and read that before proceeding to this chapter. My apologies for any confusion. (edith)
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It was mid-morning when we walked out of the facility. This was the first time in weeks that I had felt sunlight on my skin. I can’t say that Sophie cared about the warmth of the sun as much as she was absolutely giddy to be walking out with Dr. Crowe and away from Dr. Howard and worst of all, Tom.

They had stopped using the shock collar a while back, but there had been other devices that they used to discipline Sophie. Much of my memory of that period is a bit vague, as I had spent so much time outside of my head that I can only summon a few still images of some events that traumatized Sophie.

The worst of these was when Sophie would start to go nuts from all of the training. They didn’t want her to hurt herself, so they put her in a straight-jacket. Restraints in general were traumatizing for her, but the jacket was by far the cruelest. She hated wearing clothes to begin with, and this just cemented in her head that clothing was a punishment.

Suddenly, I felt the collar tug hard against Sophie’s neck. She had just tried running, but Dr. Crowe had had a firm grip on the leash.

“Annie!” I heard Josh yell from the corner of the block. I suddenly realized that Sophie had noticed him and instinctively tried to go running up to greet her friend.

Dr. Crowe casually walked us toward him, and Josh met us in the middle. “Josh, you remember Sophie.”

“Oh, right.” He said to her and petted Sophie’s head.

“Here.” Dr. Crowe said, handing the leash to Josh. “You can walk her for a while.”

Josh’s face broke into a huge grin. “Let’s go Sophie.” Josh said as the three of us walked down the sidewalk back toward Dr. Crowe’s house.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to manage her at school, Josh?” Dr. Crowe asked as we walked.

“Oh, she’s no problem for me.” Josh assured her. “I’m not sure what the other kids will think, but I can definitely keep an eye on her for you.”

“Good. The teachers will make sure she is safe. I just need someone to walk her to school and home, plus keep an eye on her so she doesn’t get into too much mischief.” Dr. Crowe said.

“What about her classes?” Josh asked. “She’s two grades above me.”

“Yea, I’m still working that out. I was hoping she would be able to attend her school like normal, but her condition has changed since I last spoke with the principal. Don’t worry, I have another idea that should be acceptable for everyone.” Dr. Crowe said.

Suddenly, Sophie stopped. Josh tried tugging, but she refused to budge. Instead, she stood there and tapped her foot once. I remembered this from her training. Sophie was taught to tap once if she had to pee and twice if she had to poop. I was glad it is only 1 tap.

Dr. Crowe stared at her for a second before her look of confusion was replaced by one of understanding. “Dr. Howard had taught her to communicate a few things.” Dr. Crowe explained. “If she taps her foot once, she needs to pee. If she taps twice, well. You get it, number 1 and number 2.”

“Oh…” Josh said. “Eww! What do I need to do?”

“Well, it’s only one tap, so go over to that bush and let her do her business.” Dr. Crowe said. “They had trained her to use a litter box when she was inside. Hopefully, any dirt will work for her when we are out here.”

Josh walked Sophie over to the side of the road where a few bushes lined the sidewalk. She look at the bush nervously. Obviously, she didn’t want to get into trouble again.

“It’s okay, Sophie. You can pee here.” Josh told her reassuringly.

Still hesitant, Sophie crouched down and released her bladder. I forced myself a little further into her consciousness. I could feel the pressure on my bladder being relieved. It felt good.

The more I became aware of myself, the more I also became aware of my surroundings. There was a good deal of traffic on this street. Most of the card that drove past honked their horns at me. Some of the young men even hooted as they drove by. Sophie didn’t seem aware of this, but for the first time in a long while, I was aware that I was walking down a public street bare-naked.

Josh was keenly aware, though the honking and hooting seemed to bother him more than it did me. He was being protective, I realized. Dr. Crowe didn’t seem to notice or care.

We made it back to Dr. Crowe’s house, Josh kept hold of the leash as he followed me inside.

“Sophie, sit.” Dr. Crowe said casually when we got into the house. Sophie sat on the floor. Dr. Crowe unfastened the leash and hung it on the wall.

“Please watch her for a minute.” Dr. Crowe told Josh before walking into her office.

“Annie,” Josh whispered. “How much longer are you going to do this for?”

Sophie stared blankly at him. She was well aware of who Annie was, but she had no way of answering her question, even if she knew what to tell him.

“It’s okay.” Josh said cheerfully. “I’ll always be your friend, even if you can’t talk to me.”

Josh started petting Sophie. First on her head, then he gently stroked her back. He crouched down next to her and said “Lie forward.”

Sophie instinctively leaned forward, arms streatched forward and chest on the ground. She was lying face down, but on her knees. This raised her butt up into the air.

Josh didn’t say anything, he just stared at Sophie. He slowly walked around behind me. I couldn’t see what he was up to, but his breathing had changed.

“Josh!” Dr. Crowe said as she walked in on us. “What are you doing?”

“I, um…” Josh said.

“How did you get her to lay like that?” She asked.

“I just said, ‘lie forward’” Josh said.

Dr. Crowe looked through the list. “Here.” She said handing it to him. “These are the commands she was taught. ‘lie forward’ isn’t on here.”

Josh studied the list for a minute. “What does that mean?” he asked.

“Well, a dog can only do what you teach it. Sophie, of course is not a dog. But she was very strictly disciplined. She should not have done any commands that she wasn’t taught. How did she know this command?”

“I dunno.” Josh conceded. “Maybe they taught it to her and just didn’t write it down.”

“I don’t think so. I think Annie is still in there, and Sophie remembers what words me through that connection.” Dr. Crowe said. “I want you to go through these commands with Sophie and learn how to lead her. School starts in a week, so I really need you to work with her as much as you can until she reacts to whatever you tell her.”

“Really?” Josh asked. “Anything?”

“Anything on this list.” Dr. Crowe corrected.

Josh nodded. “What about this?” He pointed down at Sophie, butt still sticking up in the air. I could feel an ache in my back creeping in from holding that pose so long.

Dr. Crowe sighed. “Get a good look. I do not want you showing this to your friends at school. She’ll be molested for sure in this pose.”

“Yes, Dr. Crowe.” Josh acknoleged.

“How much time can you spend here training with Sophie?” Dr. Crowe asked.

“I wanna help, I really do.” Said Josh. “But my mom might not let me spend so much time here. She’s been working overtime just to afford her therapy sessions.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that. She’s Dr. Tamil’s patient, right?”

Josh nodded.

“Let me speak with her. I think I can work something out for everyone.” Dr. Crowe suggested.

“Thanks.” Josh said skeptically. “I think I probably should head home now.”