She passed by vivid green trees at a brisk jog. Sweat ran down her forehead from her scalp, dripping off her nose and soaking her clothes. Her muscles ached as she pushed herself harder and harder--luckily, she had only a half-mile left.
The intricate, bass-filled song floated to the forefront of her mind, gently guiding her attention away from her straining muscles.
Somewhere distant, she heard a sharp shout, she ignored it, as it was likely something normal. She hastily readjusted her focus back to the final stretch of her run, eager to get back home.
The shout sounded off again, causing a slight twinge of fright to creep into her heart--someone might have been in trouble. She pointedly ignored it, since no one was in trouble, this part of town was perfectly safe.
Then she heard it again, she stopped right in her tracks and pulled out her earphones. Her heart raced in her chest, pumping with an impossible speed. Her ears strained to hear another shout and then--
"Let me out!"
Her eyes shot wide open, her breath hitched in her throat, every sense of pain seemed to vanish. Only the thrumming of adrenaline in her ears remained. She searched around the cozy little houses around her, desperately seeking for the source of the shout.
"Let me out!" said the voice again.
She latched on to the sound and started running towards it, faster than she had been running previously. Not even a touch of exertion taxed her muscles. She pumped her legs harder than ever before, sprinting as quickly as she could possibly manage.
She found herself at the doorstep of a quaint little house and bolted straight for the door.
"Let me out!" It came right from the door, but she couldn't quite understand why such a voice would be yelling that.
"Let me out!" the voice said again, rough and grisly--a full grown man.
She fumbled for the doorknob and found it unlocked. It was brassy and metallic, a sturdy thing, it twisted easily and the door swung wide open.
Something short and hairy dived straight at her, she yelped and stumbled back--before realizing that it was just a dog.
It happily wagged its tail and circled around her legs, cheery and excited. Its smooth, brown fur glistened in the shine of the bright sun. Gently, she nudged the dog away with her knees. With a frankly human-like stare, its condescending eyes bore into her.
Confusion laced her vision, that was definitely strange, but she really had to go help whoever was in trouble.
Carefully, as to not hurt it, she stepped over the dog and made her way into the house.
"Hey, where are you going?" the same manly voice asked, this time from behind her--where she just had been.
She turned on her heel and searched all around her, but to no avail. No one was there.
"Hello?" she asked tentatively.
From right below her, in a deep, manly voice, someone spoke. "Yes, I am standing right here."
She didn't want to look down, for she feared that she already knew the answer. The last thing that she possibly wanted was to look down, it would only confirm her worst guesses.
She was going insane. What she had done to create these phantom voices, she didn't know. But one thing she did know was this--she was, utterly and without doubt, going insane.
"Greetings, young human," said the voice that sounded all too real. "I understand this might present a great surprise to you, but you are, in fact, not descending into madness. Yes, I am a dog, and yes, I am currently addressing you with intelligent English."
Yep, that sealed the deal, she was officially insane. But, she realized, if she was going insane anyways, it couldn't be too bad for her to indulge it.
Slowly she turned her head downwards to look at the-- Yes, it was definitely still a dog.
"Wha...What..." she mumbled out through a dead, numb mouth.
