“So what were you doing in the Gang House?”

Kiara was sitting in the courtyard of her school, watching as the Grade 8 boys played soccer (with a lunch box instead of a ball). A girl and a boy were standing there, looking down at her.

“We saw you,” said the girl. “Yesterday. Coming out through the gate of the Gang House. Do you live there?”

Kiara knew who the girl was. Her name was Zaakirah, and she was in Grade 10, in Kiara’s class, although she’d never spoken to Kiara before. She was pretty and plump, shorter than Kiara, and one of those girls who liked to change her hairstyle as often as possible. At the moment it was in long, thin braids that were caught back in a ponytail.

“I’m Zaakirah,” she said. “And you’re Kayla, right?”

“Kiara,” corrected Kiara, and scrambled to her feet. This was the first time another girl had come to speak to her at break time. She’d not been at this school long enough to make any friends yet.

“Oh, sorry, that’s right,” said Zaakirah. “And this is Jaydon.”

Jaydon smiled and held out his hand. After a moment, Kiara realised what he meant, and shook his hand shyly, letting go as quickly as she could. Jaydon was tall and broad shouldered, and Kiara was sure he must be much older than Zaakirah and herself.

“Jaydon is in Grade 12,” Zaakirah said, as if reading her thoughts. “Don’t mind him, he doesn’t really say much. But you didn’t answer my question. What were you doing at Esther Street?”

Kiara hesitated. She’d not even told her granny about what had happened to her last night. What would this bright, pretty girl and her tall friend think of her? Why were they even speaking to her? But Zaakirah and Jaydon looked so friendly and curious that Kiara felt her shyness fade. All at once she instead felt the urge to impress them.

“Well,” she began, a bit hesitantly. “You know those guys, the three guys that hang out near the corner shop? I think one of them’s called Marky or something?”

“Sure!” Zaakirah nodded eagerly. “Those guys are trouble. They bugging you?”

Quickly, Kiara told her story. How Marky and his friends had been making her nervous with their unwanted attention. How last night they had actually chased her. How, in an attempt to get away from them, she’d accidentally climbed over the wall of the Gang House.

“Wow!” Zaakirah’s eyes were gleaming with excitement. “That’s hectic! What did you do then? Did they catch you, the tsotsis?”

“No, they didn’t,” said Kiara. “I hid behind some bins. They stank, but I was so scared I didn’t care!”

Jaydon, who’d been following her story with fascination, shook in silent laughter.

“But what about that dog?” said Zaakirah. “That dog on the chain. Didn’t it go for you?”

“No,” said Kiara. And then she told them the most amazing part of the story. How the dog had actually protected her by growling at the gangster who’d come out looking to see what was causing all the noise in his backyard. “She really did!” said Kiara, seeing her new friend’s disbelieving looks. “She could easily have bitten me all the time I was there, but she didn’t. She just looked at me.”

“So it’s female? That dog?” asked Jaydon. This was the first time he’d spoken, and for some reason, the sound of his voice made Kiara shy again.

“Yes,” she said, feeling her face heat up as she blushed. “You could see … you could see that she’d had puppies, you know.”

“She had teats, all swollen?” asked Zaakirah, completely unembarrassed. “Poor thing.”

Then they all looked round as the bell rang. “Damn,” said Zaakirah. “Listen, how about we meet you after school? Then we can walk with you, and you can tell us more. And if we’re with you, Marky won’t dare to bother you.”

And that’s exactly what happened. After school that day Kiara found Zaakirah and Jaydon waiting for her at the gate. It felt good to be walking with friends. Zaakirah laughed and made jokes, and though Jaydon didn’t speak much, he seemed interested in everything Kiara had to say.

They reached the corner cafe and Kiara saw Marky waiting there, leaning against the wall and smoking. Her breath caught and she slowed down, hoping to avoid his eyes, but he’d already seen her.

Kiara waited for him to say something, but he just looked at her. His eyes went from her to Jaydon and back again. Then he dropped his cigarette, stepped on it, and went inside the shop without a backwards look.

“You just tell me,” said Jaydon, “if he gives you any trouble, right?”

Kiara nodded happily.

“Let’s go down Esther Street,” said Zaakirah, and before Kiara could protest, that’s exactly what they did. Soon they were looking at the Gang House, although they were careful to stay on the other side of the street.

“I heard,” said Zaakirah, “that the guys in there are some of the worst gangsters. A guy I knew, you know, Brandon from school?”

Kiara shook her head.

“Well, anyway, Brandon told me he was walking down here and he saw one of these guys coming out the door. Next thing, the guy doesn’t like the way Brandon is looking at him and he pulls out a knife. Wants to know what his business is. Brandon says the guy had eyes like a corpse.” Zaakirah shuddered. “Dead eyes, you know?”

Kiara looked nervously at the front door of the Gang House. She wanted to leave, but she also didn’t want Jaydon and Zaakirah to see how scared she was.

As they watched, something moved behind the gate. Chain Dog had walked up to the gate and was looking out at the street.

“There it is!” said Zaakirah. “Wow. What a monster.”

But Kiara, looking at Chain Dog now, no longer saw her as a monster. She saw the way her ribs stood out along her sides, and the sore where the collar had rubbed her raw. She noticed that there was not even a bowl of water for the dog to drink from, although the day was warm and the sun baked down on the gravel yard where she was chained.

“I heard,” said Jaydon softly behind her, “that the people in this house run a dog fighting ring. That’s what all those dogs in the cages are for. They are fighting dogs.”

“Maybe that’s where she got her scars from,” said Zaakirah. “Do they make the girl dogs fight too?”

Jaydon shrugged. “Don’t think so. But you can see they’ve been breeding her. Maybe the male dogs are rough and bite her. Or maybe the scars are from them beating her.”

Zaakirah shuddered. “That’s so cruel.”

“It is cruel,” said Jaydon. “Dog fighting is cruel.”

Kiara remembered the stories she’d heard about dog fighting. That the dogs were beaten and teased until they were fighting mad, and then thrown in a ring for people to bet on while they ripped one another to shreds. That if a dog was too scared to fight, or if it jumped out of the ring to get away, its owners would kill it. A dog that wouldn’t fight was worthless to them.

All at once, she wondered what the dogs thought of the whole thing. Did they like to fight, or did they only do it because they were trained to do so? Did a dog like Chain Dog love her master? Did she try to please him, even when he starved her and beat her, and left her alone all day long?

Kiara felt a lump in her throat. “I’m going to get that dog out of there,” she said, half to herself. “They don’t want her. They think she’s rubbish. There must be a way to save her.”

“That’s great!” said Zaakirah, immediately excited by the idea. “We should do it. Don’t you think, Jaydon? After all, she saved Kiara, didn’t she, that dog? She deserves a better life than that.”

Jaydon raised his eyebrows at her. “Really?” He turned to Kiara. “What’s your plan?”

Kiara stared at him. “I … I don’t know.” She hadn’t thought as far as that. “I suppose we could ask around, find out more about this place?” As she spoke, she found herself gaining in confidence. “We should find out more about the people who live in there. How many of them there are. Maybe they go out sometimes.”

“Good idea!” said Zaakirah. “Let’s start now.”

And before her friends could stop her, she marched across the street right up to the front door of the Gang House and rang the doorbell.

***

Tell us: What do you think of dog fighting? Is Jaydon right to say dog fighting is cruel?