Kevin exited the house and walked over to Jared. "What's wrong, boy? Are you bored?"
Jared tried to appreciate the irony that his brother was actually trying to communicate with him.
"Want to go inside with me?" Kevin asked.
Jared barked once. "Well, let's go," Kevin said and unhooked the collar from the lead.
Inside the house, boy and dog settled on the couch and Kevin found something to watch on TV. The black-and-white screen held no interest for Jared, nor apparently Kevin, who soon feel asleep on the sofa. This might be Jared's big chance. Wepwawet had destroyed his carefully written message in the dirt. Well, perhaps he could find another means to communicate, and he had an idea he wanted to try.
Jared took advantage of his brother's trusting nature, slipping away from the living room when Kevin fell asleep in front of the television.
He had a long-shot idea, but he needed to escape constant supervision to accomplish it. He reached the stairs that led to the second floor of the house. He produced a doubtful whine as he tackled the steep, intimidating stairs. Reaching the landing on the upper floor, he headed directly to his old room. Fortunately, the impostor was as big a slob as Jared himself. Clothes, textbooks, food wrappers, and an array of other items littered every available surface.
Using his nose, Jared zeroed in on his target, finding the gym bag on the floor at the foot of the bed where the impostor had dropped it. "Jackpot," Jared thought to himself as he pushed his snout into the bag and rummaged through the contents.
Although distressed at how badly the scent of his former body now bothered his sensitive nostrils, he pushed those feelings aside as he closed his jaws on his old jockstrap. Miraculously restored to an umblemished state, the jockstrap showed none of the damage that an unthinking Jared had inflicted on it while one of his earlier canine incarnations.
As he was leaving the room, he saw one other item -- a framed photograph of himself with Kevin -- on the surface of his dresser. Using his hind legs for a boost, he hooked his forepaws on the dresser and nudged the frame to the edge and caused it to fall to the carpeted floor.
He needed some time to collect both the photo and the jockstrap, but when he had them securely held in his jaws, he headed back downstairs. He found Kevin still asleep, which allowed him to position the items on the coffee table. Not until he had his plan in place did he try to wake his brother.
He barked once, then again, but Kevin groaned and turned his back to his brother. Jared raised a paw and raked Kevin's back as the boy rested on the sofa.
Finally, Kevin turned back to face him, a bit grumpy. "What is it, boy?"
Jared barked and stepped to the coffee table. He barked again and stood guard over the photo and jockstrap.
"Where did you get these?" Kevin said angrily. "Bad dog!"
The words crushed Jared's canine instincts, and he felt a wave of subservience overwhelm him. Kevin snatched up the frame and reached for the jockstrap, but the sheepdog got hold of it first. The resulting tug of war conjured a sense of deja vu for the brothers.
As they faced each other, Jared sensed the dawning of recognition. He gambled and let go of the jockstrap and instead pushed closer and licked the surface of the glass over their photo in the cheap frame.
"Please, please, put it together," Jared pleaded.
For the first time, Kevin noticed the picture in the frame.
Without words, without hand gestures, Jared needed to communicate in that moment. He licked his brother's hand and whined in a pleading manner.
Kevin looked at the frame again, and then he looked at the jockstrap. Intact! But he had been present when Jared as Shaggy had destroyed it. The amulet was still changing things, and now Shaggy was trying to warn him.
"What is it, Shaggy? Is Jared in trouble?"
"No!" Jared wanted to shout, but he restrained the impulse to bark impulsively. He moved his face to the frame, slowly, carefully, and licked the glass again.
Kevin gasped. "Jared?"
Jared rejoiced. He had done it! He barked, as if that could do anything to confirm his identity.
"Is it you?" Kevin asked, but he sounded doubtful.
"I've got it," Kevin said. "OK. One bark for yes, two for no. Do you understand?"
Jared barked once.
"Jeepers!" Kevin exclaimed.
Jared whined and let his hindquarters shimmy like mad.
"You're Jared?"
Another single bark.
Kevin's mind raced. "Wepwawet! Did he cause you and Shaggy to switch bodies?"
It wasn't exactly factual, but Jared couldn't afford to risk a misunderstanding. He barked once.
"Do you know how we can get you back in your own body?"
Jared whined again and gave two barks.
"Don't worry, boy," Kevin said.
Jared barked twice.
"What?" Kevin asked. "What is it, boy?"
Jared growled and barked twice again.
Kevin palmed his face. "Oh! Sorry! Right, you're Jared."
His older brother barked once.
"Well, it's a natural mistake," Kevin said somewhat defensively.
Jared agreed and barked once.
"You're a clever bo..." Kevin said, but stopped himself before he referred to his brother as "boy" again. "You were very clever, but why didn't you just write a message in the dirt?"
Jared whined.
"Well, it's what I would have done," Kevin said.
To get them back on track, Jared again licked the glass of the framed photo.
Kevin figured that his brother was reminding him of their special bond. "Don't worry," Kevin promised. "I'll help you get your body back."