Creature of the Night

This is where the story-line for most horror stories originate for me… Earlier this morning…

It was their dog that first alerted Tom that there was something moving about in the front of their home. He had been in a dead-sleep when he heard the low and guttural growl of his German Short Hair as it lay at the foot of the bed.

His wife remained asleep, unaware of the dog’s persistent and resonating warnings.

At first Tom simply lay there, listening, hoping to hear also what had caught the dog’s attention. And then, suddenly, there it was – a tiny, but noticeable muffled, grinding sound.

Where was their older dog? Tom didn’t know.

Quietly, he rolled from under his covers, picking up his small flashlight, and then withdrawing his Colt .45 from the top of the nightstand. Already charged with a round in chamber, he dropped the leather holster on his pillow and moved even more quietly towards the bedroom door.

The dog continued to growl as Tom entered the hallway and proceeded to the living room. The sound, which had grown louder, came to an abrupt stop the instant he set foot in the area.

Calmly, he raised his pistol and with the flashlight under his shooting hand, turned on the beam. There it was, humanoid in appearance, standing on two legs, eye’s glowing, and unmoving at first, before it rapidly bolted out of the light’s glare.

Tom had forgotten to put the dog door down for the night and his young hunting dog was both smart enough to know not to mess with the fiend and to get his human’s attention that the alarming thing was eating from its food bowl.

“Damned, Raccoon,” Tom muttered, as he slipped the dog door into place, sliding it down until fully closed.