Extends next to me

Her paws reaching out graceful

Murder mittens flex...

There’s that one place in the house

that everyone knows to avoid.

At the bottom the stairs,

just to the right of the last step.

The children made the wood floors

worn and bare.

You can still see the claw marks from where the dog

slid to fast chasing them.

We covered it in carpet,

but the floor still made that sound.

C-R-E-A-K. Creak!

Followed by a thunder of footsteps up the stairs.

We could al...

His muscles burned from digging the wooden oar into the choppy water. Despite throwing his entire weight into rowing, the storm made it impossible to get away. He looked back over his shoulder, the blood from the cut above his eye made it difficult to see. A blood curddling howl echoed from the woods. He could feel the shockwaves across the water. He kept trying to row. Splinters from the old oar ...