Shadow Hound

Mom found us at daylight, huddled together in terror. She frowned her empathetic face. Worry wrinkles formed on her forehead and she sighed. Her head cocked to the side quizzically and her hands were on her hips. Then she came to a decision and briskly stepped to the bed and took us both in her arms for a big hug.

“Okay, guys. What’s the matter?”

“There’s a thing in the yard.” Caleb’s voice quavered and he swallowed nervously then rushed on when he saw Mom’s eyebrows lower and her eyes narrow in the start of the I-don’t-think-you-know-what-you-think-you-know look. “There’s something evil under the shed. Something besides the bunnies. It comes out at night, and I don’t know why it doesn’t bother you, but it comes in the house and walks through the hall from the back door to the front door, and it scares us.”

I whimpered and snuggled into my brother’s hug to show my solidarity. His voice had risen and sped up as he had spoken, now with an effort he forced it back into his normal tone and spoke as slowly and clearly as his fear would let him. “We think we should move.”

I hadn’t even thought of that, but I immediately agreed that was an amazing idea. We should absolutely move! Like now. Before it got dark again.

“You’re not punking me, are you?” Mom’s look of concern was something else now. She sighed again. “I really thought the new addition to the family had ended this. Okay,” She stood, pushing herself up with her palms on her thighs before dusting them together. Caleb almost cheered before he heard Mom’s next words.

“I’ll call grandma.”

I was crushed. How could she? Mom knew that grandma didn’t like me. “But Mom, you know grandma won’t let…” This time Mom’s sigh was one of exasperation.

“Look, Caleb.” She was using her ‘really serious’ voice, the one that meant no matter how we pleaded we were never going to convince her otherwise. Which was not to be confused with her ‘serious voice’ which meant we could convince her of doing what we wanted if we presented a good enough argument to her. “I can’t afford to stay in a hotel until we find a new place and we can’t take her to grandma’s and…” Mom held up a finger to forestall the pleading Caleb was about to start. “…AND… You. Know. Why!”

My brother’s shoulders slumped. This was not good. Caleb and I couldn’t be separated. This would be awful. Also, I could not be in this house alone at night. “Will you let her sleep with you?” His voice was small, reminding me that my adopted brother was just a boy. He might be older than me, but still just a kid, young and scared like me. “Please don’t make her be alone when it comes tonight. If anyone could win an award for puppy eyes it should have been my big brother, he cranked the sad-face up to nineteen and… tried again. “Or better yet you both come with me to grandma’s house, and we can all be safe.”

For the first time ever, Mom was immune to sad face.

This was terrible. This was the worst thing to ever happen. We could not stay here any longer. Even though it was daytime, the thing was very active. I could hear it making its grumbles as it flexed against whatever held it to its burrow beneath the shed. The part of the thing that walked, or more aptly stalked in an amorphous-evil-shadow-blob kind of way, through the house was becoming freer in its movements.