Shadows To Dust

- PROLOGUE -

         I could feel the tightness in my chest worsen as I struggled to hold my breath. I wanted to scream and alert everyone of the horrible thing I had just seen but yet, I could barely move. I continued to sit crouched in the pantry, one hand gripping my legs together and the other being held firmly over my mouth. The only thing I was able to hear was the sound of the wind chime out on the back porch as the gentle winter wind helped it play its song.
         “Was it gone?” I thought to myself. My mind tried tracing out every escape route possible. I relaxed my composure just a little bit, and tried to glance out through the cracks in the pantry door. The sliding door in the kitchen sat open and I was becoming quite cold from the outside air. My direct route seemed clear, but I needed to get help, which involved running upstairs and waking my parents.
         As my heart continued to race, I made the mistake of glancing down and staring at the dark, shiny substance that splattered the floor. It all happened so fast, I barely had any sort of time to react. I continued to follow the trail with my eyes and saw it lead to a limp object that lay dormant on the floor. His fur was torn and matted with blood, and lifeless eyes illuminated by the moonlight.
         I was having an extremely hard time processing that my beloved Archie lay there, lifeless and so still. We had originally gotten him since german shepherds were so loyal. He did everything he did to protect me, and I could only think about how much of this was my fault. One thing was for certain– I needed to get out of this house and get help.
         I took my hand and placed it on the door handle and just as I began to turn it, I began to hear shuffling coming from our living room. My body completely froze when I realized that whatever this thing was that attacked Archie wasn’t gone. The stomps grew louder and breathing grew heavier as it made its way into the kitchen.
         I was trying to make out what it was, but it was so dark. I thought to myself, “Could it be a bear?”
         The sounds were unfamiliar, and it seemed too misshapen to be a bear. I placed my hand over my mouth again, trying to keep my breathing to a minimum.
         That was when I heard the click of a lamp come from the living room, with the sound of my mother’s voice calling out to me.
         “Julie? Is that you?”
         The creature roared and began to run full force towards my mother. I screamed, “Mother!” and immediately began to panic and swung open the pantry door. My father was running down the steps as well, trying to get a sense as to what was going on.
         As I opened the door, I immediately realized that the creature had not come alone. Pain emanated from my neck as I felt something clench down onto me before everything turned to black.