Mason
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
I knew that.
Then Roscoe made a sound I had never heard from a dog before.
It wasn't a growl.
It was closer to a whimper, but low and drawn out, and he backed away from the kitchen until his hind legs hit the couch.
Duke lifted his head but didn't bark.
His ears were pinned back.
I checked the locks.
Front door.
Back door.
Laundry room door.
Then I closed the blinds.
I felt dumb doing it, but I did it anyway.
The tapping didn't come again that night.
And after a while the dogs settled down.
I slept on the couch because the guest room smelled like old carpet and mothballs.
I left the hallway light on.
The third day was when things started feeling genuinely wrong.
In the morning, I went out to check the chickens and found one of them dead outside the coop.
Not torn apart.
Not eaten.