The Beast

By Reuben Shupp

“You will never get the Cube,” Optimus Prime says. He yanks off Megatron’s head and kicks him to the other side of the pool. Optimus smiles as he watches Megatron slide into the abyss.

A shadow blocks the midday sun. I turn my head and a pit bull stares into my soul. He sniffs the pool and laps the water. I freeze. I do not dare to even breathe. The rapid beating of my heart rings in my ears.

The pit bull walks into the pool. I scoot to the edge and brace myself for any sudden movements. I squeeze my eyes shut for a couple of seconds. If I do not make eye contact, he may ignore me.

Nope. The Beast takes another step towards me. This can not be good.

I sprint towards the front door. He attempts to chase after me. The Beast slides a few feet before falling face first in the water. I giggle as I smash the doorbell over and over. No one answers. I bang on the door with my fist. “Mom. Wake up.”

The Beast shakes the water off his fur and then leaps out of the pool. He drifts along the grass before galloping towards the front door. I turn and sprint to the side of the house. We cross paths. He turns and runs after me. He is on my heels. I pump my legs faster and faster. The thumpty thump, thumpty thump echoes behind me.

“Billy, where are you?” my Mom yells. The Beast stops and runs in the opposite direction. I halt just short of the chain-link fence and chase after him.

I have to protect my Mom at any cost. What can I do? He is stronger and faster than me. “Close the door,” I yell as I sprint towards her.

With her matted hair, Mom is still wearing her work clothes from the night before. With a horrifying growl, the Beast charges in the direction of the entryway. His fur stands as stiff as a board and his tail points to the neighbors across the street.

Mom squeals like a pig. She attempts to shut the door. The Beast stops her from finishing the task. He nudges his muzzle in between the door and the inside of the house.

I look around for something to use as a weapon. Anything. Something. I yank a brick from the flower garden and throw it at him. It splits in two and crumbles at his feet. He hesitates and then turns his head in my direction. Mom slams the door.

The Beast has a hungry look in his eyes as he snarls. This is a different kind of sound that he used for my Mom. It is the kind of growl a pack of wolves use right before they attack their prey. He is not only going to kill me. He will tear me limb from limb.

I sprint to the side of the house and scale the chain-link fence. This would be so much easier if I had my shoes on. My toes hurt but I force myself to climb. The Beast snaps and growls as I hop over.

His chilling barks ring in my ears. He grabs hold of the bottom of the fence and pulls. Nothing. The Beast tries to crawl underneath. No go.

He charges at different spots along the fence. It rattles and shakes. But it does not give in to the Beast’s brute strength. It seems like he is searching for a weak spot. I should run into the house and watch the show from the bathroom window. But I am mesmerized by his tenacity.

He raises up on his back legs and places his front paws on the top of the fence. We stare at each other. It is like an old western standoff. We look at each other for a few minutes.

“Ha, what are you going to do now?” The Beast steps back about twenty feet and then runs toward me and leaps. He bangs his head on the fence and falls to the ground with a yelp.

I chuckle and smile at him. He peers at me as if to say, “Watch this.” Using his back paws, he climbs the fence one chain-link at a time. He is almost like he is a real person.

I remember my old dog would do the same thing when my Dad used to pull into the driveway. She’d climb the fence and greet him with a warm doggy welcome.

The Beast hops over the fence and smiles.

Reader,

Thank you for reading. The rest of the story is on Amazon.

Book: Creepy and Scary Tales: A Collection of Short Stories

Author: Reuben Shupp