Scratching
I first heard the sound of scrabbling footfalls upon the roof, then scratching at the windowpane. An odd whining seemed to accompany both. Lifting the curtains aside, I peered out to see a dog-like creature with its nails embedded in the exterior wood moldings. It saw me as well, and let out a terrifying howl. Peddling backward, unable to keep my feet, I watched as it freed one forepaw and used it to rip the window casing from the wall. As the glass shattered, and it flung the wooden remains behind it, it leapt through the opening. I could see that it was wounded, shot in the gut and bleeding, as it panted before me.
I tried to shove backward with the heel of my sneakers, but it would have none of that. With lowered head and bared teeth, it placed one enormous paw on my leg to halt my movement. I became paralyzed with fear; it must have sensed as much and began advancing. With its feted breath sharing my own, it growled louder, its curling lip revealing more of its fanged jaw. Then it faltered, weakened by the buckshot in its gut. I reached sideways into the corner and grabbed for the police issue MAG-lite my father had given me. I began slowly edging toward the wall again; it watched with a wary gaze, then its anger, perhaps hunger – I couldn’t say – grew. It hurled itself at me with all its formidable strength. The two of us slammed into the corner battling for our lives. It tore at me with teeth and claws that felt like grappling hooks. My jeans shredded, the flesh torn off the bone of my thigh, it ripped a piece free and gulped it down. Beyond shock, beyond pain, feeling nothing but revulsion, I leaned over and threw up the entire contents of my stomach as it continued to tear at me. Not willing to die without a fight, I lifted the flashlight and brought it down upon its head. A moment of shock stilled both of us; I was terrified I’d simply enraged it more; it was apparently stunned by the blow. Encouraged, I swung again — this time it did enrage the beast; its jaws snapped at my face, my arm, anything it could close its fangs upon. Its raking claws slashed at me. I did all I could to fend off the flesh rending blows. Then, it made a mistake.
In its frenzied attack, it turned its head sideways and lodged its fangs into the wood of the dresser. It jerked and pulled, struggled to free itself, but it had sunken its teeth in so far, it couldn’t dislodge them. I began to bludgeon it repeatedly with the torch. Beating upon it, I collapsed its ribs, broke its hindquarters, and managed to shatter its paw just below the dewclaw. I beat its head to a bloody pulp; one eye collapsed as the upper mandible of its snout shattered. Freed of the grip those teeth held, it yanked again and pulled free of the wood. Both of us bloodied, we lay collapsed and desperate in that corner. It stared at me with its one amber eye — I looked down at its wrecked body, its destroyed head, and I realized the fight was over, I had lost. I dropped the light, used my free hand to pet it once, then twice upon the scruff. It stared back at me mournfully, realizing it was dying. Then in a final surge — perhaps it was mercy — it struck forward and ripped my throat out with one last snap of its destroyed muzzle.
© Copyright 2013 Nina D’Arcangela. All Rights Reserved.
Coffin Hop Goodies!
How do you get them? Comment on my Coffin Hop 2013 posts on this blog – I’m posting something new each day, so keep coming back for more chances to win. When will they be announced? When the hop ends (after October 31st). What are they going to be? A surprise! I like surprises, don’t you? ;}
Don’t forget to visit my other two blogs that are participating:
Spreading the Writer’s Word
The Road to Nowhere…
and the Sirens Call Publications blog:
The Sirens Song
plus the blog for the writing group I belong to:
Pen of the Damned
and all the other amazing hoppers on the Coffin Hop list!
Nina D'Arcangela
October 27th, 2013 at 1:47 am
Brutal story but beautiful ending! Just awesome.
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October 27th, 2013 at 1:52 pm
Thank you, Juan. It’s hard to get all the way to ‘brutal’ in such a short piece, so I’ll admit I cut a few corners, but I was still happy with the outcome. The end was the only thing I had in mind when I started writing – I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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October 27th, 2013 at 10:01 am
That was such a scary story! What a brutal and clever ending! Brilliant!
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October 27th, 2013 at 1:54 pm
Hi Paul! Thank you!! It is a very short piece for its level of brutality – more description would have served it well, but I’m pleased. I’m happy you enjoyed it!
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October 27th, 2013 at 3:53 pm
A chilling tale, with a great ending.
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October 27th, 2013 at 7:25 pm
Thank you, AF! The ending was the inspiration for the rest. Happy you enjoyed it. 🙂
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October 27th, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Your body language renders these words visually – both the humans and the others wonderful talent and I bet you have weird dreams too. You use exactly the right words to convey your meaning.
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October 27th, 2013 at 7:28 pm
Hi Sue! Thank you!! I wanted the end to have a nice, visceral impact. Mission accomplished, I think. And I dream normal dreams… doing laundry; my inspection sticker overdue and getting pulled over on the highway; unearthly beings scampering and scratching beneath my bed! lol 😉
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October 27th, 2013 at 7:39 pm
Awesome. Been to all your Coffin Hop blogs and read your posts. Trouble is, I didn’t see the captcha challenge until yesterday, so some of my comments didn’t post. Serious “grrr,” since I spent a few hours each day touring for books.
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October 27th, 2013 at 7:48 pm
Hi Lori, I think you commented each day so far. WP doesn’t always approve comments, and I have to do them manually. I’m not willing to admit it’s pilot error yet, but… lol. Just bop around and say – “Hey, gimme some!” I’ll take no offense… btw – you’re not scared of bugs, are you? (first hint at my prizes on this blog) ;} <— If that looks cute, it was meant to be evil. ;]
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October 27th, 2013 at 7:48 pm
Damn, they look cute!
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October 27th, 2013 at 10:11 pm
I do so love stories that totally end with an unexpected twist … totally didn’t see that coming. In fact, I was feeling rather sorry for the thing, being beaten to a bloody pulp …
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October 28th, 2013 at 10:39 pm
Empathy in horror, its always the ‘suck you in and slam you in the gut’ part. My father took great joy in teaching me that when I was around ten! lol I think that may be where I developed my love of the twist ending. 😉
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October 28th, 2013 at 11:05 pm
Your father was a smart man!
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October 27th, 2013 at 10:42 pm
Very nice gory little tale. Thank you.
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October 28th, 2013 at 10:33 pm
Every now and then you need a bit of gore 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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October 28th, 2013 at 1:42 pm
I mean, c’mon now, writing this story just isn’t fair, Nina! Do you ever let up on your genius wickedness?? 😉 Loved it, SCRATCHING hooked me from the start & for such a short read, this packed a novel’s worth of intensity! 🙂
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October 28th, 2013 at 10:18 pm
Ahhhh… it could and should have been a much longer tale (tail?), but… perhaps some day. ;}
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October 28th, 2013 at 2:26 pm
Holy brutal woman! Methinks you need kickboxing classes or something…
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October 28th, 2013 at 10:15 pm
Wait until you read tomorrows! this aint nothin’ when it comes to disturbing brutality!
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October 29th, 2013 at 10:32 am
See, you had me sad…you had my sympathy for the guy and the dog…and then you threw in the last line. Brilliant work!
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October 31st, 2013 at 9:33 pm
Ha! Even my Mom got ‘guy’ out of it. I actually wrote it from a female perspective. But that’s the beauty of writing, anyone can be anything to the reader if left undefined. I knew readers would empathize with the beast, that’s why I had to make them both victims. Thank you, Jaimie! I always appreciate you reading my work, and your kind words! 🙂
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