Animalia

I've always had an adoration for animals. Mammal, insect, reptile, you name it, I probably loved it. My parents knew of this obsession, for they gave me a Siberian Husky when I was 11. I named her Juneau. She was the best friend I could ever ask for.

Sure, I had a stable social life in school, I had lots of friends, but Juneau was different. She meant the world to me. When I felt sad, she'd cuddle up next to me, her silky smooth fur always calming my nerves. When I was feeling happy, she'd enthusiastically wag her tail, with a face that could melt even the coldest of hearts. It was as if she had a spiritual connection with me or something like that.

My family lived in a small town in northern Colorado. You can probably imagine that the population wasn't that large, only about 500 people. My family consisted of me, my mother, father, and two younger sisters. We, overall, lived a very stable and normal life. Dad would occasionally get a little drunk, but it never escalated over incoherent ramblings and poor balance. No beating, no abusive language, nothing like that. I was honestly really happy with my life. I knew I was luckier than lots of other kids.

I was 15, a freshman, walking home from school for the first time. My mom was paranoid, and rarely let me walk 2 blocks by myself, but after a little bit of friendly consultation, she gave in and let me walk home alone. I honestly don't blame her. If I was a parent, I would probably be as concerned of my child's well being.

The walk took a little shorter than expected, probably because of the fact that it was raining relatively hard, and I didn't have an umbrella. I also wanted to just see Juneau after a long day of school.

As usual, when I merely took my keys out to unlock the front door, I could hear Juneau barking excitedly at my return. I opened the door with a huge smile on my face, scratching behind Juneau's ear as she jumped on my leg. "I missed you too, girl," I said, struggling to pick up her 45 pound body and letting her lick my cheek.

I sat at the dinner table, talking with mom about the walk home, while sliding Juneau some pulled pork. She asked worried questions, such as if I looked both ways while crossing the street, engaged in any conversation with strangers, etc.

Since it was a Friday, I didn't have to do any homework. I was tired, despite the fact that it was only about 8:30 PM, which was odd. I usually went to bed late and woke up early as a habit. I decided I would watch some Youtube or something until 9:00 PM and then go to sleep.

I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and went back into the bedroom. Juneau was curled up on my bed, and when she sensed my presence, she rolled over onto her back, belly up. I smiled as I sat on the bed and scratched her belly. "Love you too, girl," I smiled, scratching her under her chin. She thumped her tail on the bed and rolled back onto her side and curled up again. I turned off the light and got under the covers. "Good night, girl."

I heard a light tapping sound on my window. I got up, my eyes straining to open, rubbing them as I looked at the time. 2:17 AM. I looked out my window. It was raining. The constant pitter-patter of water droplets violently hitting the window must have been the sound that woke me up. It was raining pretty hard all week, but there were no thunderstorms. I ignored it and looked down at the foot of my bed. Juneau was still there, curled up and drifting off to dreamland.

Just as I was about to nod off back to sleep, I heard the noise again. This time, it sounded less like rain, it sounded more like a claws scratching against carpet. I looked out of my window again. Still, there was nothing out of the ordinary. I was getting pretty annoyed at this point. But I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked at the floor near my bedroom door, when I made out a shape.

All of a sudden, two yellow orbs appeared on the supposed head of the shape. My heart skipped a beat. The yellow spheres glowed in the darkness, which illuminated the thing's face.

It was cat-like. Its fur was dark grey, with the tips of its paws and tail as white as snow. Its fur was mangled and shaggy, like it hadn't been cleaned for at least a year. Its mouth was the least cat-like feature about the thing. Its mouth was twisted at the corners into a grotesque grin, showing off its rows of at least 50 razor-sharp teeth. Its dinner plate eyes were studying my every move, and the rise and fall of its chest was almost completely in sync with mine.

I was too paralyzed in fear to move. The thing, for lack of a better term, cocked its head in curiosity, almost. It took one step forward, its extraordinarily long claws scraping against the fabric of the carpet. As quick as a flash, it, almost gracefully, jumped onto my bed. I wanted to run, scream, cal the police, do anything, but I couldn't. All my muscles seemingly lost their connection to my brain.

One of the strangest things was that Juneau had not even noticed the thing enter the room, let alone jump on the bed. The thing was standing right next to her. It eyes me again, its eyes piercing through my very being. I was almost certain my life was over. I began thinking about all the happy moments I had with my family, at school, with Juneau. What it did instead was probably worse than death.

It put its paw on Juneau's neck, waking her up instantly in a fearful panic. Its hind and front legs seemed to get shorter and shorter. The tips of its paws transformed into points, its joints more visible, growing an extra pair of legs in the process. Its tail grew a large hook-like appendage on the end, its head grew smaller, and it lost its ears. Its yellow eyes and smile were the only thing that remained. The thing no longer looked like a cat. It looked like a scorpion straight out of hell.

It stabbed its tail into Juneau's stomach, making her yelp out in pain. The creature spat some sort of liquid out of its mouth into Juneau's now open wound. Her flesh and bone started to instantly dissolve from the corrosive liquid. It only took a matter of seconds before her body went limp.

The creature's now blood-stained maw was still grinning as it looked back at me. The only thing I could do was cry. The thing started chuckling at the carnage before hopping off the bed again, looking back at me for one last time, before slinking out of the door.

I don't know how many of these...things exist, but please. If you have a pet, you're probably in danger.