XXVII
The Hound only had a second to take in the loss of the Old
One before he had to face more Creepers.
Surging now, they were clearly confident that they could finish off the
remaining two dogs without a struggle. And the two dogs were beginning to
consider joining their friend on the floor.
A slightly larger than average Creeper materialized in the
middle of the room, took in the body of the Old One on the floor and laughed.
We have the door! It shrieked to the other Creepers. Finish
with these nothings and return to our Queen.
Cheering the rest of the Creepers intensified their attack.
The two dogs were now fighting just to stay alive. They were too busy to hear
the flap on the dog door as it flew open again and again. Too busy to hear the sound of paws padding
through the house.
And they didn’t notice the strange female Border Collie, emerge from the doorway. She plowed into the mass of Creepers and took
up the battle as though she fought them every day. Just after that, a large, male Coyote didn’t
so much seem to enter as to fade into the room. Outside the house they could
hear more paws pounding through the leaves and judging from the sound of their
snarls, they’d found more Creepers.
The Hound howled, and the outsiders joined voices, their
baying reverberating off the walls, rattling the windows.
The Small Dog neared the Hound, grappling with a Creeper’s
claws. The Creeper was bleeding and screaming. He looked at their new
companions and back at the Hound.
I prayed for help. The Hound rolled another Creeper, shook
it until it stopped moving.
The Border Collie glanced their way as she drove a small
pack of Creepers into a corner and began picking them off one by one. Someone heard you.
We will enemies
tomorrow. The Coyote leapt between the Small Dog and a Creeper, destroyed
it with relish, and moved on to the next. Tonight
we are Whole.
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