Roadkill

i just remember being stuck in an old laundry room. the lighting made everything come out a creme-colored yellow, including the chipped walls and burnt-red tiled floors. an air vent was prominently placed above me, a little bit off-centered which i thought was strange.

i wasn't the only one stuck there. one of my older cousins laid flat against the stubbled wall, his ear close to the vent. we waited for something.

expecting......

a low growl. it reverberated from a distance, through the tunnel, and then out of the vent filling the stiff room with fear.

things got choppy here. both of us found ourselves running through a dingy hallway, everything still yellow. behind us, a monster (or shall i say a half dog-half porcupine beast)couldn't wait to devour its meal for the night. this i knew because it left drools of saliva all over the walls and floors.

finally, i saw our getaway behind a green door. caaan't think. quickly. faster. NOW!

my sweaty hand held onto the doorknob as i twisted it open. the door was behind me now, but my cousin ----- clobbered down by the beast. why did i shut the door? would i be next? my cousin screamed, yelled, not for my help, but out of pain. what provoked me to open the door again was out of pure curiosity. i knew it was sick and hopeless. i don't remember seeing anything but hearing his shrills amidst the squishy sounds as if the beast was ravaging a watermelon.

i need to stop having these vivid nightmares.