Bad! Bad! Said the Dog

Dogs bark. It's what they do. Sometimes you know what they're barking at — a squirrel, the neighbor's cat, the mailman, another barking dog down the street — but more times than not what set off their barking is a mystery you will never solve.

Fred is different. He's my dog. When something happens that upsets him, I have no doubt what it is that set him off. He tells me. That's right, my dog can talk.

And he's telling me there is something under the floor. Something dangerous. Something that needs to be addressed immediately. Something that isn't a squirrel or a cat or a mailman or another dog.

My name, today anyway, is Carter. I'm a professional liar currently in witness protection. But I am not lying when I tell you there is a blood-sucking monster loose in the city.

My life is at risk if I draw attention to myself, and no one in authority here would believe me if I told them anyway, so the only ones who can stop this creature are Fred and me.

This is our story.