Charley scratched at the door. When we opened it, he leaped out and jumped all over us. “It’s okay, boy,” I told him, trying to calm him down. “It’s okay.”
I peered into the room where we had locked Charley. “Hey, Clark, I think there’s a door in here,” I said. “A door that leads out!”
I stepped into the small, dark space—and stumbled over a broom lying on the floor.
I squinted in the darkness.
Two rusty shovels leaned against the wall to my right. On the left sat a coil of old hose.
In front of me I saw the door. A door with a large glass window.
I looked out the window—out to the backyard. To the path that ran through the swamp.
Does that path lead through the swamp to town? I wondered. I decided it was worth a try.
“We’re almost out of here!” I declared. “We’re almost free!”
I turned the doorknob, but the door was locked. Bolted from the other side, like all the doors in the house.
“It’s jammed shut,” I told Clark. “But I’ll break the window and we’ll climb out. No problem.”
The shovels against the wall were big and heavy. I gripped the handle of one with both hands and took aim.
I swung it back—and felt the floor quake.
I spun around—and heard the roar.
The roar of the swamp monster.
He wasn’t dead.
The creature rumbled into the doorway.
Clark and I both shrieked as he took a giant step into the room. His hideous head made a scraping sound as it brushed against the frame of the door. But he didn’t even seem to notice.
Clark and I pressed against the wall.
Charley backed into a corner, whimpering. Frightened.
We were trapped.
No way out.
Nowhere to run.
The monster’s eyes shifted from Charley, to me, to Clark. They rested on Clark for a moment. Then the creature lifted his head and wailed.
“He–he’s going to get me first,” Clark cried. “I—I shouldn’t have thrown the comic at him. I shouldn’t have hit him in the head.”
“He’s going to get us, you jerk!” I shouted at him. “Because we tried to kill him!”
That shut Clark up.
I have to do something, I thought. I have to do something. But what? What?
The swamp monster staggered forward.
He opened his snout with a snap—and bared jagged yellow teeth.
Sharp yellow teeth, dripping with saliva.
His eyes glowed red as he moved forward. Clomping closer and closer.
I glanced down and realized that I still held the shovel. I lifted it with two hands—and thrust it forward. Jabbing—jabbing at the air between the creature and me.
“Back!” I screamed. “Get back! Leave us alone!”
The monster grunted.
“Get back! Get back!” I swung the shovel wildly. “Go away!”
I swung at the creature.
I swung—and hit his stomach with a sickening thwack.
The room went silent.
