Enter, Night by Michael Rowe

Author:Michael Rowe [Rowe, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Dark, Vampire
ISBN: 9781926851525
Publisher: ChiZine Publications
Published: 2011-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

Just before midnight, Finn was lying in his bed when heard a soft scratching at the back door. He sat bolt upright in bed and listened. The scratching came again, this time accompanied by a soft, familiar whining sound. Finn’s heart leaped in his chest. Sadie! It’s Sadie! She’s come home!

He threw back the covers and ran to the back door. He fumbled with the latch, opened the door wide, and looked down. By the back yard lights, he saw a familiar shape huddled by the door.

“Sadie! Sadie! You’re home!” He shouted for his parents. “Dad! Mom! Sadie’s home! Come quick!” He heard muffled voices from upstairs, then the sound of his parents’ feet on the hardwood floors, then pounding down the stairs.

“Finn, is she back?” his mother said breathlessly. “Is she home?”

Finn’s rapturous joy rendered him incapable of any speech other than his dog’s name, repeated like a mantra. “Sadie! Sadie! Sadie!”

“Finn, bring her in,” his father said. “Why is she still out there?” Hank Miller reached out for Sadie and tried to pick her up. The Labrador yelped in pain and cowered back. His hand came away slick with blood and fur.

“Dad, don’t hurt her!” Finn cried. “Be careful!”

“She’s hurt,” Hank said. “She’s been in some kind of fight, I think.” Then, to the dog, “Here, Sadie, come. Come inside, girl.”

The Labrador looked fearfully behind her, and then scooted into the house, dragging her left leg behind her slightly as though it were broken, or sprained. Once inside, she collapsed on the floor beside the back door, lying on her side and breathing in shallow hitches.

Finn bent over her and gingerly explored her fur with his fingertips. His parents stood back as though they instinctively understood that their son was the authority in this case.

When he inhaled sharply, the sound he made releasing it reminded Anne of a punctured birthday party balloon. Both she and Hank leaned in to see what Finn was looking at.

Sadie was covered with bites. Finn counted two, three, four clumps of matted fur and blood along her thick neck and flanks. In those places, the fur had been torn away, exposing the ravaged pink flesh beneath. The bite marks were about two inches apart and, to Finn’s inexpert eye, looked deep and nasty.

“Mom, she’s been bitten all over,” Finn said, horrified. “She’s been in a fight with some animal or something. Look! It’s horrible. Sadie,” he crooned, petting her head. “It’s all right, girl, you’re home now. It’s OK. Shhhh, it’s OK.”

“Be careful, Finn,” Anne said. “She might be . . . well, whatever animal she fought with might have been rabid.”

“Rabies doesn’t work that way, Anne,” Hank said. “It’s not that fast acting. We’ll take her to the vet tomorrow and check her out. She’s had all of her shots this year, so she’ll be all right, I’m sure. Finn, see if you can get her to come upstairs where there’s some proper light. Anne, get the first aid box. It’s in the medicine cabinet.

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