Click Clack

This is a true story about how I learned that monsters were real. I always had an uneasy feeling when it came to the darkness. It always felt like something was watching me and waiting for me to let my guard down. I didn’t let my guard down while I was living at home with my parents out in the country where darkness overwhelmed all the senses at night. My parents never thought we needed one of those special lights the power company will put up on a telephone pole or on it’s own pole. My parents figured the dim porch light was all that was needed to find your way home.

As I grew older, I began to become more comfortable in the darkness. I didn’t feel the need to have a big light on when I slept or have the porch light on every night. I used small night lights or even ventured out from under my covers without a light. My dog would whine when I left the bed on those nights, most likely because he didn’t want me to go. He was always clinging to me. I would offer comforting words as I headed to the bathroom and when I arrived back, the dog would calm down.

I didn’t do much dating, sometimes there would be a one night stand when the chance arose. I never went out at night, so I wasn’t really available to the ones who were more interested in going farther. My dog would sleep in the closet when I’d have people over. He never wanted to go too far from my side, even when I shooed him away. He would bark and whine at the door if I closed it. I explained to the people who were with me, that my dog was a very clingy asshole and that I couldn’t just kick him out of the room. Most of them didn’t care as long as they got their rocks off.

One night, my dog must have gotten into something because instead of sleeping on my bed, he was near the door whining and wanting to go out. He never wanted to go out at night, but this night was of course different. I flipped on the dim porch light and he and I stepped out into the darkness. There weren’t any street lights on my street, it was a quiet rundown little community. I brought my dog into the back yard, the darkness was thicker here. I felt a tightness in my chest and a tingle at the base of my skull. It felt as though something was watching me. My dog let out a growl deep in his chest and  alerted to something in the darkness.

I scolded the dog and insisted he should go to the bathroom because I was tired as hell and had to work the next day. My dog continued to freeze, growling and squaring up to go after whatever was coming at him. I let the leash out a little, assuming that he was after a stick or a rabbit. My dog charged into the dark. There was the snapping of jaws then everything went eerily quiet. I tugged on the leash and felt a little resistance then it reeled back into itself. There was nothing at the end of the leash, almost as if someone had unhooked the dog or the something.

I pulled my phone out of my robe pocket and flicked on the light, confused as to where my dog had gone. I saw some sudden movement where the dog had gone, but saw nothing otherwise. I took a few steps in that direction before hearing movement behind me. I turned around to see what was moving, assuming that my dog had gotten off his harness thanks to getting snagged on a stick or something and was now running around like a puppy again. There was a small blur of movement where I shone my light, but I didn’t see anything yet again.

I was thankful for the fence all around my house, knowing that my dog would be okay through the night if he wouldn’t come to me when called. I tried calling for him a few times, only to hear the rustling of grass and spotting nothing with my flashlight. I sighed before yelling at my dog and calling him an asshole. I told him he could stay outside all night for all that it mattered. I shone my light around myself again to just try to catch a glimpse of him and saw nothing. I slowly started heading inside, flashing my light around to see if my dog was following. Once inside I unlocked the dogs door and headed up to my room, figuring he would come in at some point when he got tired of running around in the dark.