Just because you think their watching,
Doesn't mean that they are there.
Spotting, squashing, stopping, stalking,
Makes you think they're nowhere near.
Maybe when you turn you don't see them all standing by,
It doesn't mean that you can't hear their loud and screeching cry.
Just because you think your alone,
Doesn't mean that's what you are.
Groaning, showing, moaning, going,
Here they come to give you scars.
Maybe when you turn you don't see them all standing by,
It doesn't mean that you can't see the pain and suffers as they die.
Just because you think it's not real,
Doesn't mean that it's all fake.
Waking, singing, scratching, ringing,
All depends on how you break.
Maybe when you turn then you see they gathered here for you,
It doesn't mean that they are there for something nice to do.
Just because all you do is waiting,
Doesn't mean you can't do more.
Watching, reading, waiting, hating,
All depends on what is yours.
Maybe when you turn then you see they gathered here for you,
It doesn't mean that they're not waiting on something that isn't true.
A collection of short stories written by Trixie Avenue.
Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
*****
Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
[[Winner of the 2018 Wattys "Hidden Gems" category]]
[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]