Oh, Little Monster, do you reek under my bed
It would frighten me how you conjured bugs on my head
Oh, Little Monster, why me?
Why won't you allow Mommy and Daddy to come find me
Oh, Little Monster, does time fly
You've been smearing blood on my walls of how you were apparently mine
Oh, Little Monster, except I guess now you aren't so "little" anymore
Now you speak of love rather than my own demise anymore
But oh, Monster, I haven't forgotten
My own blood that was shed and flesh you've already eaten
So oh, Monster, don't you dare come any closer
I am not yours, nor do I not intend on being just that
Oh, Monster, try me and you will see
All the those years of troubles will be coming with me
For oh, Monster, I have a bat, don't you see?
All those years of troubles will, too, be yours
Yes, indeed.
So oh, Monster, test my limits again
I won't hear for those pleads of remorse once again
Oh, Monster, I am a woman now
And I'll allow you the empathy of bringing my mattress along my travels, so bow
Oh, Monster, continue to bow before me
Continue to watch as I am pleased from many, yes see
See oh, Monster, how I've made it so far
Without you, except I'm rather nothing at all
Try your best oh, Monster
Try for me
For, Monster, it true that deep down
You loving me is much more than the mere human eye could see.
Although, I must say, you do reek under my bed.
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]]