Rush

There were three dogs and one, a border collie, became infected with the monster. My friend, I cannot remember her name, she doesn't exist in waking life, told me to stay away from it. The dog had a spine which humped in two places. It was the monster growing into itself. There was a house surrounded by dreary, dark woods, and floodlights which somehow made things worse, not better. A blue Cadillac sat in the driveway. I ran with my friend to the Cadillac and opened the backdoor - my youngest sister was lying there, amidst a pile of blankets, either ill or tired or both. I told her Stay here! Please don't move. I'm going to get the keys and we will get right out of here, okay? A weak Okay floated out to me. I slammed the door and ran to my friend. Need the keys, I told her. Go get them, she said, scanning the woods for the appearance of the monster dog.

The house was old, but filled with people rushing this way and about, some with wild eyes, some with disbelieving eyes. There was a woman who was old and pretty, with crazed eyes, scouring something in the sink. I didn't pause to look or ask. I needed those keys. When I found them, I raced back to the Cadillac and opened the backdoor to find my sister gone. She's gone, I can't find her! I said to my friend. My friend looked thoughtful. I was going to go look for my sister. We set off together, but the two remaining dogs, a Welsh corgi and a dachsund, followed us, enthusiastically barking with joy. My friend looked pained, We can't take them with us, they'll attract the monster. I need to find my sister, what are we going to do? Well, I will stay here with them, she said quietly, and you will go find her in the house, the woods, somewhere. I looked at her. One of those dogs is mutated. I know. We nodded to each other solemnly and I left her, at the border between the clearing and the woods. I ran back to the house, climbed washer and dryer to pull myself into the tops of the house, frantically ran through it, but for all it seemed large on the outside, it was cramped and its rooms hidden. I saw fraternity brothers rushing willy nilly. This was supposed to have been their rush week and it had failed abysmally because of their antics to summon the monster.

My friend was a tall, shapely girl with dirty blonde hair and a kind face who wore a t-shirt and jeans and flip-flops and looked like she was in a sorority, which I don't think she was. I woke up groggy and uncertain.