A/n: This is for my friend J (she’d kill me off in a fic if I said her real name) since she caught my 4000th page view on another site, so this is her, well, prize I suppose. Enjoy!

The peaceful sounds of the night filled the house, crickets chirping outside, the porch swing softly creaking in the spring breeze. The next door neighbor’s dog was barking slightly at a cat on the fence.

As the night drew on, nothing was heard until a piercing scream rang out through the house, terror lacing through it. Down the hall from the room from which it was emitted from, the adults, Jacqueline and Dominic, were jerked from their dreams at the scream from their young daughter. Scrambling from the warmth of their bed, the two dashed out of their room and into Melissa’s.

The room was freezing, the window open. A chilling breeze was blowing her curtains inside towards the bed. Jacqueline hurried over and shut them quickly.

“Melissa, what’s the matter honey?” Dominic switched on the light to see the girl better.

The small, redheaded child looked at them with wide blue eyes, trembling violently, clutching her teddy bear close to her body. “Daddy, there’s a monster under my bed!”

Jacqueline smiled slightly, relieved that it was only that. “Sweetheart, there’s no such thing as monsters. It was just your imagination.”

“No it wasn’t, Momma! I saw it! It looked like a dog!” Melissa whimpered slightly, crawling towards the end of her bed towards her mother. “I want to sleep with you tonight.”

Dominic ran a hand through his black hair. “Melissa, I’ll prove to you that there is nothing under your bed except toys and socks.” He strode over to the bed, the girl whimpering as he did so. Kneeling down, he lofted the bed skirt and peered under. Not a second later, his blue eyes went as wide as his daughter’s did.

Crouching under the bed was a dog, but not some stray. The beast was rotting; its flesh blistering in places, falling off in gooey clumps in others. Its blazing red eyes were staring at Dominic, a deep growl emitting from its throat. Slowly it crept towards him, the growling becoming louder, eviler.

“Jacqueline, run!” He cried, motioning to his wife. “Hurry!”

Before the redheaded woman could move, the dog leapt at Dominic, jaws wide, razor-sharp teeth bared. A scream of terror tore from the man’s throat, and the dog, with one fluid motion, ripped off the flesh of Dominic’s face, the man dying instantly.

Jacqueline screamed at the sight, backing into the corner. The dog looked at her, eyes narrowing. It took a few carefully measured steps towards her, hackles raised, growling louder than ever.

“Get away from my momma!” Melissa shrieked, throwing a book at the beast.

The dog turned its head to look at her. Turning the hole way around, it stared at her a moment before running to the other side of the window and crashing through the window, running off into the dark of the night, disappearing into the shadows below the oak tree on the edge of the yard.

Melissa looked at her mother, face pale, eyes wide. “I told you Momma. I told you there was a monster under my bed!”

A/n: Well? How was it? I hope it was good ; I haven’t gotten any feedback from J yet, but I hope she likes it. R&R if you will please!