Bullseye

Chapter 2

For a moment he just sat there, petrified under the crushing pressure of this nightmarish creature. Samuel attempted to explore every crevice of possibility for what was occurring. Everything that he knew confirmed that this was a hallucination, a vivid, picture-perfect hallucination. It could be an obscure species of panther, but he knew that this was extremely unlikely. There were no panthers around here, save for the zoo, and even that was in another city, and none of them had gills. Sam had watched Animal Planet, and he was positive that no animal looked like this. It was much more likely than what his eyes were trying to convince him though. Samuel wanted to pinch himself, just to see if what he was seeing was real, but he couldn’t move a muscle under the scrutinizing gaze of the creature. He supposed that the mind-numbing pain was enough of a pinch.

Never mind wondering if he had unwittingly ingested massive amounts of hallucinogens while he was asleep, it was essential that he put together an escape plan. Sam could see his frightened face in the mirrors of the creature’s eyes. It examined him, shifting its weight, as if identifying him, checking to see if it had assaulted the right fifteen year-old. Samuel was lying parallel to the walls now, and he could see an escape route, referencing his mental blueprint. He knew a shortcut through his backyard to the small plaza across from the mall. The only problem was that he couldn’t budge. Sam couldn’t even shift his weight without giving the animal something to suspect. He needed a distraction and he needed it fast. He could feel the pounding of his heart slowing down by a fraction. He reasoned that if this thing wanted to kill him, it would have already ripped his throat out. Acting on his instinct that this was intelligent, he assumed that it wanted to capture him, but how it would do so without paws was beyond him.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door, along with the voice of what he gathered to be Toby yelling, “Hey, Sam. I know I didn’t call ahead, but your parents aren’t home and I figured I’d come hang out anyway.” Shut up! He didn’t want Toby dragged into this. The leather creature turned its head towards the front door, the source of the noise. It growled loudly, in its high pitched screech. “Hey, what’s that noise? Are you using a kettle or something?” asked Toby, his obliviousness frustrating. Run!

The pitch-black animal turned itself more towards Toby, taking its attention away from Samuel. He saw his chance, feeling the pressure on his shoulders loosen, but something stopped him for a moment. Sam heard muttering, whispering. As if the animal was talking to itself. Its tone seemed almost insane, frightening him. But, he needed to act now or he would never get the chance again. Toby would eventually walk away, and he would be left alone with this wicked creature, and would suffer from whatever was part of its evil agenda.

He waited for a moment, concentrating. He pulled together all of his hate and resentment and frustration in to one task to save his life. Ready as he could be, he lifted his legs and jabbed his legs at the creature’s hind legs. Its paws squeaked as its legs were pushed out from under it, the back of it falling to the hardwood floor. It lost its balance, and Sam pivoted his torso towards his parents’ room on the left, sending the creature crashing into the wall. He sprung upwards, on his feet already. The bathroom was to his right and he knew that he couldn’t make it to the door in time. If it was a contest of speed, he would lose hands down, but this was a contest of familiarity and agility. He slipped in to the bathroom, leaving the light switch untouched and slamming the door shut.

“Sam?” Toby called. Damn it! As he ran up to the window, he found the window was jammed. He could already hear the creature scratching the door, but it stopped almost as if it was about to ram the door. He hurried, pushing upwards as hard as he could until the window came free. After that he realized a flaw in his plan. There was a net between the bathroom and salvation. Sam frantically pulled open the cupboard, taking the largest hairdryer, and smashing it on the net until it broke through. Samuel heard a crack, and he was about to resort to a final stand, fight or flight, but a brief glance back assured him that he had about five more seconds. The leather animal had broken through, but it still had about half of the door to break before it could slip in. Discarding the hairdryer on the bathroom floor, he climbed through the window, feet first and resting on the windowsill. The height was a little daunting, but he dropped down, hitting the pavement with a solid thump.