***

  Zoë was distracted for a moment, falling behind.

  Something moved in the night and looked like a raccoon, or maybe a rabbit, hopping around in the darkness just out of the light.She crept closer. It was not one, but two things and they became clearer, but still not discernable. She took a step closer. The little shadows hopped back, once again out of her view in the darkness. She wished the lamplight extended over to where she was.She took a step closer. The hopping shapes let out a little screech. She took a step closer. They were small, not much bigger than a dog, but she could not see them. They seemed to just escape the light.She moved more toward them. She was completely out of the lamplight now.

  The hopping stopped. The two figures lunged for her. She screamed and tried to run, but it was too late, the two little figures had her. They dragged her a few feet, to a shadow.The shadow had eyes.

  She screamed again.