sometime in 1996 . . .
the gargoyle
it was night, and we had just arrived home from a family vacation, and we noticed that a few small insects or something were in the car.
we threw them out onto the driveway, then entered the house.
in a flashback, we were at a large grocery store and everyone else was buying candy. I bought some bulk onion rings, a paper lunchbag full, since I didn't like candy.
back at home, some of our family was watching a movie. we heard some banging around outside. since Rowdy, our dog, wasn't barking, I assumed it was him. glancing out the window, we saw a shadow rush by, much too large to be Rowdy.
we continued staring out the window to see if it would come into the flood light in the carport. it did. it was a huge gargoyle-like creature with spikes and everything.
it looked toward us, then jumped out of the light. I suddenly wondered why Rowdy hadn't barked at it,
then I saw him walk slowly into the light. he looked all right, but he wasn't using one of his hind legs.
my dad grabbed a rifle from somewhere in the back of the house (we don't actually have one), and we decided I should use it, since I was supposedly a pretty good shot, even if I had only fired a gun a few times.
my dad and stepped outside by the cars. I motioned to Rowdy, and he frantically raced into the house. closing the door, we advanced around one of the
cars. my night vision was terrible since the house lights were on behind me. suddenly, a monster lunged in front of us. for some reason, I wasn't scared at all.
I calmly raised the gun, and shot it three times in the chest. it backed into the darkness. we knew there were others as well.
at a neighbor's house, we were discussing our situation with a large family that we evidently knew quite well. I walked in to a room where several kids were watching cartoons, and gave them my onion rings. one small girl, whom I knew couldn't talk or hear, followed me out of the room.
later, I was with a man I knew from church in a pickup truck. we were taking the small girl to some sort of hospital.
the truck was one that the driver had borrowed from a friend. he was having trouble controlling the truck.
several time we almost crashed into other cars, and when we got to the hospital parking lot, we discovered that the truck had no brakes. I was in the passenger seat, and pulled the emergency brake. it did nothing so I pulled it again,
this time straight vertical. he told me I was doing it wrong, and I said "No, look, it shouldn't have to be pulled nearly this far."
we simply circled until we lost our momentum. as we did, I looked through the glove box for something to use in our upcoming fight with the monsters.
a gun was right in front, but the owner of the truck was a very dangerous person, so I didn't want to touch it. I was afraid he'd kill someone with it later and my fingerprints would be on it.
the glove box extended very far back, and I found a strange device in the back that looked like a styrofoam cup. when the truck finally stopped and we were walking toward the hospital,
I tried talking into the cup, for some reason thinking this would do something. I said hello to to the girl, and to my surprise, she heard me. she turned around and smiled.
once inside, we walked past many patients until we met with a doctor who told us something, then we left again.
back at the other family's house, I was eating dinner. since I went to the hopital, everyone else had already eaten. a girl was saying something about me, and someone else was arguing against it. I tried to ignore them.
after I ate, we all went to a water park. it was now daylight outside. I brought along a book, the restaurant at the end of the universe by Douglas Adams,
because I thought it would be boring. when we got there, it seemed the only ride was a fake river that flowed slowly in a circle. people rode tubes around. I decided to try this, bringing my book along with me. the girl that had been arguing about me tried it, as well. I just read my book as we circled.
suddenly, the water picked up. it began circling very quickly. everyone was quite surprised. it accelerated until it was at a 45 degree angle with the wall, and we tore again and again around the loop. my book got wet but I didn't care because it was so fun.
the water eventually slowed, and we got out. I couldn't find my shirt among all the clothes on a table on the shore. I finally found it on the ground, and put it back on, though it was dirty. the girl and I walked over to a bench and sat, waiting for everyone else, I guess.
we talked about something. my book was soaked, and I couldn't even open it until it dried.
back at the neighbor family's house, I was choosing weapons to go back up against the beast outside. it was night again. all I could find were kitchen knives. I took a long sharp one in one hand and a serrated one in the other.
I went back home, hoping the monsters had left by now, but I saw one behind one of the cars. holding my knives up defensively, I advanced on it.
it lunged at me, and I plunged the big knive into its throat. its claws thrashed around me, but missed. I followed up with the serrated knife, sawing it into the monster's midsection, killing it.
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