Dogs of War

Samantha doused the torch, plunging the chamber into darkness. Prudence came to stand beside her, trembling now out of fear not of the chamber but of whoever lurked outside the passageway. "Did you see who it was?" Samantha asked.

"No, I only heard footsteps."

Samantha crept to the mouth of the passageway to look for any sign of whoever might be approaching. The footsteps echoed along the passage and the chamber, but from the clicking sound to them, Samantha knew these footsteps did not belong to Pryde or Reverend Crane. A pair of yellow eyes appeared, confirming her worst fear.

"We've got to get out of here," Prudence said too loudly, her terrified voice bouncing off the walls.

Samantha put both hands on her friend's shoulders to steady her. "We have to be very quiet. They might pass us by." Prudence said nothing, but continued to quake with fear.

The yellow eyes looked right at Samantha, who flinched, but couldn't turn away. The dog growled and, to Samantha's horror, started to creep forward down the passage. It paused at the door to the passage, snorting and then growling again. The beast jumped through a hole in the door and continued down the corridor towards the chamber.

Prudence started to whisper the Lord's Prayer. Samantha couldn't think of anything comforting to calm her friend and silently joined her in the prayer. Meanwhile, the dog kept making its way down the path, inexorably stalking its prey. It paused once to snort and then quickened its pace.