This being an Equal Opportunities blog, it seem only fair, since Vampires have already featured in the run-up to Halloween, that a different "Creature of the Night" has a chance to cause a chill (or perhaps a chuckle).
This particular flash fiction was first published last year at Halloween and he's back again.
I can't promise he won't turn up again next year.
FOR LIFE, NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS
Gordon was too macho to go to the doctor when the dog bit him on that Halloween. No doctor, no tetanus. Shit happens and the bite wasn’t serious.
The
dog itself didn’t seem particularly serious either: a big ungainly mutt
with a daft expression, wearing the remnants of a suit and tie. The
clothing puzzled Gordon.
At home he bathed the wound with disinfectant. Neat puncture marks. Nothing to worry about.
Worry set in a week later when the moon was full. Hair
sprouted on Gordon’s hands; his teeth became fangs; a reckless hunger
overwhelmed him. Stumbling outdoors in pyjamas, he bounded across the
Common, driven by an instinct beyond his control.
What’s happening to me? he howled. And howled and howled and howled.
I love this, very entertaining indeed. I particularly like the line 'The clothing puzzled Gordon', I suspect most folk would be a bit more than puzzled.
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. I have to confess a certain fondness for werewolves: the idea of them anyway. Meeting one, I suspect, might disillusion me somewhat.
ReplyDelete