Six small shadows flew toward the threshold of the bedroom door. Bruno ambled into the kitchen. The floor suddenly shook. But by the time he peered at the vinyl the shaking had stopped. More shadows danced in the air, before coursing for the threshold. Bruno watched them dive like bombers dropping germs. Closer and closer he came to the threshold. The buzzing became a humming. He clenched the dragon-shaped kitchen lighter on the island, pressed the red button. Flames shot out of the mouth.
The dragon illuminated Kittie’s carcass. His exposed ribs seemed as alive as the maggots squirming on their arches. Flies were there, too, nibbling at stiff orange hair. Bruno screamed and fell backward. Uniting in a black mass, the monsters flew toward the living room.
For an hour Bruno was frozen. An
