It had been outside all night, leaning against the front door groaning, coughing and gently rattling the handle all in the hope that we'd feel pity enough to let it inside. As if we hadn't been watching the news for the past year and seen others just like it luring innocent folks into the dark to eat.
They look like a child's drawing of a teddy bear, all gummy-faced and dense fur. The younger ones are usually absolutely drenched in blood and look more like skeletons covered in red Spanish moss while the older ones are smart enough to keep themselves clean, adopting a cuter appearance and gently lumbering along while the younger ones skitter like a startled cluster of spiderlings.
It's when they open their mouths the wrong way and their lips peel back to reveal row upon row of serrated teeth that you find yourself too frozen with terror to do anything more than succumb as their paws pull you close and their jaw dislocates to better fit you inside.
You never forget the first death you hear - how sickeningly sharp the crunch of a broken neck is, how much blood pours out from the severed arteries, how long a body can move without their head. Of course while you're noticing this you're being noticed in turn and they move fastest when they know you're not paying attention.
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