Flash Fiction Contest: Screams in the Night

Someone was knocking at the door...
Sitting on her couch, watching the 1996 horror film, "Scream," on AMC,
Marilyn suddenly felt a cold chill run down the back of her neck to her feet on the cool, hard floor.

Not meaning to seem ridiculous to her boyfriend, Bo, or get him all rattled,
She suddenly became very panicky and quite nervous,
Since it was a cold, stormy night in the outskirts of Seattle.

After all, they were watching a horror movie and sitting in semi-darkness.
Suddenly, there's a knock at the door, in the midst of stagnant countryside.
Here, a reality check was in order, and quickly too, since the noise had intense sharpness.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Just like a scene from a movie, before the demise of another lost soul.
Getting more scared and suddenly turning to her mate for answers,
Marilyn finally decided to move closer to the door and look through the tiny peep hole.

Of course, there was no one to be found, at least not at the peep hole level.
Knock! Knock! Knock! The intensity was still building.
Marilyn's boyfriend was frustrated and wanted to end it once and for all.

Low and behold...someone was still knocking at the door...
The sound was so intense; it was enough to wake the dead
Anyway, Marilyn and her brave boyfriend continued to move closer for more.

Bo called out, "Who is it?" No answer. Calling out a second time, "Who is it?" Still no answer.
More anxious than before, Marilyn and Bo, wanted to know whom or what was lurking behind that door.
Suddenly, Bo grabbed a nearby fireplace poker and flung open the door in a hissy fit!

Flinging open the door, slightly hidden from the other side, they gasped at what they saw.
It was a stray, black cat, with glowing eyes, which had a heavy harness, attached to its upper his body.
He was rubbing against the door, trying to get it off, since it was so huge and his skin was somewhat raw.

Marilyn and Bo quickly looked around for any other intruders that might be.
Then they grabbed both sides of the harness to rid the beast of such torture and defeat.
Pull! Tug! Finally, release! The harness was removed and the cat was, once again, free!

Luckily, "Scream," (named for his ongoing temper tantrums) suffered mild hair loss and a slight head cold.
He was kidnapped by a random "cat burglar" and his owner placed posters everywhere for his safe return.
Now, back with his beloved 70-year-old madam, "Scream" was home among other lost, stray souls.

Unlike the movie, "Scream," this story had a happy ending! Everyone survived their fate!
Even though Marilyn and Bo took a chance opening that door, their actions saved a precious life.
Thus, no lives were lost and no one was on the brink of no return. Wow! What a screaming date!