NightCafeStudio AI Image — “Who’s there?” — Prompt by Steve

RANDOS | 500 WORD CHALLENGE | “Was it a knock that had woken her?”

Who’s there?

Friend or foe?

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It was three AM when she heard the noise. Was it a knock that had woken her? Was there someone, something on the deck?

Gibb, her six-year-old yellow Lab was standing at the door, wanting to go out. But with bears in the area recently, she was leery about just opening the door. The security lights were lit and there was no wind, so there was something going on.

Gibb, being a Lab didn’t bark at much. He’d just wag his tail and lick something to death. Or roll on his back to get his belly rubbed. Such a Lab.

She looked out the side window and saw nothing. There was a chain on the door so she opened it just a crack and peeked out.

Nothing.

Strange, she thought, closed the door, and locked it again.

And then, there it was again. More than a knock, more like scratching.

Okay, there is something there.

Should she ignore it? Or find out? She wasn’t going to get any sleep until she knew what it was. Gibb was jumping up and running in circles, whining the whole time.

I’ll give it some time and see if it goes away. At least it’s not a skunk!

So, she let Gibb out. He ran out quickly into the darkness beyond the lights.

Then his barking began. Oh, God! Did he tree another cat? Or even a mountian lion, God forbid!

She threw on a coat, grabbed her brightest flashlight and bear spray, and walked out to see what was happening.

Gibb was barking his head off. But it wasn’t the “I treed something” or the “I will protect you” kind of bark. It was more of his “Wanna play?” bark. Weird.

As she headed toward his voice, the light reflected a pair of eyes. Too low to be a deer. Oh no! A fox? A rabbit? Couldn’t be a rabbit. Gibb would have killed it by now.

“Gibb! Gibb! Come boy!” she yelled to him. He jumped up in circles and ran to her, then back, then to her again. He pawed at her and ran back.

Okay, what comes in the night that he wants to play with?

Moving closer, with Gibb panting at her heels, she noticed a shaking fur ball. It backed away as she knelt to it.

A puppy?

What is a puppy doing out here at this time of night? Doesn’t it know it’s cougar bait?

Scooping it up, she felt for a collar. None.

Well, can’t leave it out here alone, and Gibb like it, so in it comes for the night. She’d deal with it in the morning. Into the house, they went.

NightCafeStudio AI Image — “Gibb gets a friend” — Prompt by Steve

The next morning, she woke to find that Gibb had welcomed the puppy into “his” bed.

NightCafeStudio AI Image — “Gibb shares his bed” — Prompt by Steve

She put up signs that day but to no avail. No one in the area seemed to know anything about him. And no RFID chip to track him.

“Well,” she thought, “just one more mouth to feed. Besides, he still has that new puppy smell. More importantly, Gibb has a new brother.”

And yes, other than the occasional skunk, they all lived happily ever after.

Please don’t abandon pets. The external sites below can inform you about pet abandonment and shelters

How Pet Abandonment Impacts the Animal — Wounded Paw (woundedpawproject.org)

Pet Abandonment — A Global Animal Welfare Issue — FOUR PAWS International — Animal Welfare Organization (four-paws.org)

[embed]Donate to the ASPCA and Help Animals We are a national leader in animal rescue, protection and placement, and your tax-deductible donation will help fight…secure.aspca.org

[embed]Best Friends Animal Shelter With Best Friends, you're working to save the lives of cats and dogs all-across America, giving pets second chances and…bestfriends.org

Thank you for reading my story in response to Ranch Hand Agency’s Rando prompt: Was it a knock that had woken her? Thanks to RanchHandAgency for publishing it.

[embed]RanchHandAgency X-Periment, X-Pression, X-Perience Curated by Agent Ranch Handmedium.com

Thanks so much for reading!