Thump in the Night

 

The thumping on the front porch was persistent, but he wasn’t worried. It was his dog scratching her collar. He couldn’t hear her tags, but the tv was on, so that didn’t alarm him.

The cat stared at the door, her eyes little slits between twitching ears and whiskers. Her tail tapped out a tiny alarm on the rug.

The thumping continued, but now there was a bark…at the back door. Just one bark, but it was filled with urgency. He let the dog in, and all three stared at the front door, listening to the thumping on the porch.