It’s been a hot minute since I’ve shared anything on Story Cauldron. Back in November, I was hard at work on a new novel entitled In Cirque We Trust, a romantic suspense about people who are trapped a circus camp during a snowstorm while someone at the camp commits various unhinged acts of sabotage. (Bet you’ve never read anything quite like it!) Now let’s see if I can get the thing revised in less than a decade…

I’ve also been cranking out revisions and final touches on The Hidden Moon, the long-awaited sequel to By Moonrise. With any luck it will be ready for beta readers before the spring. And shortly I will be finishing The Boy Who Can Taste Color, which I nearly completed before falling into a deep well known as NaNoWriMo.

For now, allow me to tempt your textual tastebuds with a tiny treat. This is a flash fiction story I wrote last Friday with the folks over in Stop Writing Alone. I hope you enjoy it!

What Big Claws You Have

“I heard it again,” Izzy said. 

“Heard what?” Jon was rummaging through the items on the bottom shelf. He rejected the jam, the container of moldy cheese, and the bacon. “Oh, there it is!” He pulled out a bundle of aluminum foil from the refrigerator and displayed it with a magician’s flourish.

“Brownies?!” Izzy squealed. “I didn’t know there were any left! Can I have one?”

“If there’s enough.” He pawed through the silver wrapping.

“The noise,” Izzy said as she stood on her tiptoes to see what he had on the counter.

Jon handed her a stale corner and watched her nibble on it. “What noise?”

“You know, I told you! In the wall!”

“In the wall?” He had crumbs on the corner of his mouth. “Like this?” He scratched on the lemon wallpaper with his fingernails, using short strokes.

“Nuh-uh. Like this.” Izzy held the brownie in one hand and used her free one to make the sound of something digging. “But louder. Is it trying to get out?”

He shrugged as he licked his lips. “Maybe?”

“Jon! Don’t say that! What if it is?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure it’s fine. Maybe it’s a squirrel or something. Just tell Dad, and he’ll take care of it.”

Izzy shook her head. “It’s not a squirrel! It’s bigger than that. I just know it is.”

“No, it’s not. You’re just little-er.”

She pouted. “Am not.” Taking her brownie, she went back into her bedroom and flopped on her bed. He never believed anything.

Just then, she heard it again. Long, deep scratches. Like a wolf—or a bear. She fled the room. “Jon, come quick!”

“What, Iz?” He had flopped down in the recliner by the TV.

She pointed towards her room. “It’s back!”

“What is?”

“The creature in the wall!”

“What?”

“In my room!”

He sighed. Releasing the recliner, he got up and followed her into her room. For a few seconds, he stood there listening. “There’s nothing here.”

“There is!”

He waited longer. Izzy bounced up and down on her mattress.

Then the sound returned. A long stratching sound.

“Oh wow, okay.” With his knuckles, he knocked on the plaster. “Hello, Mr. Squirrel. Could you please leave?”

“That won’t work!”

Jon shrugged. “What else do you want me to do?”

“You need to do something!”

Just then, the plaster began to split and crumble right where he had knocked.

“Oh no! What’s happening?” Izzy wailed.

A hand, larger than Jon’s, reached through the hole. “Damn squirrels,” Dad said. “I’m going to get you now!”

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you thought in the comments.

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