Awakened by a dream
In the deepest dark of night,
Or was it?
I can remember no details.
Have I forgotten them already?
Heart pounds in my chest;
I can hear it in my ears,
Leaping,
Stuttering,
Cold sweat…
As I gasp for labored breath.

This isn’t a dream;
My wife is sitting upright,
Silent as a corpse,
Listening for a predator nearby.
Maybe it is the wind,
Rustling the dried autumn leaves,
But why now,
In the deepest of darkest night?

The floor creaks,
I think,
Or is it the floor boards settling
In the cooling fall night?
There it is again!
A bit closer this time!
This is no dream!

Why didn’t the alarm sound?
Is this a killer trained in the art of war,
Who has somehow disabled our system?
Grab a gun.
Quietly.
It was loaded when last I checked,
But that was so long ago.
I’ve got to breathe.
Silently.
Don’t move…

Alas, the waiting is over,
As I hear the intruder charging up the stairs.
I know it is over;
Two steps at a time,
Now galloping!
Oh, God, where is that gun, I wonder?
“It might be over, Honey,” I whisper.
“I love you, I hope you know”.
“I love you too,” she quietly answers,
As rapid events, feel like they're going so slow.

And now comes the attack,
Flattening me against the mattress
As the foul smell envelops me,
Causing bile to rise in my gullet.
Hair is everywhere,
And the smell is that of decay,
As I hear the high-pitched wail
Of a large mammal in agony.

Terror! Terror!
I am facing my death in fear.
I, the airborne commando in my youth, am a coward!
There will be stains left behind to tell the tale -
The tale of the man who could not save his wife.
The high-pitched scream wells from deep within.
Why, oh why will it end this way?

I am startled by the sudden flash of light;
Fear on fear.
Death is cloaked in black
As she expels an evil moan.
Rising am I into the air;
Levitation in the flash of an eye,
As I roll,
Preparing to attack.

Below me,
Large brown eyes
Flash terror of their own,
Not understanding this attack
From the love of her life;
Alpha,
Alpha male,
Me,
As we all understand
In the deepest dark of night,
And roar with the laughter
Of the damned.
As can you, my friends,
If you only acquire your own -
Lovely Newfoundland.