Friday Five: March 12

Sit, portion, fiber, inflate, beef

Helena held her breath, hoping it would work this time. No sudden moves. Every fiber of her being told her to show no fear. She didn’t know what would happen if she did because she’d never summoned a creature from another realm.

She’d tried a few times now, but all she’d gotten was a wisp of the creatures snout. She needed a better enticements. She gone cross town to the speciality grocery store  high grade beef. It broke her already thinly stretched food budget, but this had to work. If it did, she was willing to endure instant noodles for all her meals until payday. 

She had a rented room built over her step mother’s garage. She was 22 and still living at home. It was not how she’d imagined things. Her stepmom and her dad were on vacation for the week, so it was as good a time as any to summon mystical creatures from the other realm. Her mother had been a powerful sorceress- so she heard- but up to this point, Helena had shown no real talent. That’s probably why her mother had taken off and left her with her dad. 

Well, mom would be proud if she could see how far her daughter had come. Helena unfolded the wax paper and took out a portion of the beef. It was still raw and bloody. She heard a spectral sniff. The hound was there even if it wouldn’t show itself yet.  She sat it down on the floor and waited. The sniffing sounds grew closer as well as the sound of paws across the wood floor. She heard a low growl, and smelled the musk of dog breath. Strong, but she’d smelled worse. The air shimmered in front of her eyes and suddenly the creature appeared. A hellhound.  It gobbled up the beef, saliva dripping on the floor, and eating through the wood like acid. When it finished, she stood in awe and stared. The hellhound staring back, sitting like an eager pup, its tail thrashing back and forth. She thought of her boss Harvey- he of the wandering hands and inflated ego. Fire her, would he? There was a surprise coming his way tonight.

“Well pup”, Helena said, “it’s time to fetch.”