Black Dog.

I'm about 10 years of age, I'm alone in our small council house, but I'm uneasy.

I feel tension in the air. I'm hungry, so i go into the kitchen. I wish I hadn't, there's a huge black dog, crouching as if ready to pounce, he's baring his teeth and snarling, saliva foaming and dribbling from his yellow teeth and rubbery jowls.

Adrenaline kicks in immediately, and with the strength and speed I didn't know I had, I jump up onto the work top and press myself as far up against the wall as I can, hoping against hope that this beast cannot reach me , but a dog of his size and strength beats my hope down with and iron bar, of course he can reach me. With one swift movement, he lunges into the air and clears the work top with ease, landing about a foot away from my trembling knees.

I'm running, round and round the kitchen surfaces, the cooker top, the dining table, even atop the ironing board mum was using earlier in the day, and back onto the work top, with the beast on my tail, only inches away at any given moment.

My heart is pounding, and increasing speed by the second, I feel like it's going to explode, and then he's gone! Where is the beast, is it some kind of trick? Silent and motionless for a minute, I wait. Then thinking it safe, I jump back down onto the kitchen lino, it's cold against the bare skin of my feet. I slump to my knees in relief, and then those yellow teeth, and rubbery jowls, they're at my face, saliva and foam splattering onto my face, and as that mighty jaw is about to snap shut onto my cheek, I'm awake again, glowing in perspiration, shivering and shaking in shock.