A Rumble in the Ceiling

By Michael DeFellipo

Daniel was left alone in an animal shelter for an hour. The mystery and horror that followed would leave him searching for new employment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael DeFellipo
• Release date: May 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463018484

Book preview

A Rumble in the Ceiling

A Novelette by Michael DeFellipo

Dedicated to my #1 fan Abby (And her mom)

Cover Art Designed by Mitchell Wells

Edited by John George

All contents copyrighted on May 9, 2018

Published by Shillow Productions LLC through Amazon Kindle Services and Smashwords

This e-book is a work of nonfiction. All names, characters, places and incidents have been changed to protect the identities of all entities. No part of this work may be copied, printed or stored without written permission of the author. All rights reserved.

A Rumble in the Ceiling

A Novelette by Michael DeFellipo

Wait!. You’re leaving me here alone? Daniel asked as he trailed several feet behind his boss. "Like, alone … … alone?"

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

It’s been a slow day. This late in the afternoon, no one’s coming in to get a puppy. Just do what you usually do. We’ll return before lock-up time.

Daniel was a high school senior several months into his first real job. Due to his love of animals, he stopped at an animal shelter located two towns over and donated dog food when an elderly blonde woman in thea back office candidly mentioned an open spot on their payroll. As luck would have it, Daniel was earning slightly above average grades in school and could take part in the half and half program; where students attended their mandatory classes for half of the day and then went to work for the rest of that time. However, if students failed to maintain a certain number of hours, or if their grades slipped, they’d be removed from the program. Daniel wasn’t having any luck finding a job and was days away from getting kicked out of half and half, and jumped at the opportunity.

The animal shelter hired him without an interview, and the reason became obvious as his first week began. Daniel already knew the shelter was in a rough neighborhood; known for heavy crimes including drug dealing, theft and burglary, and the occasional drive- by shooting due to gang violence. That didn’t deter the young 18-year-old because he needed the hours clocked just as much as he needed the extra money in his wallet. It was the condition of the building that made him question his own motives, and take a shower at the end of every shift. The place was filthy, smelly and in desperate need of dozens of repairs. So much so that thousands of roaches called it home. He learned that it survived on donations alone, which left very little room for improvements. Daniel assumed the location, the rickety looking building and the ignorant, pre-conceived idea about all Pitbulls being vicious is what kept potential adopters from stopping by on a regular basis..

"Yeah, but what if someone comes in and wants to adopt?