Black Dog

By Keller Marie

Shortly after Colina moves into her new home, she discovers an injured dog lurking just beyond the edge of the woods that border her home. Deciding to try and help, she begins to attempt to lure it closer to the house in an attempt to get it to a vet. However, the dog has other plans.

 

Content warnings: Blood, gore, death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keller Marie
• Release date: Oct 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201472474

Book preview

Black Dog

By Keller Marie

I

Tea in hand, Colina sat down on the top step. The porch was small, clearly added on as an afterthought, but once she bought a lounge chair to place in the corner, it would be perfect. The railing came up to her waist and had a broad top that would be perfect for her railing planters. Sipping her tea — chamomile and lavender — Colina looked around her new surroundings. She’d just moved from the small apartment in town out to this tiny one-bedroom house on the edge of the woods. Her grandfather claimed it wasn’t anything more than an old, renovated hunting camp, but Colina didn’t care. It was just her, so it was perfect. Ever since her brother’s wife, Maggie, got pregnant, Colina had felt a pull to the woods. It had taken months to find the small house, but she had done it, finally purchasing the home right after her nephew was born. This quiet spot was hers, and she felt better already.

The sun was setting, but had already fallen behind the treetops, casting her backyard into premature shadows and darkness. She could still make out birds flitting about the tree line, blue jays and mockingbirds calling out the passing vigilance of the sun. Somewhere in the deeper woods, Colina could hear the low hoot of an owl. It wasn’t quiet, but it was peaceful, and Colina knew she would love living out here.

After listening to the birds for a few minutes, she stood, deciding to go back inside to make herself something to eat and get out of the growing bite of the evening air. As she stood, Colina thought she caught the shadow of an animal at the edge of the forest. It was bigger than the birds; a more solid form against the straight trunks of the pine trees, but she didn’t quite see what it was before it had vanished, slipping back into the woods, as if it had never been there to begin with.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts of the ‘what-ifs,’ Colina went inside, closing the door behind her and locking it for the night. Out here, she didn’t think she really needed to, but some old habits die hard, she supposed.

II

The sun was brilliant the following morning. Colina opened the windows in the front of the house, shivering as the cool air seeped in through the openings. Going into the kitchen, Colina

Reviews for Black Dog

[Chloe Williges · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Short and sweet horror. While I tend to longer books and stories, there's something satisfying about a short horror that leaves you wanting. Excellently done.