The dog was still happy and wagging it's tail from side to side, while Kaleb began to get scared, pulling his hands over and over again, without being able to detach them from the dog. Then, from the back of the dog, something seemed to be revealed. At first, a thick hose shape began to appear, showing the wall behind it in a shifting, scaly texture. Then it began to turn black. The hose revealed itself more and Kaleb just wanted to drop the dog and run, when the hose turned out to be the great long tail of some kind of lizard, which had just removed it's chameleon-like camouflage. It was stuck to the elevator wall. The huge lizard looked at Kaleb, with it's flat head and yellow eyes. Then it made a growl, the same one he heard outside the door.

Kaleb pulled with all his might to disengage his hands from what he now understood to be bait, but with a flick the creature's long tail slapped onto the cheek the pup had licked earlier, instantly sticking to it. He now could not detach his face from that tail, which was slowly rising into the air. Kaleb caught a glimpse of the creature crawling to the ground, placing it's flat head below where he floated. The creature opened it's jaws, revealing a single row of small teeth encircling it's entire mouth. Then he felt the creature's jaw begin to dislocate until it's snout formed an almost perfect circle. It looked like a pit of meat and muscle.

As the tail lowered him the puppy continued to lick his arm. But it was no longer comforting. Rather, it reminded him of the impending...

END