Three

Lady Abercrombie and Kid Moccasin were in the bunker talking about how much they missed cartoons on television. The bunker wasn’t underground. It was just a back-room in the dollhouse, filled with tiny plastic cans of food and the window was covered with a tiny piece of wood.

“Do you think the tele will come back on?” asked Kid Moccasin.

“Yes, I do believe the world will go back to normal.”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“I don’t want to think about it.”

“We’re eating in five minutes,” I yelled out to my daughter.

“Okay dad! I’m just playing.”

Then they heard some noise. Lady Abercrombie and Kid Moccasin huddled together in one of the corners. There was someone outside! They could hear footsteps. It sounded like a monster. Thump. Thump. Thump. They shivered together. Knock. Knock. Knock.

“What do we do?” asked Kid Moccasin.

“Hush!”

The monster was looking for a way in. The monster wanted their food. The monster wanted to break them apart! 

“G-R-R,” it growled. But it couldn’t find a way in. They kept holding each other.

“I want to go back to school,” whispered Kid Moccasin.

“You will. We just have to wait. We have to stay inside till the monster is gone.”

“I miss my friends.”

But the monster never left. Instead it took a nap outside the window. And everything that Lady Abercrombie and Kid Moccasin did had to be extra quiet. 

“Darling, the food is ready,” I called out.

Then my daughter came rushing at me and jumped up and held her hand over my mouth and hushed me.

“Be quiet, dad. Or else you’ll wake the monster outside.”