636 Words, this chapter. It's extremely short, but it has to end where it does. You'll see...

Chapter Ten, Just a Costume 2: Redressed

The team arrived on site. It was an ordinary house. From inside it, a dog barked frantically.

"Oh no!" cried Jess. "Becker, save the dog!"

He laughed. "Shouldn't people be the priority?"

"No one is home but a cute little Beagle. It has the sad brown eyes too. It's so scared, Becker!"

"Jess, focus on the anomaly."

"Thank you, Matt," she said sarcastically. "It's on the main floor. Open the front door, go through the hall, take a left. You'll be standing in the dining room. The anomaly is on top of the table."

"You're joking."

"No, I am not," said Jess. "The house is hooked to a security service that I have hacked into. I have a perfect picture."

"So where's the creature?"

"Inside the dining room. It's staring at the dog like it's never seen one."

"Probably hasn't," said Abby.

"Well, I've never seen this creature before," said Jess. "It's moving toward the dog!"

"OK, Jess," said Becker, kicking in the front door. "One puppy rescue coming up."

The team followed, quickly finding the dining room. They burst in, interrupting the creature's pounce on the small dog.

"What the hell is that?" asked Becker, looking at a small pig-like creature. It was pink in tone and fat. Unlike pigs, it was aggressive hissing at them with long, pointy teeth.

It jumped toward them. Becker fired.

It fell off the table, writhing on the floor. As they looked at it though it shrunk in size.

"It's...changing," said Connor. "That's amazing!"

The creature was now a carbon copy of the small dog.

"What in the hell?" asked Becker.

"It's not stunned!" cried Abby, as the 'dog' jumped up, taking advantage of the team's shock. It ran, running past the real dog, which chased after its imposter.

"Great! Which one is which?" asked Connor.

"Shoot them both!"

"Becker, no!"

"It's the best idea, Jess!" cried Becker.

"Yeah, get them both out of the way," said Matt.

"No!"

"Jess," said Abby. "Hopefully, this time, they'll both be stunned. We can then wait until the creature changes back."

"And the dog will be unharmed," said Emily.

"OK. I guess," said Jess.

They chased the dogs out of the room, through the hall and out the front door. "I see one!" cried Becker. He shot it.

"Where's the other?"

"Jess?"

"Hang on. I'm accessing traffic cameras. I can't get a clear view inside that neighborhood though. Good, it's moving onto a busy street."

"That's good?"

"Yes, Becker, I can see it clearly now. It's running along the sidewalk."

"This dog isn't changing," said Abby.

"I guess the other one is the creature?" asked Connor.

"We assume it is," said Becker, "and it's dangerous."

"Agreed," said Matt. "Jess, is anyone interacting with it?"

"No. It's just running. It's pretty fast."

"I hope it doesn't have venom or anything," said Abby.

"Me too," said Matt, as they ran after the dog. "Jess, send another team to stay with the stunned dog, just in case."

"Got it. They're on route."

"Where's the other one now?" asked Becker.

"Uh...shoot. I lost it," said Jess. "How did I lose it? It's just gone!"

The team stopped, looking around helplessly. "Great."

"Jess, find that dog, or whatever it is."

"Again, Matt, you state the obvious," she muttered. She searched through the camera feeds. "Oh...my...God."

"What is it, Jess?"

"Matt...it changed again."

Becker swore.

"I can't believe it but I am looking at footage of a cute little dog changing into..."

"Into what?"

"A postal worker."

End of Chapter Ten