Yes, it seems that I have lost inspiration to continue this story so it will be on hiatus. My interests tend to shift from one thing to another. :P

Sorry! If anyone wants to continue this story then go ahead.

Stan snapped open his eyes and realized he was lying on his side on the sidewalk. It was nighttime outside with only one street lamp lighting dimly several feet across from him. His front and hind legs were bound tightly together with a jump rope, while his mouth was clamped shut with a muzzle. When he finally regained conscious, he realized what just happened and began to panic. What's going on? Why am I outside? And why are my legs tied together?! And…and…wait…why am I wearing a muzzle?! Did somebody kidnap me?!

Suddenly, Stan heard footsteps coming from behind him. As the steps came closer to him, a familiar scent was wafting through his nose. It grew stronger and stronger until Stan remembered who that smell belonged to.
"Tyler…? Is that you…?" he timidly called out.
The footsteps stopped. Silence hung in the air for a while before a voice, which Stan knew very well, replied, "I'm sorry Stan. I'm really sorry. I don't want to do this, but I have no other choice."
Out of the corner of Stan's eye, he saw a fist swiftly coming toward his throat. And much to his dismay…it was holding a sharp kitchen knife. However, the tip of the knife stopped just centimeters away from his fur. Hesitantly, Stan strained his neck to turn and see who was going to kill him. Just as he laid his eyes upon his kidnapper, his gut churned violently out of fear.
His instincts were right. It was Tyler.
Shadows were crossing over the boy's face, his eyes and expression was blank. Strands of hair went limp over his forehead covering his right eye. He kept gazing at the dog as he brought the knife up once more.
"Tyler? Why?! Why are you doing this?!" Stan wanted to know. But his yells only came out muffled.
"You know too much…" his master whispered. "I have to end you before you can tell anyone. I know my family will never forgive me for this, especially Avery. She'll hate me forever."
The knife held in midair, ready to strike at any second. "But I still need to do this."
"Tyler! NO! DON'T DO THIS! DON'T! STOP IT!" The dog screamed, but his mouth was still restrained by the muzzle.
"I'm sorry Stan…"
"NO-" Before Stan could react, the blade plunged right into his throat.

.

3:18 am
The dog woke up with a loud bark. Seconds later, Avery ran downstairs to the living room.
"Stan? What's wrong?" Avery asked worriedly, kneeling down beside him. "You've practically been barking all night!"
"Oh Avery, it was horrible!" Stan cried. "I just had the worst nightmare ever!"
"What's going on here?" Avery's mom demanded as she flicked the light switch at the doorway. "And why was that dog barking? Your father and I couldn't sleep at all!"
"Stan just had a nightmare," the blonde girl said.
The dog laid his head against her lap and whimpered sadly. Shortly after, Avery's stepdad appeared beside her mom, wearing his light blue pajamas, gray slippers, and messy bed hair. "Huh. So even animals can get bad dreams," he muttered.
Chloe also went out of her bedroom to see what was going on. She quietly watched her family while staying upstairs, clutching her stuffed unicorn close to her.
"Mom? Dad? Is it okay if Stan sleeps in my bedroom?" Avery asked. "Just for tonight?"
Mrs. Jennings hesitated. "Um…..okay, fine. But if he starts barking again, he's gonna have to sleep outside."
Throughout the rest of the dark morning, Stan never made a noise. He never slept that time either; for he was afraid to repeat the same encounter of that terrifying dream. For all he knew, he was never going to see Tyler the same way again. At least for a while.

8:15 am
It was completely uneasy for Stan later that morning. When he first saw Tyler, he flinched and let out a yelp. Tyler jumped a little at his dog's reaction.
"Stan? What's wrong?" the teen asked.
"Uh…uh… it's n-nothing, sorry," Stan stammered. Then he scurried away.
Stan recalled last night when he told Avery about that horrible dream. The girl furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at her dog thoughtfully. Then she assured him, "Oh, Stan. Don't worry about that. It was just a nightmare. Tyler would never do that kind of stuff. Nothing bad will ever happen to you, okay?"
She ended the conversation while scratching behind Stan's ear.
But it felt so real, Stan thought, I've never been that scared my whole life.
A few minutes later, Mrs. Jennings was about to go out the door after she told her husband, "I'll be going over to my friend's workplace to help her with sorting the files. It won't take long."
Tyler turned to his stepmother. "Mom…?"
"Yes Tyler?" she asked.
"Umm…I…I don't think…you should go today."
"Why's that?"
"Because…,"Tyler hesitated. "I don't know why, but something bad will happen over there if you go."
Mrs. Jennings looked at her stepson, confused at what he said. "How do you know?"
"Uh…I just do," he replied with a shrug.
"Well I would rather stay home, but I promised my friend I'll help her with something," she said. "Besides, it's just a small errand. I doubt anything bad is gonna happen."
Tyler was about say something else until Mrs. Jennings stepped out of the house and closed the doorway. He remained silent. Worry reflected on his face when he heard the car's engine turned on.
His dad glanced at him curiously. "Are you sure something is going to happen where she's heading?"
Tyler turned his eyes to him. "I think so, but I don't expect her to believe me. Not now, anyway."
The teen paused for a moment. "Do you believe me, Dad?"
Mr. James pursed his lips in deep thought. "I don't know, son. We'll see."

7:47 pm
The door flung open with Mrs. Jennings rushing in. Her face was pale stricken with horror.
"Oh my God, Bennett! You'd never believe what happened at work today!" she said, her voice filled with panic.
"What's wrong honey?" her husband asked.
"I was helping out at the workplace, when somebody got shot! There was a man right next to me and a bullet shot straight at his head!" Her voice went higher as she continued. "I was this close to get killed, Bennett! I can totally feel it shooting straight past the side of my face, inches away! It went right through the window and it completely shattered! If I were to take another step, I'd be dead already! My friend was right beside me, but she took the worst. A big shard of glass flew out and cut her side of the face, and she was bleeding to death! It was chaos everywhere!"
"And get this!" Mrs. Jennings went on, "the man who just got shot was actually an undercover con-man who escaped from jail 6 years ago! Right now, the police are looking for the person responsible for killing him."
Her breathing finally calmed down. She sighed as she pressed her fingers onto her temples. Mr. James wrapped his arms around her and gave her a comforting hug. "At least you're okay and still alive, honey. What about your friend?"
"She'll be fine. The hospital bandaged her injury, so she's gonna be all right."
The parents later told their kids what happened at dinner.
"Tyler, how exactly did you know this was going to happen?" Mrs. Jennings inquired.
"I told you, Mom. I just knew," Tyler answered. "I woke up this morning, and suddenly, I just knew."
"So you're a sidekick?" Chloe asked in wonder.
"I think you mean psychic, sweetie," her dad corrected. "And yes, he probably is."
Stan eavesdropped at their conversation as he was chewing his food. A psychic, huh? That's pretty cool. I wonder if he could tell what's going to happen to me?

11:21 pm
The dark haired teenager was lying on his bed, hands resting on his stomach, and eyes staring straight at the ceiling. His room was dark and deeply silent, except for his own calm breathing. Soon, he could hear tiny creaks inside the walls, which later gave way to much louder creaks. Then he could hear soft thumping on the floor. Before long, that sound was followed by the windows shivering, making a small rattling noise.
Out of nowhere, another sound of a clock ticking joined in the cacophony. Then Tyler closed his eyes, and focus on the pounding of his heartbeat, which also added to the noise around him. It kept going on; every sound was offbeat away from each other. It seemed like a whole hour had crawled by until finally….it stopped.
Tyler opened his eyes.
Out of the corner of his left vision, he could see a slim shadow moving slowly, up and down the wall.
"Long time no see," Tyler quietly whispered, without emotion. "Are you going to keep me awake again? Just like the time I was kid?"
The shadow can only uttered, "Shhhh…"
A short silence fell.
"You nearly killed my stepmom, y'know," Tyler confronted.
"Shhhh….shhhh…shhh…," the shadow replied.
The closer Tyler listened, the more words he was able interpret:

"I didn't mean to….shhhh….I just found that bullet from a dead body….shhh… I played with it….for a while…..shhh….it was so shiny and already covered in blood….shhh…..I got bored with it….shhh…. flicked it away with my finger….shhh…..I didn't think I would kill anybody…."

"…..But that's what you're supposed to do anyway, right?" Tyler pointed out. "Taking away a mortal's life?"
"Shhhh….," the shadow echoed.
"I thought so."

"Shhh….don't you get too comfortable either….shhh…..when the time comes…shhh…you could be next….shhh….you could even die the next morning….."

The boy closed his eyes again. "You wouldn't."

"Shhh….of course not…my kind would tear me to pieces if I do…shhhhh….you are the source of our power….."

Another short silence fell again.

"There is something I want you to take care of….shhhhh…..there's a ghost that kept pestering us…... disturbing our work….shhh….do you think you could take care of it?..."

"How powerful is this ghost?" Tyler asked.

"Easy enough for you to handle…shhh…...if you can get rid of it….we can let you live a little longer…shhhh….just do it by the next dark moon…"

"…I'll see what I can do," he said.

"Good….shhh…..I'll leave you for now…..be a good boy…shhhh…and do what we tell you."

The shadow on the wall slowly vanished until Tyler couldn't feel its presence anymore. He glanced at his side to make sure it's gone, then let out a sigh of relief. His muscles started to relax for the first time that night. His mind finally drifted off into sleep….
….until Stan's barking snapped him out of it.
Tyler groaned. Awww jeez….please not now….