I want the music again, but she refuses to play it for me. I walked in on her singing, and to my delight, dancing, to wonderful music. Even though she gets bigger every day she still dances with a certain kind of grace. Which is wonderful to my eyes.

However when she sees me she stops. Her cheeks flame red, a fascinating reaction. And she slowly turns off the music.

I am disappointed, I want more music but she refuses to give it to me.

Later when she is outside I come into my new shack and find the radio. I don't know what to do with it so I press buttons, one at a time. When the music finally starts a voice screams out "I can't get no!" and I drop it in surprise. It groans once ("satis-faction") and then it dies.

I twitch my head spines around in thought.

I try again. Nothing. I shake it, nothing. I shake it harder and pound the button. A weird moaning issues from it: "Gimme, gimme, the honky-tonk blues." Then nothing. I've killed the music box.

I hear a laughing noise, then a bark. It grows closer and closer until it finally bursts thought the door. I hear her laughing at the dog over her shoulder as she comes in. Then she stops abruptly as she sees me. I hold up the radio.

She looks puzzled then angry when she realized what I had done. I know I look unapologetic. I want her to fix it.

She paces around angrily. "This was the only decent music," and "I can't believe you" and all sorts of boring indignant noises. I just want her to fix the music so she may dance for me once more.

When she announces she cannot fix it. I shove her towards the couch. She screams the dog bites, and she hits me until I go away. It is not worth the trouble this time.

Hero

That asshole broke the radio and the tape inside of it, now I really am down to the greatest hits of the 1920's. I can hear Miles Davis outside.

I try to read but I cannot. I try to fix the tape player and I cannot. I don't know what to do. Then the dog nuzzles my hand.

"Hey boy." I said brightly. I patted his head. His tail thumped against me frantically. I feel even more indebted to him after he bit the Creeper for me. I smirk. The dog licks me enthusiatasticly. I laugh, then I laugh again because it has been so long since I've laughed so freely.

He brings a chewed tennis ball toward me.

"Okay, boy." I take him outside. It's cold, but pleasant to do something so normal. As enjoy the mindless game I think of what to call him.

My mind runs through a list of names, traditional and non-traditional. I once had a beagle named Ariel, because I was obsessed with the little mermaid when I was little. But this dog is male.

When I automatically pick up the ball and throw it again for the umpteenth time I hear a low growl. The Creeper has come back from dumping the garbage that was strewn around the shack. "Dog!," I yell. "Come here," He still growls and the Creeper growls right back. I get up, hobble over and drag him back. The dog growls at him the whole way. The Creeper looks displeased.

"I know your brave," I say as wave the ball in front of him to get his attention. "But he'll kill you. Don't be a hero."

The dog ignores my advice and throws another growl at the monster.

So he got his new name: Hero.

The Moonshiner

I rejoice that the Creeper has left me alone these past few days. I'm fairly happy, given my situation. I can hobble around. My stomach gets bigger every day it seems, and I've reached a point were I feel I could face the scariness of birth in order just to end this pregnancy.

So I pass the time. I read what the moonshiner had (not much). I listen to the Creeper's music. I play with Hero.

He barks at the Creeper. He growls when he gets to close to me. The tension is rising between them everyday. I know the monster considers me his property, and he doesn't like my new found pet protecting me from what he considers his right.

One day I left for five minutes to use the bushes and came to find the Creeper hissing and flaring his wings and the dog barking and about to bite him again. I saw the Creeper reach into coat.

"NO!" I scream and hobbled over as fast as the chains would allow me. My yell stopped both short for a second which was all I needed. I hobbled over and threw myself over Hero and wrapped my arms around his neck. I shielded his body as much as possible. I know the Creeper would not badly hurt me.

He let out a rage-filled scream. Then stomped angrily away.

I released the breath was I was holding in my lungs. Hero wagged his tail.

"Don't do that again." I tell him with tears in my eyes.

I know I'm being stupid. I know it's dumb, forming an attachment with this animal. The Creeper won't tolearate this for much longer. He wanted me for himself. He wouldn't tolerate me showering affection on an animal that is loyal to only me and tries to protect me from him.

But I can't help it, the dog saved me from the Creeper before, and I know he'd do it again. If I can't form an attachment, feel anything other than hate and fear, care for something other than myself, then am I really human anymore?

I shudder when I think maybe that's what the Creeper wants.

I walk in the woods. The dog pulls on his leash impatiently, nearly pulling my arm out of my sockets. "Wait!" I laugh and gasp for breath. Exercise. I need exercise since being locked up so long.

Plus it's good for pregnant women.

I stop dead. The smile melts off my face. Then Hero yanks me forward again.

Thoughts like this come unbidden. I have to go to the bathroom now because I'm-pregnant. I really want to eat chocolate all the time, I guess because I'm-pregnant. Please be careful crawling all over me Creeper, I'm-pregnant.

The I'm-Pregnant thoughts come less and less now. But they still come, I guess I'm getting use to the idea.

"Wait, Hero!" I call again. But he's loving this walk. He pulls me deeper in the woods. He pants happily and I laugh and puff along with him.

I see a dark shadow in the trees.

Instantly I stop. Hero tries to pull me, but I pull him back.

Dogs can sense changes in humans instantly. Hero learned my body language quickly. He stops when he realized something was wrong. When he senses him he gives his standard get-away growl. The Creeper ignores him.

When he wants to he can move like a shadow, swift and slick, uncoiling from around himself. He does this now emerging from the trees. He is not happy.

"Where are you going?" he gives a muddy growl.

I look around in puzzlement, then I realized with horror that Hero had pulled me into the woods deeper than I thought. I immediately dip my head in apology. "I'm sorry." I whisper. My apology is somewhat ruined by Hero's barking. I shush him.

"Come." He ordered. "Now."

I obey him. Not deciding to push it.

The Creeper's eyes narrow at the dog. "Leave it." He jerked his head towards Hero.

"No." I say quietly but steadily. The Creeper merely grunts but continues onward.

When we reach the clearing, he gestures me into the shack, and I obey again. I put Hero in first, before I close the door, I hear his voice warn. "Don't run to humans again."

I should have been quiet, I should have said nothing, but the horrors of the night I ran away came flooding back, slamming into face. Burned my cheeks and caused tears to burn in my eyes. I shut the door, but not with me inside. I turn and face him.

"I wasn't running away." I hiss quietly, deadly. "And if I was it would be none of your business because I it's my right. I deserve to back with other people, my family."

The Creeper snorts, which just makes me angry. "I'm a human, I belong with humans!"

He shakes his head. "Will kill you."

I shake my head violently . "No they won't, you know nothing about people. You're just

A monster."

He laughs at my assertion, which just makes me angrier. "You're an inhuman monster!" I scream "You're piece of murdering-" He cuts off my nascent rant. "Humans kill more." He says simply.

"What?" I demand, not understanding. He gestures to my notebook, which he's been looking at. He writes down;

"Humans kill moar humans than I do." He misspells

That takes a bit of wind out of my sails. But I won't be distracted. "That still doesn't excuse what you've done." I point a shaking finger at him. "What you've done to me. What you've done to the moonshiner." I gesture to his shack. To my surprise he shakes his head again.

He made a "follow me" signal and walked toward a snow bank. I'm wary but I follow him.

He bend down to digs up some snow and then brushes the rest away. I stare. He uncovers the poor moonshiner's shallow grave. I turn my head in disgust.

"Look," he orders, "look." He holds up a femur. There is a perfect neat hole in it., about the size of quarter. The other side is completely shattered.

I'm puzzled but it dawns on me. Such a thing looks familiar, but it's hard to place it. Then it hits me. It's a bullet wound.

The Creeper doesn't shoot people. Never has. People shoot at him, but he doesn't kill that way. Something else clicks in place: the ransacked shack. He doesn't care about valuable human things like money.

"So…so it was people, people killed him."

The Creeper says nothing. I turn back and head to the shack.

Later as I lay curled up with Hero I was fell asleep while deep in thought.

A/N: Sorry for any and all typos in this chapter. I figured getting it published fast (considering how long it's been since I've updated) was more important.