Before he could stand from where he had fallen, Brayden watched the room explode into unexpected chaos. Scooby and Doo had bolted free, their red leashes dragging behind them as they moved further into the store. Without reason or force, books were suddenly  dislodged from their resting places and strewn wildly about the room. Getting up onto his knees, he saw the girl with the large cross begin to pick up the fifteen or so books that had been scattered on the floor.
 
Even though he called his black Lab back, the dog froze, and the hackles on his back stood straight up. Barking and pawing, Doo hustled toward the young man by the door. Positioning himself between the man and the door, the dog showed a courage he had lacked only minutes before. But when the door pushed open, the bravery was replaced by his typical anxiety and fear, and the dog began to nervously paw at the ground.
 
[quote]“Come on, Doo,” Brayden pleaded. “Let’s go.”[/quote]
 
But rather than find his way back to his owner, the young dog began to whimper and whine, retreating slowly, his eyes fixed on the figure emerging through the door. Looking to the source of the pup’s distress, Brayden saw the bright red eyes and the almost ghoulish expression on its face. Rising more quickly, the veterinarian stood and moved toward his dog when the room was thrust into a darkness blacker than night.
 
Close behind him, Scooby stood rigid, growling at something Brayden couldn't yet see. The lights flickered and flashed while a strange, seemingly endless sound filled the room. From the doorway, shadows began to emerge. Slithering and wriggling, they spilled through the now cavernous opening, crawling over one another until a loud, hideous laugh erupted from the darkness and filled the air.
 
Thankful for the blinking light that briefly pierced the darkness, Brayden dropped into a crouch. With each flash, he caught glimpses of objects hurtling through the air, ricocheting toward every corner of the vast room and every dark, shadowed space between.
 
Suddenly, Imp, the store owner, strode forth and positioned himself between the monster behind the door and every visitor still in the room. The creature looked up at the light shining in the shopkeeper’s hand, and its face twisted into something more gruesome. Staring at the object held high in Imp’s hand, the creature seemed to become afraid, and before another word could be said, it turned and vanished back behind the door, or somewhere into the darkness, into the space between the intermittent flashes of light.
 
Once it was gone, the door slammed shut, and the dim lights of the shop came back on, seemingly brighter than before.
 
Standing tall, the veterinarian looked about the room. Unsure what he had just witnessed, he let out a breath and whispered louder than he expected.
 
[quote]“What was that?”[/quote]
 
Mr. Imp turned, looking down at Dante and Doo, the placid expression on his face turning more stern. The older gent walked straight toward the door and twisted the sign.
 
[color=0054a6][quote]"Well, now... We've quite the mess on our hands, don't we?..." the shopkeeper began.[/quote]
[/color] 
Moving toward Scooby and then Doo, Brayden grabbed the loose leashes that hung from each dog. Holding them tight and close to his body, the vet looked around the room and then back to Imp.
 
[quote]“What was that?” he asked again.[/quote]
 
Both dogs had calmed, but the room was still in a state. Books had exploded from the shelves, and the implements he had been looking at earlier were scattered across the floor. Everywhere he looked, the dark but orderly store had been transformed into a chaotic mess of overturned displays, broken trinkets, and debris.

Brayden held the leashes a little tighter and scanned the room as the immediate danger seemed to fade. His breathing was still quick, but his attention shifted away from the door and toward the people still standing among the wreckage.

Brayden frowned, taking in the scene with a doctor's eye. No one looked injured. Shocked, yes. Confused for sure. But everyone seemed healthy and alive and then his gaze returned to Imp.

“What was that?” he asked again for a third time, "And why did you close the door?"