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The Rug-Story 14 of 31

By Ta'kom Ironhoof

“Jim, did you buy a new rug for the hallway upstairs?" The cheetah called out for his husband as he exited the bathroom. He was sure that it wasn't there earlier today.

From down in the dining room, Ozzy called back, “Oh yeah! I didn't buy one. Found it sitting inside one of the closets upstairs. Felt it was a delightful addition to the hallway." Ozzy then came out to the foyer and looked up the stairs. “I mean, if you don't like it, we can get rid of it."

“No, no," Jim replied. “I think it complements the wallpaper nicely. Might save us some on redecorating this hallway. Wasn't a fan of it at first, but I suppose I can deal with it for a little while now that we got this rug."

Ozzy cocked his head to the side, unsure if Jim was being serious or sarcastic. “You really like it?"

Jim chuckled. “Of course! No reason to throw out something that we can use. Gotta save money where we can right now. Maybe in a few years we can look at getting something else."

“Yeah, you're right. I'm gonna get back to my painting." Ozzy went back to the dining room and Jim made his way down the hallway to the master bedroom. After a shower, he enjoyed laying on the bed in the nude for a while before getting dressed. It was one of the few times during his day where he could just stop and think.

He was surprised that Ozzy didn't consult him before putting that rug out. His husband usually couldn't do anything without checking in with Jim first. Almost to the point of being annoying. But Jim loved Ozzy. To Jim, Ozzy was patient, kind; a perfect partner.

As Jim was lying on the bed ruminating, he began to hear something coming from the hallway. The cheetah wasn't sure exactly what he was hearing, but it sounded faintly like breathing. He lifted his head up from the bed and looked toward the doorway of the bedroom.

“Ozzy? Is that you?"

The sound continued, but Ozzy didn't reply. There was an almost eerie stillness to the air as Jim got himself up off the bed. As he moved over to the doorway, he peered around the frame, looking out into the hallway. However, Jim noticed nothing out of the ordinary. The cheetah shrugged his shoulders, letting go of his concern and turned back to get dressed. Though the sound persisted, Jim thought that he'd just ask Ozzy about it when he went downstairs. Jim was excited to finally see the painting the Ozzy had been working on for the last several days now.

Quickly, he threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, not seeing a need for any underwear since he was just going to be lounging around the house over the weekend. Jim thought of a myriad of things that Ozzy and he could do over the weekend. This was the first weekend they'd be able to spend together since first moving into this house.

Finally finished getting dressed, Jim began to make his way downstairs. However, just as he crossed the threshold into the hallway, his paw caught on something and he tripped.

“Dog damnit!" Jim shouted.

Looking down, Jim noticed he had tripped on that rug Ozzy had put out, but then questioned how it ended up in front of the master bedroom door. The skin on his leg burned from where he had fallen. Jim assumed it was just rug burn from falling. As he was getting up from the floor, Ozzy came rushing upstairs.

“Jim! Are you ok?" Ozzy asked Jim.

Jim grimaced as he answered. “Yeah. Tripped on that damn rug. Why'd you move it in front of our room?"

Ozzy stared at Jim for a moment, replying. “Jim, I've been downstairs. I didn't move it."

Jim lashed out, “It didn't move by its fucking self. I sure as fuck didn't move it." Tears began to well up in Ozzy's eyes before he turned and ran back downstairs. As he did, Jim called out to Ozzy. “Wait, Ozzy. I didn't mean to yell at you. Come on."

The cheetah followed Ozzy out to the porch, where Ozzy was standing off to the side, leaning against a railing with his arms pulled in close, rubbing tears off his facial fur.

“Ozzy, I'm sorry. I was just mad because I fell. I shouldn't have blamed you for that," Jim said apologetically.

“I know you're not mad at me. It was just sudden and shocking. I over-reacted. Guess the stress of the move is getting to me." Ozzy then looked down at Jim's leg. “That's a pretty bad rug burn."

Jim replied, “Yeah. Hurts like hell, too. That's more why I was upset than anything else." Jim the motioned for Ozzy. “Come here, big cat."

Jim and Ozzy embraced on the porch before Jim pulled back and gave Ozzy a kiss on the cheek. “Let's get back inside. It's getting cool out here." As the two released their embrace, Jim continued holding on to Ozzy's hand. The pair then began to make their way back inside.

To Jim's surprise, just as he stepped into the front door, he was once again tripped by something. This time, however, he was able to keep his balance and not fall all the way to the ground. Ozzy wasn't so lucky.

With a loud thud, Ozzy's face slammed into the rug; the same rug that had been upstairs in front of the master bedroom door not that long ago. Jim thought that it would have been impossible for it to have gotten down here. Then, as Ozzy began to get off the floor, Jim noticed something strange; the rug was hanging from Ozzy's face.

“Ozzy! Are you ok?"

“Yeah, I'm alright." Ozzy then tried to pull the rug off of his face but it refused to budge. “Jim, help me pull this thing off. Must be something sticky on it."

Jim and Ozzy both tried pulling the rug free, but all it did was tug at Ozzy's fur. Jim's hand also seemed to be stuck to it as well. “Damn thing is burning my skin. Must be some strong adhesive or something. No wonder whoever lived her before threw it in a closet and forgot about it."

Ozzy was silent for a moment before replying. “Yeah. Let's go to the bathroom and see if some water will help get this thing off."

“Ozzy! You're bleeding!" Jim yelled. “Hurry!"

The pair awkwardly made their way to the bathroom and into the shower. With some effort, they managed to get the water on, but the effort seemed to be in vain. The rug remained fixed to Ozzy's face and Jim's hands were firmly stuck in place.

As the water fell on the pair, Ozzy quietly said, “Jim. I can hear them."

“What? Hear what, Ozzy?"

Ozzy used his shoulder to point to the side of his head where the rug was attached. “The rug, Jim. It's…speaking."

Jim then noticed that Ozzy's face appeared to be buried into the rug deeper than should have been possible. “Ozzy, don't get weird on me. You hit your head."

“They're hungry, Jim. And we will feed them."

Jim then noticed his own hands were buried in the rug up to his wrists. His hands were gone, and yet he was still stuck. “Ozzy, what the fuck is happening?"

Jim began trying to pull away from the rug, but it seemed like the more he pulled, the more he was pulled into it. Ozzy's head had now disappeared into the rug and his body fell, dragging Jim down with him into the basin of the tub.

As hard as Jim fought, he was unable to escape, and only the rug remained.