Explore "Monster" by Joseph Samachson on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
_Colonizing Mars was hell, because of one thing -- large, hungry critters. They flew, crawled, snarled, howled, burrowed up under the floors, chewed at doors and windows. And then, to make things worse, came the Monster._
There was a faint scratching at the door, so faint that Alice Kidd, who had been listening fearfully for precisely that sound, was at first not certain that she heard it. But, as she came close to the doorway, it was no longer possible to doubt, and a chill went through her at the thought of the creature panting eagerly on the other side. Now she could hear it whine, and, despite her knowledge that the gesture was an idle one, she could not help once more feeling the bolt behind the door. Then she made sure that the shutters too were securely barred, although these were usually in less danger; most of the animals could not apply pressure very far above the ground.