The neighbors locked their pets indoors whenever he walked his around the block.

The creature grinned, teeth silvery as its chain leash, time-bomb claws clicking against asphalt.

But when Hook hung up a ragged Jolly Roger, promising treasure for finding his crocodile, they realized not seeing it was even scarier.

Angela Panayotopulos is a Greek-American storyteller with a soft spot for fresh-brewed coffee, transformative books, and genuine people. Her books include The Art of War: A Novel (among The National Herald’s Top Books to Gift, 2017) and The Wake Up (recipient of a Readers’ Favorite Book Award for Supernatural Fiction, 2020). Check out her forthcoming publications at pansbooks.com.