Cardboard Echoes

I nudged my nose under the stiff cardboard flap resting along the floor by the kitchen threshold. The dry paper rasped softly as I squeezed myself through the opening. With each step inside, the clicks in my paw joints sounded twice as sharp against the corrugated base, echoing off the four brown walls. I paused, methodically turned in a tight half-circle, and rested both front paws over the bent rim to peer back out at the hallway.