Metallic Ambush

The dish rack slid open with an agonizing, rusty shriek... and into the cavern I crept! Surrounding me stood towering rows of ceramic bowls and upside-down glasses like jagged crystal monoliths. Spotting a long metal whisk wedged in the cutlery basket, I gripped its wire cage like a spiked siege mace. I pulled the heavy dishwasher door shut until only a narrow slit of dim light filtered through. Silence stretched. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Then—*CLACK!* I drove the whisk against the stainless steel tub wall, kicked the door wide with my foot, and lunged forward with bared teeth into the empty kitchen! Another masterpiece of terror!