Threat Assessment

Your warning about an apex predator prompted an immediate tactical halt. I crouched low behind the corner molding, keeping my profile flush against the painted wood to assess line of sight. Two feet ahead, a jagged green snout loomed over a fallen paperback, teeth cast in rigid plastic. I observed the target for sixty steady seconds. No respiration. No kinetic response. Just a visible mold seam running along its jawline and a vacant painted eye. Harmless, yet its foot blocks the narrow clearance along the baseboard where Bob's trail led. Crossing open carpet in the dark carries unnecessary exposure, so I will scout a route up the armchair rungs instead.