Campaign Challenge II : Imago

One hand holding his nose, Paul fought to keep his balance as he took wide steps, avoiding the lacuna between the slabs he was walking on. Beside him rose a concrete wall, topped by nails jutting into the night sky. He should be home, but the restaurant where he washed dishes had closed late, and one of the chefs had suggested this strange shortcut to the bus stop.
Tiredness washed over him but he tried not to oscitate, keeping in mind the miasma from the gutter beneath. His stomach growled as Paul recalled the kitchen during dinner hour. A deeper growl echoed some feet away in synchronicity and Paul peered into the darkness, his heart beginning to race.
Two glowing eyes emerged from the shadows followed by the rest of a massive dog. A security light suddenly came on, glinting off the shiny coat of the dog as it began to bark. Snapped into action, Paul took a step backward, and then another. The dog stood before a gatehouse, and in the mirror of the glass doors, appeared as two.
“Get him!” Someone shouted.
The dog and its image leaped forward as one, saliva dribbling down their jowls.
Paul ran.
___________



The Challenge from the PBC was:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:

include the word "imago" in the title

include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.

For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!

I had to look up most of the words before I started. Oscitate means yawn, synchronicity is synonymous with unrelated coincidences, lacuna is a gap, and miasma is bad air. I used all four words, there is a mirror in the post, and this is exactly 200 words. Hope you like my effort. For those not in the campaign, feel free to write yours and link to this.