After a late night reading my spy novel I groggily awoke to the annoying wail of my alarm clock. I stumbled down stairs to grab some clothes out of the dryer; all the while still rubbing sleep from my eyes. As soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs my heart began to race- someone was down there and not being very quiet about it. I proceeded into the room cautiously and quickly realized the intruder was in the laundry room. I hoped for half a second that it was just a mouse but knew almost as soon as I considered it that no mouse could make a noise that big. Was it Madj Al-Din, the assassin from my book? I peeked in and saw no one but could tell they were behind the dryer that I had pulled out from the wall a couple feet the day before.
I came closer and saw the flexible vent duct thrashing about violently like a snake being electrocuted. Relieved it wasn't a person but aprehensive because I still didn't know what it was I began trying to figure out what it could be; a squirrel or perhaps a rabbit? I shook the hose and saw as the mystery creature moved out of the vent and into the back of the dryer where I heard claws on metal, whatever was in there I did not want to have to touch it. I grabbed a 5 gallon work bucket from the garage, detached the hose from the wall and shoved it in the bucket to trap the animal when it came out. I turned on the dryer to scare it out and was shocked when I realized my bucket was not going to hold the intruder.