From The Enigma
NPL Magazine
January, 2016
QT-OH

The first key word in this flat has eight letters. The second key word has only three - and they are the same as the first three letters of the eight-letter word, in the same order.

A noise made me jump - just a slight,
   subtle sound.
I froze in my tracks - I could not look
   around.
A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ person would have
   just walked by,
And not been afraid
   of a _ _ _ nearby.
But of this thing a lot of us have
  An exceptional dread,
And hope never to encounter it,
   Alive or dead.

Answers:

RATIONAL
RAT