Thumbs

Crows

"I want to see Maurice." Katie demanded, sitting cross legged at a rickety old table that was cluttered with crayons and re-used paper. She had never seen so many colors before, and had been occupied with them for at least two hours before she became bored due to a lack of inspiration for any more doodles. Maya was standing in the same room as she was while Michael had gone into another part of the Ramshackle. She was not quite sure where she was, but she could guess that it was the part of the area where she had first seen Michael, when he stepped out of that door into the room with the strange glass tubes.

"He's still asleep. Michael will let you know when he wakes up." Maya said, smiling as she peeked her head into the metal box where she had placed the wads of dough they had made.

The metal box had a fire underneath it, making the room uncomfortably hot since there were no windows to let cooler air circulate into the room. Katie did not understand why she couldn't go outside, or out of that room for that matter. She wanted to leave, with Maurice, and maybe Jason. Where was Jason?

"Whats this?" Maya asked, coming up to one of Katies drawings.

"Thats me and Maurice catching Scalies from the river." Katie explained, pointing to the crude stick figures standing in a line of blue. Maya looked confused for a moment as she stared at the drawing.

"Ah, you mean fish." She said matter of factly. Katie wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "No. They have shimmery scales. So they are called Scalies."

"Well, if you've never heard of a fish before, how do you know that they have scales?" Maya asked.

Katie stared blankly at her drawing of the Scalies and the river. Fish. For some reason, it did sound right, in a way. She still liked the name she gave them though. But then again, how did she know what scales were? "I just do." Katie responded curtly, grabbing a yellow crayon to draw a new picture.

"What are you drawing now?" Maya inquired, looking over Katies shoulder with wondering eyes.

Katie covered her drawing with her arm to shield it from Maya's prying eyes. Maya threw up her arms and turned back to the metal box with a playful smile on her face. Katie drew endless circles on the page, picturing Maurice's favorite flowers.

The ceiling was colored an off white with vines growing through the cracks. Katie was laying on top of the table, staring at the barrier above her. Maya was sitting in the opposite corner, with a jumble of pages in her hand and a black feather with ink dripping from its tip tucked behind her ear. The balls of dough were sitting on top of the box now, filling the room with a dry, sweet smell that made Katie's mouth water. But Maya kept the treats from her until later. The dull silence was interrupted by the front door opening, then quickly closed followed by the sound of scampering feet up to the steps. Katie sat up just as Jason came through the brown door, his face red and his breathing heavy.

"Where is Michael?" He asked no one in particular, but looking at Katie since he did not see Maya sitting in the corner.

"He's working. Why?" Maya asked, a concerned look on her face.Jason grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"We need to talk." He said, glancing at Katie for a brief moment.

Maya, seemingly understanding Jasons telepathy, walked over to the plate of food and handed it to her.

"Here. You can have some now. Stay put, I will be right back." She said hastily as Jason dragged her out of the room.

Katie stared at the door blankly with the plate in her hands. She looked down at the food with curiosity before setting the plate down and picking one of the face sized brown circles. Taking a small nibble, she tasted mainly the fruit and flour that they had put together. The sweetness of the honey was also present. But there was something about the texture that immediately won her over.She wanted to continue eating, but she also wanted to know what they were talking about. Slipping down off the table, she stuffed several of the treats into the front pocket of her overalls before tiptoeing over to the door. The door opened slowly with a small creek, revealing to her a long hallway that went in two directions; straight towards some stairs, and left, towards a line of several doors.She could barely hear voices coming from the left, so she inched quietly in her tire leather shoes until she came to a new door, where the voices were the loudest. She pressed her ear against the door and pretended that her ears were long like a Hoppers.