The Boy Next Door

Chapter Six

It's huge! A big fish thing. It's red and has pinchers and it just ate a fishy. No! Poor fishy didn't know about the demon that flew out of the rock. He didn't see the red demon! It's not fair! Why didn't God give him a chance?!

I walk around to distract myself from crying. I don't want to cry in front of the boy. I walk to a different part of the water and wipe my face. I clean my hands and walk back to camp. The boy is done with the Pizza Rolls and hands me a few on a fake plate.

"I didn't want to bring glass plates so I brought Styrofoam plates." With that explained I started eating. The food is weird but good. I like it. I finish first while the boy was still trying to cook his.

Once he is done and he eats, we walk to the stream and I show him the red demon. He whistles a high whistle and says, "That's a crawl dad and a big one at that. They're sneaky little shits aren't they? He scare ya?" I nod. "Well they taste good fried. Wanna try sometime?" I look at him, terrified. Why would he eat a demon? Wouldn't he die?

Reading my mind he says, "You won't die unless you choke on a claw. Don't worry we'll be fine. The fun part is catching them. Wanna help?" I shake my head. "Alright then, suit yourself. I'll be back before dark to cook the pizza."

I walk back toward camp knowing I've been dismissed. Once in the camp, I set up the tarp again. It looks like its gonna rain. I lay under the tarp and close my eyes, listening to the sounds of nature. A bee, a bear, a softly moving deer, a rustle, a crack. I sit up abruptly. A rustle and a crack? Heavy footsteps. Oh no, Mother.

I look towards the stairs and see her built frame coming down them. She grins evily and stops in front of me. I start to move away only to find I'm tied to the one of many wooden poles holding the house up. I whimper and she slaps my face with the back of her hand. Mother backs up and kicks my stomach. I think all of my organs moved to my throat. She grins and laughs at my weakening body. I start to slide down the pole, not caring that it's leaving splinters. Ma keeps me up by kicking my groin. She then punches my stomach, I'm surprised it's still residing in that area. Suddenly she shakes me. My head is banging against the pole. It hurts.

I open my eyes and see the boy. I move back awkwardly and look around. Its dark, there are trees everywhere. Where am I? Oh yeah, living in the woods.

"Are you okay? I just got back and saw you squirming and holding your stomach. Are ya sick? Here drink this." I take the metal cup he hands me and take a sip. It's sweet and sour. "It's lemonade. I took some powder to make it from the kitchen when I left. Don't worry, I used clean water." I wasn't worried about whether the water was clean or not, I was worried about my dream. How can she still haunt me? Why is she haunting me? I look at my arms and suck in a breath. The cuts are nasty looking, red, puss filled, and angry. My thigh is the same. I walk to the creek despite the boy's calls to stay. I keep walking along the creek until I get to a clear flowing part. I kneel and rub my arms in the cool water. I end up sitting in the water after a few minutes. The water stung at first then it felt good.

I stand up and look down at the water. It's stained with my blood. I look at my arms again. They are bleeding, but they look cleaner. Good. I start to head back to camp. I'm almost there when a smell hits me. It smells good. I can't describe it. I walk a little faster and soon see that he's cooking.

"I told ya I'd still make the pizza. Want some?" I sit down and look at what's cooking. Its round, some bubbling yellow white substance on top, meat in circles, meat in clumps, green things, black circles, white things; what is this?!

"Look, cheese, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, and olives. That's a supreme pizza, my favorite. Really it's good."

I just watch it cook. It does look good. I start to reach for it. "Woah! Don't do that! It's hot, boy. Didn't yer mama ever tell ya not to touch a stove? Well this is our stove now. Don't touch when its on. Now shoo, go get cleaned up. There are bandages in the small pack." He motioned to my arms that were still bleeding.

I don't know what a stove is, but sure I won't touch the fire. I did as I'm told and grabbed bandages, then made my way down to the creek again. I wash up and carefully bandage my arms and my thigh. I walk back to camp and see the pizza done. I walk over and take my plate. I sit down across from him and start to eat.

I finish my third piece and go back for more. I grab two more and sit back down. The boy starts to reach for my plate. I growl and bare my teeth, keeping my plate close. He seems surprised and backs up. Doesn't he know not to take food from me. I need every bit I can get, who knows who might take it away.

"I was just tryna put some cheese sauce on yer plate there. Want some?" Why is this boy always asking me questions? I nod hesitantly. He reaches over again and plops some yellow gloop on my plate next to my pizza. "Try it. Its good with the crust of the pizza." I give him a confused look. "The top part without toppings." Oh okay. I nod and try the pizza with the warm cheese. It tastes really good. The spicy cheese evens out the tangy pizza. I love it.

Pop. Splat. Pop. Bang! What is that?! I look around, forgetting my food. The bang was a rain drop hitting a bucket on the right spot. That bucket is used to hold water for boiling. I knew it was gonna rain. The boy sits quietly eating as if nothing happened. I wearily sit down and start eating again. I'm dreading the time to go to sleep. I don't want Mother haunting me again. It's only my third day out here, I don't wanna die of lack of sleep. I'll try to sleep, if I wake up early I stay up.

I put my plate in the fire and lay down on my beloved hay. The sound of rain slowly lulls me to sleep.