Knocker

Holmer

Holmer tells me to calm down, but I can't; Knocker is going to knock knock knock until Ma comes home, and then Ma will hear the knocking and she will open the door and Knocker will tear her arms off like Holmer and then Knocker will hit me with a stick to teach me a lesson. He'll hit me one, then twice, then again and again and again until I stop moving 'cause I'll be dead and he'll burry me in the garden like Mr Whiskers!

I am huffing and puffing and I'm readying to blow the house down, but Holmer yells at me to stop and I do. Holmer tells me to just stay calm and remember that teddies can't open doors, and that helps a little for me to stay calm.

"Will Ma be mad when she sees Rodger?" I ask Holmer.

Holmer says that she won't just see Rodger, but that I will explain what happened before she sees him, so that she won't be very surprised and then it'll be okay. He says that Ma will understand and that she will love me no matter what, and then I feel better. Holmer always made me feel better because he is nice.

Knock knock knock. I wonder if maybe Knocker will get tired soon and go to sleep. Maybe if that happens I can go inside Rodger's room and I can tie up Knocker like cops do to bad guys on T.V. Is Knocker a bad guy? Maybe I should tie up Knocker. But then I think about Knocker and how mad he was when I took Holmer away from him and closed the door so he couldn't get at us. His button eyes were the darkest they've ever been. I hate it when Knocker is mad because he is really scary. Knocker is usually calm and nice because he usually tells me what to do, like once Ma told me to eat my broccoli but I don't like broccoli so Knocker told me to hide it in my pocket and I did and Ma never knew because after I went to the bathroom and I flushed it and I never saw it again. Or like when Whiskey was mean to me and Knocker told me how to teach him a lesson and I did it but then Whiskey died uh-oh but Knocker said it's okay and he told me how to hide him. But now I'm wondering if maybe Knocker just didn't like Whiskey and maybe he just used Whiskey scratching me as an excuse! Maybe Knocker was just waiting for Whiskey to do something like that and then he made me kill him! Maybe Knocker is bad, and maybe I shouldn't listen to him. I feel good about my decision. Now Knocker is in time-out and when Ma comes home, we, me, Ma and Holmer, can kill Knocker for good just like Knocker killed Whiskey and Rodger. Then I think about Rodger's room again and the stuffies that are in there and what are they doing?

I wonder if Rodger's stuffies are mad and they're beating up Knocker because it's his fault, not mine, his fault and I think that if it's happening right now and Knocker is dying, it's okay and I'm glad. But then I think maybe Knocker is so so so mad that he is beating up the other stuffies and then I am scared again.

I tell Holmer and he agrees that we should help them, so with Holmer riding in my arms still like a baby, I walk towards Rodger's room. Knock knock knock knock knock knock. There is a lot, a really really lot of knocking now, so I think maybe the other stuffies are knocking too, maybe trying to get me to help them but too scared to make a noise like scream or yell (help help help us Tommy). A second later, the knocking all stops and it's completely silent. I look at Holmer and Holmer looks at me. I am shivering but not cold and my skin is like a turkey's skin or is it chicken or duck oh whatever. Holding Holmer with one arm, I use my other hand to grab the door handle and open the door. Creeeeek!

It is quiet but way too quiet scary quiet and I don't see anything, so I step inside. That was a mistake. Holmer screams and Knocker grabs onto my foot and he is really really mad. I kick and kick and kick but nothing happens because Knocker is holding on tight tight tight! "Let go!" I scream, but he just snarls like a laugh and he says that he's got me now. I drop Holmer by accident and then Knocker jumps on him and they start fighting but Holmer isn't really fighting because he can't with no arms! Knocker is punching and punching but I use my big human hand to put up Knocker by his foot and he's dangling in the air and is swinging and swinging but I keep him far away from me and Holmer.

"No more, Knocker." I say to Knocker but he is still really mad and tries to punch me. "No more, because now I tell me what to do." I feel strong now and I know what to do because with Holmer, I can face anything and I can kill Knocker for good and then it'll all be done.

Then I hear the door open and Ma says, "Tommy, I'm home!"