Slaughter House

Chapter 5

"What are you doing here?" Avery-Alice grimaced as the screen door screeched in our ears.

She was wearing the same clothes as before, except now her normally frizzy hair was soaked leaving thin strands clinging to her face. My nose picked up a rose smell among the wet air.

"I just wanted to check on you and- " Fumbling around in my bag I pulled out the milk. "I wanted to give you this."

I slowly put my hand down as I watched her eyelids twitch in either confusion or annoyance.

"Is there someone out there with you?" Avery-Alice motioned me inside the house with her cane. 

"Just two boys." I whispered looking over my shoulder as I stepped inside.

"Alan! Alec! Come inside. There is a storm coming." She called to the kids as rain drops suddenly pelted the ground. Dropping the sack and the machete at the front steps, they ran past us and into the house. The piercing sound of the blade cutting into the ground rang in my ears. 

The foyer led straight into the living room that was hazy with cigarette smoke. I clenched my teeth trying not to cough in her face as we stepped further inside. Plants were everywhere both alive and dead. As my eyes skimmed the dimly lit area, I spotted antiques of sorts like useless porcelain figurines and tea sets. Little hand prints dotted some of the items while others were covered in thick dust.

I squinted a bit, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness of the house. The windows were covered by thick curtains that ran well past the floor. With all the clutter, the whole house seemed like a tripping hazard for a normal person, Avery-Alice. 

Avery-Alice faced me silently like the two boys from the porch. I gently took her hand and placed the cold milk bottle in it. By now, the bottle was dripping with condensation. She traced her fingertips around the container until she made sense of it.

"Milk? Really?" She huffed, placing the bottle on a table in the foyer.

I wanted to apologize but I wasn't sure where to start. Should I begin with coming over uninvited or nearly killing us last night?

"Is Opal okay?" Avery-Alice interrupted my thoughts.

"I don't know, that is what I wanted to talk to you about." I stuttered. "Ma told me that they only found one person in the truck with me after the wreck."

"It wasn't me," She shook her head. "My father found the wreck before anyone else and carried me home. He didn't leave you for dead or anything, he just...was worried about me. He called help you for later." 

My body tensed as she spoke. I'm glad she was okay enough to be taken home right away but that meant that Opal had been in the infirmary with me. That dream...it didn't feel like a dream but it had to have been.

"You can thank him for me then, I guess." I mumbled looking around.

Avery-Alice ran her fingers over her cane while the boys, now clean, stirred behind her.

"Oh," She turned and grabbed them both by their shoulders, one barely dodging her cane. 

"These are my baby brothers, Alan and Alec." She spoke with a gentle smile. The boys did little to return her friendliness as they twisted and clawed at her hands.

Alan, Alec and Avery-Alice. 

 Roll call in this family is a tongue twister. I've always wondered why Avery-Alice was...well, Avery-Alice and not Avery or Alice. 

I introduced myself and the twins ran off again. The boys weren't blind, but they still tapped on passing objects every step they took. It was kind of endearing knowing they must have picked that up from their big sister. Though Opal and Cricket were still mysteries, I felt lighter knowing that Avery-Alice was perfectly fine. All well in her cluttered palace of darkness and haze.