Fools

Three

Ralph woke up to his aunt's dog barking outside his door. He dragged himself off of his mattress and wrapped a smaller blanket around himself. It was neering mid November and Ralph couldn't wait for the snow. The house was now colder in the mornings and evenings. The chill made him smile softly.

As he opened the door, he was knocked over by the large creature. His paws pinned his shoulders down as he licked all over Ralph's face.

"Bruno, stop." Ralph laughed, using his legs to roll himself over. Once his ear was exposed he knew he'd made a bigger mistake. Bruno nibbled and licked over his ear, making Ralph shriek and squirm away.

"Ralph dear, please hurry. The bus will be here in twenty minutes!" His aunt called. Ralph quickly shut his bedroom door to get changed into his uniform.

He clomped down the stairs while pulling on his jacket. He never slept this late, but maybe it was because he spent most of the night and early hours of the morning reading a novel.

"Sorry that I'm up so late," he said while shoving half a piece of toast in his mouth. He chewed it quickly and swallowed it while rushing with his nice shoes.

"Don't scuff those up, Ralph," his aunt warned."I haven't got the money to buy you new shoes."

"Yes, Ma'am." Ralph said, grabbing his notebooks. "I'll see you after school!" he calls as he rushes out the door. The bus is already waiting there with the school's name printed in black bold letters. Ralph climbs on and cautiously makes his way to the back seat, resting his head against the cool glass. He was undoubtedly tired and all he wanted to do was climb back into bed and go to sleep. He didn't understand how he could be tired all day but so restless during the night. It made no sense to him.

Ralph's head shot up when he felt someone sit next to him. He looked over to see Jack smiling warmly at him. Ralph smiled back, greeting him with a quiet, "Good morning."

"You look awfully tired," Jack said. Ralph nodded and went back to resting his head on the window. "Did you get any sleep last night?" Jack was genuinely concerned about the smaller boy. Jack gently took Ralph's hand, lacing their fingers together. Ralph shrugged his shoulders. All his energy was used to get dressed and drag himself on the bus. Jack sighed, knowing that Ralph was probably only asleep for an hour before he was woken up.

"I don't want to go to school," Ralph mumbled sleepily. His voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"You can nap at my house after," Jack offered. "Or I'll do the work in psychology today and you can rest?"

Ralph nodded his head and pulled his knees up to his chest, pulling Jack's hand closer to his stomach. Jack smiled at the tired boy, admiring how adorable he looked curled up on the bus seat. Jack unzipped his jacket as quietly as he could and gently took it off, leaving his hand in a sleeve so that he wouldn't wake Ralph. He laid his jacket on Ralph, cooing softly when Ralph snuggled into it.

***

Ralph's heart was pounding in his chest. He was crashing through the bushes as he tried to escape. He could almost feel them grabbing at his legs, the shouts and hoots were all around him. The fire licked at his arms and chest, burning his skin. If he didn't die by the hunters, he would certainly burn to death. At that moment, he thought burning would be better than getting caught in the hands of Jack and his savages.

"I've found him!" He heard Roger, his leg was grabbed and suddenly, he was being dragged out of his hiding place. Above him stood the hunters, with evil in their eyes and crooked smiles on their faces. He couldn't even recognize them anymore. They were painted and cut up. They looked like true monsters.