I'm Human

Cruel World

Two weeks later
        Rowan and Marcy had quickly grown closer to the twins, Elen, Aaron and Jo over the past two weeks. Almost every day, the children would meet up with each other either on the twin’s lawn or at Aaron’s house before deciding what they would do for the day.
        Most of the time, they would find someplace to play either whatever game came to mind, or Rowan’s Pokemon game; be it at the playground, inside one of their houses, or by the inlet’s shore. It usually took them a good ten minutes of walking to get to the inlet.
        Other times, if they couldn’t decide, they would run into some of the other neighborhood kids and hang out with them for the day.
        However, they all still needed to keep an eye out for Mr. P. Aaron would quickly guide Jo back to his house and motion for the others to follow before the hooded kid started to panic. So far, they had all managed to stay away from Mr. P, though Marcy was still left wondering why they would suddenly leave for Aaron’s house.
        She never threw a fit about it; returning to Aaron’s house that is. She enjoyed being over at the older boy’s home, especially if it meant hanging around Grandpa Reece.
        Rowan and Marcy had also grown quite fond of Grandpa Reece, who would occasionally humor them with stories of Aaron when he was younger or entertain them with simple magic tricks. Marcy and Elen seemed to enjoy the tricks more than Rowan or any of the other older kids did.
        Now, both Rowan and Marcy were leaving their house for the day to meet up with their neighboring friends.
        “Can we pick up Jo?” Marcy asked suddenly as she closed their door behind her. “Aaron might appreciate it.”
        Rowan shook his head. He never forgot Aaron’s warning about Jo’s aunt. “Aaron doesn’t want us to have to face Jo’s aunt. If she’s as mean as she sounds, then I don’t want you anywhere near her. Got it, Marc?”
        Marcy pouted and looked down the road. “We don’t have to tell Aaron.”
        “Marcy, I think he wants us to stay away from Jo’s house for a reason. Jo may be our friend, but that doesn’t mean his…her aunt is.” Rowan still hadn’t figured out if Jo was a boy or a girl…He didn’t feel comfortable asking Jo. It just didn’t seem right or polite. He did ask Marcy if she was able to get Jo to speak, but the young girl had simple shook her head. Jo had been silent for her and remained silent over the past two weeks.
        Marcy giggled. “You still don’t know if Jo is a boy or a girl.”
        “Neither do you, Marcy.” Rowan shot back. “We’re going to Aaron’s and Aaron will get Jo. No arguing, alright?”
        Marcy huffed and reluctantly nodded. “Alright, Ro-Ro…Race you to Aaron’s!” The little girl took off running down the sidewalk, leaving Rowan behind.
        The older boy smirked and rolled his eyes. “Better run fast, Marcy! I’m coming!”
        Marcy glanced over her shoulder as Rowan wheeled himself after her. A gleeful cry erupted from her as she tried to quicken her pace. Rowan let himself glide over the sidewalk as his wheelchair gradually lost its speed. There was no way Marcy was going to outrun him in his wheelchair, but that didn’t mean Rowan would allow himself the guaranteed win.
        The little girl sprinted as hastily as she could, all the while laughing giddily as she kept ahead of Rowan. “You’ll never catch me, Ro-Ro! I’m gonna win!”
        “Oh, yeah? We’ll let’s see about that!” Rowan called back with a smirk on his face. He gave his wheels one hard push, but made sure to stay behind his younger sister.
        Marcy giggled and ran across the street to Aaron’s, but slowed to a stop when she saw a tall man walking towards her. She looked up at him and smiled. “Morning!”
        “Good morning. I don’t believe we’ve met before. What is your name?” He asked as he gave Marcy a wide, toothy grin.
        “Sis, don’t!” Rowan barked as he wheeled himself over to Marcy. He mentally slapped himself for not noticing Mr. P walking down the road. He hoisted Marcy up onto his lap and shot a cautious glare at Mr. P.
        “Ro-Ro, what’s the matter?” Marcy asked.
        Rowan shot Marcy a warning glare in hopes that she would remain silent.
        “It’s quite alright, dear boy. I’ll go first. My name is Mr. Herbert Crown.” Mr. P said with a slight bow. He was ignoring Rowan’s death glare. “Now it is your turn. What are your names and where are you headed off to today?”
        “We’re going to get Jo.” Marcy replied without skipping a beat. There were some moments where her ignorance did not help her.
        “Jo? Ah, Jo-Jo! Jo-Jo is a friend of yours as well? Why, I haven’t seen the dear child in ages. Shall we all go and get Jo-Jo together? I’m sure our friend will--”
        “We’re not going to get Jo! Even if we were we can get Jo on our own!” Rowan snapped. His eyes were wide with disbelief and fright. He had received uneasy vibes from the man before, but now that he was much closer and speaking to both Rowan and Marcy, especially alone like this, the boy couldn’t help but shiver with discomfort.
        The way Mr. P seemed to hover over them and stare down at both children with his beady eyes didn’t help either.  Even Marcy was starting to grow anxious as she leaned against Rowan and clung to his shirt. “Are you sure? You may want someone around to convince Jo-Jo’s aunt to let the child come out and play. The woman can be quite unruly most times.”
        “Bye.”
        Mr. P frowned as Rowan rolled both himself and Marcy towards Aaron’s front door. “That isn’t Jo-Jo’s house, you silly boy.”
        Rowan cringed. “Go. Away.”
        “Come little children. We can go and get Jo-Jo together. Come along. Come with me.”
        Marcy clutched Rowan’s shirt into a tighter fist as she tried to make herself smaller in his lap. “Ro-Ro…”
        “Just leave us alone! Can’t you see you’re scaring my little sister?” Rowan growled loudly. If he could get Arcanine’s attention then maybe Grandpa Reece and the others will come to their aid. “Leave!”
        Barking could suddenly be heard coming from the other side of the door. Rowan’s plan was working perfectly. Arcanine sounded like it was about ready to bust down the door and come to their rescue.
        Mr. P tensed up and slowly backed away from the house. “You children may want to be careful. That Pokemon doesn’t sound very friendly.”
        “Arcanine won’t hurt us. Not like you might.” Rowan hissed as he reached for the door.
        The doorknob spun before he could touch it as the door was thrown open. Before Rowan and Marcy stood Grandpa Reece. The old man wore a look of absolute fury as his gaze landed upon Mr. P. “What the Hell are you doing here?! Get lost before I have Arcanine chew your head off!”
        “Now that’s no way to speak to a neighbor. In fact, that is a horrible thing to say. I was only having a nice conversation with these two children.” Mr. P huffed. “You’re lucky I’m not reporting you!”
        “I. Said. Leave!” Grandpa Reece roared. “Arcanine!”
        Mr. P didn’t need to be told again as Arcanine’s large figure appeared in the doorway. The menacing glare in its eyes sent Mr. P sprinting down the road for his house.
        “Are you kids alright?” Grandpa Reece asked in a much calmer and kind tone. “Forgive me for using such vulgar language in front of you, but that man had no right being anywhere near you two. He didn’t scare you too much, did he? Oh, what am I doing? Both of you come inside where it’s safer.”
        Rowan didn’t hesitate to wheel both himself and Marcy inside Grandpa Reece’s house. Relief flooded his being as Grandpa Reece shut the door behind them. However, he still couldn’t get his mind off of Jo. Was the kid still at home or did Aaron pick Jo up earlier? Hopefully it was the latter.
        “Is something the matter, boy? You’re safe now.”
        “Are Jo and the others here yet?” He asked as he let Marcy down. She seemed calmer as well.
        Grandpa Reece grimaced. “Sora, Flynn, Elen and Aaron are here, but Jo is still home. Aaron was about to head over and get the kid. Now, I’m not so sure that is a wise idea…At least for a while. Jo may have to wait.”
        “Mr. P was outside?” Aaron asked from the kitchen doorway. He was leaning against the doorframe, while the twins sat at the kitchen counter. It looked like they had a large picnic basket in front of them.
        Rowan looked past Aaron as he watched the twins place what looked to be a jar of peanut butter into the basket. Elen also came into view carrying a plastic, tupperware bowl. “That’s right. We decided to have a picnic today. Would it be wise to still have it with Mr. P outside?”
        “He’s leaving, but that doesn’t mean you can go out and pick up Jo, especially on your own.” Grandpa Reece growled as he scratched Arcanine behind it’s ears.
        “I know, Grandpa. I wasn’t planning on going on my own. I’ll bring Arcanine with me, and if it makes you feel any better, we’ll bring him with us to the picnic too.”
        Grandpa Reece grimaced. He didn’t like the idea, especially when he had only moments ago screamed at Mr. P to get off of his lawn. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his grey hair. “Call Jo and let the child know that you all will be a while. I know you and your friends may want to leave as soon as you can, but I rather you wait until much later in the day to go.”
        “We’ll be careful, Grandpa.” Aaron said as he turned to Rowan and Marcy. “You guys want to go help everyone pack for the picnic?”
        “YEAH!” Marcy chirped as she ran off to the kitchen. “Pack cookies and chips!”
        Rowan looked at Aaron with a humored smirk. “She’ll be asking to pack brownies and cake next.”