THE LANDLADY by Jay Jay.

Three Little Pigs.

Megan stayed home for a change, only the third night she had actually spent at the house since she had moved in. The being in her room was delighted. It had had so few visitors, in all these years. It's room was always the last to be picked, if one discounted the little room that was never ever picked at all. It was puzzled why no-one wanted to come play. It loved to play. Like a cat. A cat with a darling little mouse to play with. What fun!

The one called Megan had an interesting mind. There was so much material to use here. It looked into Megan's mind and played around with some ideas she was dreaming about. 

There was a pig. A cute little pink pig called Petunia. It sniggered. Megan had not met Portia and Uncle Boris. Lets add those two. 

Now there were three little pigs. Dancing innocently around and around inside Megan's head. Just like the old Disney cartoon that Megan had watched when she was a kid.

Megan was laughing at the pigs naughty backsides. Their bare cute little bums. How delightful!

Along came the Big Bad Wolf.

A nasty, but slightly goofy looking thing.

It decided to beef up the goofy bad wolf a notch or two.

The wolf grew in stature. Now the wolf was a slavering, rabid-looking animal with mean eyes and sharp teeth and forceful purpose. 

It was now the big bad wolf, and the big bad wolf was It. 

The big bad wolf huffed and it puffed. It caught each little pig in turn, bit on the end of each twirly tail, and it blew the three little pigs up, into great big balloon pigs.

In her sleep, Megan screamed softly and twitched, but she couldn't escape the nightmare. She was not able to wake up.

The three little pigs turned from cute into horrendous creatures, with small red eyes, bristly skin, long white fangs. Sharp hooves stamped. the pigs squealed and shrieked. In the background, the pleasant meadows and safe farm fences turned into a dark, thorny forest. Megan found herself on a narrow track that went through the trees. The track was muddy and slippy and Megan could not keep her footing. The dreaming Megan tried to run but the pigs were faster. They caught her easily. 

Megan thrashed in her sleep, sheets and blankets flying in all directions, but she could not wake up and she could not get away. The pigs were slashing her, pulling her in opposite directions, eating her alive, and she could not escape.

Pain! Megan was feeling the pain of being ripped apart. She woke, finally, rolled up in a heap on the bed, clutching her stomach and groaning. 

She lay there for an age, the shreds of the nightmare still large in her mind.

She trembled violently. 

She cursed softly to herself. That damn pig! If she ever went to Mrs Jones' dining room again, she'd snatch that pig and take a hammer to it! 

How long had she hid, in the dark, when she was a kid?

Long enough for one of her useless parents to notice. Long enough for one of them to call the cops and get them to look for her?

Or did her brother call them, because father was beating the crap out of mother and he wanted it to stop? 

And she was just an after-thought. Oh, by the way, where's my sister got to? I think she ran to the neighbours.

She remembered sitting in the dark. Forever.

Until that damn dog found her. Sniffing and snuffling at the door. 

Little pig, little pig, let me come in!

No! No! No! Don't find me! Don't take me back to that mad house!

But the dog scratched down the door, and shoved his cold wet nose in her face, and the man in the blue uniform had picked her up and taken her home.

But she hadn't felt safe once she was there. Father was gone, but when everyone left, mother had gone into one of her frenzies. Megan had locked her bedroom door, and listened fearfully as her mother trashed the house and muttered none-sense phrases to herself all night.

Megan was late for school next day, but no-one noticed. She was tired and disheavelled and in a bad mood. She was left alone by everyone, except Sissy. 

Sissy understood. 

Sissy never asked what was going on.

Megan never pried either.

It was enough that they had each other.

Megan smiled, despite herself.

Sissy was here. In the same house. 

It made things feel safer.

The severe cramping, as that is what she decided it was, subsided. She got up, paced her room, found some medicine and swallowed the pills whole.

She thought about waking Sissy up, to tell her about the dream.

It didn't want her to go. Oh, no, stay here, relax. Just a dream, it will keep. Get some sleep, you are so tired, my dear. 

She felt tired. So sleepy. Heavy. 

The big bad wolf was using another old spell to make her go back to sleep. He led her deeper, well beyond dreaming, this time. It didn't do to over stimulate the prey. It did not want Megan to vacate the room in fright. She would blame indigestion, and the events of the day, for the squeamish dream. Not the room. 

The big bad wolf sighed, satisfied with it's snack. But what it really needed was a good, solid meal.

Patience. Patience.

Good times were coming soon.