Pork Page 6

  “Yeah, it’s me, Tommy,” Sandy replied.

  “Aaaw! Isn’t that cute? Stevie’s walking Sandy home,” he said to Butch and Sandy turned away, her head held high. “Whose home? Yours or his?” Tommy slapped Butch’s knee. Steven balled up his fists and gritted his teeth. Butch sneered rudely, enjoying the show.

  “I’m going back to my house.”

  “I’d say. Where did you two go, anyway?” he asked.

  Steven gripped Sandy’s hand in panic and almost stopped walking.

  “Don’t you concern yourself with that,” she said, much to Steven’s relief. Thank God she didn’t blurt out anything about the tree house, he thought. “You two have a lovely afternoon. See you at school tomorrow,” she said and waved. Tommy wasn’t happy with Sandy’s disguised courtesy and kept watching them.

  “What do you think is going on with those two?” Butch asked, shifting the toothpick from one corner of his mouth to the other. His eyes were narrow and calculating as he watched Steven and Sandy disappear around the bend.

  “I don’t know. Maybe they’re a couple now. Wasn’t she the one who tore him away that day when he beat the shit out of you?” Tommy grinned.

  “You bastard!” Butch threw a peanut at him and Tommy dodged it with a chuckle. Butch’s eyes returned to the street and he leaned forward in his wicker chair, the toothpick dancing between his lips. “Those two are hiding something, Tommy. I know it. I see him walking up and down the dirt road almost every day. I wonder where he goes and what he does there.”

  “What do you reckon?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

  “Why do you want to know?” Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow. Butch didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on the trail the pair had taken. “Oh, come on, Butch. You’re not still sore about the scuffle in the hallway, are you? You taunted him, he beat you, end of story.”

  Butch gave Tommy a sharp look and his lips thinned. “The sonofabitch needs to be taught a lesson, Tommy. He can’t just humiliate me like that in front of the other kids and expect no repercussions. He’ll pay. I’ll make him pay,” he said, a streak of malice flashing in his vengeful eyes.

  Sandy lived in a pale green townhouse at the far end of the street. According to Sandy, her dad bought the house from an accountant who had since moved to Finland with his family. It had ten bedrooms, six bathrooms, and looked magnificent from the outside. Steven paused at the gate and tried to imagine how it’d look inside.

  “Would you like to come in?”

  “Nah, I better get going.”

  “Will you come to my house tomorrow?”

  “I’ll think about it and let you know, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you at school.”

  Without warning, Sandy tipped on her toes and kissed Steven on his cheek. Then she ran inside the gate, leaving him a little confused.

  Chapter 7

  “Hi, Stevie,” Sandy said the next morning. She had walked to the back of the class to talk to him, and a few other kids watched them in fascination. “Will you come to my house after school today?”

  Steven swallowed hard and looked nervously at the pairs of eyes watching them.

  “I don’t think I can, Sandy,” Steven whispered. Sandy’s face fell. “I need to find out what happened to Pork. I think it’s best if I wait at the tree house, you know? She might turn up today.” Sandy stared at the math book on Stevie’s desk for a long time. “I’m sorry,” he continued, “but I promise I’ll come to your house after I find out what happened to Pork, okay? I just need to make sure she’s safe.”

  Sandy nodded thoughtfully. “Would you like me to go with you to look for her in the woods?”

  That was probably a good idea. If only he weren’t deathly terrified of the woods and its occupants.

  “Sure. I’ll see if she shows up today. If she doesn’t, we can go look for her tomorrow.”

  Sandy beamed and extended a hand to him. “Deal,” she said, and he took her hand with a smile. After taking two steps, she turned around and said, “Oh, and Stevie, I’ll be spending my break with Molly and the other girls today. I’ll join you tomorrow, okay?”

  “No problem,” Steven said, and Sandy glided back to her seat, all eyes on her.

  ***

  Later, at the tree house, Steven retrieved Mildred from her nest by the window and inspected her wings. They were no different from when Pork first found her. It would probably take months for the feathers to grow back fully. He took out the container from his backpack, tore off a piece of bread, and tossed it to the hungry bird.

  “It’s not enough, is it?” he asked when the bird finished the bread and resumed chirping. “I know you want meat,” he said and sighed. He looked out the window, hoping to see Pork standing by the creek. But she wasn’t there. “Alright, fine. I’ll go get you something. You stay here,” he said to the bird, and Mildred chirped in acknowledgment.

  Down by the creek, a worm sprung out of the mud almost immediately after Steven dug in. He grimaced and looked for a wide leaf to deposit the critter in. Having found one, he contemplated how to transfer the worm without touching or killing it.

  “Maybe I can use a twig to roll it onto the leaf.”

  It was a futile exercise; half the worm was still buried in the ground and no amount of prodding could free it. Finally, Steven took a deep breath and pulled it out with his bare fingers, his face contorted in disgust. When the freed worm curled around his finger, he let out a scream so loud that a flock of geese took off from a nearby field, flapping their wings and squawking.

  An hour later, Steven had fed Mildred and finished his own lunch. But Pork was still missing. He walked to the window, sat on the ledge, and looked out at the clearing. His mind kept screaming she was dead. She had to be. She wouldn’t have abandoned him or Mildred like this without warning. Something or someone in the woods had caught her.

  Tears formed in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He’d never see Pork again. Wiping tears from his cheeks, he finally got off the ledge, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and rushed down the ladder. He’d go look for Pork in the woods today. It didn’t matter if he found her dead in there, or if his momma’s spies captured him. He was not going to give up on Pork.

  When he reached the bottom of the tree, he crossed the clearing slowly, keeping an eye on the woods. Right at the edge of the creek, he stopped and looked around. The trees swayed in the wind as they always did. Steven shuddered. He wouldn’t be able to enter the woods without crossing the creek. He took a deep breath and slid himself down the bank, careful not to slip on the rocks. He chose the shallowest section of the creek and crossed it in two big leaps. His shoes got a little wet, but he wasn’t too concerned. What bothered him was his proximity to the woods. If his momma’s spy reached a hand out from behind the tree in front of him, he could easily grab Steven by the front of his shirt, and that would be the end of him.

  He stood watching the tree line and the darkness beyond for a few minutes. All this chivalry had made his throat dry. He pulled out his water bottle from the side pocket of his backpack and as he took a huge gulp, he noticed a pair of red dots in the woods. Steven’s heartbeat sped up and his armpits grew sticky and wet. His forehead leaked sweat and he wiped it with a shoulder, sliding the water bottle back into his backpack.

  He didn’t take his eyes off the two ominous dots. But when the bright red dots blinked in the dark, Steven screamed, turned around, and ran. He stopped screaming when he had crossed the broken bridge, but he didn’t stop running until he was at Sandy’s front door. Sweat coated every inch of his skin when he pressed the doorbell, panting and holding his knees. A minute later, a slim young woman opened the door. She had a big smile and red lips, and wore a black uniform. Her skin looked flawless under an inch of makeup. It had to be Nanny Gwen.

  “Hello. Can I help you?” she asked Steven kindly.

  “Hi, my name is Steven. I’m Sandy’s friend. May I see her, please?�
�� he asked, still gasping for air.

  “Of course. Why don’t you come inside while I get her?” Another pretty smile before she turned around.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” he said and stepped inside a vast hall decorated in Victorian style. The air inside was cool and smelled like lavender. Pictures of Sandy, her parents, and grandparents lined the wall in thick, rich frames. A minute later, she came running down the winding stairs, her hand sliding along the wooden banister, and he was relieved.

  “Steven? What happened? I thought you were going to wait for Pork at the tree house.”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “Did she come?”

  “No. I decided to go look for her in the woods, but then I freaked out.”

  “Oh.” Sandy watched him wringing his hands as Nanny Gwen reappeared with a jug of lemonade and two glasses on an expensive silver tray.

  “Here, why don’t you two have something cool to drink?” She left the tray on a massive table in the middle of the room.

  “Thanks, Nanny Gwen,” Sandy said. Nanny Gwen offered another sweet smile and left.

  “Come, let’s sit down.” She held Steven’s hand and led him to the sofa. “Drink this.” She handed him a glass before allowing herself to be swallowed by an oversized couch. “Tell me what happened.”

  “Nothing. I just freaked out after crossing the creek. So I ran straight here.”

  “Why? I mean, did you see her in the woods?”

  Steven hadn’t quite made sense of what he had seen in the woods. Was it a ghost? Had his eyes played a trick on him? Was it one of his momma’s spies? Either way, he wasn’t prepared to share it with Sandy.

  “No, I didn’t see her or anything else. I guess I just got scared. It was so dark in there.”

  Sandy sipped her lemonade. “Do you want me to go with you tomorrow?”

  Steven wasn’t sure if he could ever go into the woods again, but he didn’t want to look wimpy in front of Sandy, either. “Sure.”

  “Good. Would you like to use the bathroom to get cleaned up? There’s one over there,” Sandy said, pointing toward the end of the hallway to the left. “I think your shoes are wet.” Steven glanced at his shoes, looked up at her again, and nodded. “Okay. Why don’t you go ahead, and I’ll bring you a pair of slippers and a plastic bag to put your shoes in.”

  Three minutes later, Sandy returned as promised, and Steven put his damp shoes and socks in the plastic bag before stuffing it in his backpack. He slipped into the pair of white furry slippers she handed him. They felt exquisitely soft on his feet. Sandy and Steven both smiled.

  “Let’s go upstairs and play on my PS4,” Sandy said. “It’ll take your mind off things.”

  Sandy held his hand and ran up the stairs, towing Steven behind her. Once at the top, she opened a door to their right and a magnificent suite opened up before them. The bedroom was more like a hotel suite, decorated all in pink. In the center of the room was a plush four-poster bed with silk sheets and a frilled throw. A bookcase and an oak desk with a computer on it stood in one corner. To their right, an archway led to a spacious TV room.

  “Wow!” Steven said, looking around. “Is this your bedroom?”

  “Yeah,” Sandy said.

  “You even have a computer?”

  “Yeah, but I hardly use it.”

  “Is this where you play your games?” Steven asked, touching the mouse pad on the desk.

  “No, silly.” Sandy giggled. “I play in the TV room. The sound is better there. Come on, let me show you.” Sandy tugged his hand into the TV room and deposited him on a soft Turkish rug that was about three inches thick. The room held a home theatre system and a minibar, but instead of alcohol, it was stocked with juice, milk, and other goodies like chocolates, fruit, and candies. A thousand times better than the TV room at Aunt Therese’s house. The room was dark, but there were matching couches, beanbags, and coffee tables all around. Steven couldn’t be sure, but he thought he saw what looked like a karaoke set in a corner. After turning on what she called a “smart TV,” Sandy plopped down on the rug and handed him one of the controllers.

  “I’ve never played one of these before.”

  “It’s all right. I’m sure you’ll learn pretty fast.” Sandy scrolled through the menu and settled on a game called Infamous: Second Son. When the music came through the surround sound speakers, Steven was beyond impressed. “In this game, you’re Delsin Rowe and your job is to protect your tribe from the Department of Unified Protection, led by a bad woman called Augustine,” Sandy explained as Steven stared at the huge screen.

  Steven struggled with the controller at first; he kept pressing the wrong buttons. But as soon as he got the hang of it, he completed the first mission quite easily, and enjoyed it too. But when he moved on to the second mission, he realized it was more than just a game. As a man with superpowers, he had to save lives and make important decisions, especially when facing the evil Augustine. Suddenly, things were a lot more complicated, and his character died all the time. But he kept trying and managed to progress.

  “Choose the Good Karma,” Sandy whispered next to him. Exactly why she whispered, Steven had no idea, but he did decide on the Good Karma as she suggested. He made more decisions, using more of his superpowers throughout the game. At about the time Steven completed the third mission, Sandy clapped her hands excitedly. “You’re good at this,” Sandy said.

  Steven grinned until a sudden weight dropped in the pit of his stomach. “Wait, what time is it?”

  “It’s six-thirty.”

  “Oh, shit! I haven’t finished my homework. I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for everything,” he said in a single breath as he picked up his bag, ran down the stairs, and out through the door with Sandy trailing behind him. “Bye, Sandy!” he said from outside the gate, having completely forgotten that he was still wearing her furry slippers.

  When Steven finally reached home, he cleaned the house, did the laundry, and washed the dishes before taking a shower. His momma had gone to work, so he dragged his backpack to the hall and did his homework on the floor. At ten-thirty, he had finally finished everything. He packed his backpack, made supper, and ate it in silence in the kitchen. He went to bed at eleven. If there was a bedtime he was supposed to adhere to, he didn’t know it.

  ***

  The next day, Sandy joined him during lunch as she’d promised she would. She had two chicken pies in her lunchbox instead of one.

  “This one is for you for playing with me yesterday.” She handed it to him.

  Steven stared at it for a minute before taking it. “Thanks, but you really didn’t have to.”

  “It’s okay. We have all kinds of food at home and sometimes it just goes to waste because there’s no one there to eat except me, Nanny Gwen, and the others dad hired to take care of the house.”

  “Don’t your parents have dinner at home?”

  “No, they travel a lot for work. They’re hardly home. So it’s usually just me and Nanny Gwen.” Sandy shrugged.

  Steven bit into the chicken pie. It tasted like heaven. Not even Aunt Therese’s fried chicken tasted so good. He finished it in a few minutes while Sandy took her time.

  “So, did you enjoy the game yesterday?” she asked.

  “Yeah, it was awesome.”

  “In that case, I’d like to invite you to come over again sometime. Maybe you can come to my house instead of going to that tree house after school.”

  Steven pondered Sandy’s proposal. It was impossible for him to abandon the tree house. It was his home, the place where he felt most comfortable. Although he would never spend the night there and the woods were kind of creepy, it was the perfect place for him to spend his afternoons.

  “Do you want to go look for her today?” Sandy asked when he didn’t say anything.

  “I don’t know,” Steven said. “I mean, it’s really creepy.”

  “Well, how else are you going to find her? You do want to find her, don’t you?”


  Steven nodded. “Would you come with me?”

  “Yes. We made a deal, remember? I’ll just let Nanny Gwen know I’ll be late.” With that, Sandy whipped out her cell phone and speed-dialed Gwen.

  ***

  A few hours later, Steven and Sandy were standing in front of the creek. They had fed Mildred themselves while waiting for Pork. When the little girl failed to turn up again, they agreed it was time to cross over into the woods. The sky was dark and ominous, with thick clouds gathering quickly.

  “Ready?” Sandy asked.

  Steven’s heart hammered in his chest. He turned to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, a solemn look on his face. “Look, if something gets me in there, I want you to run and save yourself. Don’t tell anyone. If you don’t see me at school tomorrow, then you should alert people in town, okay?”

  “Steven, you’re making me scared.”

  “Just do as I say. Promise?”

  Sandy’s own palms started sweating as she tightened her grip around her inhaler. “Promise.”

  “Good. Now let’s go.”

  They lowered themselves into the almost dry creek and Steven crossed it first in two skips. From the other side, he held out a hand for Sandy, and she took it. As soon as she’d hopped over, the two stared into the dark woods. Steven didn’t tell Sandy about the pair of eyes he had seen yesterday. It would have freaked her out too much. But standing there now, watching the trees sway in the wind, he was sure it was safe. Since there were two of them, whatever was in there would think twice before attacking.

  The two held hands and crept into the woods with Steven taking the lead. Dried leaves crunched underfoot with every step and the wind sang a deep, mournful howl. Steven had assumed Pork lived in a shack in the woods. But finding it was not going to be easy—he had no idea how far or how deep the woods stretched. They moved slowly, each looking over their shoulders from time to time. When they were well inside the thicket, Steven saw it—the same pair of red eyes lurking between the trees. He stopped in his tracks, his heart leaping into his throat. Sweat poured over him and he struggled to breathe. When the pair of eyes moved and a massive form appeared behind it, Steven screamed. Sandy, sure the evil he had spoken of had come to kill them, screamed too.