Chapter Five of Many

Chapter Five

“Waaaaallace!”

Meg’s shrill voice shrieking from outside my bedroom door dragged me out of my dream and I sat bolt upright. My hands flew to my face, and then down to my shoulders and chest, checking to see if I had been smooshed by my tumble off the whale.

“Wallace, Dyn got out last night and I can’t find him,” Meg wailed from outside. “Mama and Papa are still in their room and said for me to get you.”

“Alright, alright,” I grumbled. “Just stop screaming, would you?”

I yanked the blankets off of me and swung my feet down onto the cold wooden floor. I stared at them, hardly able to believe my eyes. They were grimy, covered in a fine layer of grey dust.

So, it wasn’t a dream!

I quickly changed out of my pajamas, my movements charged and electric. I was nearly trembling, the thought of walking on the moon still fresh in my mind. The moon, Crystal Valley, the whale, it had all actually happened.

Thunder Gate.

I shuddered as I pulled a long-sleeved shirt on over my sleeveless. Nos hadn’t said anything more about it when he had told me what was happening. All that it was, was left to my imagination. Was it a gate between this world and that one? Or one just for the whales? Why was it so loud? Why was it so white, when everything else around it was black as night?

“Wallace, come on,” Meg whimpered. “Hurry up!”

I finished tying my shoes and stormed over to the door, yanking it open. “I’m coming!” I shouted the moment it was open. “I needed to get dressed.”

My sister cowered outside my room, her eyes wide. “I’ll tell Mama that you yelled at me.”

“I don’t care,” I muttered, hurrying past her and heading for the stairs.

“You were supposed to be up an hour ago,” Meg chimed from behind me as I slid down the railing. “And Mama doesn’t like it when you do that.”

I landed with a thump at the bottom of the stairs and headed off towards Dyn’s room. More than likely, Meg had left the door wide open again and he had slipped out. The last few times I had found him right inside the house somewhere, rummaging through one of the many empty and dusty rooms lining the barren halls. I had found him in the basement once, his muzzle smeared with purple plum jam. He had only managed to get out of the house one time, and I had been fortunate enough to catch him immediately, right in the middle of the yard.

My suspicions were confirmed when I reached his room and found the door wide open. I pushed aside my frustration with my sister and headed for the basement, whistling for my dog.

Of course, if Meg truly cared for Dyn even half as much as she pretended to, she would have helped me look for him, instead of whining about how he had gone missing, and then vanishing the moment I started the search.

But it was just me, Meg long gone by the time I reached the door that led down into the musty old basement.

I stopped and stared at it. It was closed, and latched, not so loose that a piece of dust could have crept through. I just stared for a moment, unsure of what to do next. He couldn’t have gotten out, could he?

I turned and bolted to the giant parlor, where the stairs went up to the rooms. Meg was standing at the bottom of the railing, already sniffling and wringing her hands.

“Meg, what happened?” I demanded, looming over my little sister.

Meg let out a choked sob. “I tried to take him out to go potty this morning, that’s all! H-he just ran off! I was afraid to tell you, I didn’t want you to be mad.”

“Meg, you have to use a leash! Wake up Mama and Papa,” I called over my shoulder as I ran toward the front doors.

I blasted outside, the smell of rain filling my nose, the air hot and charged like damp battery. Dark clouds swirled overhead, threatening to unleash blades of lightning at any moment. Thoughts of what could have happened tore through my mind like a fanged tornado, pictures of deep ponds and muddy riverbanks flashing in front of my eyes.

I raced down the driveway, calling out Dyn’s name every few steps. A bead of sweat grew on my brow, the last heat of September making its final stand. I looked every direction as fast as I could, hoping to catch a glimpse of his tail, bobbing above a bush or out from behind a tree, but I didn’t see it. All I could see were dark clouds, casting a slate-like light over the yard.

I stumbled to a stop in the road. A pickup was coming up our driveway. It was old, like our house, and a bunch of tanks and hoses stuck off the back of it.

I stood panting, waiting. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and swallowed. Maybe they had found him and were bringing him back.

The old truck chugged to a stop a few feet away, a cloud of rich blue smoke drifting over me. It smelled like a sick lawnmower. The engine stopped, and the door popped open. A tall man stepped out, a mess of sandy blonde hair piled on the top of his head over a pair of glass-like blue eyes. His face was red and burned from the sun, little white lines near his eyes where he had them squinted in the light of the morning. His jeans were stained and had holes in them, but his long-sleeve was surprisingly clean.

He crammed his sunburned hands into his pockets and spat out a sunflower seed. “You folks own a big dog?”

I let out a breath of relief. “Y-yes! Did you find him?”

The man nodded and ran a hand through his bleached hair. “You could say that,” he muttered, spitting out another seed and sighing loudly. “Listen kid, are your parents around?”

I nodded and pointed to the house behind me, trying to see around the man into the pickup.

The farmer looked down at me, his face creased sadly. “He ain’t in there, bud. He’s in the back.”

I looked at him quickly. “He rides inside the car with us, because papa doesn’t want him to jump out.”

The man cleared his throat awkwardly. “Right. Well, I don’t think he’s gonna be jumpin’ around just now.” He sighed again. “Why don’t we head on up to the house, alright? I should have a talk with your folks.”

I ignored him and tried to walk around to the back of the truck, my heart once again speeding inside me.

The man grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Whoa, whoa, that’s not a good idea, bud,” he said gently.

I looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “Why not?

He crouched down and looked at me squarely. “Well, we had an accident a few fields over,” he said slowly, staring at me intently. His eyes flicked back and forth between my own, as though he were watching for something. “One of my boys didn’t see him in time.”

An ice cube dropped into my stomach. “Y-you killed him?”

The man blinked. “It was an accident, but...yeah, sorta. I’m real sorry, kiddo. We just couldn’t stop in time is all.”

I stood in the road, staring at the pickup, the pickup that I knew Dyn was riding in. The man said something to me, but I didn’t hear him. Not really. Everything sounded muffled and distant. I didn’t even notice when the man picked me up and set me on the seat of the truck. We drove the rest of the way to the house, and he got out again.

Tears stung my eyes as he opened my door to let me out. I leaped past him and dashed toward the house, my head down.

“Hey, I’m really sorry, bud!” the man called after me.

He sounded like he really was.

I ran through the door, past my mother, who stared at me with puffy red eyes. She had been crying again, I thought, as I dashed up the stairs.

And now she was going to cry even more.

I ran into my room and slammed the door, throwing myself onto my bed. I wanted to cry, to feel sorry for myself and for Dyn, but I couldn’t. I was too angry.

Angry at Meg. She had stolen my dog the moment we had brought him to the house, following him around and whining at my heels every second I was with him too, and now…

Now she had killed him. It was her fault that he had gotten out every other time, and it was her fault this time too.

I picked my head up from my pillow, voices seeping in through my cracked window. Jumping to me feet, I hurried over and slid it the rest of the way open, climbing out onto the roof. I walked carefully to the side, around the first corner of the house and sat down on the bit of roof that was just over the front door.

“Thank you so much for telling us,” Mama said from somewhere under me. “Wallace will be devastated, but it will pass.”

“I feel terrible,” the man said. “He was such a pretty dog, and your boy clearly loved him to death. Is there anything I can do?”

“They were close, yes. If you don’t mind dropping him off in the back, I’m sure that Wallace will want to bury him.”

“Not a problem. And I’m very sorry for your loss, as well,” the man added.

“Thank you,” mama replied, her voice trembling a bit. “Is there anything I can get you? It looks like it’s going to rain, would you like to come in, or…?”

“Nah, thank you for the offer, though. I should be going. Sorry again, though.”

“These things happen,” mama sighed, her voice heavy. “There are much worse things in life.”

The engine rumbled to life again. After a brief pause, the old truck rumbled off down the drive, and eventually out of sight.