3
We ran almost non-stop until we reached the salesman. When we got to him, we stopped and gasped for air.
"What happened?" asked the salesman. "Was the Wolf after you?"
We nodded since we could not yet speak. The salesman looked into the woods to make sure the Wolf was nowhere nearby. "Where's the fat one?" he asked.
When no one replied, he could figure out the answer.
Finally gaining stability, I stood up straight and walked over to the salesman. "How could you let us in those woods? Do you know how big that beast is? Our friend is dead now."
"It is not my job to keep you from going into the woods," he said. "I warned you about the Wolf. The whole village has warned you. Now you know how dangerous the Wolf can be."
"What are we going to do now?" asked Timmy. "We can't go back there."
"I'm with Timmy," I said.
"We can't just leave!" shouted Arnie. "We have to find the Medicine Pig. We can't just go home. What would we tell Mother? If we go back, we are going to just look like cowards and Mother will die thinking that we were too chicken to face the Wolf."
"That's because we are too chicken," I said. "I'm not going back into those woods. It's suicide. One pig has died right in front of our eyes and you still think we have a chance? You saw how easily the Wolf killed Frank. It will be exactly the same for us. There is a reason why every pig who goes into those woods die."
"So you're just going to give up?" said Arnie. "If we find the Medicine Pig, we can get everything we need and never have to come here again. Perhaps we can persuade the Medicine Pig to come to the village with us."
"Forget it!" I shouted. "The Medicine Pig is probably dead just like Frank. Nothing can escape the Wolf. We all have seen just how powerful he can be. We are nothing but three little pigs who can't do anything except run. I want to save Mother as much as you do, but there's nothing we can do."
"Listen to Charlie," said Timmy. "We can't go back. You will die, I will die, and Charlie will die. The Wolf will kill us all."
Arnie looked at the ground. He did not want to leave. He wanted to find the Medicine Pig. "Okay," he said. "I give up. If you want to go back home, then I'll go."
Finally Arnie was talking sense. We could not even last an hour without someone getting killed. We could not risk it.
"Now that we've come to an agreement," I said, "we can go home and stay with our mother. I think it's important that we spend time with her since we are unable to cure her."
I began walking toward the village. We would go home, explain to Mother why he had to come back, and stay with her as we could to show her that we cared. I wished we did not have to go back home, but it was impossible to make it all the way to the Medicine Pig and back. Instead of getting us all killed, it was better to stay at home and be with the one we loved.
But that plan fell apart. "Arnie!" I heard Timmy yell behind me. I spun around to see Arnie had fled into the woods. He was running extremely fast with no intent of returning.
"Arnie!" I shouted. "Where are you going?"
"To the Medicine Pig!" he replied and continued running.
What were we going to do now? Arnie ran off into the dangerous woods with the evil Wolf. If we tried to retrieve him, we could be killed. Why did Arnie have to do this?
"Should we go after him?" Timmy asked.
"No," I said. "We'll find him later. I don't think we'll catch up right now. It looks like this will be a very long day. We might have to build a safe house after all."
"Are we trying to get to the Medicine Pig too?"
"I don't know. We'll just have to see what happens. But for now, I think we should get all the supplies we are going to need."
"Yeah," said Timmy. "We can get the straw we need so that we don't have to come back until we get Arnie."
"We are not getting straw!" I shouted. "We are getting bricks. Bricks are much stronger than straw and can withstand a lot more damage."
Timmy rose up on his hind legs. "No, forget it. I'm not listening to you anymore. You are the one who invited Frank and now he's dead! I will do fine without your brick house. You will probably be the next one to die. I'm fast and you're slow just like Frank was. I can escape from the wolf. If my house gets penetrated, I can still run away. If your house gets penetrated, you wouldn't have a chance."
"Penetrated? That's a pretty big word for you." I rose up on my hind legs to match his height.
"You're not all that smart," Timmy said. "You just read a bunch of stupid books to fill your head with useless information."
"Information?" I mocked. "That's another big word for you, Timmy. Are you trying to sound smarter than you are?"
"That's it!" Timmy screamed. He drew back his arm and threw a quick punch. I moved to the right, barely missing it.
"You missed," I said. A second later, his other arm rose up and contacted me in the snout. I fell backwards and landed hard. But the pain disappeared once I blacked out.
When I woke up, the salesman was standing over me. He held out his arm to help me. I grabbed it and he helped me to my feet.
"That was a pretty hard hit you took," said salesman. "Does your brother always beat you in fights?"
"No," I said. "We don't usually fight. He's just jealous that I'm smart and he's not. I don't know what's wrong with him." I looked around for Timmy. I didn't see him.
"He's not here," said the salesman. "He left over an hour ago. He took a wagon full of straw and a wagon full of sticks."
"You mean he's out there right now without any protection but some straw and some sticks?"
"Yes," he said. "I don't think he's coming back for you either. You made him awfully mad. It's not a good thing that you three are split up. That makes it harder for each of you. When you are united, you are stronger. If you split up, It will be one versus one instead of three versus one. And the Wolf is far too enormous."
"You're right," I said. "I have to get us back together. The only problem is that I have to find them by myself. I might get killed before I even get to them."
"You'll be fine," said the salesman.
"You think so?" I asked.
"Not really," he said. "You will probably die like everyone else. But maybe you'll get lucky."
"Thanks," I said. "I'm really confident now. Just give me the bricks need and I'll be on my way."
"Okay." The salesman stocked a wagon full of bricks and I paid the money. I grabbed my ax and the wagon and began my walk back into the woods.
All I could think about was how the wolf so easily mutilated my friend Frank. One minute he was a talking, walking, and breathing pig like me. The next minute he was being ripped apart and eaten. The image of the Wolf chewing on the remains of my dead friend would not leave me. This was no ordinary animal we were dealing with. This was some kind of evil beast from Hell. Could three little, weak pigs really destroy something like this? We weren't strong, tough lions or large menacing elephants. We weren't nearly as clever and sly like the fox or the human. We were just pigs. There were three of us, but does that make any difference? There were four of us before Frank got killed. What happened? Frank died from the Wolf's rage and we didn't put a scratch on him. If we were going to defeat the wolf we would need a strategy and a lot of teamwork. We would not be able to survive as just three running, frightened pigs.
I walked for about twenty minutes, not seeing Timmy or Arnie. "Timmy!" I called. "Arnie! Where are you?" There was no answer.
Being in the woods by myself was horrible. I could not help but to think the Wolf was going to pounce on me from behind the bushes and kill me like he did Frank. I had to find my brothers before nightfall. I could not last by myself.
Tap, tap, tap. Something was moving behind me. I spun around, my heart rate climbing instantly. I did not see anything. Tap, tap, tap. The sound was behind me again. I spun around to my original direction and looked out. Once again, I saw nothing except trees and bushes. What was making that noise?
I grabbed my ax and held it with both hands. I stood completely still, looking for the slightest movement. A minute passed and I still saw nothing. I decided to move on but remain extremely alert.
"Hey," I heard someone whisper. I franticly searched for where the voice was coming from.
"Hey," the voice repeated. "Over here."
The voice was coming from below me. I looked down to see a squirrel looking up at me.
"Was that you talking?" I asked the squirrel. "You scared me out of my skin. I thought you were the Wolf.
"Do I look like the Wolf to you?" the squirrel said. "You're the first one to mistake me for that huge creature. No, I'm just a squirrel named Sam. What is your name?"
"I'm Charlie," I answered.
"I think I can help you," said Sam. "You're here to find the Medicine Pig, right?"
"Yes," I said. "Do you know something about him?"
"I sure do," Sam said. "I know exactly where he is. I can take you to him if you like."
"So the Medicine Pig is real? He exists and is still alive?"
"He's as real and alive as you and me," said Sam. "I'm actually a good friend of the Medicine Pig. I will take you to him soon, but I have to ask you something. Are you with anyone?"
"My brothers are out here somewhere," I said. "I don't know where, though. I've been searching for them for the past half-hour."
"I think I know where one of them is," said Sam. "I saw him building a house made out of straw."
"That's Timmy!" I exclaimed. "You found him?"
"Yes. He looked very scared. That's very common among the pigs that come through here. Sadly, none of the pigs have ever escaped. I've seen over ten pigs get slaughtered right in front of my eyes. I'm here to prevent this from happening to you and your brothers. I tried helping one other pig before you, but he still got killed. Hopefully, that won't happen this time."
"Well, thank you," I said. "We'll need all the help we can get."
"Your brother is not too bright, is he?" asked Sam. "Why would he build a house out of straw? Doesn't he know the Wolf will knock it down like it's just a toy? That's no protection from that beast."
"He's a stubborn idiot," I said. "I told him that he should build the house with bricks but he didn't listen."
"We have to get to him before the Wolf finds him," said Sam. "What happened to your other brother?"
"I don't know where he is," I admitted.
"We'll have to find him later," said Sam. "First we'll get your brother Timmy, and go from there."
"Hey, how are you able to escape the wolf?" I asked. "Why haven't you been eaten?"
"He doesn't eat small animals like us squirrels," answered Sam. "He wants big and juicy animals."
"Like pigs?"
"Exactly," he said. "Every time a pig comes through here on a search for the Medicine Pig, he attacks and kills the pig. Sometimes he takes the pig back to his house before eating it."
"His house?" I said. "The Wolf has his own house? I thought he was just some wild beast."
"He is a wild beast!" said Sam. "He is a wild beast that sleeps at his house whenever he's not hunting pigs or other big animals."
"Maybe we can find the Medicine Pig when the Wolf is sleep," I said. "He won't know what is going on. He will be too busy dreaming about the animals he will chase when he wakes up. He can't kill us while he is sleeping."
"It won't work, Charlie," said Sam. "The Wolf has an outstanding sense of smell. He will detect you if you are anywhere near his house. Also, we have no way of knowing if he is asleep or not. He may be doing something else. I've seen him go into his house with a pig and come out five minutes later."
I wondered what was in the Wolf's house. What could he be keeping in there? Was his house a normal one with furniture, a fireplace, bedrooms, and a kitchen? Or was his house a giant slaughterhouse filled with all the leftovers of his prey? Would he torture some of his victims before eating them? Did the Wolf have a family? Was there more than one Wolf? Would we have to face multiple wolves? I tried to shake some of these questions out of my head to come back to my senses.
"Have you been inside the Wolf's house?" I asked.
"No," Sam responded. "I'm too afraid to go inside. I'm afraid of what I might see. It could be something so terrible that it haunts me forever. I've seen enough from what goes on when he's outside. I don't need to see what goes on in his house."
"I feel the same way you do," I said. "I'd be just as frightened to go into the Wolf's house. Hopefully, we won't have to."
"Speak for yourself," said Sam. "Let's get going. I'm sure you want to get to your brother before it's too late. He doesn't stand much of a chance with a straw house as his only protection. Does he have a weapon with him? I see you have your ax."
"No, he doesn't," I said. "Only me and my brother Arnie have weapons. He has a baseball bat. He also has the other flashlight."
"Too bad," said Sam.
I followed the squirrel through the dangerous woods. Hopefully Sam knew what he was talking about and we would find everyone and find the Medicine Pig too. But I had a feeling that everything would not go according to plan.