4
"There it is," said Sam. "There's the straw house where I saw your brother."
The house was really made of straw with some sticks here and there. What was Timmy thinking?
We walked to the door and I tried to open it. It was locked. At least Timmy had enough sense to lock the door. I knocked on the door a few times.
"Who is it?" asked Timmy from inside.
"It's me, Charlie," I said. "Open up."
Timmy swung open the door. "Charlie! I'm so glad you are here. I've been terrified of every sound I hear. But now you are here, which makes me feel a lot better. Come on in."
I walked in pushing my wagon full of bricks, followed by Sam.
"Who's the squirrel?" asked Timmy. "What is he doing here?"
"His name is Sam and he's going to help us," I told Timmy.
"Help us?" said Timmy. "That little animal couldn't help us if he was twice as big. I don't think that squirrel could cause any damage on the Wolf."
"I'm not here to help kill the Wolf," said Sam. "I'm here to help take you to the Medicine Pig. I know where he is."
"Really?" questioned Timmy. "You know where the Medicine Pig is?"
"Yes, I know where he is," Sam repeated. "But if you don't think that is relevant, I'll leave now."
"No, I'm sorry," Timmy apologized. "That's the reason we are out here. So I guess if you know where he is, then I'll follow your lead."
I noticed that it did feel homey in Timmy's house. But of course the point was not to make the house comfortable. It was to make the house safe; and this was definitely not a safe house.
"Timmy," I called. "Why would you go off by yourself with no weapons, no food, and lousy equipment? You didn't even use most of the sticks you brought with you." I looked at the pile of sticks in one of the wagons.
"I guess I was scared," said Timmy. "I figured I could do everything on my own. I lasted this far didn't I?"
"Yes, you lasted this far," I said, "but you still have not made it to the Medicine Pig. That means you are still vulnerable and the quest is still not over."
"I could have made it by myself," he said.
"No you couldn't," I said. "You don't even have a flashlight. What if the Wolf came in the middle of the night? You couldn't run or fight because you wouldn't be able to see him. But the Wolf could still track you with his sharp sense of smell. You would just be another meal."
"I just didn't think it all the way through," said Timmy.
"You never think," I scolded. "You have to think before you do. You always do something stupid and then come back later to say that you're sorry. But this time, you wouldn't be able to say you were wrong because you'd be dead. You would be another victim of the big, bad Wolf."
"Well, I'm still alive, aren't I?" said Timmy. "I'm not dead. That's what is important."
"Yeah, you are still alive," I said. "But we still don't know about Arnie."
"Where is Arnie? I haven't found him yet. I don't know what happened to him. Do you think he's okay?"
"I'm sure he is," I said. "We found you alive, so I think we'll be able to find him alive too."
Scrish, scrish.
"Yeah, everything will be...what's that noise?"
Scrish, scrish.
"Yeah, I hear it too," said Sam. "It's coming from outside."
Scrish, scrish.
"Someone is coming," I said. I grabbed my ax and held with both hands. We all stared at the front door expecting anything.
"Do you think it's Arnie?" asked Timmy. "Do you think he's found us?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I can't tell."
The noise stopped all was silent.
It wasn't long before the silence was broken. Bang, bang! Someone was banging on the door with incredible force. Hay was falling off the door with each bang.
"Arnie, is that you?!" called Timmy.
Bang, bang, bang! The noise continued.
"I don't think that's Arnie," I said. "Arnie never knocks that hard. I don't think it's him."
Bang, bang, bang! The noise was making me nervous. My heart was beating incredibly fast. I wanted it to stop.
Bang, bang! Then noise finally stopped but it wasn't the end of our panic.
From the other side of the door came a booming voice that would chill up even the mighty lion's spine. "Open the door, little pigs! I know you're in there!"
The house shook a little. I could feel the vibrations caused by the thunderous voice. It could only be the voice of the Wolf. I tried to speak but it came out shaky. "G-g-go away!" I yelled. "Leave us alone!"
I knew the Wolf wouldn't listen to what his prey had to say, but it was worth a try. We were no match for the Wolf. We were in a house that could be brought down with one mighty blow from the beast.
"I smelled you pigs from a mile away," said the Wolf. "I've come for the younger one."
"What are we going to do?" asked Timmy. "Do you think we can protect ourselves?"
"Not really," I said. "But we must do something."
"It's okay little pigs," the Wolf said. "I won't eat you. I only want to talk to you."
"Do you hear that, Charlie?" said Timmy. "He said he won't eat us."
I wanted to smack Timmy for making such a stupid comment. "Timmy, it's a trick. He wants us to believe it's safe."
"Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in," said the Wolf. I could hear the impatience grow in his voice. It was only a matter of time before he would lose his temper.
"No, no way," said Timmy. "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I won't let you in."
Of course this teasing angered the Wolf greatly. Of course he did not want to be told what he could and could not do. "Oh, really?" said the Wolf. "Then I guess I will have to force my way in."
"I don't like this," said Sam. "I've seen this happen before. This house is going down!"
"You obviously will not cooperate and now this has made me angry," said the Wolf. "You say you won't let me in? Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your puny straw house in!"
I heard the wolf take in a very deep breath. He was going to blow the house in!
"Is huff a real word?" asked Timmy.
"I don't know," I answered. "But it's no time for..."
The house began to shake violently. The sound of extreme wind caused all of us to freeze from fright. Straw started falling from the walls and the ceiling. The house was quickly deteriorating. Soon, the entire front wall caved in, flying directly at us. The straw slammed into us and we fell down, soon to be covered from straw from the ceiling and the other walls.
After about ten more seconds, the wind finally settled. The Wolf had completely destroyed the house and we were on the ground, trapped in straw and helpless. I struggled to get all the straw off of me. I could not see what was happening. Was everybody okay?
After much tearing and squirming, I saw light again. I jumped to my feet and checked to see where the Wolf was. The Wolf was regaining his breath. Maybe this would give us enough time to get out of there. But where was Timmy? Where was Sam?
"We have to get out of here," said Sam who was safe and sound. "You must help your brother."
"Where is he?" I asked. "I don't see him." I searched for his body among the straw.
"He's behind you," said Sam. "He's under that straw."
I spun around to see Timmy's round, pink belly sticking out through the straw. I pushed the debris off of him. I gave him a slap and he woke up. "What's going on?" he asked.
"We have to go," I said. I held out my hand to help him up. We glanced at the Wolf, who now had fully recuperated from his immense breath attack.
"Run!" yelled Sam. "He's going to kill you!"
So I ran. I ran and ran, not looking back. But I stopped when I had the strong feeling that something important was left behind. I looked down at Sam who had a puzzled look on his face.
"What is it?" Sam asked. He looked behind him and he figured out what happened.
"Timmy!" I screamed, rushing at him. "Run, Timmy, run!"
Timmy was still at the house, not having moved an inch since I got him up. He was going to be killed! The Wolf was moving in on him. I continued to run.
Timmy turned his head to me. He saw me and then looked back at the Wolf. He must have been terrified. He was so scared from the Wolf that he froze and couldn't move.
I came up on the Wolf and rose my ax, preparing to strike. I figured I could injure the Wolf and then rescue Timmy. I stopped in front of the Wolf and slammed the ax at him. It barely cut his left arm. The Wolf hollered, while I drew back the ax a second time. Before I could hit him, the Wolf swung his massive arm wildly and it collided intensely with my body. The hit caused me to soar about fifteen feet, landing next to Sam who was running toward the action.
"Are you okay?" asked Sam.
I did not answer. I was in pain and was feeling quite dizzy. The earth looked like was split into three parts, all rotating as if they were being juggled. I closed my eyes and reopened them, trying to become gain consciousness again. I saw the Wolf slowly closing in on Timmy.
"I've got you now," said the Wolf. "You are mine. You will be my lunch."
Sam shook in fear, still too scared to run away. He stared up at the Wolf who was about five times his size. I noticed the Wolf's large yellow eyes. The glow from them seemed to have a certain power behind them. Maybe it was my dizziness. Maybe it was truly evil power.
"You are going to die like the rest of the pigs I have killed," said the Wolf. "You are just another scared little pig that can't do anything. I have the power here. I win every time. There's nothing you pigs can do to stop me. I am the ultimate predator. I own these woods. You will never learn."
"Run!!!" I yelled at Timmy. "Get away!"
I finally was able to get Timmy to come out of his frozen state. He realized that he needed to run. He spun around and ran away from the wolf, zooming passed me. He seemed to be running really fast for a pig. Timmy always could run fast. But was he fast enough for the Wolf? Sam and I watched as the Wolf raced after my brother.
The Wolf was close behind him, only a pounce away! Timmy was not going to escape. The Wolf was going to kill him.
"No!" Timmy screamed. "Nooo!!!!"
The Wolf dived on Timmy and began to slash at him with his immense claws. I saw Timmy's blood fly through the air with every slice.
I stood up and ran to help Timmy. I had to save him! Maybe it was not too late. I still had the ax. I still could do something to help him. I lifted the ax in the air as I ran.
"Aaaah!" I yelled, swinging the ax fiercely at the Wolf. The Wolf noticed the ax before it could hit him and grabbed the weapon. He yanked it from me and stood up on his hind legs.
"You fool!" the Wolf roared. "You can't kill me. I'm the Wolf!" He threw the ax on the ground. He opened his mouth wide, saliva dripping from it. Some of the saliva oozed out and landed on my face. His eyes grew bright like stars. I could see only evil in them, the past and future acts of horrible killing.
He grabbed me by the waist. His hands easily wrapped around me, lifting me into the air. I twisted and turned to try to escape, but the Wolf's grip was far too strong. I pounded on his arm but it had no affect.
"I will kill you later," said the Wolf. He let go of me and I fell a few feet to the ground.
The Wolf turned back to his original prey. Timmy was still alive but very hurt. He looked like he lost a lot of blood and would need some prompt treatment. I wished I could help him, but I could not. The Wolf would not let me near him. I had to back off. The best thing to do at this time was protect myself. I crawled backwards to get away from the feral beast.
The Wolf swooped down and put his jaws around Timmy's head.
"Noooo!!!" Timmy yelled. "No. Help me!!"
The Wolf started twisting and turning, Timmy's head still in his jaws. The Wolf growled as he yanked at Timmy's head. The creature's teeth were clawing into Timmy's neck, creating a pool of blood on the body. I watched in horror as the Wolf gave one final, fierce tug. Timmy's head was lifted violently and ripped from his body! Pieces of flesh dangled from the severed head. Blood dripped from it onto the body.
The Wolf held the head in his mouth and turned toward me. The eyes on the bodiless head were still open. Timmy's face had a look of great fear. I knew it would haunt me forever. Then the Wolf bit down. The head was being crushed in the Wolf's enormous mouth. Timmy's eyes became bulgy from the pressure and subsequently popped out of their sockets.
The Wolf chewed slowly. The sound was sickening. Once again, I could not handle the terrible noise and tried covering my ears. The image of Timmy's horrified face would not cease harassing me either. Timmy's head was ripped off repetitively in my mind. Crunch, crunch. It was more than enough to make someone sick. And that is what happened. The slaughter of my brother was making me ill. I held my belly, which felt quite uneasy. I was growing dizzy. There were three Wolves, each eating my brother's head, moving in circles. My eyes grew heavy and I could not think straight. My mouth grew very moist. Then out came the vomit.
I felt less sickly after vomiting, but I still felt dizzy. I tried to get to my feet, but fell down. I was forced to stay where I was. The Wolf was now eating Timmy's body. I closed my eyes. This all seemed like a very bad nightmare; unfortunately, it was not. It was real. Timmy was beheaded and eaten by the Wolf. Frank had been viciously ripped apart and eaten also. There was only me and Arnie left. My confidence was quickly fading. I was turning into just another scared little pig. If Arnie was still alive, I he would probably be just as scared as I was. We needed a miracle to make it through. But as scared as I was, I could not turn back now. Already, two pigs were dead. Then there was the hundreds before us who were killed. Someone had to stop the Wolf. He was a dangerous evil that had to be gotten rid of. He needed to be destroyed like he destroyed all the innocent pigs. Why did he not attack animals his own size? He could have fought the lion and probably won. The Wolf was gigantic. Why was he picking on us little, fat pigs who could not protect themselves? It was unfair. I needed justice. My mom needed justice. Every pig in Swine Village needed justice.
I opened my eyes to see the Wolf towering over me. No pig had ever escaped the Wolf. I was beginning to think this would forever be true.