From the author: Sorry the following chapters took so long to write. Blame my parents. ("No internet for a week, young man!")
Chapter 4: As the Day Progressed
As the day progressed, the Hendersons grew more accustomed to their surroundings. The entire family took up residence in the basement, which was as large as the kitchen and living room combined. At first, Muriel objected to them being in such bland surroundings, but the Hendersons understood that there was no other place in the house they could stay. "Besides," as Carl put it, "It's a lot better than some of the motels we've been to so far." Their luggage was stored inside large drawers next to the washing machine. For beds, the Hendersons used sleeping bags, except for Kevin, who insisted on using Courage's cot.
After the family settled in, Muriel thought it would be a good idea if she gave the Hendersons a tour of the farmyard. Courage liked the idea, but Eustace didn't. "I'd rather read me paper," he said, stubbornly. So Muriel and Courage showed the Hendersons around the house. Muriel pointed out nearly everything about the kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom (the only one in the house!) Then, she briefly showed them the attic. Kevin displayed a look of thoughtfulness when he saw Courage's computer before following his family back downstairs.
Once downstairs, Muriel had another idea. "Courage, why don't you show the kids around outside while I talk to Carl and Diane?"
Courage whined. There really wasn't anything outside worth touring, except the barn, henhouse, and windmill. But he instantly changed his mind when Kevin said, "Sure. Sandy can come with us."
Kevin, his little sister Katie, Courage, and Sandy went to the windmill first. There was a soft breeze blowing the windmill blades around and around, making a squeaking sound. After a while, Courage started to lead the group toward the henhouse when Katie suddenly said to her teddy bear, "Look, Mr. Furry! Funny markings!" and pointed up toward the rear of the windmill. Courage whined again when he saw what Katie was pointing at: strange markings on the backside of the blades.
"I wonder how those got there," muttered Kevin.
Courage shivered, remembering the horrible ordeal he had involving those signs. But he didn't want to appear frightened to them (especially to Sandy), so he led the group to the henhouse and then to the barn.
The inside of the barn was very spacious. There were straw bales on the floor, and the smell of straw was overwhelming. Katie took Mr. Furry to a straw bale and started decorating him. Courage looked up and saw ropes hanging from the ceiling. Those ropes brought back fond memories of that bell-playing hunchback who taught Courage how to swing from the ropes like a trapeze artist.
Suddenly, Courage had an idea. "Watch this!" he said to Sandy and climbed a ladder leading up to a loft. From there, he took a flying leap and started swinging from rope to rope, laughing with excitement.
Kevin leaned down toward Sandy. "I think he's trying to impress you," said Kevin, grinning. Sandy glared at him, but as she continued to watch Courage, she realized Kevin was right. She smiled up at the strange dog with admiration.
"Funny doggie," laughed Katie to Mr. Furry.
By the time the four of them returned to the house, Muriel was cooking dinner with Carl and Diane, while Eustace was watching TV.
"Kids, dinner will be ready in half an hour," said their mother. "Could you two help set the table and clean up a bit?"
Kevin and Katie reluctantly agreed. Courage and Sandy also helped.
The Hendersons had brought with them a lot of food for their trip. They brought pork chops, mashed potatoes, and a salad. And Muriel helped prepare all of it in her kitchen. It turned out the Hendersons loved olive oil as much as Muriel loved vinegar, so they combined these liquids to make a lovely salad dressing. The table was just large enough to seat six, and when the food was placed on the table, everyone was seated.
Dinner was phenomenal. Muriel agreed that the Hendersons outdid themselves while cooking. Even Eustace made a rare positive remark about the food! Meanwhile, Courage and Sandy each had their own corresponding dogfoods. As Sandy ate, Courage began wondering what flavor Sandy's dogfood was. This sparked another idea to gain Sandy's friendship. Courage pushed his bowl toward Sandy and asked, "Trade?"
Sandy stopped eating, her eyes widening. She had never met a dog in her life that displayed such an act of kindness toward her! Blushing slightly, she traded dogfoods with Courage. She became so lost in thought over Courage that she didn't even mind the taste of his vinegar-topped, liver-flavored dogfood. As for Courage, a smile was on his face, because Sandy's cinnamon flavored dogfood was to his taste buds as Sandy was to his eyes.
A couple uneventful hours later, it had gotten dark outside, and the Hendersons started to get ready to go to bed. Katie was getting into her pajamas, and Kevin was on his internet-ready laptop. Carl and Diane were on the other side of the room, unfolding the covers. "So, what do think about these folks?" asked Diane to her husband.
"Muriel is OK, but I've never met such a grumpy old man," replied Carl. "MY father wasn't even as wiley as he is!"
"Well, they tend to get that way at their age, dear."
"Other than that, this place isn't half bad."
"I like it!" exclaimed Katie, who was scratching Sandy's tummy.
Diane smiled at her daughter, then to her son, who mumbled, "Yeah, it's cool."
Carl frowned. "I swear, talking to that boy is like talking to a brick wall, sometimes."
"Well, teens will be teens," answered Diane. As they made the bed, Diane said to her husband, "Y'know it's funny. Even though this is the first time we've been in these strangers' house..."
"...it's almost as if I've met them before, or something," Eustace said to Muriel.
Sitting up in bed, Muriel responded, "I know. It's because they're so friendly!"
Next to her, Eustace continued. "Maybe it's the way their faces are shaped..."
"Why are you asking yourself these silly questions?" asked Muriel. "You've been wanting visitors to come by our house, and when they do, you start complaining about them!"
"I'd be just fine around them if they didn't bring along those meddling kids and their stupid dog," grumbled Eustace.
Muriel sighed with annoyance.
In the attic, Courage was looking at the stars outside the window. He thought the Hendersons were a very nice family, except for Kevin, who acted a little strange at times. And, of course, Sandy was also on his mind. It seemed as though Courage could never figure out what to say to her. Tomorrow, he promised, he would try and strike up a decent conversation with her. He looked at the stars and, in his mind, made a constellation of Sandy in them. Tomorrow, he-
Courage froze. In the window's reflection, he saw his computer screen. He had turned his computer on before looking out the window. Now, in the middle of the screen, he saw, once more, the black instant messenger box. His breath quickened and began fogging up the window. Courage whirled around and read what was displayed: 2 DAYS LEFT. THE DOLLAR IS THE KEY.
The dollar is the key. Courage's eyes landed on the slip of paper next to his computer that had last night's creepy message on it. Just as he thought. That sentence was also in last night's message! The dog crumpled up the paper and threw it away. He knew now that this was some type of riddle. Courage looked down at his keyboard and typed in: WHO ARE YOU??!! before pressing Enter.
Five minutes went by and Courage received no response. Losing patience, the dog typed in: WHERE ARE YOU?!! and pressed Enter. This time, he received a very chilling response:
I'M CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
The screen went black. Courage turned the screen back on, and the message box was gone... again.
Courage howled with fright. Was this all real? Who was this person? In 2 days, something bad was going to happen. And he didn't even know what it would be!
"Hey," said the computer's voice, sleepily. "Do you know who's been talking to you?"
Courage typed in a rude remark.
"Sheesh," replied the computer sarcastically. "I'm sorry I asked."
With that, Courage abruptly switched off the computer. Shivering, Courage started toward Eustace and Muriel's bedroom, knowing that only lying on their bed would get Courage to sleep now.
"Hey, son!" shouted Carl.
In a blink, Kevin switched off his laptop and closed it. "Yeah, Dad?"
"Put your computer away. It's time to go to sleep."
"OK, Dad," said Kevin, sighing. Tossing his laptop aside, he crawled into the cot and fell asleep.
Up next...Chapter 5: The Midnight Conversation