CHAPTER ONE—
"THOMAS HEWITT!" A loud shriek filled the house. Tom, out of utter surprise, accidentally rolled out of bed and banged his head on his nightstand. He cursed, holding his head for a while and slowly pulled himself up, only to slip backward on one of Jedidiah's baby toys. He cursed again and carefully got back up.
"I'm COMING!" He yelled as he heard his mother yell again, only this time, much louder. He looked at a battered old calendar and saw that this was the day he went to college. He pulled on a pair of too large jeans and a red plaid shirt. He stared at the mirror, looking into his own eyes and his diseased face.
"Thomas Brown Hewitt! I told you to get yourself up!" His mother, Luda May, yelled as she stomped up the steps. She stopped nagging when she saw him dressed and ready for breakfast. "Oh Tom… you are turning into a fine man!" She said, bringing him into a big bear hug. Tom smiled, rolled his eyes and hugged her back. He followed her down the steps and into the dining room. He spotted his father, Old Monty sitting in a chair, drinking a beer and reading the newspaper. He looked up and smiled at Tom.
"Boy, you are growing very tall." He said laughing. Tom smiled and sat down just as his mom brought out his breakfast, which was human jerky, eggs, and toast. He ate quickly and his mom scolded him.
"Thomas! Don't you eat so fast! You'll choke!" She said, firmly, but gently all the same. He slowed down and finished soon.
"May I be excused?" Tom asked, already up out of his seat. Old Monty nodded and Tom ran upstairs to finish practicing, never noticing Little Jedidiah sitting on his suitcase.
"Tommie go?" He said, his two year old voice echoing throughout the room, scaring Tom out of his wits. He yelled and whirled around, chainsaw ready. His hand was about to pull the cord, when he realized it was only Jedidiah. Tom picked him up and set him carefully onto the bed.
"Yep. I'm goin' to school." Tom replied to Jedidiah's question. Jed nodded, but Tom knew he didn't understand.
" What's school?" Jed asked after a minute. Tom laughed and stopped packing for a little.
" It's a place where I can learn to cut up dead bodies.!" Tom growled playfully, lunging at Jedidiah and tickling him. Jedidiah squealed and laughed. After a couple minutes of fooling around, he finished throwing random clothing into a suitcase and picked out his knife set and the chainsaw case. He packed up both things and carried them to the pick up truck. He threw them in the back, gave his mother and father a kiss, hugged Jedidiah and walked to the driver's seat of the pick up. He waved a final good bye and started the engine.
" Come visit us soon Thomas!" His mom yelled over the roaring engine. His father nodded and Tom yelled a good bye. He put in a Lynyrd Skynyrd tape and pulled out of the driveway. He sped down the road, stopping for gas and a couple packs of jerky, scaring the shit out of the clerk with his face and walked backed to his truck, seeing boy and girl fooling around on the hood of their car. Tom rolled his eyes and stepped into the truck, but not before the young teens spotted his face and came up to him.
" Yo! What the fuck is wrong with your face??" The boy asked. The girl laughed and mockingly pinched Tom's cheeks. He grabbed her wrist and threw it off him. She gasped out of pain and the boy grabbed Tom's shirt collar. Tom punched him and quickly got into his truck before they could react. He drove off, singing to " Sweet Home Alabama".