A/N: Debating on this chapter. Does it help things along? Grind things to a halt? Please let me know. I can take it.
Again I do not own The Outsiders or REanimator
Agnes Higgins rolled out of bed and walked into her kitchen. She lit a cigarette and looked out the window.
Husband still in bed.
Kids went out to play.
Nice quiet morning. Had to admit it was quieter down here than up in New York. A part of her missed the noise. If only just a little.
"Mom!" she heard a door slam.
She blinked. So much for quiet.
"MOM!"
"Yes, " she said turning to her nine-year-old daughter Carrie.
"Suzie found something in the park, " she panted as she grabbed her mom's arm. So much for little girls being gentle flowers. This kid was going to grow up to be a teamster! "You gotta see this!"
'Stop shouting, " Agnes said as she was being pulled out the door. "You'll wake your father."
"Why is he still asleep?"
"He spent some time with your Uncle Buck last night."
"When do we get to visit Uncle Buck at night?"
"Sometime between the twelfth of never and over my dead body." She heard herself mutter.
"What?" Suzie stopped and scrunched her face.
"Never mind, " Agnes said, then smiled. "So what do you have to show me?"
"Oh yeah, " Suzie pushed the screen door open with the grace of an elephant. When they got out to the porch she let out a gasp.
Stuffed in her daughter's oversized Radio Flyer wagon, arms folded in, legs dangling, was a boy of about fifteen that looked like he had the crap beaten out of him. He was flanked by twelve-year-old Jenny in the back and five-year-old Suzie in the front.
"Can we keep him Mommy?" her five-year-old asked hopefully.
"It'd be great, " Carrie chimed in. "I always wanted a brother!"
"No, " Agnes said. She was more prepared for when they brought home a stray dog rather than a person but the same speech could still apply. "He probably belongs to someone else. We should find out who that is first."
"I've seen him around that house with all the boys." The twelve-year-old offered.
We've only been in town for a month. What house with all the boys? Agnes wondered. What does my twelve-year-old know about the house with all the boys?
She looked down at Jenny who just gave a sheepish smile.
"Jenny likes the one that works in the gas station. She thinks he's dreamy." Carrie said fluttering her eyeballs. Jenny went to hit her when Agnes glared, causing Jenny to freeze.
Meanwhile there was a boy in Suzie's wagon in dire need of medical attention.
She would call the cops but they were not too reliable on this side of town. That she learned pretty fast.
"Okay girls," Agnes began, channeling her inner Girl Scout leader. " Jenny, help me get this kid into the station wagon. I'm gonna drive him to the hospital and you go to the house with the boys in it and let them know where he is."
Jenny's face lit up.
She likes this too much. Send the human tape recorder.
"Carrie, you go with her."
Jenny's face clouded over as Carrie beamed.
She looked back down at the boy in the wagon.
Jesus, she thought. And they talk about New York.