Chapter Three: Others?

Riley crouched down and hid in the bushes. Who is this boy? Is he like me? she wondered.

The bark of a hound dog drew her attention away from the boy, and to the massive dog bounded towards her! Something inside her told her to run, and that's exactly what she did. She ran straight for the cabin, looking around she saw logs, presumably for firewood. But the roof was only three feet above the highest log. She decided to go for it, she put on a burst of speed and within seconds she had made it to the pile.

She stopped and looked back, the hound dog was chasing her, but by now the boy had seen the ruckus and was running towards the dog yelling. Deciding it was better to be safe then torn apart by the dogs sharp canine teeth, she bolted up the pile. The one thing she had not taken into consideration was that logs rolled, the bottom roll of logs began to slowly roll.

Looking back Riley saw that the boy had caught up to the dog, but was now looking at her amusement in his eyes. Riley frowned, this was no time to laugh if the logs rolled anymore she would fall over! Riley got no further in thinking before. CRASH! The bottom logs rolled out from under the pile, making everything roll with them, including Riley. Frantically, she searched for a way to get off of this monstrosity, but the logs had rolled to far away form the roof ledge.

Looking at the boy she saw him laughing, she was indignant, why was he laughing?

Trying to maintain her balance she got ready to jump. Instead, the rest of the logs rolled out from under her and she went sprawling onto the concrete. The boy, still howling with laughter came over. Riley was unsure of what to do, she had never encountered a, whatever he was in her fox form. She looked him over carefully, but when he held out his hand he smelled, nice and kind. Like he was someone she could trust. Riley then looked at the dog, which had been tied to the nearest fence. The boy sat down next to her and she leaped onto his lap, the last thing she wanted to do was leave. But the church bell in the distance rang six times, and she knew that she must depart. The boy looked at her, she looked at him. Then she ran off the way she had come. She de-transformed when she was once again at the lake. This day had been unusually nice, almost like when he had been her friend. Riley walked down the road leading to her home, and for once in a long time. She was actually happy, and content.

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Entering the two story white wooden house she silently tip-toed up the stairs to her room, she was late and the guests were supposed to be arriving soon. The guests, were presumably the principal or one of the teachers at her siblings school. Getting her apron out of the closet she went to the pantry and looked to see what they had.

It’s lucky I thought to go by the grocery store on the way home, we have almost none of the ingredients, and only half the paprika we need. Riley took out the well read recipe book in the cabinet above the kitchen sink. She searched until she found the dish that she had been asked to prepare for the meal.

The guests arrived later and exactly at seven o'clock the meal was ready. Riley served the family, and guests, and then went into the kitchen to get her own food, gruel. She looked at the meat which simmered in the pot, then looked cautiously over her shoulder before taking a serving of it. Mother wouldn’t mind, surely she wouldn’t. Riley took the plate to her room and sat down at her desk to eat and do her homework.

Minutes, then hours went by until Riley heard the guests leave and her mother close the door. All was quiet, it was apparent that there would be no complaints on the meal. Riley smiled, her mother, although strict was not one to try and find fault. But if something was evidently found wrong, then she would get it. Riley finished her homework and set her pencil down. Looking at her watch she saw they it was nine o’clock, the time when her siblings went to bed and her parents watched TV downstairs. All was quiet, a lonely quiet. The kind of quiet that a normal person would dread, but Riley found comfort in the silence, because it meant that her family was at peace.