Fangboy

the forest to hunt him. No, they just thought he was a mischievous little boy from another village, trying to steal playtime with another child’s toys.

He walked through the yard toward the house, moving on his tiptoes even though such a thing was really not necessary on the soft grass. He hoped that if they had a dog that it was a small friendly one that would lick his hand and nip at his feet, and not a large one that would try to bite his thighs off.

Nathan walked right up next to the house. The window, decorated with a plotted plant on each side of the sill, was very inviting. He never, ever, ever looked into windows—that was a good way to get caught—but it was his birthday, so why shouldn’t he peek into a window if he wanted?

He raised himself on his tiptoes and looked inside.

The house was very tidy. There was a long couch and an oval-shaped rug, and a bookcase that seemed like it had thousands of books. There was a painting of a vast mountain range on the wall. The whole place had a warm, happy feel. He was sure that nobody was ever beaten in there.

Nathan thought that he could quite happily live in this house.

He continued to stare inside, transfixed.

Was that food? Yes, right there on a plate on a table next to the couch: a great big sandwich. He didn’t know what kind of sandwich it was (all he could see for certain was the lettuce) but his mouth began to water.

Why was the sandwich just sitting there? Who would abandon such a glorious thing?

Would they hear him if he broke the window?

He was pretty sure they would.

What if he broke it quickly, and climbed inside and stole the amazing sandwich before they had a chance to react? Maybe the people who lived in this house kept their shotgun in an inconvenient location.

It might be worth getting shot to have a bite of the sandwich.

He gazed at the food, not realizing that his fingernails were scraping against the glass, until—

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Nathan yelped. A woman, quite a bit older than his mother had been when she died, stood right next to him. He hadn’t even noticed her sneaking up on him. He turned back toward the safety of the forest, but she grabbed his arm and wouldn’t let go as he tugged and tugged.

“Stop it!” she demanded.

Nathan pulled so hard he thought that his arm might pop right off, which would make it more difficult to climb trees, but he couldn’t get away. “Let me go!” he shouted.

Another woman came around the house into the backyard. She looked a lot like the first woman, though the first woman had black hair and this woman’s hair was brown. She looked very surprised by what was happening as she ran over to them. “Hey!”

“Let me go! Let me go! I didn’t do anything!”

“Just calm down,” said the first woman, not letting go of his arm. “I’m not going to hurt you!”

“Please let me go!”

“Settle down and I’ll let you go!”

Nathan gave one last unsuccessful tug, and then decided to stop struggling. Neither woman was holding a shotgun. Maybe they weren’t going to kill him. Or maybe they were going to kill him in a much slower manner. He wished he had more information.

They all stood in silence for a long moment. Nathan was breathing heavy and tried to force himself to relax.

“Who are you?” the black-haired woman asked.

Nathan didn’t respond.

The second woman looked at the first. “Is he feral?”

“I don’t know if he’s feral, but he’s filthy!” She inhaled and scowled. “Goodness, you really stink. I’ve never smelled such a thing. Where did you come from?”

“Please let me go.” They didn’t seem to have noticed his teeth while he was screaming, but now that things had calmed a bit he spoke with his head down, keeping his mouth mostly closed, just the way he’d been taught.

“We can’t do that until we understand what’s going on. Where are your parents?”

“They’re dead.”

“Who takes care of you?”

“Nobody.”

“Nobody? A boy of your age? Why, that’s not…actually, from the looks of you, it is possible! Oh, you poor little darling!” The woman threw her arms around him, holding him tight. She was much taller than Nathan and he thought she might be suffocating him, but it was still the best feeling he’d had in an entire year.

“Where have you been staying?” asked the other woman.

“The forest.”

“Goodness gracious! Assuming that your story isn’t a shameful lie, what a remarkable young boy you must be! Would you like something to eat? We’ve made sandwiches.”

“Oh, yes!”

Nathan didn’t let his guard down, but he allowed the women to lead him inside the house. He’d known that he was hungry before, but now, with a fine meal so close, he was so ravenous that he thought he might follow these women even if they said “Surprise! There’s your meal on the nose of a great white shark!”

“What’s your name?” asked the woman with black hair, as they stepped into the kitchen.

“Nathan.”

“Pleased to meet you, Nathan. My name is Penny. This is my sister Mary.”

“Hello,” said Mary. “I’ll go get my sandwich from the living room and give it to you, since Penny has already taken a bite out of hers. Not that it matters. Right now you don’t look like a boy who is overly worried about germs.”

At this point, Penny could have spat out half of her guts between two slices of bread and Nathan would have eaten it, though he did not share this information.

Mary left the kitchen. Penny ran her index finger across Nathan’s forehead and clucked her tongue. “I never knew so much dirt could cling to a single person. You’re worthy of scientific exploration. And I don’t believe I’ve ever seen hair so desperately in need of cutting. I count three, four, five, six…at least seven twigs twisted into your hair. How long have you been on your own?”

“A year.”

“A year? That absolutely boggles my mind, though I guess the evidence stands before me.”

Nathan was mildly offended by this, since he thought he’d done an excellent job with the bathing process, but he didn’t protest. He couldn’t say for certain how he smelled, as he’d grown accustomed to his own aroma.

Mary returned with the plate, which she set on the counter next to where Nathan stood. She gave him an encouraging nod, and Nathan picked up the sandwich and took an enormous bite.

Delicious!

Heavenly!

Beyond bliss!

Nathan was so focused on this masterpiece of a sandwich that it wasn’t until he had but one bite left that he realized that he’d forgotten about hiding his teeth.

Had they noticed?

He looked at Penny, then at Mary. Neither of them were recoiling.

He swallowed.

“What would you like to drink?” Penny asked.

“I have a choice?”

Penny opened the refrigerator and peered inside. “We have milk and apple juice, or you can have water.”

“Apple juice, please.”

Penny took the jar out of the refrigerator. Nathan ate the last bite of his sandwich as she set it on the counter and took down a glass.