The Hole in the Wall - Lisa Rowe Fraustino [21]
“I’m going to have to give his money back and get those eggs off him,” Ma was saying. “How on earth am I going to explain?”
If he ate the eggs, Boots Odum might wind up in the same predicament I was in. Ha! “Don’t bother,” I said. “It’s his own fault anyway. He asked for fresh eggs laid this morning, and that’s exactly what you gave him.”
A killer point, I thought, but Grum called, “Remember the Golden Rule.” Then the toilet flushed. It made me laugh, but I guess nobody else got the humor. Ma and Barbie frowned at me.
“What about the Dogstars?” Barbie said. “The eggs they traded yesterday came from the same batch you put in the cookies.”
“Dear Lord, that’s right!” Ma was pacing now. “I can call Stan Odum and warn him, but the Dogstars don’t have a phone. I’ll have to tell them in person.” She looked out the window and ran a hand through her hair. “But it’s already getting dark, and I don’t even know the way to their house. Do you kids?”
“We’ve never been invited,” said Barbie, shaking her head no. Um, well, me and Grum’s binoculars might have made the acquaintance. But that didn’t mean I’d know my way in the dark. I just shrugged.
“Guess I’ll have to go first thing in the morning, then,” Ma said.
“But what if they have eggs for breakfast before you get there?” Barbie wondered.
That made me remember something. “Cluster wasn’t in school today. Maybe she already ate some of those petrified eggs and they made her sick!”
Ma gasped and covered her mouth, making the worry in her eyes stand out. “We’d better go right now. You two come along and help me find the trail.”
“Do I have to go?” said Barbie. “I want to finish my homework so I can enjoy the rest of my weekend.” Good thing I already had barf medicine in my system. Of course Ma said she could stay home.
Ma grabbed a flashlight and we hopped in the SUV. She parked along the shoulder on the good side of Kettle Ridge, and we found our way to the trail Cluster emerged from every morning. Cluster called it the Trace. It had been made by animals in ancient times, she told us, and Native Americans used to follow it when they migrated. The Trace was well worn, but still not easy to follow on a dark and cloudy night this time of year. The ground all looked the same, covered by dead leaves and pine needles, with no summer growth around the trail yet. Plus it was slippery. Ma kept grabbing my arm and saying, “Watch your step, don’t fall.”
I didn’t say so, but I was a little scared. The woods smelled wet and rotten, like something had died. All around us we could hear rustling and the noises of animals doing their night things. There were bears in these woods, wildcats, possibly rabid foxes, porcupines that could quill us, skunks that could spray us. Our own breathing sounded loud in the deep quiet. It had turned cold, and that made everything seem louder. An owl hooted right over us, making both of us scream and jump and then laugh at ourselves nervously.
We walked about ten or fifteen minutes and then reached a steep hill. From there the woods opened into a valley meadow with a boxy shadow looming at the center, a building with soft lights barely glowing in a couple of the upstairs windows. A trickle of woodsmoke made gray curlicues in the black sky. They reminded me of the mildew stains in our house.
“Welcome to Zensylvania,” I said.
“Lovely,” Ma said. “Well, let’s hurry up and get this over with.” And she led the way downhill to the cabin. It had been handmade out of trees on the property. It made an awesome silhouette with logs jutting out at the corners.
“Oh, my goodness! I can’t believe this.” Ma aimed the flashlight at a shiny white square on the door. A sign, it looked like. A very familiar sign. You couldn’t go a hundred feet around the edges of ORC without seeing one just like it:
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
ARMED PATROL ON DUTY 24 HOURS
VIDEO SURVEILLANCE IN PROGRESS
ODUM RESEARCH CORPORATION
“The Dogstars must have sold out,” Ma said in disbelief.