The Dream Club #1 - Corpse
Page 8
CHAPTER 8
Glass shattered. I was in the hallway and ran back to the kitchen entrance just in time to see a man's hand reaching in to open the back door. It was an ugly hand. Cotton was barking loudly, and leaped at the door.
I steadied myself, turned, and ran into the hallway towards my bedroom. The back door clicked open. Cotton was still barking, and then I heard him yelp.
The kids had already changed and sat on their sleeping bags. I ran in the room and closed the door, wishing it had a lock.
"Teepee," I whispered, "there's a man in the house. Quick!"
We all scrambled into the teepee, and I could hear the man walking in the kitchen.
"How'd he get in?" Mikey asked.
"We're going to die!" whispered Mary.
Stinky cursed.
I took charge. "Listen," I whispered, "let's all huddle towards the middle of the teepee. He may not look in here."
The man's footsteps echoed on the stone hallway floor. I heard Cotton barking again. The man checked Mom's room first, and he opened closet doors and rummaged around.
"What are we going to do?" asked Mary.
"Just follow my lead," I whispered," and don't make a sound. Try not to breathe."
The doorknob to my room turned. Then, I heard the phone start ringing. The man stopped and listened. It rang and rang for a long time. Then it stopped.
The man entered my room. I put my finger to my lips, and we all held our breath. He walked around the room for a while, then stopped by the teepee.
The flap was thrown open and a red-jacketed arm grabbed Stinky. That was all the excuse Stinky needed. He bit the man's exposed hand, and held on fast. The man hollered.
This gave us our chance. I bolted out of the teepee, with Mary and Mikey right on my heels. Stinky held fast to the man's hand.
"Let go, Stink," I yelled, and he did. Stinky clamored after us, while the guy held his bloody hand and howled.
We ran down the hall and into the living room.
"You guys go out the front," I yelled, "and I'll follow." I ran to the kitchen and heard the guy clomping down the hallway, cursing and swearing.
"Hey mister," I yelled from behind the kitchen counter, "over here!"
I stuck my tongue out at him and wiggled my fingers out of my ears. He started towards me, then slipped and fell on some water, which remained on the kitchen floor. YES!
Cotton had been following the man the whole time, barking loudly. As I ran towards the front door, I saw Cotton latch onto his ankle, and the man yelled in pain. Go Cotton!!
Outside, the crew waited for me anxiously. "The tree!" I yelled. We made a bonsai, beeline for the tree in the front yard, and started climbing.
Mary went first, followed by Mikey, Stinky and me. We went way out on the branch, where Cotton had been on Friday, and one by one leaped onto the roof.
The front door opened and the man staggered out, dragging Cotton like an ankle weight.
I'll never know why Stinky did this, but I was sure glad afterwards. He beat his chest and let out the loudest Tarzan call I've ever heard. The guy stopped in his tracks and looked up at us.
Old Man Faraday appeared on his porch, clad only in pajamas. I wasn't sure how good his eyes were, or whether he saw the man below us. He yelled, "You want me to call the fire department, boy?"
I pointed at him and screamed, "YES, MR. FARADAY, CALL THE FIRE DE