Backdrop

I walked around Blackie cautiously, all the while keeping eye contact with the floor and my muscles lax. As I passed Brownie –and that beautiful window, my saviour- I dived out and hit the street, hard. And of course, me and all my special luck, hit my broken arm.

As I was starting to black out I heard Blackie and Brownie swearing. As they were swearing, I got back up into a sitting position and scooted myself behind a dumpster, the one I first saw next to the blankets.

“Dan, I think she hit her arm… I heard cracks.” Brownie was close. Too close.

“Yeah. She can’t be far off; she just woke up, has a broken arm, many cuts and bruises, and is extremely dehydrated. If anything, she probably hid behind a dumpster or something.”

That was unfair! I do believe he is cheating in our game.

“Cheater! I demand a rematch.” I said, now trying to stand up suavely from behind the dumpster. The dumpster hit my head on the edge of his opening. I ducked around him this time, smiling when I got out safely.

Silly dumpster, trying to trick me into hurting myself further.

Just as I was praising myself, two strong but angry hands pulled me up and dragged me back into the house.

Blackie moved behind my attacker, so I was facing him. He looked pissed.

I looked up at the door, silently begging for him to hit Blackie and Brownie so that I could escape, but, of course, no door -or any other object for that matter- came to my rescue.

Brownie threw me down into a chair and told me to sit while Blackie pushed him out of the way to inspect my arm.

“You idiot… you could have damaged it further! Where did it crack?”

I SHALL NOT SPEAKETH, THOU TERRIBLE BEAST! I screamed in my head, just in case he could read minds.

He cocked his head at my odd expression.

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll tap each place to check it myself.” He warned

More pain? It feels so good.

I held out my arm, inviting him to go ahead.

“No. That’s just sick…please tell us?”

Blackie looked pitiful. Brownie still looked pissed.

“No! But I'm huuunngry.”

Blackie looked at Brownie.

“We still have some pancakes left…”

“No! We shouldn’t give in to her like that! Maybe if we starve her she’ll tell.”

Starving was interesting. I did it a couple of times already, and from what I remember it created a delicious rotten feeling inside me.

“Dude, she’s wounded and probably had a fucked up childhood. Go get the pancakes and syrup and Ill watcher her.”

Brownie grumbled as he walked away.

Just then a large black dog shambled in the room.

“Jimmy, out!”

This ‘Jimmy’ obviously doesn’t like to listen; he went straight for the chair I was sitting in and put his head in my lap. I patted his head and smiled when he licked my hand.

“You like him? I’ll let you play with him later if you tell us what happened.” Blackie tried to take JimJim’s collar and drag him out but JimJim growled and stayed in front of me. How cute.

Brownie came back into the room holding a plate of radiated pancakes and a bottle of syrup.

“Jimmy- come.”

JimJim looked up at Brownie and whined.

“Fine, just don’t eat her food.”

Blackie looked annoyed again

“Eat.”

I picked up the fork and stabbed a pancake with it. Then I gave the pancake to Jimmy.

“No! you eat. Jimmy already had some this morning!” Brownie complained easily, but almost laughed when I stuck my tongue out at him and viciously ate one myself.

For some odd reason my stomach decided he was hungry and commanded my mouth to chew faster. Chew faster he did, for my plate was empty within moments.

“Now that you’re done, speak. What happened last night?”

I thought out that question. Mother did say to not tell anyone, but she didn’t say anything about telling a Blackie or Brownie. Did she? I don’t remember.

“Daddy had a hard day at work again, and Mother was stressed out because the neighbours heard a noise last time, so they took me to the basement and…”

I stopped. I don’t know why, but my mind blocked out my lovely memories…

“And then I ran out of our house and found some blankets to sleep on.” I looked at JimJim. “Sorry JimJim.”

“Good, good. Now where is your house?”

Suddenly I got a bad, bad feeling about all this.