Feeding Frenzy (Watty Award Winner)

Blue Cheese Sandwich: Chapter Thirty-Seven

Today she had witnessed powers strong enough to mesmerize, or kill at a distance, and it was high time her Aunt provided answers.

"Is this 'doctor' of yours a friend?" she asked, no longer sure a friend of her Aunt's could be trusted.

A tiny lady opened the door. She was young, although it was hard to tell if she were closer to thirty or twenty. Her face hardly moved when she talked, even when she ordered them to 'get inside quick' and snicked the door shut behind them.

"You kept us waiting long enough," said Aunt Helene.

"The Bad Penny is back." They stared at each other as if Tonya weren't there.

"Sorry about this." Aunt Helen shrugged and held up her hands. "What else could I do?"

"You'd better sit down." She brought them into the parlour and showed them to an antique sofa, upholstered in some kind of worn black hide, then went into another room. Watching her go, Tonya had to wonder why a lady in a tumbled-down farmhouse was wearing a pink angora sweater and pearls. She had noticed a pair of Italian leather pumps on the mat beside the door, beside mud-caked rubber boots.

"Is she bringing us lunch?" Tonya's stomach rumbled and ached.

The lady returned with a towel over her arm and a bowl of something green and bubbly, which she set on the coffee table. Definitely not appetizing, although if Tonya had to fast much longer, the grubby towel would start looking tasty.

Was she a witch? Tonya expected her to chant over the basin or recite a spell, until she put her hands in and washed them. Her Aunt and Tonya did the same.

"I'm Tonya." The woman ignored her outstretched hand, not taking her eyes off Aunt Helene.

"What do you want?" the woman asked.

Tonya burned to ask this doctor if she were infected like the others. Did they hear telepathic voices in their heads? Did they want to eat all the time like her? Did they feel stressed out of their minds too; or were they relaxed like Professor Rudolph, sleepwalking mindlessly into collapse? She hadn't felt a moment of peace for days. Well, unless you counted the moment when Ducky took her hand...

"Let's go for a walk," announced Aunt Helene. "This one needs to eat something, and I can't stand the sight of food right now."

The image of Lynette's chocolate binge sprang into Tonya's head. If Lynette and the Professor were sleep-eating and sleep-walking, mightn't she be too? Did her Aunt know about things Tonya was doing, but couldn't remember?

"You never call, you never write, and you only want to see me when you want something." The lady did a 'kvetching' voice, which wasn't quite working.

Aunt Helen's expression didn't twitch from grim mode. "Is this a bad time?"

"I'll be right back," the woman said. Tonya heard the click of shoes on tiles, and water running. Her heart leapt. The lady was in the kitchen. Finally, she would get lunch!

When it was brought out on a tray, however, the bread had a sprinkling of white around the edges that looked like mould. She tilted her head to peek at the slices of cheese, which seemed too blue. She lifted the lid. It was part cheddar, part kid's science fair experiment. Who ever heard of blue cheddar? Rather than mention the burgeoning mould colony, she just said 'thanks,' as the women headed outside.

Tonya looked back at her revolting lunch. Even the glass of water looked cloudy. Was this fancy 'doctor' trying to poison her? Forget that. They had a head start, but from a side window she spied them going around the side of a barn. She zipped her coat up to go out, but there was one more thing to do first.

She found a phone in the kitchen and dialled '0.' An automated response greeted her, but Tonya persevered, pressing buttons until a live voice answered.

"Operator."

"I'm lost at a farm house. Can you tell by my number where I am?"

It was an odd request and took some explaining, but at last Tonya got the address, a rural route far northeast of Loon Lake. Without letting the door slam behind her, Tonya slipped outside to observe. If her Aunt had a dark secret, she didn't want to miss it.

She edged her way along the side of the barn until she came to a knot hole in the wood and peeked through. Hay blocked the view, so she crept a bit further.

The cavalier way Aunt Helene had sent her parents away on holiday, if indeed that was what she had done, meant she was capable of anything. The only certainty was that she was a spell caster with powerful enemies, and that she had made Tonya abandon her friends and come here against her wishes. Why?

Near the corner a board had fallen away. Peeking through the gap she saw Aunt Helene arguing with the woman who made big gestures and her face was red. Her Aunt lounged against a bale of hay, as if she were bored. What Tonya wouldn't give to hear what they were saying, but no matter how loudly the young woman appeared to be yelling, judging by her gesticulations, Tonya heard nothing.

Was this another magic trick to repel spying ears, or was it because the wind was at Tonya's back?

Movement drew her attention. Aunt Helene picked up a two-by four and swung it like a club, knocking the young woman to the dirt. Tonya dashed to get back to the house before she was seen. Aunt Helene was coming and she was moving fast.

Tonya skinned in just ahead of her Aunt, and threw herself onto the sofa. She drew big breaths in through her nose, hoping her Aunt wouldn't notice how badly she wanted to gulp air. The sandwich, untouched on the plate, stared up at her, and she felt, just for a second, as if it would betray her.

"You didn't eat it, good," said her Aunt. "That means we can go."

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Maaja