Seven

Part III

Each of the children let out a fearful cry as they stared at the monstrous beast that stood behind their door. The kitchen chair they were using as a stool was quickly abandoned, and the seven kids gathered in a circle, trying to figure out what to do.

"Did you hear his voice?" Gretta, one of the younger kids, asked. She clutched her tan ears dramatically, as if it would erase the dreadful noise. "It was like gravel."

The rest nodded.

"It's probably because he eats bones..." Graham shivered as he added his trailing commentary, his eyes blank and lip turned up in a fearful grimace, giving the rest of the frightened kids reason to whimper.

"Yeah? Well, what about his paws?" Greyson bleated, straining to overpower the volume of his siblings. "As black as coal, with claws sharp enough to tear us to shreds."

The thought enticed another frantic yelp from each of them. They'd quickly forgotten about the real wolf outside their door, and instead replaced him with the cruel and exaggerated features their siblings had described.

"That's enough of that." Gentry's voice snapped through the cacophony, and he shushed the five younger children. Genna stood by him, the two of them taking charge like they knew their mother would want them to do. This already-bad situation was only escalating as it grew into a contest to see who could scare each other more. But the two eldest children had to admit, they weren't exactly fearless either. Maybe the thought of razor-sharp wolf claws had gotten under their skin.

"It's no big deal," Genna assured them, trying her best not to let her voice waver. "We can handle this."

"How?" a chorus of voices shot back at her. "What can we do? There's a wolf at our door!"

"We need to call Mom!" Gracie shouted, sprinting across the house and into the kitchen. They heard her open several drawers and dig through the miscellaneous items inside, but Genna and Gentry were in no rush to stop her. They were the only ones who knew where the emergency phone was, and calling their mother was not an option.

Genna went to retrieve Gracie while her brother calmed the remaining kids down. "We can't," Gentry told them. "This interview is way more important." He glanced up at the front door. The small lock on the doorknob was secure, as well as the deadbolt above it. There was no way that the wolf would be getting through their solid oak door. "We'll be fine. He can't get in."

A shout came from the kitchen, and they turned to see Genna dragging her sister back to the foyer. When she finally let go of the younger goat, Gracie objected with a loud whine. "I want Mom—"

"Hey, guys, I can hear you in there." The wolf's voice suddenly cut her short, apparently scary enough to shut her muzzle. "This isn't a joke," the wolf continued, "I'm supposed to be looking after you guys, and I can't do that from outside."

They stood in absolute silence, hoping it would convince the wolf that they weren't there after all, but Gideon didn't seem to get it. "Why aren't we letting him in?" he asked, his tone joyous and innocent, despite his siblings fear.

Before either of the older kids could explain it in a way that would keep him from asking further questions, Greyson retorted, "Because he's a wolf, duh!"

A volley of shushes followed, but it didn't deter Gideon's curiosity. "So what?"

Genna kneeled down in front of him and grasped his small hoof. His small blue eyes turned up to meet her calming green ones. "Wolves can be violent, untrustworthy animals," she explained. "He could be lying to us, trying to hurt us. He can't be our real sitter."

She met Gentry's gaze; he was thinking the same thing. She hadn't lied to Gideon, only warned him of the dangers of a large predator like the one outside their door. He was the only one that didn't know the whole story, who was too young to remember what had happened to their father at the claws of such a wolf.

"Mom never would've hired him." Greyson's obnoxious words once again shattered the silence. "We need to call the police!"

Several of his siblings yelled back at him in unison. "No!"

"How do you think Mom's interview will go if she's called back home by the police?" Graham asked, his tone heavy and condescending.

Greyson only rolled his eyes, but Gracie and Gretta seemed to be on his side. "But we have to do something!"

"Yeah. That something is to shut up!"

"You shut up!"

As the shouting match grew, Gideon slowly backed away from the group. He knew they were too busy arguing to notice him, and Genna and Gentry would be too occupied trying to break up the fight. Like always, he was forgotten. He turned back to the front door, and tilted his head upwards to stare at the doorknob, trying to decide what to do. Sure, his siblings had made the wolf sound scary, but they were constantly trying to frighten him. Maybe this wolf wasn't like the ones they imagined. Maybe he would play with him.

He remembered something his father used to say, a line that made him giggle at the start of every story he told: "The world is like a magical theatre where fairytales and realities intertwine." Not all wolves were bad, Gideon knew, and not all stories were true. They're just like us—goats aren't always nice, either. And he knew that from experience.

Gideon reached up to the doorknob and turned the lock. He took a quick glance back at his siblings, but no one had noticed. He knew there was still another lock to go, and he squinted up at the deadbolt towering above his head. He began to climb on top of the chair, trying not to attract the attention of the others as his hooves clattered their way up. With a deep breath, he slowly stood, steadying his hooves so he wouldn't fall. His eyes were now level with the turnpiece, and all he had to do was lean over and twist it.

"Gideon! What are you doing?"

The angry shout startled the young goat as he stood on the edge of the seat, stretching out as far as he could. With a sudden lurch, the chair pushed out from under him, and he started to fall. His siblings could only watch as he hit the ground with a painful thud, his horns rattling against the floorboards. But, before they could rush to his aid, they noticed what he'd done.

On his way down, Gideon had snagged the lock. And then, it started to open.