Tommy and the Monster

Chapter One

 "Tommy! Supper's ready!"

 Tommy had finished feeding the animals, and was sitting on the fence, looking off into the woods which lay not very far from their house. Through there was the road which led out of town, which sounded nice, but he remembered what it was like driving through there on the day they first arrived, and had decided then he would never want to stray off the road in that place.

 "Tommy!" He could hear Roy pushing open one of the windows. "Your supper's going to get cold."

 "I'm coming." Tommy hopped off of the fence and trekked back to the house, through the mud and around the wilting flowers Roy had insisted on planting yet unintentionally murdered by a lack of gardening skills.

 The smells of supper reached Tommy's nostrils when he entered the house, but he wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Neither brother was good at cooking, but they both agreed that Roy was the better. While Roy only ruined some of the meals he cooked, Tommy had simply ruined all of them.

 "Any improvements?" he asked.

 "None," Roy answered, placing the plates on the table. "No matter how many times I follow the recipe, it still comes out just as terrible."

 "It's better than I would have done," Tommy said, sitting down. "We both know how my cooking goes."

 "And that is why I don't let you in the kitchen anymore."

 Tommy sighed. "Yes, and you've banned me to the outdoors with the mud and your dead flowers."

 "They're not dead," Roy protested. "It's because it hasn't rained in days. Once it rains again, they'll be fine."

 "Of course. Is there any news, anything interesting happened while I've been banned to the yard?"

 Tommy had meant it as a joke, but Roy put down his fork and said, "I did get a letter today, from the city. It's about one of our old ships."

 "The ones we lost?" he asked. "We did lose them, didn't we?"

 "Maybe not. According to the letter, one of the ships arrived at port, all of its cargo intact. I don't know how much of it, but I'm going to leave for the city tomorrow to see what to do about it."

 "So...all hope isn't lost, then," Tommy said. "There's still a chance for the company, then."

 Roy nodded, and in his eyes was a light of excitement Tommy hadn't seen in a long time. "There could be. If it all works out, we could possibly back to the city." He looked down at his plate. "I think all this excitement made me lose my appetite."

 "If you don't want it, can I have it?" Tommy asked. "I've been hard at work all day."

 Roy rolled his eyes and pushed his plate across the table. "Take it. I'm going to write ahead to let them know I'm coming."

~~~~~~

 The next morning, Tommy woke up earlier than usual to the sound of Roy rummaging around in his room, probably looking for the best clothes he could find.

 "Will you be all right on your own?" he asked Tommy as he tied their horse Bella to the old cart.

 "Roy, just because I'm your little brother doesn't mean I'm not a man," Tommy replied. "I'll be-"

 "All right, if you say so. Would you like me to bring you back anything?"

 Tommy shrugged. "I don't know. You ought to bring back some flowers to plant. That way, no one will have to know what a terrible gardener you are."

 Roy didn't comment on that. "I should return within a week. Please don't start any trouble, and look after everything."

 "Of course I will," Tommy called as he drove off.

 He hoped Roy would be back when he said he would. Until then, he only had his own cooking, and that wasn't something he looked forward to.