Miles To Go

Chapter Four

"I had a dream about Snorlax crushing me. Just straight up sitting on me man and I couldn't breathe!" Gerald said with wide eyes.

Calvin sawed at his chicken and waffles with is fork, his brows knit. "You mean a Snorlax, there's more than one."

"You sure about that?" Gerald asked, peering over at him from across the breakfast table.

"Yes. Everyone knows there's more than one."

Gerald pulled the bone out of his cold fried chicken thigh and licked it while he stared at Calvin intensely. Calvin stared back at him, uncertain. Then Gerald lunged across the table and plunked his bone into Calvin's glass of milk.

"Aaaaahhhh! Gerald!! What the hell?!" Calvin cried, quickly taking his glass and pulling the bone back out.

Gerald was slumped back in his seat, cackling. Sadessa was snickering, Lizzy was looking with concern at Calvin, May's face was judgmental, Miles looked confused, and Wonka—

"Gerald!" Wonka slapped Gerald upside the head.

"Ow...Wonka!" Gerald cried.

"Why can't we just have a peaceful breakfast?" Wonka scowled and went back to pouring syrup on his waffle. "God...you're dumber in the mornings."

"Why?" Calvin asked no one in particular as he dropped the soggy chicken bone on the plate in the center of the table with the others. "You made my milk all chickeny..."

May swallowed some waffle and studied Gerald. "Hey...I thought you had a dream about being fat."

Gerald's smile dropped and was replaced with a pouting frown. "I don't want to talk about it."

Miles snickered. "I could hear your scream from the barn."

Calvin took a tentative sip of his milk and found that it was okay. Gerald smiled at him and he smiled back. Gerald was weird and absurd, but Calvin liked him. He still hadn't forgotten the way Gerald had sacrificed himself to save him from Dr. Kordata's experimentation. And he knew that Gerald just liked to tease and prank him in a friendly manner.

"You know I licked that bone too, right?" Gerald said with a shit-eating grin. "My spit is in there too."

Calvin shrugged and put up a face of indifference. "I don't care."

"So what's up for today?" May asked Lizzy. "Is there anything we can help you with around the farm?"

Lizzy smiled pleasantly as she untied the apron around her waist. "Well...that's very generous of you guys but you are our guests, so nothing is required of you."

"Pfft." Sadessa said before she stuck her half-eaten chicken leg in her mouth and pulled the bone out clean. "We aren't free loaders." She said through a full mouth.

"Yes." Miles said. "I'd like to help."

Lizzy gave a small smile and looked towards Miles's plate but seemed unable to look at his face. Calvin thought that was odd. "Okay then." She said.

"I can show some of them how to feed the cows and chickens." Calvin offered.

"That sounds good." Lizzy said, her cotton candy hair now being illuminated by the sun coming in through the window.

"Someone's got to help with the dishes, so I'll stay in here and help you clean up." May offered.

Calvin pushed his chair away from the table. "Let's go then!" He said excitedly.

Everyone except Lizzy and May rose and went to follow Calvin out. The brisk September morning air hit them as they made their way to the barn and chicken house.

"Here Gerald." Calvin said as he handed him a basket. "You can go to the nests and collect the eggs after we release the chickens."

He then showed Sadessa where the chicken feed was and released the chickens from their chicken house so she could feed them.

"Look Wonka! Isn't this fun?!" Sadessa said as she held the bucket of feed in the crook of her left arm and scooped out a can-full to spread on the grass.

A chicken approached Wonka and cocked its head as it stared up at him.

"That's Cocoa." Calvin supplied. Gerald instantly licked his lips.

Wonka looked down at it with a suspicious squint. It came a bit closer...and then began pecking at his peppermint leg. "Git!" He growled at the bird and swung out his leg. It flew away, clucking angrily. Wonka shook his head, looking jaded. "Animals...they can't be trusted."

Sadessa just laughed. "Come on Wonka, haven't you ever had a pet?"

"No."

"GIMME ALL YOUR EGGS!" Gerald screamed like a bank robber from inside the chicken house. A few remaining hens came squawking out before Gerald emerged, holding the basket above his head like it was a trophy.

Calvin motioned for Gerald to hand the basket to Wonka. "Give it to him so he can take it in the house to Lizzy. I want to show you guys the cows." He said to Miles and Gerald. "Follow me; you can help me feed them."

"This place is so peaceful..." Miles said as they walked down a small dirt path to the fenced in field.

"Yeah..." Calvin agreed. His lips quirked down then. "But it's lonely too."

Calvin looked up just in time to see a look pass between Miles and Gerald. "Hey look, my treehouse is over that way." Calvin said, pointing across the field. "I'll have to show you guys it later."

Gerald and Miles agreed eagerly.

Calvin didn't want them to think that he was messed up or anything. True, he was only seven and most of his memories were from after The Takeover, but everyone had problems. He knew from what Miles had said about wanting to sleep in the barn that he'd had some sort of traumatic experience that had messed him up. Maybe he has PTSD? Calvin wondered. Conor had told him about that.

Gerald scratched at the peach fuzz on his face. "Scuses ladies, I gotta take a leak." He turned and walked towards the woods, leaving Miles and Calvin to continue towards the field.

Calvin looked up at Miles. He was wearing a white button down with the sleeves rolled up and black jeans. The curling strands hanging down on Miles's forehead shifted when he looked down and gave Calvin a smile.

"Lizzy says that it was you and Gerald that saved us down in The Factory." Calvin said as they paused at the gate to the field. "I don't remember you very well...actually, I don't remember any of it very well, but I do some."

Miles looked down at him, his smile strained. "Yes...well if I'm honest, my memory of the event is about the same as yours. Not very good, but I remember some."

"Well...thank you for what you did."

Miles looked conflicted then. He looked away, his face uneasy, and said nothing.