Another Kind Of Hurricane Part 5

"That orange one down at the bottom is from Taviuss t-s.h.i.+rt. And the yellow one here is from a s.h.i.+rt of Isaacs. A little bit of family for wrapping around someones scrawny neck." The girl came running over to them. "A chicken neck just like this one. This is my grandniece, Osprey," said Ms. Cyn, pulling on one of her pigtails. "Osprey, this is Zavion."

"How old are you?" Osprey asked.

"Um-ten," said Zavion.

"Im four," she said. "My dog, Crow, died in the hurricane. This was his leash." She held a purple nylon leash in her hand.

"Hush," said Ms. Cyn. She patted Osprey on the cheek. "Dont let her sweet face sucker you. Shes fierce as a tiger."

Zavion glanced back at the banner. The boy under the tree looked a little like Osprey. Osprey ran back to the rug to play.

"And those three clowns playing Ringer on the floor with your Papa-that one is Skeet, but you know him. He owns this house, and he was married to my daughter, G.o.d rest her soul, she died two years ago. Those are his two brothers, Enzo and Tavius. Enzo is Ospreys daddy. They escaped New Orleans like you." Ms. Cyn took a deep breath. "And me. The only other person you need to know is me, Ms. Cyn. The Queen of Baton Rouge." Ms. Cyn laughed a deep, minty laugh.

Zavion tried to repeat these new names inside his head, but pictures raced through it instead. His house. The water. The roof s.h.i.+ngles. Luna Market. Chocolate bars. Rain.

"Go on into that blue bathroom, Zavion," said Ms. Cyn. "Change your s.h.i.+rt. Change your pants." She pointed her knitting needle at Zavions sleeve. Blood was splattered across it. He hadnt even noticed.

"I cut my leg-" he mumbled.

"Tavius!" Ms. Cyn yelled to one of the men on the floor.

"Yes, maam?"

"Get this boy, Zavion, some new clothes."

Tavius reached behind a couch and pulled out a plastic bag. "Here!" he yelled to Zavion, tossing the bag.

"Thank you," said Zavion.

"We got first pick at the Salvation Army."

"How come we got first pick?" teased Enzo.

"Is it cause Pierre has a crush on you?" Skeet knocked his shoulder into Taviuss shoulder.

Tavius grinned.

"Go wash out that cut, Zavion. Theres first aid cream in the bathroom," said Ms. Cyn.

Zavion managed to stand. Walk across the room. He pushed open the bathroom door and fell against it as it closed. He jumped. Something moved up his back. He turned to look, but nothing was on the door. Whatever it was moved under his t-s.h.i.+rt. Crawled on his skin. He reached his hand through the neck of his s.h.i.+rt to his shoulder. His hand swept from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. Nothing was there. But still, he felt it.

Felt it. Heard it. Smelled it. Tasted it.

He pulled his hand back out of his t-s.h.i.+rt.

Zavion couldnt move. He couldnt even get out of the bathroom and back to the bench.

Instead, he gripped the bathroom door so hard his forearm shook-the rain pouring, the men shooting marbles and laughing, the water rising, the little girl playing, his mural breaking, Grandmother Mountain crumbling, his house collapsing, Ms. Cyn knitting, and the wind-the wind whipping and pulling and pus.h.i.+ng him. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor. He couldnt keep his balance in the middle of it all.

chapter 14.

HENRY.

"The school secretary didnt mention there was a field trip to our house today," said Jake. "And on the second day of school too." He sat next to Nopie, drinking a cup of coffee.

Nopie was at the table!

Henry couldnt believe it. But there he was, hunched over a piece of paper, drawing something. A heat rose up inside Henry. A smoky heat that curled and wisped from his feet all the way to his face. What was Nopie doing here, just sitting all comfortable, in Henrys chair, the chair Henry had sat in a million times before with Wayne right next to him, like he belonged there?

Nopies head shot up all of a sudden like a spark had singed his eyebrow, and he grabbed hold of a Tupperware container full of something white.

"My mom needed some sugar," Nopie said. "Shes making an apple pie for Pop and she ran out of sugar and when we went apple picking the other day we got a whole lot of those tart apples, cause its really too early to pick apples, the kind that make your eyes water when you bite into them, so she really needs the sugar to sweeten em up and-"

"Give it a rest, Nopie," said Henry. "Your mouth is gonna fall off."

"Henry..." Annie cut the bottoms off some flower stems. She shot Henry a look.

"So I came here to get sugar," Nopie finished, and took in a deep breath.

"Great," said Henry. He put his hand out to pat Brae, but Brae lumbered over to Nopie and wagged his whole body against his s.h.i.+ny, silver-booted leg.

Nopie sat there, shaking the sugar container like it was a maraca. He had lived up the road from Henry for as long as Henry could remember. His motor mouth was the most glaring thing about him, always talking a mile a minute like he had lost the brakes on his tongue. But there was other weird stuff about him too. Like Nopie kept a rabbit at the school all last year in the lighting booth in the school auditorium. He had stolen a key from the janitor. Henry had to admit that was pretty impressive, but still, Nopie was a grade-A weirdo electric mixerturtle dude.

"Sit down, Henry," said Annie. "Ill make you boys something to eat."

Henry didnt want to eat. He thought if he managed to swallow anything it would end up charred in his belly.

"So which neighbor saw Tiger last?" Nopie interrupted Henrys thoughts.

"Four neighbors said they saw him," said Annie. "I think the last one was Mack."

"Im making a map of all the houses on the road and then marking where Tigers been spotted," Nopie said to Henry.

"Good for you."

Jake put down his coffee. "Tigers been gone since the day Wayne died." His leg began to bounce up and down under the table.

"He used to take walks with me," said Annie. She brought a plate of apples and peanut b.u.t.ter to the table. "Like a dog. He would follow me onto the trail and walk the whole thing at my side. Honestly."

"Tiger is a strange cat," said Nopie.

"Youre strange," said Henry.

"Was a strange cat," said Jake. "Maybe a fishers gotten him."

"Dont say that, Jake," said Annie.

Tiger could not be gone. Oh man, all the wrong things were disappearing-Henry glared at Nopie-and all the wrong things were staying rooted right where they were.

Nopie chewed on his apple, sucking peanut b.u.t.ter from between his teeth. Henry focused on that. Henry couldnt decide which was a worse sound: the chewing-sucking one or the Nopie-running-his-mouth one.

"See," said Nopie, his tongue thick with peanut b.u.t.ter-great, Henry was going to be serenaded by both sounds, "the four neighbors who saw Tiger are all on the same side of the road." He pointed to his drawing. "One, two, three, four...all of them heading up to Mansfield." Nopie paused. "Maybe hes looking for Wayne."

Jakes bouncing leg got faster.

"Animals get sad when their owners leave them," said Nopie. He leaned way down and put his arms around Braes neck. Henrys whole body stiffened. Brae licked the peanut b.u.t.ter off the corners of Nopies mouth.

Annie filled a jar with water and put a handful of flowers in it. "There was an interview on the radio this morning with a man who had to leave his dog behind when he escaped the hurricane. And he was sure that the dog had died." Annie plucked a flower out of the jar and held it up to her nose. "But he was wrong. The dog escaped from the house, swam through the flooded streets, and found him."

Jakes leg doubled its speed. The table wiggled as his knee hit it from underneath.

"Animal navigation," said Nopie. "Like homing pigeons. Scientists dont know how they can find their way back home."

"Thats what they said about this dog," said Annie. "They dont know how he got out of the house or how he smelled the man with the water was.h.i.+ng over everything, but he found him."

"Animals have an extrasensory perception," said Nopie. "I bet Tiger feels something strong about Wayne, and hes looking for him."

"Ah!" Jake pulled his hand away from his coffee mug. "Shoot! I burned myself!" He rubbed his knuckles with his other hand.

"I wonder if Tiger knows that Wayne died," said Nopie. "I bet he doesnt-"

Jake stood up suddenly and almost knocked over the table. Nopies pencil fell to the floor.

"Im going to New Orleans," he said.

"Perro," said Annie.

"Pardon me?" said Jake.

"Isnt that the Spanish word for dog?" said Annie.

"Yes," said Henry. "We learned the names of animals in Spanish cla.s.s. Perro. Dog. Gato. Cat. Pjaro. Bird."

"Ive been thinking-I want to learn Spanish."

"Did you hear me?" said Jake. "Im going to New Orleans-" Jake stumbled around his words. "Early Sat.u.r.day morning," he said with clarity. "Before the sun comes up."

"Theres more French in New Orleans, isnt there?" said Annie. "Not as much Spanish?"

"Annie?" Jake asked her name like a question.

"I understand," she sighed. "Youre going to New Orleans."

"They still need folks to drive truckloads of food and clothes. Ill only be down there for a few days. I need to go." Jake walked to the kitchen door but then turned around. "Ill be sad to miss that apple pie, Nopie."

Nopie looked up from his drawing. "Ill freeze you a piece," he said solemnly.

Jeez, what a stupid thing to say.

"Ill be back to eat it," said Jake. He turned and walked out.

- For a long time, Henry and Nopie and Annie sat at the table and stared at the flowers in the jar. Henry watched their petals brighten and dim as clouds pa.s.sed over the sun again and again, then looked outside the window at Jake fiddling under the hood of his rig. The big, s.h.i.+ny green eighteen-wheeler brightened and dimmed too, and the heat inside Henry slowly burned down, until all that was left were flickering embers-on and off, on and off-barely lighting the darkness inside his body.

chapter 15.

ZAVION.

Water was filling up his mouth again.

And his nose.

And his ears.

Rain clattered from every direction.

His arms windmilled, frantic.

He opened his eyes.

He had been trying to swim up for air, but air was all around him.

Zavion willed his heart to slow down by counting his breaths in and counting his breaths out. His eyes darted around the strange room until he remembered where he was.

He had no idea if it was morning or afternoon or night.