THE FERALS


By Tessa Harvey


CHAPTER FOUR

Brodie awoke in the dark. Eyes twinkled in pairs near him, low to the ground. Craving company, he whispered soothingly to them and remembered some leftover crackers in his pocket. He emptied them out, then had two and offered the rest, broken into crumbs to the animals. Hungry, they moved closer, nearer and nearer to the boy.

Jake approached the primary area playground, whistling softly to himself. As he saw no-one was there, he smiled. Dear Jill, he thought, how wonderful she is taking Brodie for an ice-cream. He took out his mobile and texted her. "Hi Jill, where is best to meet you and the small guy?" There was a somewhat lengthy pause, then his phone buzzed with the reply: Not seen Brodie, sorry. Got caught up in work. Bye. 

Jake frowned. The curt reply was not what he had expected. He texted back and forth for a few minutes, but the answers from Jill were very brief and finally clearly dismissive.

Putting the phone away, Jake tried calling his son. He called "Brodie, you hiding mate?! Come out, son. We need to go." The silence was loud in his ears. "Hey buddy," this time his voice showed annoyance, "it's getting cold. Come out right now!" Still no answer. Jake called at the office, then the child's classroom.

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