Robots and Chickens
Matthew had never felt as alone as he did now. He stood frozen, watching the ghoulish thing slink towards him.
"We are coming," The pale figure whispered.
The woods around Matthew darkened and disappeared as soon as it finished speaking. Everything dissolved into black, except for one pale shape, one featureless face. Soon, it too dulled and faded into a small grey plain. The ambiguous grey blob shifted and morphed into a fluttering cryptic orb. Then it grew brighter and Matthew could make out an image. It was the face his beautiful loving mother.
She had a worried expression, "Are you ok Matthew?"
Befuddled, Matthew answered, "Yes."
"You passed out. What happened?"
Matthew looked around the room slowly, "I don't know. I... I saw something in the woods, a ghoulish creature, then everything went blank."
Mrs. Brenner relaxed her shoulders, "There are no creatures... you must have bumped your head and imagined it. I'm just thankful Pappy found you. He was going to the pond to fish and he took a shortcut through the woods."
Matthew tried not to grin, "Good thing he doesn't listen to you."
Mrs. Brenner flashed a subtle smile back, "Yeah, he has a mind of his own, even if i scold him for wasting time fishing everyday, he still does it. But for once i am glad he didn't listen."
She smiled a little bigger, turned and walked out the door. Matthew could hear her footsteps as she walked down the hall. Her voice faded as she walked away, "Once you're on your feet and feeling up to it, go over to Pappy's and thank him. Let him know you're alright."
Matthew was delighted with his mother's suggestion. He loved spending time at the old man's home. Pappy had all kinds of exotic and old objects and a story to go with each one. When Matthew arrived at Pappy's the front door was open.
He was frequently coming and going and it was better to leave the door open then to wear it off it's hinges.
An old model K-robot, that Pappy called Tinman, was vacuuming the living room floor. It greeted the boy as he walked through the front door.
"Good day Sir Matthew, knight of knights, hero of damsels in distress... slayer of fire breathing beasts."
The boy's face stretched with a grin. He was pleased that the mechanical man had greeted him that way. Mathew had programmed the robot to salute him in that manner.
Matthew looked around the room. The walls of the room were covered with fishing trophies. Largemouth bass were stuffed, painted and valiantly displayed on the walls. Pappy was proud of his exhibit. It was his own scaly panoply. To him, each represented a denial of his limitations. Every fish reminded him he still had enough independence to rail against his daughter's wishes and to do as he damn well pleased.
One corner of the room was nothing more than fishing lures that the old man had collected. One for every year of his life. Eighty seven decoys dangled on the wall. Each one held a particular significance to the old man. Matthew only knew they were charming.
The old man's pipe was still in the ashtray so Matthew knew he was close by. He never left his house without it.
"Where is Pappy, K?" Matthew asked.
"He is not here," the Robot replied.
"Well he must be around here somewhere, his pipe is in the ashtray and his car is still in the driveway." Matthew poked his head back through the door and glanced at the driveway.
