Chapter
Seven
Alvin
On The Run
Alvin,
running as fast as his little legs could carry him, turned down the first
tunnel he came to. Those EYES!!! He shuddered at the thought and
kept on going, following the twists and turns of the underground maze,
choosing various openings at random. Finally, when he couldn't
run anymore, he stopped and, looking carefully around for the eyes he'd
felt were right behind him, sat down to catch his breath.
"Oh where is that boy?" he thought, his chest heaving. "He should be here
by now...."
He sat panting, listening for the familiar footsteps, when suddenly the
most horrible thought came to him.
"He doesn't know where I am! Those eyes things scared me! He won't know
where to look!"
Alvin began to cry. "I'm lost and I'm scared and I want to go home...."
he sobbed. "I wish I had listened..."
And there he sat for what seemed a very long time, feeling very sorry for
himself. But at last his tears stopped and he began to think.
"Well..if he can't come to me maybe I can find my way back to him...."
He stood up and looked around. "Now, which way did I come here?"
After a moment he decided to follow the opening to his right and slowly,
because he was still afraid of those eyes, he started off.
He walked and walked, sometimes coming to a dead end, sometimes finding
a patch of daylight falling from high overhead, sometimes finding tunnels
within tunnels, but never finding the way back. Finally, worn out
with his search, Alvin found a little ledge, and, with a great yawn, curled
up and fell into a deep sleep.
When the boys came running downstairs the next morning they found a stack
of bright green posters waiting on the kitchen table.
After breakfast, they each took a stack of posters and headed off in different
directions...the boys on their bikes, the father in his car and the mother
on foot.
Soon the bright green posters were appearing everywhere...on telephone
poles and bulletin boards...on walls and benches...on car windshields and
in store windows. They took posters to the police station and the
city offices. They handed them to people coming out of the supermarket
and the kids on the playground. They went to the newspaper office and the
radio station. Soon Alvin's little face was the best-known one in town.
It was late afternoon before the tired, hungry, group gathered at home again.
They had done their best. All that was left to do now was wait.
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing the usual Saturday afternoon
things and listening for the phone. Every time it rang the boy would race
to be the one to answer it...but it was never about Alvin. Just his father's
boss or his mother's cousin, or his brothers' friends. Nothing about a
little alligator wandering around town lost and alone. He sighed and wondered
if he'd ever see his little friend again.
Before going to bed the boy went back down into the basement and checked
the pipe.
"Alvin?" he called, "If you can hear me I want you to know we're looking
for you..."
He listened hopefully, but heard nothing.
"Goodnight Alvin," he called softly, "Please come home soon...."
He went upstairs to his room, and dropping off as soon as his head hit
the pillow, he slept soundly through the night.
Alvin, stretching and stirring in his sleep, rolled over and fell off his
ledge.
"Wow!" he thought, shaking his head a little, "What a way to wake up!"
He gave a huge yawn and looked around him, wondering for a moment where
he was.
Then he remembered....and realized he was hungry.
"I wonder what they eat for breakfast down here," he asked himself, nosing
about.
Finding nothing, he gave a great sigh and, with a final look around, started
off to continue his search.
Down one opening and up another he travelled, always being careful to leave
some kind of mark so he wouldn't keep going around and around in circles.
He took his time, examining every opening he came to, listening for voices
or other sounds that might help him find his way, and always watching for
those eyes.
All day he explored, going up and down, in and out. Whenever he saw
a gleam of light he would head for it, knowing that it meant an opening
to the outside world. But those openings were always too high for him to
reach.
And so he kept looking until once again, he was tired out and ready for
some rest. He found himself a little hollow this time, and, thinking about
the boy and home, he fell fast asleep.
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| To Chapter 6 |
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To Chapter
8
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