Chaos Walking

The very first thing you notice when your dog starts to talking is that they don't have nothing interesting to say, and I mean about anything.

"Todd!!! Come on need a poo!!"
"Just shut up Manchee"
"Poo Todd poo!!"
"I told you to shut it Manchee!"

Just like I said nothing interesting to say at all... ughh. Well now that you know a-bit about my useless dog Manchee I guess it's time for me to introduce myself... well... I'm Todd Hewitt, and I'm as you could say it the only boy left in my town. Every other boy I've known has already become a man. I guess that's what you get for being the youngest.

You see it can become a bit lonely being the youngest in town as it makes me the only boy left as I'm not officially a man yet, well not for another 30 days anyway. I've lived 12 years of 13 long months each and another 12 besides all of which living them means that I'm still one whole month away from my big birthday

The preparations for my birthday are being made plans are being planned, it's going it be a marvellous party, I'm starting to get some strange image of how it will look probably, all dark and too bright at the same time, but that doesn't matter as what matters it that I'm finally going to become a ma-

"Todd!! Poo! Poo. Poo!! Todd"
"Manchee I was in the middle of a monologue!"
"Poo Todd poo!!"
"Ughh, just go and have your stupid poo already"

So yeah that scruff ball is my dog as previously mentioned, the only thing is ... I never actually wanted or asked to get a dog. It was a gift from Ben on my 12th birthday last year, I can't just reject a present from Cillian as he gave me the pup to impress Mayor Prentiss.

But the thing is .... with dogs come responsibilities and that means I have to take them onto myself another reason to why I never mentioned wanting a dog. Now I have to train him, feed him, play with him, walk him and most annoying since he turned old enough for the talking germ to set in so now I have to hear his yapping in my head all the time.

Currently we're both doing a errand for Ben, he asked me to go to collect some Apples from the swamp, he knows how much I hate being in Prentisstown, and at least going to the swamp let's me get rid of half of the noise that I'd hear there.

So... obviously picking apples at the swamp is no job for a man nor is it any job for an almost-man. But as long as it lets me get away from the noise I won't protest with it.
I honestly hate being in Prentisstown so much, I don't want to keep walking around and hearing other men's thoughts they don't even know they think, even though everyone around can hear it. I just don't know how they can stand each other.

"SQUIRREL!" Manchee shouts and strides towards it jumped off the trail, no matter how hard and how loud I tried to call after him he just didn't listen and kept going after the furry tailed animal. Of course I now have to run after him as he is my responsibility and Callian would throw a fit if Manchee falls down in to the swamp and drowns or gets eaten alive by falling into a goddam snake hole, and as always it'll be my goddam fault if it happens, even though I never wanted a goddamn dog in the goddamn first place.

"Manchee! Get back here now!"
"Squirrel"

I had no other choice than to continue chasing my useless dog, kicking the grass in my way, having grublets stuck to my shoes. One even smashed as I kicked it off and made another step, causing it to leave a green smear all across my trainers, which I already know that won't come out.... why you ask? Well.. let's just say I know if from experience.

"Manchee!" I shouted enraged
"Squirrel! Squirrel! Squirrel!" Manchee continued barking

As I finally come to a stop I see Manchee circling a tree looking up and barking. A-top of the tree on one of the branches sat the furry tailed squirrel. It was looking down at Manchee and taunting him.

"Come on"
"Whirler dog"

It's continued saying with its noise

"Come on, come get, come on, come get"
"Whirler, Whirler, Whirler"

"Squirrel. Todd Squirrel!" Manchee carried on barking through his noise

God why do animals have to be so stupid?!
I reach to hold Manchee by his collar and hit him hard across his back leg.

"Ow? Todd"
I hit him again and again
"Ow, Todd?"
"Come on" I say as my noise is raging so loud in my head I can barely hear myself think. I start turning my head to let him know where to go, but at that moment the squirrels noice became louder then before as it say

"Whirler boy, whirler boy"
"Come get, whirler boy"

I look at the squirrel with a pointed gaze trying to look intimidating and annoyed.

"You can eff off too" except I don't really say 'eff' I actually say the proper word for its meaning. But at that point I realised I should have probably looked around if anyone was around, as now I have an angry Aaron rising out of the grass from nowhere and walking straight towards me as his hand makes contact with my face leaving a scratch on my lip with his stupid ring. Then he retracted his hand and scrunched it up in a fist aiming for my cheekbone and missing my nose as I'm already falling into the grass, trying to get away from any other punch me my throw at me.

As he does I let go of Manchee's collar and once again off he goes after that same goddamn annoying squirrel. 'Traitor' ,Way to be loyal to the person who feeds you huh?

I hit the grass on my knees and hands as I land on grublets getting the green liquid all over them at the same time just hanging my head low and breathing trying to get my energy back from being punched and falling down.

Aaron's begins to pull me up and his noice starts coming at me in fragments of scripture and his next sermon and

"Language, young Todd ... a finding of W sacrifice.... the saint chooses his path.... God hears"

With his words come images projected in my head like flashbacks made by his noise. I watch the images and think to myself 'what, what the forsaken-?'
In came a louder bit of his sermon and started to block out my thoughts. I lift my head and direct my eyes towards his to look at him and suddenly I don't want to know anymore.
I can taste the metal on my lips from where his ring scratched me and I didn't want to know.

He never comes here, never comes to the swamp, no men ever do, they have their reasons for not coming, they do, men do, it's normally just me and my dog here alone but here he is and I just don't wanna know.

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Okay so this for now I'm going to realise this much and then I'll add more if you like it 😊