03 - Monster Blood by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead) Page B

Evan had pictured. He had pictured a small,
frail-looking, white-haired old lady. But Kathryn was a large woman, very
robust, broad-shouldered, and tall.
    She wore a peach-colored housedress and had straight black hair, pulled back
and tied behind her head in a long ponytail that flowed down the back of the
dress. She wore no makeup, and her pale face seemed to disappear under the
striking black hair, except for her eyes, which were large and round, and steely
blue.
    “I was slicing beef,” she said in a surprisingly deep voice, waving the
blood-stained kitchen knife. She stared at Evan. “You like beef?”
    “Uh… yeah,” he managed to reply, his chest still fluttery from the shock
of seeing her appear with the raised knife.
    Kathryn held open the screen door, but neither Evan nor his mother made any
move to go inside. “He’s big,” Kathryn said to Mrs. Ross. “A big boy. Not like
his father. I used to call his father Chicken. Because he was no bigger than a
chicken.” She laughed as if she had cracked a funny joke.
    Mrs. Ross, picking up Evan’s suitcase, glanced uncomfortably back at him.
“Yeah… he’s big,” she said.
    Actually, Evan was one of the shortest kids in his class. And no matter how
much he ate, he remained “as skinny as a spaghetti noodle,” as his dad liked to
say.
    “You don’t have to answer me,” Kathryn said, stepping aside so that Mrs. Ross
could get inside the house with the suitcase. “I can’t hear you.” Her voice was
deep, as deep as a man’s, and she spoke clearly, without the indistinct
pronunciation that some deaf people have.
    Evan followed his mother into the front hallway, Trigger yapping at his
heels. “Can’t you get that dog quiet?” his mother snapped.
    “It doesn’t matter. She can’t hear it,” Evan replied, gesturing toward his
aunt, who was heading to the kitchen to put down the knife.
    Kathryn returned a few seconds later, her blue eyes locked on Evan, her lips
pursed, as if she were studying him. “So, you like beef?” she repeated.
    He nodded.
    “Good,” she said, her expression still serious. “I always fixed beef for your
father. But he only wanted pie.”
    “What kind of pie?” Evan asked, and then blushed when he remembered Kathryn
couldn’t hear him.
    “So he’s a good boy? Not a troublemaker?” Kathryn asked Evan’s mother.
    Mrs. Ross nodded, looking at Evan. “Where shall we put his suitcase?” she
asked.
    “I can tell by looking he’s a good boy,” Kathryn said. She reached out and
grabbed Evan’s face, her big hand holding him under the chin, her eyes examining
him closely. “Good-looking boy,” she said, giving his chin a hard squeeze. “He
likes the girls?”
    Still holding his chin, she lowered her face to his. “You’ve got a
girlfriend?” she asked, her pale face right above his, so close he could smell
her breath, which was sour.
    Evan took a step back, an embarrassed grin crossing his face. “No. Not
really.”
    “Yes?” Kathryn cried, bellowing in his ear. “Yes? I knew it!” She
laughed heartily, turning her gaze to Evan’s mother.
    “The suitcase?” Mrs. Ross asked, picking up the bag.
    “He likes the girls, huh?” Kathryn repeated, still chuckling. “I could tell.
Just like his father. His father always liked the girls.”
    Evan turned desperately to his mother. “Mom, I can’t stay here,” he said,
whispering even though he knew Kathryn couldn’t hear. “Please—don’t make me.”
    “Hush,” his mother replied, also whispering. “She’ll leave you alone. I
promise. She’s just trying to be friendly.”
    “He likes the girls,” Kathryn repeated, leering at him with her cold blue
eyes, again lowering her face close to Evan’s.
    “Mom—her breath smells like Trigger’s!” Evan exclaimed miserably.
    “Evan!” Mrs. Ross shouted angrily. “Stop it! I expect you to cooperate.”
    “I’m going to bake you a pie,” Kathryn said, tugging at her black ponytail
with one