Chapter 2: Avery and Charlie

Avery spread out the chicken feed but was distracted by horrible howling noises. He ran to find Freddy caught up in the fence. He raced to help Freddy out, but Freddy's leg was just too tangled in the fence. The Elder sat on the side watching this and went out to get Charlie for help.

Charlie came running down the hill to find Avery pushing and pulling at the fence to free Freddy. Freddy could barely keep his eyes open. The cats stayed by Freddy's side and would try to push with their little heads at Freddy's trapped leg. Oh, how the cats loved Freddy!

The smell of rotting flesh became potent. Charlie used a saw to cut through the wooden fence and set Freddy free, but Freddy didn't recover. He just became so ill. There was always one cat with Freddy for moral support, but he grew weaker and weaker as time passed on.

"How long do you think he was caught up in that fence?" Charlie asked Avery.

"Not long. I just fed him yesterday and then he didn't come when I rang the bell for food this morning. I figured he was napping so I didn't immediately search for him, but the cats kept howling. I don't know why they got so attached to old Freddy." Avery hung his head and was silent for a few moments. The hours turned into days and Freddy still refused to stand. He stopped eating, but Avery nursed him with a bottle. Mr. Arnold couldn't stand to look at Freddy like this so Avery volunteered to keep watch of Freddy until he got better or died.

The cats howled throughout the night that Freddy died. Even Esther and the Elder woke to howl their sorrow in the room the kids slept in. Ericka, Lexi and Charlie stayed in the kids' room with the two new kids.

"Avery, you know you don't have to stay with the animals all the time. Mr. Arnold does that. You don't have to stay in the barn with the cats." Charlie said to Avery.

"I can't leave Mr. Arnold alone especially after Freddy's death. It's easier too because I can just wake up and get straight to work. When are the girls going to send the new kids?" Avery said in a whisper.

"I'll be fine, kid." Mr. Arnold said from the corner of the room, but there were tears all over his face. "I can't believe Freddy died from a leg wound. Here I thought we'd lose him years ago to whatever wild things roamed during the night. Then, we got these cats and the cats helped keep Freddy safe or so I thought…"

Charlie shook his head. "It's okay. I'll talk to Ericka and Lexi about sending the new kids here soon. They have pottery this week. Next week I think they go with Ericka to the home. I don't think Ms. Carol is working there anymore. So I guess the week after that I'll take the boy to the iron forge and you can take the little girl to the animal farm."

"I guess." Avery nodded. He noticed the Elder in the corner of the room. He motioned for the cat to come to him and he did. "I never even got your name cat."

'I'm not suppose to give you my name. I'm just a cat.' The voice said in his mind. 'Do I need a name?'

"Absolutely. I'm thinking you remind me of a Tim." He pet the Elder- Tim. Tim was overjoyed to have a name again. It had been so many eons since he had had a name. His name was stripped from his memory. He couldn't wait to tell Esther that he was Tim.

Avery and Mr. Arnold had spent a whole night digging the grave for Freddy and now that they laid him in the grave they both just cried for hours. It would be a tough morning the next day, but they were alike in getting so attached to all the animals. That was maybe why they had got along so well.

The next day, Mr. Arnold started coughing so bad that it was Charlie who suggested that he go to the home. Charlie was in the iron forge and could hear the coughing. Now, it was truly the kids who had taken over all the chores of the work farm. Mr. Matthew had been in the home for a few weeks now, but Charlie knew everything that had to be done. After all, Charlie was a brilliant iron worker at 16 years old. This was his gift.

"I think we should build a better fence before Mr. Arnold gets out." Charlie said to Avery. "We could make an iron fence and just have it small enough that nothing like what happened to Freddy ever happens again…"

Avery nodded in reply and began working away at the old wooden fence, getting measurements, and giving them to Charlie. Charlie kept himself busy making new posts for the fence. After he finished one post, he'd return to the fence and Avery would assist in pulling out the old rotten wooden post and help replace it with the iron post.

They went visit Mr. Matthew and Mr. Arnold in the home one day. "We decided to redo the fence." Avery said to the old animal farm keeper. Mr. Matthew was in ear shot.

"We decided to make it out of iron instead so that no animal get stuck in rotting wood ever again." Charlie said to both mentors. "We're going to use a fencing like the chicken coup around the posts."

The mentors clapped their hands. "Why didn't we think of that?" Mr. Arnold asked Mr. Matthew. "I guess that's why they give us kids to work with because they can improve our way of living and make it so much easier."

"Are you done with making the iron for the furnace this winter?" Mr. Matthew asked Charlie.

"Yes sir. I finished that the first week you were here before Freddy had even got hurt. Then, I helped Avery with some farm stuff in my free time. I feel so bad I didn't inspect the fence and notice that weak spot. It's all my fault that Freddy's gone…" Charlie said.

"Now, now. Animals will die. They don't have long lives like us. It was just Freddy's time. He was a very old goat. I'm just sad it happened."