The Middle of Everywhere Read Online Free PDF Page B

more speed now that he’s finally come to the climax of his story. I hope the old guy won’t have a heart attack. This is probably the most excitement he’s had in, like, 150 years.
    â€œThe boy saw Kajutaijug first. He wanted to warn the girl, but he was too frightened to speak, so he just pointed.” Charlie lifts one hand and points a wrinkly finger at the audience. “There—right in front of them, not more than a couple of feet away—was Kajutaijug.”
    There’s another moan from the audience. Louder this time. I remember Dad telling me about something called “the willing suspension of disbelief.” Basically, that means people who listen to stories or read them or watch them on tv or in a movie, have to buy in; they have to believe the story could be true. Well, Charlie’s audience is suspending their disbelief all right.
    But not me. I don’t believe in spirits, especially ones with hard-to-pronounce names.
    â€œKajutaijug had no body.” This story is getting weirder by the second. “She was just an enormous head on top of two feet. And those feet were big, as big as tree stumps. And her face, oh Lord, what an ugly face she had! The ugliest face those two kids ever saw. And Kajutaijug had a breast growing from each cheek.” That part of Charlie’s description makes some people in the audience—even me—laugh.
    â€œI guess Kajutaijug couldn’t get a job for the Playboy channel,” I hear Lenny whisper to his friends.
    Charlie doesn’t seem to mind the interruptions, or that Lenny just mentioned the Playboy channel. I’ll bet Charlie doesn’t even know what the Playboy channel is. Still, he slaps his thigh. “You’re right about that, Lenny,” he says, grinning. “Breasts are nice”—that makes us laugh again—“but not when they grow where cheeks should be.”
    â€œGross! That’d be s-so gross,” one of Lenny’s pals calls out. The way he slurs his words makes me wonder if he’s been drinking. It’s illegal to buy or sell alcohol in George River. The law is supposed to eliminate alcoholism, but Dad told me how people get around it by buying bootleg liquor or ordering it up from the south.
    Charlie clears his throat. I can tell he wants to get back to his story. “And when Kajutaijug walked, dragging one foot-stump after the other, she made those terrible noises again. Only louder. The whole tundra shook from the sound of her. Even the river and the sky shook.”
    It’s so dark outside now that we can’t see the point where the river meets the sky. The only light is coming from a few houses near the shore and from the smattering of stars in the sky.
    â€œDid Kajutaijug eat them up?” the little girl calls out.
    Charlie wags his finger. “Hold on,” he says, “I’m not at that part yet.”
    Rhoda leans forward onto the edge of her chair. I can’t believe she is suspending her disbelief too.
    But I guess for a made-up story, this one isn’t all bad. It’s got suspense, at least, and I’m starting to like the sound of Charlie’s voice.
    â€œThe children tried running away from Kajutaijug, but she was too fast for them, even on those stumpy legs of hers. Besides, by then the kids were tired and hungry and afraid. Charlie looks up at the audience. “Fear can tire a person out worse than anything else.”
    â€œKajutaijug opened her mouth—it looked like a cave inside there—and licked her lips. She used her long tongue to scoop those two kids up from the snow. Then, just as she was about to gobble them up, she heard something. At first, the sound was low, like a rumble, but it got louder. And it frightened Kajutaijug.”
    The little girl laughs and then covers her mouth. She likes the idea of something frightening Kajutaijug. Other people start laughing too.
    â€œIt was the sled dogs. They