Subj: Cruel Intentions Chapter Four
Date: 12/2/01 7:10:23 PM Central Standard Time
From: Melissa

Chapter Four
Pay it Forward

Willie Loomis scowled out the window, he watched as a group of kids walked down the path of the house across the street. They were singing and laughing, like they always did when they were going to Pettibone's house. Willie glared when he saw the old man open the door smiling at the children. God he hated that old man.

"Wow this is great Mr. Pettibone," said the boy named Jason as he examined the toy he had just received.

"I'm so glad you liked it Jason. Do you girls like your toys?" Mr. Pettibone asked.

"Yes, thank you Mr. Pettibone," Abby said.

"Thank you," said Kristi, "Would you tell us one of your stories," she asked.

"Which one would you like to hear," he asked.

"What are you looking at?" asked Willie's father.

"Pettibone. I don't know how you can stand living across the street from that man. He's the garbage man, he keeps his house a pig sty, look at the garbage on the ground. I can just imagine what it must look like inside. He goes through everyone's garbage taking the toys and fixes them for the kids in the neighborhood."

Mr. Loomis looked out the window at Pettibone's house. There were various things around the yard that looked like they had been retrieved from someone's garbage. "Well there isn't anything that can be done," he told his son.

"Oh isn't there?" Willie said, his eyes lighting up as a plan began to form in his mind.

Willie walked across the street carrying a hoe, he climbed the picket fence of Pettibone's neighbor Edward Lowry. He smiled when he stood before the bed of roses. They were prize winning roses, known by most of the country. No one dared go near them, that is until know, Willie had great plans. He almost laughed out loud as he attacked the roses.

"Where have you been," Mr. Loomis asked his son, Willie only smiled and smelled the rose he was holding.

"You can't take my dogs. Please they are my friends. Please I'll make sure that they never get out again," begged Mr. Pettibone.

"Look I'm sorry there isn't anything I can do," the police officer told him as he locked the back of the police van. The dogs barking excitedly inside.

Willie smiled as he watched Pettibone go into his house, shoulders sagging. "Poor Old Pettibone."

That night after dinner Mr. Pettibone set up is Ouija board, it was something he and Johanna would do, she always believed in that sort of thing. He need to feel her presence now, he was so lonely with out his dogs, they had become something more to him, and it hurt him deeply that they were gone.

"Johanna can you hear me?" he asked. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

The marker moved to yes.

"What is it Johanna. What do you want to tell me?"

The marker moved quickly across the board spelling out the message.

"Danger?" he asked. "But who to? Is it one of the children? Who is in danger Johanna?"

But the marker didn't move, she was gone.

"His is only two years away till his retirement, why do you think we should hire someone else, and let him go?" Mr. Loomis asked.

"It will save the town a lot of money if he doesn't get the retirment money," Willie said.

Willie smiled as the members of the town council agreed to the plan. It looked like Old Pettibone would be out of the neighborhood soon.

"I'll get you some new flowers, these are all wilted," Mr. Pettibone said to the photograph of Johanna. Since her death he always ate dinner with her photograph across the table from him. It was like she was still with him. "I wish the dogs were here," he said wistfully. It had been a week since they told him he didn't need to work anymore. He had begged them to let him finish the year out. Out side a dog was barking, at first he thought it was just his imagination, but then he realized that it was in front of his house. The dog was scratching to get into the house. He went to the door and picked up the little dog.

"Toby, it's you. Oh I'm so glad to see you. I bet your glad to be home," he closed the door behind him. "Let's get you something to eat."

He smiled as he watched the dog eat the scraps of food. "It looks like I'm going to have to make sure I have enough money to by food for the two of us," he said.

"We just thought you would like to know where your children are spending their afternoons. Pettibone goes through the garbage dump and finds toys to fix up for your children. He comes home filthy, I can't remember the last time I saw him fixing his yard. It has been an embarrasment for sometime, I can just imagine what the house must look like inside," Mr. Loomis said to the mothers.

"I know my Jason is always talking about Mr. Pettibone. He says that he is always giving Jason and his friends candy. He seems like a nice man, but I never thought it was a good place for our children to go," said a mother.

"Now I don't want you going over to Mr. Pettibone's house today, bring your friends over here to play this afternoon," Kristi's mother told her as she dropped her off at school the next morning.

"Can you believe it," Abby's mother said when they met for coffee, "if I had known they were taking toys and candy from that man I would have stopped it long ago."

"Why haven't any of the children come by," Mr. Pettibone asked his wife's picture.

"What are you doing now," Willie's father asked him.

Willie looked up from the desk where he was writing. "I'm going to send Old Pettibone some Valentine's from the whole town."

"Here you go Mr. Pettibone," the mail man said handing him a large stack of letters. "You got a lot of mail today, is it your birthday?"

"Thank you, no it isn't my birthday. I wonder who they could be from."

"Well Toby what do you think of this?" he asked as they went into the house and into the kitchen.

He put on his glasses and opened the first envelope. "A Valentine, I have no sweetheart, but you," he said to the picture. "Roses are red and very sweet, we can smell you all the way down the street," he read. "Well that isn't very nice, I don't think I like that. He opened another card. "On this Valentine's day we want to tell you that the only place that we want you is six feet under."

Mr. Pettibone looked helplessly at all the cards everyone was more cruel than the next. Why did everyone hate him?

"Oh Toby," he murmured. He put Johanna's picture face down on the table he couldn't face looking at her sweet face.

Willie didn't think he could stand that barking another minute. "Why doesn't Pettibone shut that dog up, he's been barking for days."

"You know come to think of it, I haven't seen Pettibone since Valentine's Day," Mr. Loomis said looking at his son.

They walked into the house, and were surprised to see how clean the house was. "I thougth the place was filthy," Willie's father said.

Willie walked into the kitchen and picked up the small vase of flowers smelling them, they were wilted and gave off a horrible smell. He picked up the picture frame and looked at the picture of the woman smiling.

"That's Pettibone's wife Johanna. She's been dead for about twenty-five years. My God has it really been that long, he must have been really lonely," Mr. Loomis said.

Willie went to a door and opened it, he stared inside, his father came up behind him and let out a heavy sigh. Hanging from the ceiling was Mr. Pettibone.

Mr. Loomis paid for the funeral, he told those who asked that he felt that it was the least he could do for his neighbor who had no one in the world.

The children watched from behind a group of trees, they watched as the priest said a few words about their friend as he was lowered into the ground.

Willie looked at the Valentine's in his desk drawer, they were leftovers from last year. He got up and went to the fire he throw the cards into the fire, and watched the burn.

"What are you doing?" his father asked looking up.

"Just burning some old Valentine cards."

"Is it Valentine's Day already," his father asked. "Hasn't the year went by quickly?"

"Yes it has gone by fast."

"Why it's a year since Pettibone's death."

"It's a year ago today," Willie said sadly. The guilt was eating away at him. He hadn't wanted for Pettibone to die, all he wanted was for him to move out of town.

"Well I think I'm going to bed, see you in the morning son."

"Goodnight Dad," Willie said, his eyes never leaving the fire place.

The clock struck midnight, and in the old cemterey everything is still, but as the bell in the church tolls the hour, the ground above Pettibone's grave moves as if something is coming up from below. It moved more aggressively, until a hand came up from the ground.

Willie is still at his desk, writing in his journal. He looks up at the door when he hears a noise.

"I thought you went to bed," he said.

His eyes grew wide with fear when he saw what was at the door. He tried to scream, but the decaying body of Mr. Pettibone reached for him.

The sun shone brightly the next morning. Mr. Loomis smiled at the glistening snow on the ground. This should brighten Willie's mood.

The doors were closed. Did Willie stay up all night again? He went inside, and saw Willie, his head lying on the desk. It was only when he moved closer did he notice something was wrong. There was blood all over the desk.

"Oh Willie," his father said in confusion. He moved the paper away from the. He opened it slowly, reading the bloody letters.

You were cruel and in the end it wasn't smart because now you have really lost your heart.

He opened the paper all the way and saw the heart lying in a small pool of blood.

Willie looked at the man in black. "It's true I don't like, didn't like Pettibone."

"What about me?" asked the large man quitely as the man in black looked at him.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production