On the east coast of the United States, the state of Masai is experiencing a blizzard.
The thickness of the snow outside the house has already covered the calf, and the three steps in front of the door are all buried under the snow, and the sled dog who was out for a walk smashed into it with a somersault. Neighbors laughed cheerfully, and the tune of Christmas music came from the open door.
Yes, it's Christmas today, December is coming to an end, and there are six days until the new year...
Johnson Brown was lying on the window sill on the second floor. The neighbor's teenager wore a hat and a mask and was playing with the happy dog in the snow. In the dim wind and snow, the lights in the house were warm and beautiful.
He turned his head and closed the curtains.
It was cold in the room, and Johnson was wrapped in a thick wool blanket, his face white with cold.
The heating in the home was broken last night, it was not working and the room temperature was very low.
Johnson's hometown of Southern Saskatchewan does not have such a big snowstorm, and the winter is much warmer than here. Johnson has never seen such heavy snow before, and now what he sees is not novelty, but a gray fog-like silence.
The house was a mess, as if it had been destroyed by a monster.
The wardrobe had a hole in it, shards of vases were piled up in the corner, the sconces were crooked, the bed was missing a leg and had to be padded with books. When Johnson sat up, the bed made a sour noise, as if it would fall apart in the next second.
There is no one at home.
The whole house was empty and cold as ice.
—Katie and Charlie went out to fight again.
The newlyweds, Johnson's new guardian, are said to have yet to pass legal adoption papers, and Johnson is temporarily living here as a relative of the hostess.
The hostess Katie, Johnson's former public school teacher, is beautiful and kind.
Her husband, Charlie, is a good-hearted lawyer who is always kind and warm to children.
That's all Johnson knew about them, but after living with the couple in Bungolo, Marseille, Johnson found that they were not what he imagined.
The "enthusiastic" lawyer, apart from going to work, never goes out, does not participate in community activities, rarely greets his neighbors, and once came home late, he kicked the neighbor's dog.
The kind-hearted Katie does not volunteer or go to church to help distribute food.
They say that because of the increased family burden, more time can only be devoted to work. Their smiles were still warm and cordial, and they cared deeply for Johnson, but their relationship — it wasn't very good.
One day in the middle of the night, Johnson heard a quarrel downstairs in his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and got up and walked quietly to the door. He heard Katie and Charlie arguing violently. It seemed to be about money and household expenses. .
Such quarrels, Johnson used to hear in the ghetto every day.
He walked back to his bedroom, wondering if his decision was a mistake, he shouldn't have left South Saskatchewan and put Mr. Katie's home in bad luck.
The city of Pedorion was severely affected by the hurricane, and the city was almost in ruins. Those who did not evacuate in time were all listed as missing, and some bodies had already been found.
Johnson's uncle, Lake, is still missing. He heard from the lawyer that the adoption procedures cannot be processed for the time being. Currently, he cannot go to school and can only stay at home.
There's plenty of food, there's attentive care, there's TV shows and computer games, but Johnson isn't interested at all.
Teenagers who have been hurt are very sensitive.
Living together every day, eating at the same table every night, watching talk shows on the living room sofa every night, saying good night to each other every day... The longer we spent together, the more strange Johnson felt.
Katie's favorite guest on the show is humorous, but she always makes fun of the poor, implying that they are the trash of society.
The positioning of this show is to please the middle class and those who yearn for this class. Johnson has not been stunned by the bustling life of the city, and these shows that make Katie laugh happily always make the teenager embarrassed and disturbed.
He was like a guest in this home, no matter how much hospitality and care he received, he couldn't fit in.
After several midnight quarrels were discovered by Johnson, Katie and Charlie would not argue at home, they would go to a community park, or a bar, they said to Johnson that "life is always contradictory, but they think it is wrong to argue in front of children. Yes, it should be avoided."
Now, they're out again.
With such a heavy snowfall, he was left alone in the cold room at Christmas.
The lawyer didn't get through to the heating repair call. Katie said she would go out to see if there were any supermarkets that were still open. They still kept a smile on their faces, but reluctantly.
Johnson tucked his head into the blanket.
Last night, Christmas Eve, they were watching TV in the living room when the whole house suddenly shook.
Afterwards, many black flat spherical monsters appeared in the room. Johnson saw a monkey with long arms through the glass window, jumping with baring teeth and shaking the snow off the pine trees.
***
On the street of the community, a woman in a down jacket shouted angrily: "I've had enough, Charlie! You also saw that when the monster came over, Johnson would only hide in the corner! Fortunately, there were only a dozen black fur balls, What if a jimboo monkey, or even a man-eating squid?"
The man in the black hat said impatiently, "Then what do you want? Tell him, 'Baby, there is actually a mysterious power in our body, manipulating it can protect ourselves and defeat monsters'?"
The woman rounded her eyes and panted, "Why not?"
"He was a victim of school violence. Johnson Brown hated violence because of his childhood experiences! Katie, have you even forgotten the words of the original book?"
"When facing a monster attack, he will only cry and tremble. This is our protagonist? I really regret taking this mission!" Katie with blond hair was furious, "I would rather be the unlucky Jack and fly to the other side of the ocean, Wandering around in the realm of the devil is better than those days."
As she spoke, she recounted Johnson's shortcomings.
"His socks never get clean, his knife and fork don't work well, and a set of plates is broken. He doesn't know how to use a lawn mower, not even a microwave! God!"
With an exaggerated expression of "this is a disaster", Katie accused the man in front of her and threw everything to her.
"The Abandoned World came last night. We finally killed those black hairballs. He didn't do anything! The furniture and appliances in the room were all destroyed. Where can we get the money to repair them? Last month was in deficit, and this month's The check is still on hold!"
Mr. Lawyer's face was impatient, he raised his hand to express surrender, not wanting to argue with Katie: "I've already gone!"
"You pressed for three days." Katie was so angry that she was about to cry.
She squatted on the side of the road weakly, thinking of the cold house without heating, she didn't want to go back.
"Hey, Katie, don't do this!" Charlie had to persuade, "Listen, we can't leave Johnson in the house alone, do you need me to tell you what the psychiatrist says, hurt children, it's easy to be extreme! Abandoned and prejudiced, there is the potential for a sociopath! We can't let Johnson be like that, honey, we've worked so hard, God bless us."
A man and a woman are embracing in the snow.
They are indeed a couple, otherwise they wouldn't be able to receive such a good task. There were still many people's envy before, and the close contact with the protagonist has become an important "relative" in the protagonist's heart. This is a good thing that falls from the sky!
Katie wanted to kill her ecstatic self.
"I knew it! If it's really a good thing, why didn't the boss come by himself?"
The lawyer was startled, and quickly stopped Katie, staring in warning: "You're dying, how dare you say such a thing?"
Katie pushed her lover away in frustration, and said angrily: "Can you make a little bit of money! Those who will come to this world are all losers. You are suspected of helping people transfer property, and I illegally sell soft drugs, and almost go to jail... The leader will be more than Where are we going?"
"Aren't you afraid that he is a murderer? If one of you is killed, and another of me is killed, how much will it cost the organization?"
Katie listened and dared not speak.
"Okay, baby! Go home, bring your wallet, and our Johnson, and say no one's fixing the heating, let's go to a hotel for the night," Charlie advised.
The two finally reached a consensus and turned to the residence.
Ten minutes later, they were startled. A row of children's footprints stretched out in the snow in front of the door—Johnson left alone when they weren't home.
"Damn! He ran!"
"Johnson!"
Katie said anxiously, "He hasn't left the house a step these days, and he rarely even comes out of the bedroom. Why did he leave suddenly? It's still snowing so much outside!"
"Katie, did you say something?" Charlie looked at his girlfriend suspiciously.
"Shit, I don't know anything!"
The two complained about each other and chased after the footprints. On the way, they met a neighbor boy who came back from walking the dog. The footprints disappeared on the road, mixed with other footprints, and could no longer be distinguished.
"No! We're going to die!" Katie frowned, scratching her hair.
***
Johnson staggered down the road.
The cold wind gave him a headache, but he didn't want to go back to that house.
Katie and their finances seem to be in trouble lately. The dinner has only been potatoes and bread for a week. He seems to bring bad luck to them.
Unrecognizable house, messy furnishings, Johnson could not live there with peace of mind.
He wanted to go back to South Saskatchewan and go back to find Uncle Lake. Maybe the missing Lake was still spending his time in a casino, and the cold and dilapidated poor neighborhood was his home. No TV, no talk show guests satirizing poverty.
But South Saskatchewan is too far...
Johnson was recognizing the cross of the church in the snowstorm. Suddenly, his eyes flashed. A tall leather man was riding a modified heavy-duty motorcycle, parked in front of him. The tires were very high. In such a cold day, the engine was still very hot. Steaming smoothly.
The huge goggles covered almost the whole face of the man.
"Sir..." Johnson said timidly.
The man put the locomotive across the road swept by the snow plow. If he didn't give way, Johnson could only step on the snow that was half his height. blow…
"Little devil, do you want to freeze to death in the street?"
The man picked up Johnson, frowned, looked up and down, and wrapped it directly into his leather jacket.
"First... sir?" Johnson froze, then struggled.
"Don't move!" The man straightened the locomotive and drove away like lightning. The fine white mist created by the snowflakes and tires scattered all over the sky.