The Abandoned Children - PART 4

Joe broke the silence.

"Don't repeat that, Felice. Otherwise I'll have to send you home. While you're here, there won't be a single good word about the Dyens children. As long as I live."

Joe left the room. Mark sighed.

"You shouldn't irritate Grandpa", said Jane reproachfully.

"But..."

"No arguing", Mark suddenly said. "You must learn to despise the children. That's the way it is."

The next day, Mark and Janet would visit a friend in town. Joe came along.

"You will be alone all day", said Janet. "Is that alright? You can eat the rest of the salmon, if you want to."

"I'll be fine", Felice mumbled.

She had a plan. Janet had been shopping the day before - Felice as well. Not as long as Janet, of course. But long enough to be able to buy a couple of things. Bread, meat, cheese, fruit and some vegetables. Enough to satisfy 3 children. And nobody had noticed it.

She watched the car disappear. As soon as it was out of sight, Felice ran to the kitchen and fetched the secret food supply. Janet's old work basket became a perfect picnic hamper. Felice buttered some slices of bread for herself and packed everything into the basket.

Felice felt as if she knew the forest inside out, she often made a mental note of things. She walked towards the house and searched for the children. The windows were covered by dust, she couldn't look through. The handle of the door was on the point of coming off. Felice carefully knocked at the door. No sounds, no reaction. She opened it and looked around. At the beginning, she didn't see anything - since it was rather dark. Later on, different things appeared. A wooden bench, a table, four chairs and a stove. There were four unmade beds in the corner.

The Abandoned Children - PART 3

"Anyway, she had an accident in the forest. Nobody knows what happened, I think she fell and hurt herself. She managed to get to the hospital all by herself."

"She must have suffered severe physical injuries", Felice mumbled.

"Well, everybody thought so. But that wasn't the case. Margaret got off with a few scratches. But her brain.... Her speech went wrong. It probably was a psychic smash too as well. She had a strange behaviour."

Mark stopped speaking.

A couple of days later, Felice took a walk in the forest with her grandfather Joe. He wanted to see the notorious children.

"We're almost there", he eagerly said. "You can see the hovel from here. They'll come out, you'll see."

A red ramshackle building appeared. Felice and Joe hid behind a stone. They heard distant sounds but didn't see anything. The door suddenly opened. Two little children came out, a boy and a girl. The blonde hair of the girl was sleazy and probably hadn't been combed for years. The boy was red-haired.

"They have food", said Joe. "But not much."

"We have sufficient. Why can't we give it to them?"

"Look at them", Joe snorted. "Those kids need a good thrashing, then they'll learn to speak decent."

"Strangls", said the blonde girl. "Da-a-a!"

The boy nodded.

"They've seen us", Joe noted. "Let's go."

"I want to stay", said Felice.

"Are you completely out of your mind?" Joe exclaimed. "There is nothing more to see."

"I agree with Dad", said Mark. "Those children are of no use."

"I've never heard anybody talk like that", said Felice.

"Neither have I", said Janet. "The children most likely embraced Margaret's speech."

They were sitting at the dinner table. Felice didn't like the hostile tone.

"If I could, I would take the gun and shoot the kids", said Joe and smiled contentedly.

Felice shuddered. Her own grandfather....

"I actually think they're cute", she said.

Mark stared into space. Janet shut her eyes.

The Abandoned Children - PART 2

One of the men took a stick and started to beat Margaret in the face. Her scream broke the silence.

"We can't have monsters like you", one of the women hissed.

The man pulled in the trigger. Margaret's eyes were pained. Bang! The fatal shot went off. The men threw Margaret's body in a hole in the ground and simply left the place. Ten minutes later, the children stood by the hole and watched their dead mother. Silent tears ran down their pale faces.

"It's easy to get lost", Janet indicated.

"Don't worry", said Felice.

Everybody were so overprotecting. It was as if they thought she was a little child.

"We just want to warn you about the forest", Mark said. "Or rather what you may see in it. And hear."

Felice shrugged her shoulders. It was summer vacation and she was visiting her aunt and uncle. She wasn't worried. But she still asked what Mark meant.

"People have heard strange sounds from there", he explained.

"What do you mean?" Felice wondered.

"Screams from the red hovel. Whatever you do, keep away from it. There are creatures in there and they aren't.... human."

Felice wrinkled her forehead.

"The progeny of Margaret Dyens", Janet explained. "She left behind three children. Or more, I don't know. That woman had a man in every village - before she went mad. I wonder who fathered the children in the house."

Janet shook her head and went to feed the cats.

"Tell me more", Felice begged.

"Is that so? You're getting curious", Mark laughed. "Okay, I'll tell you a thing or two."

They walked in the rain. Felice didn't complain, since she had her umbrella.

"Margaret came from an affluent family. She was disobedient and wilful. She broke the rules. The parents finally decided she couldn't live with them anymore."

"What happened to her?"

"She refused to became homeless and escaped to the forest. Built a bad house. She could have lived luxuriously, she had money. She probably stole a few coins from the parents."

"Maybe she was greedy", said Felice.

The Abandoned Children - PART 1

This story centers around 16-year old Felice who - during a summer vacation - encounters three orphaned children living in the forest. They are outcasts of society and have embraced their dead mother's odd language. Felice soon discovers the harsh feelings towards the children, particularly expressed by her own grandfather. Quite contrary to the hateful people in the village, Felice decides she will do everything in her power to help the children.

Up to now, this is my first and only "none eco-horror story".

(Eco-horror is a sub-genre of horror which feature animals attacking humans).

The sun was going down. The night would take over and all the sounds of the forest become silent. But the night wasn't entirely calm and quiet. It made Margaret afraid. The night meant danger and uncertainty. The humans came with horrible things, but the worst of it was the look in their eyes. She knew what they thought. We don't want you to be here. We're coming to send you away. You and your children. She was a good victim, all alone with the children in a ramshackle house.

Margaret turned around and watched the three children. Tom and Annie were asleep, but Alice was still awake.

"Aaalis", Margaret whispered. "Sss...."

The girl nodded and shut her eyes. Margaret finally fell asleep.

She was awakened by sounds. People were shouting, dogs were barking. Margaret saw three women and two men. They carried the dangerous things and some kind of fire which illuminated their faces. The women caught sight of her.

"There she is! There she is!"

The dogs plunged forward and fiercely yelped. Margaret held the children, she didn't want to let go of them - but one of the women brusquely took hold of her arm and dragged her away.

"Da-a-a!" Margaret screamed. "Da-a-a!"

The children understood and rushed off. They hid behind a shrub.

The Revenge Of The Claws - PART 7

"You've got no reason to be alarmed", Robert continued. "I was 11 years old when I first I held a pistol in my hand. There was an aggressive jackal in the forest, my father told me to shoot it. Ever since then, people have been calling - asking me to kill dangerous animals."

"Ever been injured?" O'Morris asked.

"Some slight wounds here and there. I've got a scar in the cheek, it was a panther."

"My son, what do you know about this....virus?" Father Lane whispered.

"Not much", Robert unpretentiously admitted. "It makes animals and humans crazy. 10 years ago, I was paid to protect a family in Venezuela. They knew it was a wild cat near the house. When you've seen such a cat near by... The jaw is full of blood and froth..."

They heard the sound. Scratching and unpleasant, something like scraping one's nail at the chalk board. They saw something, nobody knew what it was but Robert firmly maintained that it resembled a bloody claw.

"Help! It's outside!!" O'Morris screamed.

Father Lane remained calm. Robert held the pistol straight in front of him.

"Come here", he mumbled.

A soft creak were heard. At first, they only saw a bloody paw. But in a little while, the black cat appeared. The eyes shone in a terrifying way. The mouth was wide open and a mixed sludge of blood and froth spurted out. The cat fiercely hissed.

Robert fumbled for the pistol, but it was beyond reach.

"Shoot!" he screamed to O'Morris, who stood behind the couch. "Take the pistol!"

"Hell Mary...." Father Lane chanted.

O'Morris trembled. He saw Robert's face slowly disappear into the mouth of the cat. Father Lane crossed himself and grabbed the gun. O'Morris laid on the floor, uttering whimpering sounds. The shot of Father Lane hit the cat in the stomach. It was bawling with pain but still rushed about. Father Lane shot again. This time, the shot hit in the forehead. The cat collapsed, a lifeless bloody mass.

Father Lane stared at the headless body of Robert.

"We must bring him out", he said to O'Morris. "Burn the remnants."

They watched the flames consume the black cat.

THE END

The Revenge Of The Claws - PART 6

The next day, Robert once again paid a visit to father Lane. The priest had arranged a dinner party. Robert was served both bread and soup, but hardly touched the food.

"My son, my son - your troubles won't diminish just because you're not eating. No matter if they're worldly or spiritual."

Robert nodded and obediently cut up a piece of bread for himself.

"This cat", said Theresa. "Tell me about it."

Father Lane gazed upon his maid.

"Do you remember a girl named Nancy Sanderson?"

"Nancy - yes, I remember her", Theresa whispered.

"We believe that we've found out her cause of death", said Robert. "She was attacked by that cat, the one that everybody's talking about. It's a female, I'm sure of that. She recently killed Mary Anne Ricster. And Roselyn Tex."

Theresa made the sign of the cross.

"Its natural habitat must be in the forest. Let's go there!"

Robert tried to sound persuasive.

"When?" O'Morris asked.

"In the evening, perhaps even at night. My cousin has a cabin not far away from here. He's gone away for a month, I'm sure we can stay the night."

"Are you going to kill it with your mother's dishcloth?" O'Morris teased.

"I'm going to bring a pistol. I would appreciate your company, I've already persuaded father Lane."

No sooner said than done. The following evening, they plodded through the forest.

"My cope are getting snowy", father Lane complained.

"You should have taken a jacket", O'Morris muttered.

"We're there!"

Inside the cabin, O'Morris was busy making a fire. Father Lane read aloud from the catechism while Robert charged the pistol.

"Nice", O'Morris lauded. "How much did you pay for it?"

"You don't wanna know. Put it this way: I made two piles of my wages. I bought the pistol with the first one, I gave the other to my mother."

The Revenge Of The Claws - PART 5

The cat felt how the froth began to trickle down the jaw. She pattered up to the woman and observed her face. The cat opened its mouth and bit the woman's cheek. The following roar made the cat arch its back. She slowly bit off the nails and enjoyed the crunching sound. She swallowed selected pieces of the ear and tore off a large part of the throat.

O'Morris was a very experienced pathologist. He inquired about the most important details - with a handkerchief in one hand and a bottle of perfume in the other.

"I left Roselyn 8.00", a crying woman told him. "At that time, she was still asleep. And now..."

"So you're saying that you haven't been threatened in some way?"
"No, never" the woman sobbed.

"Parts of the forehead are worn away", O' Morris mumbled. "She has no nails and no throat. A few pieces of the ears are extant."

"It may be a murderer who is obsessed with specific body parts", the assistant added.

"When I look at this, I get the feeling that it wasn't a human killer. It was an animal, an insane animal."

Half an hour later, O'Morris hand was still shaking as he tried to dial Robert Lee. The third time was successful.

"Robert, you must come here!"

"Why? I've seen enough blood today...."

"But I've got a body here, it's actually quite intriguing."

"Okay".

They analysed the non-coagulated blood. Robert had to exert himself not to vomit.

"A cat", he eventually made clear.

"A cat?" O'Morris laughed.

"This is not a normal cat. It's...rabies. We must warn as many as possible!"

"Nobody's going to believe you."

"I know one who will listen. Clark Ricster. He lost his daughter recently and is firmly convinced that she was attacked by a cat."