The Farmer's Family



Night was approaching, and I was out on the road hitchhiking without a place to stay for the night. While I could sleep on the side of the road it isn't something I'm very keen on doing, who knows what other creeps could be wandering these roads at night. On top of that, who's would be able to help me if a pack of coyotes came upon me? So I guess I'll have to keep walking. Don't even know what I'm doing anymore, right here in the middle of farm country, trying to find shelter for the night. So much for seeing the great sights of North America.

But, just as the sun was sinking over the horizon like my hope of a true risk and care free night of sleep, I spotted an old warn, dingy farmhouse. So I picked up my pace and jogged quickly over to check the place out. But to my surprise, once I reached the gate, I realized that there were still people in the house, a young boy staring ominously at me from the window.

I wouldn't say it creeped me out so much that it just put me out of place and felt very strange. But as I was staring back at the boy he ran away, and my attention jumped back to the front door as it crashed open and an older looking man stepped out. I went to the porch to ask if he'd be willing to let me stay for the night.

The Man looked very unwell and, much like the boy, very offsetting. He had cold dead and grey eyes surrounded by deathly pale skin which looked as though it was decaying off of his very face. This man was either deathly ill or I was just weirded out and projecting my own messed up thoughts I was currently having upon him. Then he spoke in a creaky old voice that still managed to be fairly stern and intimidating. "Hell you doing kicking around here, boy?" he asked. "Well sir, I was just wonder-", "You better not be one of them goddamned boys trying to get your noses into my business," He interrupted in a stern voice. "No sir" I said quietly in response. "Good, but If I find out you're lying, you'd best get the hell off my property now or you'll wish you were never born." He said with what seemed like an internal rage within his eyes. "Sir I just want to know If I can sleep here tonight." I finally said. "Oh...well I s'pose you can stay in the barn for the night...dinner will be in an hour." and without getting another word in he sped back into the house leaving me all alone outside.

I decided to check out the barn, where I would be sleeping. I walked into the barn and almost instantly felt a cold chill, a shiver went up my spine which was covered in what was now cold sweat from all the walking I did. The barn felt, empty and hollow both figuratively and literally, the creak and gusts flowing through its bones created a sense of dead cold emptiness of unpleasant happenings, not to sound cliche but it felt as though it was trying to steer me off from whatever fate I was headed towards.

But regardless I managed to stay and soon enough I was sitting at the dinner table, a quiet hum filed the silence of the room. We had just finished eating, the food was prepared well enough and was eatable but tasted either very bland or near rotting quality. We had barely spoken, the owner to my right at the head was still the same Man I had met earlier. His wife to my left at the other end was a very pale and fragile looking woman who seemed all but dead, she sat there staring into oblivion hardly moving as if she had seen something that had caused her to loose all hope of living. There were 2 sons opposite me, one around 12 the other which I had seen before about 9, both had the same grey almost decaying skin on their face much like their father.

The elder looked down almost trembling with an angry yet empty look on his face, the younger looked depressed, his mouth slightly gaping open looking as though he was going to faint. This family was mysterious and yet clear as to why they were so strange, but all I wanted to do was to walk out as soon as possible.

"So wanna share what brings ya up in these parts just walkin' long the road." The Man asked "Well, I came from Pennsylvania and I've come North East to get to Canada to see th-" I was interrupted again, this time by the older son, he spoke in a strangely deep yet sad voice, he said "She didn't have a choice...he carried her there and we had to as well, we saw her-" The Father who had just clicked in to what the boy was saying practically dived at his son and hit him sending him hurtling to the ground, the younger boy looked like he was starting to claw at his face with a terrified expression, the mother put her fact to the table weeping what seemed uncontrollably. And I sat there in the terror and confusion.

The older son must have been unwell as despite only being hit once he coughed once or twice and started gushing blood, the father then kicked the boy in the stomach putting him in agonizing pain, he then picked up a unlit lantern and smashed over the boy's head, cutting him up. The man looked at his badly injured son on the floor with a furious expression on his face, I though he was going to continue. Luckily he didn't but rather looked at me with the same expression, I froze, staring at him for a few seconds before he left. I saw the boy on the floor, but there was nothing I could do.

I lay in the middle of the night in the barn thinking about what I had just witnessed. All the farmer had to do was look at me but I still got the message perfectly clear. I couldn't leave the farm, try to intrude on his family or stand up to him or else who knows what he would do to me. The Barn was still emitting the same dark feeling it had before but now if felt as though it was becoming more frantic, perhaps I was in more trouble then I thought. Just then I heard the house door open, I looked through a hole in the barn and saw the father walking briskly away into the fields and towards the hills. I knew I shouldn't go near the house to see if they were all right, I had a simple plan, slip away in the morning, get to the nearest town and contact the authorities. But In the meantime I had to see if they were still alright and nothing had happened while I wasn't there.

I snuck to the window to their living room and saw they were all still awake. The Mother still lay face down at the table in the other room, still sobbing. The younger son lifelessly taping a jagged rock on the floor, the older son still looking beat up and now even more pale was sitting with the same angry yet empty expression looking into the fire, he pulled out his hands and dangled his chalk white fingers dangerously over the fire. What in the fuck is going on in this place. Then through a shadow in the moonlight I realized that the farmer was heading back. Shit, he might be able to see me, in fact he can. He started picking up his pace coming down from atop the hill past the field, I throwing caution to the wind dashed back to the barn praying I could avoid confronting him after he knew I'd been sneaking around.

I managed to get back into the barn but I needed to hide quickly, I frantically dashed around trying to find a good hiding place, but then I stopped dead in my tracks. A powerful cold breathe hit my side, I turned there to see a door on the floor leading to some sort of cellar, at first I thought that I was being guided to safety by some unknown protector, but as soon as I ascended the steps I knew this was not the case.

It was dark and musty, but most of all my whole body ached of fear and weariness of my new surroundings. I noticed a lantern, it was still warm, I got it to work just to illuminate the whole room. There was little there, I felt a little reasured, on top of that there was no sign of the farmer yet, perhaps I was overly worried about the whole situation. But then I noticed another door leading to the next room, I slowly approached it and turned the knob, stepping in I saw something completely horrific.

There was a teenaged girl on the floor at the other end of the room, I approached the fear in my soul rebirthed and now more powerful than ever, I should have never come here. As I got closer I saw her body clearly, her clothes ripped off revealing her chest which looked to have had nearly all of it brutally and quickly cut and peeled off of her body, her distorted face still captured what must have been an unspeakably painful act of violence and murder. Looking to my left I found the pieces of her skin tore off and drying on the wall, the blood half dry.

Then all of a sudden the door behind me clicked, dammit, he did follow me and now I`m stuck in here. I ran to the door and looked through the crack in the wall, it was the farmer walking slowly towards the stairs. Before reaching the stairs he yelled up the ladder ``You little Bastards, if you don`t do this yàll wish you never had a brother!``. He walked up the stairs and out of sight, it`s then that I needed to escape, I desperately looked around for someplace to hide or some kind of exit...there was none. It was just me and the grizzly corpse of the poor young woman, trapped forever it would seem.

However soon enough The farmer was back, accompanied by a blood curdling scream ``NOOOOOOOO RICHARDDD``, just then the wife was brutally kicked down the stairs bashing her teeth as she hit the hard stone floor. A few teeth fell out of the already filthy and unclean mouth, she screamed again this time higher pitched and far more painful now having her mouth filling with blood. The farmer dashed down the stairs and kicked his wife square in the jaw, and gurgled and sickening gasp of pain erupted from the woman as nearly half of her jaw shattered, part of her cheek ripping apart. I was about to throw up, the woman lay there so defenseless clawing into her face and head in pain. Just then the evil cruel man picked up a rusty cleaver and started unmercilessly cutting apart the wife`s face, she was now basically passed out and madly twitching, the man became angry and slit her throat, almost instantly killing her.

It`s then I lost all control I burst down the door and ran madly up the flight of stairs, desperately trying to escape. There was nothing left to do except secure my own life. But just as I got out I came face to face with the older brother, his faced still partly bloodied and bruised, he was pale, tears streaming down his eyes. We just stared at each other for a good 5 seconds until I realized I needed to get out no matter what.

I started sprinting like a mad man again but as I was running I noticed the younger brother blocking my path. Strangely he looked somewhat calm, a little confused but still amazingly calm considering his mother was just brutally and ferociously murdered. I didn't stop to think much of it, but as I passed I saw it, the boy was holding a old shovel and just as I ran passed I was rammed straight in the face...it all went black.

Then I awoke. It was dark and I felt extremely weak. I was naked and dazed not understanding my surroundings at all. Then I saw it, my left arm extremely bloodied with and bandaged at the end, then I noticed my hand was no longer there. A force hit me of fear and agony. I was there trembling violently but it only got worse while I started to get a better idea of where I was, I then noticed a brown bag covered in a dark red liquid, I tried to get up but then I was then hit by a wave of real pain. I looked onto my stomach to see a huge crude cut, by god what had they done to me. After nearly a minute of terror and pain I finally realized, sitting right in front of me...were the two boys, next to them the lantern just barely illuminating the room. We were in a cave of some sorts, and once again I found myself staring at them, the older boy was even paler except now instead of sobbing a look of seriousness and anger was on his face, then I noticed the bandage around his right leg, dear god what man would do this. But as a new wave of terror hit me I turned my attention to the younger brother who was holding a knife, he showed no emotions what so ever.



We stared at each other for minutes until the younger boy looked towards the ground, the older boy then spoke ``Richard`` he said, his brother looked to him. After a moment the boy slowly moved his head back towards me and slowly transformed his face into a small yet twisted smile, he lifted the knife. The terror in my eyes begged and pleaded the younger brother not to do what I knew he was about to, then the eldest said something I`ll never forget:

``Richard...Do it.``

And the lantern faded out into complete darkness.

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Written by LinebeckIV