literature

Shadows: Chapter Five

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October 25th 1984

Missy and Lucy played in the forest on this day, deep amongst the trees in the middle of beautiful autumn. A canopy of leaves blanketed the forest in every colour imaginable, stretching out above them, shielding them from the outside world. The forest floor was littered with leaves that crunched softly under the weight of the two girls' footsteps. They ran through the fauna, playing cops-and-robbers. Lucy was always the cop, of course, because she was brilliant at chasing after Missy. Missy never played too hard on Lucy, Running slowly and keeping in Lucy's sight.
The pair Zig-Zagged between trees, over mounds and through the golden leaves. Eventually, the two reached the river that marked the edge of the estate.  It was as far as they were allowed to venture alone, their father was very strict about this.
Missy took her gloves off and scooped some of the cool, clean water from the shallow riger into her mouth. It tasted sweet, and she encouraged Lucy to do the same.
The sun broke through the leaves overhead, illuminating the scene, shining onto the girls' bright young faces. They panted to catch their breath from all of the running.
'Hey Luce,' Missy said through her heavy breathing, 'You wanna play hide-and-seek?' - A more relaxed game to make up for the running.
'Okay!' Lucy shrilled, 'I'm gonna hide first!' And before Missy could argue, Lucy was gone. She ran towards the farm, galloping through the woodland. Missy started counting up to one-hundred; Slowly, so that Lucy could have a lot of time to hide. Missy concentrated on the numbers, her mind wandering easily, distracted by the lazy flowing of the river behind her, the chirping of the birds high above the trees. When she opened her eyes, she scanned the woodland for signs of Lucy. At the top of her voice, she yelled 'Ready or not, here I come!' And the game was on.
Missy spent a while just wandering through the woods, enjoying the quiet, in a way. She hummed a tune, mimicking the birds that whistled carelessly in the cold sunlight, kicking piles of leaves as she meandered between the trees. She knew the woods like the back or her hand, as well as all of the hiding places that Lucy chose. Missy checked the hiding places one by one, working towards the farm.

Lucy chuckled softly, Missy would never find her here. Under the fallen tree, between two rocks that made a small cavern. It was damp and muddy, but Lucy sat concealed in the shadows. She sat there for what felt like hours, she sung a song to herself and talked to the bugs that she found to pass the time. There was Mister Worm and Ms Ladybug, their children: Lord Beetle and Lady Moth. They lived in the moss that grew on the wall of the 'cave'. Lucy played with those creatures until she heard a soft humming outside, she recognised the tune, she didn't know where from though. She giggled because she knew the owner of the angelic voice that sung the tune, likely giving her perfect hiding place away.
Missy jumped down clumsily from the trunk of the tree into the small cavern and saw what she wanted to see, her little sister – Well, by two minutes – sat under the rock, playing with bugs. Missy sighed, she didn't have the heart to tell her sister that the bugs were long dead, and that Lucy had played with them a few days back. Missy outstretched her hand to her sister who took it without hesitation.
'Right Lucy, now it's my turn to hide. I think we should go back to the farm though, It's starting to get a bit dark in the woods.'
The two girls walked the short way to the edge of the forest, Lucy behind Missy, as always. The farm was a welcome sight to Missy, both girls had been running through the woods for hours. All she had to do was finish this game of hide-and-seek and then they could get back into the warm cottage.
'Okay, now you stay here with your eyes closed,' Missy said to her sister, Motioning towards the barn's entrance, It was small for a barn and housed the goat and a few chickens. Lucy stood in the doorway, she clamped her eyes shut and counted out loud to one hundred. Missy paused for a moment, making sure that Lucy was safe, before running off to hide.
'By the shed? By the garden? Where would Lucy look?' Missy thought to herself. Despite her knack for being able to find hiding places, she wanted to make sure that Lucy would be able to find her quickly, and that if anything happened to Lucy, Missy would be able to see. Eventually, she settled for hiding inside the shed that had a door that faced the farm. Missy opened the door so a thin beam of light could enter the shed. She watched Lucy as she counted loudly, she got stuck on what number was after 43, so eventually she gave up and yelled 'I'm coming Missy!' And then she skipped out of sight.
Missy sat for many minutes in the darkness of the shed, the small strip of light provided by the door eventually dimmed and the birds stopped singing. 'Oh, come on, Luce.' Missy thought out loud. She started getting a bit claustrophobic, The darkness didn't normally bother her, nor did small spaces, but she felt unnerved. Something moved behind her and she jumped out of her skin. A ear-splitting crash of garden tools and wheelbarrows filled the shed as the sharp equipment fell around her. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to leave the shed, she didn't want to see Lucy's reaction if she did. Missy sat opposite the door, at the back of the shed, and curled up into a ball.
That's when she heard them. Blood curdling screams. Her whole body froze. Who did it belong to? Missy curled further into a ball. The screaming - The screeching  – continued. A cacophony of anguish cloaked the farm, And the light faded still. As suddenly as the screaming had started, it stopped. Missy didn't realise that she had started crying, but she didn't make herself stop. She wanted to melt away, to disappear into a puddle of tears. She did not know who those screams belonged to, but she knew that their family was the only one for miles. It had to belong to one of them. Missy's thoughts were a hurricane of panic, but one thing was clear – She had to check if Lucy was okay. The eldest twin, wearing her long purple scarf that dragged along the ground when she walked, stumbled out of the shed.
She was filled with fear, responsibility and anticipation for what had happened, but there was another emotion, a strange feeling that welled up inside her like a dark void. She felt like collapsing and never getting back up. She felt like never talking again. She felt like she wanted revenge. Anger? Pain? Curiosity? Missy did not know, but this feeling was certainly not good. Missy pushed open the back door to the cottage, it led into the kitchen. She felt like an intruder in her own home, like nothing here belonged to her.
There was a thud upstairs, footsteps. Sobbing. Missy grabbed a knife in her shaky hands. It was the long, sharp blade that their father had used to carve the meat on Sundays. As she drudged upstairs, knife in hand, she heard sobbing again. It came from the room to the left, Their parent's bedroom. Distraught but silent, Missy turned the handle and opened the door.
And immediately fainted.

The Blood – So much blood – covered all surfaces in the room. The ornaments that decorated shelves and tables were strewn across the floor and smashed. A photo of the family was torn up and lay beside the body. The victim was male, around 45, with laceration wounds all over his body. His arms and legs were almost entirely shredded, the bone was visible, even through all the blood. Etched onto his face was a deep cut from ear to ear, it went through his cheeks and met at the corners of his mouth, making him look like The Joker. Both of his eyes were gouged out and lay beside the body. The brutality that the killer showed was terrifying.
(There is a gory scene at the end, be warned)
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