one bloody thing after another . table of contents . about the creators
Chapter six Family. -- All night Margaret hears her down there, screaming and thrashing. The kitten doesn't like those sounds at all, and burrows under Margaret's arms. But she can't do it tonight. Tomorrow night the sounds will be too much. Annette'll be screaming and crying and she'll start to use words again. This is what always happens. She'll say, "Margaret," in the middle of some string of random words, but it will be her name in Annette's voice, and that will be too much. Margaret will be right back out there, finding her little sister something live to eat. But not tonight. Tonight she sits with the kitten in her lap, and she tries to remember the words to old songs while Annette screams. Margaret wakes up with the kitten pushing his cold little snout into her neck. Oh, hello. Good morning. She feeds him in the kitchen, and makes herself some breakfast. Downstairs, She pulls open the door to her sister's room, so she can watch her sleep, and the air inside is cold. Too cold. The window is open, and there's this rush of excitement. Maybe she got out. Maybe it's over. But Annette has not escaped. She's right there, on the floor, curled up in her mother's arms. Their mother's face is twisted and bloody, and there's fur on the floor from whatever they ate last night. It's a mess of blood and bone. The two of them look like a family. Margaret doesn't know what to do. She could chain her mother up now, while she sleeps. But then what? Then she's taking care of two of them. How long will she have to go on finding food for them? While Margaret watches, Annette nuzzles her torn jagged face into their mother contentedly, and makes a sound almost like a cat purring. And something inside Margaret flips like a switch. She doesn't know how it works. Is there some kind of poison in the bite that turned them into this? They both died. Does she have to die to be like them? Margaret takes the kitten upstairs, and she opens the front door and sets him outside. "You should go," she tells him, and he just sits there. And then she goes back downstairs, into her sister's room. She unlocks Annette's chains, while they keep sleeping. The window is still open, and when night falls, there'll be nothing keeping anyone locked inside. They look peaceful. Margaret doesn't know why she's so angry. Fear? She kicks her sister in the ribs. "Hey Annette," she says. She kicks her again. "Hungry?" ONE BLOODY THING AFTER ANOTHER image copyright emily horne 2008. text copyright joey comeau 2008. |