The Children of Darthbrooke

They came in herds. Swooping down and grabbing us. The monsters just ignored our cries of pain and anguish. Our suffering.

Some of them were dog-like things, with long, lethal claws. Their eyes glowed saffron in the moonlight, and stood on two feet. Others appeared as humans, but had long teeth protruding from their mouths.

Then there were the bug-like creatures. They had so many arms and legs and eyes, we couldn't tell which were which. Some were flexible and thin, much like a spider, and others hovered over the ground with sharp teeth and animal claws.

The ones that looked to be humans and cats mixed seemed to be the least cruel. They scooped the babies up into their paws and carried them off into the night. Human body structure, cat ears, tail, paws and eyes.

These creatures were so strange. Little elves came from every where. They looked like the ones that you would see at Santa's workshop, but these ones were dangerous and blood-thirsty. They did not have colorful little caps, or a jolly smile on their face. They were replaced with ripped burlap shirts, pants, and caps, with a hungry snarl to match. Some of them tore through the children like dogs to a chew toy, meanwhile others took them behind piles of rubble or bushes, and did god knows what to them. I only know that I could still hear their screams as they were dragged away.

And last, there were the most terrifying of them all. The ones that made my life hell.
They were hunched over, and had large, overly muscular bodies. Long, poker straight hair sprouted from each of their heads and fell into their eyes intimidatingly. When you had the chance to see their eyes, they were pure place. Not an ounce of life, or light in them. Dead eyes. Body hair came from their arms, legs, and chest, twisting and curling in every direction. Gooey, clear drool seeped from their mouths in bucketfuls. You could have drowned from it.

They had long, sharp claws coming from their human fingers. Surely they could cut through titanium. These beasts were the most cruel of them all. The unlucky children they had picked up were beat enough so that they would almost be unconscious. The monsters left them conscious as they fed on their insides, the children being able to feel everything. Their screams will haunt every waking moment of my life.

I had watched this whole scene from a high, stone tower that looked over the village from the forest. This is where my father had told me to stay before he left the night before.

"Stay here, Lacey. And don't come out until I come back, okay?" My father grasped my shoulders with his hands. "You need to stay here. Do you promise me?" He looked brave, but scared. I could tell something terrible was going to happen. Tears leaked from my eyes as my father gripped my shoulders tightly.

"Do you promise, Lacey? You have to promise!" he shouted desperately.

Tears mournfully fell from his eyes. I nodded. I didn't feel that it was right for me to talk. That I should just be silent for him. Father wiped his tears away with his sleeve and embraced me in a tight hug. He tangled his fingers into my hair and cried. Cried for everything that he was going to lose. Cried for all the lives that were going to be lost.

At the time I had no idea why he was acting like this. Nothing had ever phased him like this before. Father was usually a strong, happy man.
I had never seen him break his everlasting smile.
Not even in his sleep.
But these demons had changed everything. Changed my life from a perfect, cheerful one, into the kind that made me wish every day that I was dead.

I looked out the window only to see terrifying creatures crashing all of the log buildings in Darthbrooke Valley.
Other children were also waking up.

They walked out of the doors, only to be greeted by sharp fangs, and beady eyes. The children were shocked silent. However, all hell broke loose once they started torturing the children. Cries of anguish and screams of suffering echoed in my ears.

That, and the creatures' growling was all I could hear.

All of our settlement was being ruined. I guessed that this is why Father left last night. He didn't want to be killed. Betrayal was the only thing I could feel. My own father left me here to die alone. A tear dripped from my eye. After everything I have gone through, I decided that would be my last tear. I remembered everything that had happened in the last couple of years here.

We had spent years working on all the homes when we had settled here. We had come here four years ago, when an epidemic happened in our city. Most of the people were getting their homes taken away, and their children put in new homes, all because they were getting fired from their jobs.

Jobs were short, ever since the Saw Mill was built. Men and their families from cities all over the country came to get a new job at the saw mill. In order to make the saw mill, one of the largest areas in town, one that held tons of shops and things, was torn down. Our plaza. Many people went jobless because of that.

The families of the workers in the Saw Mill also needed jobs, and it just so happened that a lot of them were more experienced, and managed to replace the previous workers. Also, the mayor seemed to favor them. They came with more money that what most of the people in our town had. And they also liked to spend. A lot.

After that, a good portion of the town was wiped out of their jobs completely. No more jobs, no more places to live. Because of this event, the jobless families had all grouped together. They had decided to settle somewhere else, where they could make their own jobs, make their own rules, and not let anybody from the city come in and take their jobs.

So, the next day everyone gathered all of their personal items on whatever they could. A carriage with horses, wagons, horses, donkeys, oxen. Most items, however, had to be left at home.

My family was one of the lucky ones. We lives on a farm, therefore we had plenty of horses, donkeys and oxen. We also had a few wagons and carriages, which was a relief, because we had a large family.

We were able to bring all of our main necessities. Quilts, canned food, clothes, and the little bit of the money we had left. On our farm, we also had chickens and sheep. There was only enough from for one of each, so we had to sell or give away most of them. I was able to keep my favorite chicken, Bert. He was my best friend, besides Madeline. I had known Madeline since I was born. We were both born on the same day, in the same building, and were neighbors. She rode with me and Bert in one of the carriages with my father. The whole ride to the new settlement, we had talked about what kind of things we would see and do. We were only ten at the time, so I guess you could say we had a short attention span.

"I think, that as soon as we get there, we should make a huge tree fort!" I exclaimed.

Madeline beamed. "Yes! and we could get binoculars, and look out on everyone!" she giggled. "Oh! And bring Bert, and throw his eggs at Jeremy!"

We both laughed until our chests hurt. Jeremy was our arch nemesis at the time. We both sort of went out our way to make each other's life a living hell.

Years passed after we finally go there. Madeline had eventually died from a bear attack. One day, I was looking for her, but couldn't find her, so I traveled deep into the forest.

"Madeline!" I shouted. "Madeline? Where are you?" I called. I still go no answer, but finally after it had gotten dark, I found her.

She was laying on the forest floor, bloody and cut up. There were little bits of her flesh, organs and blood everywhere. As son as I identified what happened, I heaved all over her corpse.

"M-Madeline, no! It's- It's not you! It's someone else! They just look like you!" I cried and got onto my knees. "Madeline! Wake up right now! We- WE can go throw eggs at Jeremy, together!" I grasped her hand in mind. I still didn't get any response. "H-how could you leave me like this? You're my best friend. Now wake up and... And we can go and build that tree fort!" I paused, hoping she would get up and answer, laughing as she said, "Tricked you!"

She didn't.

"Remember the tree fort? WE told each other we were going to do it when we first go here, but never did! Do you remember?" I squeezed her hand harder. Two miniature waterfalls ran down my face from my eyes.

"Madeline... Don't leave me- I need you with me," I bawled into her long black, blood matted hair.

"...Please."

The forest was deathly silent. She was dead. I knew at that moment, admitted to myself at that moment that I would never get my best friend back.
That she was gone forever. "Madeline..." I whispered.

My memories were abruptly ended when I heard a close crash. I whipped my head around to see one of the terrifying demons. It was grinning at me.
The grotesque thing disgusted me. Drool seeped from it's mouth as it continued to grin at me.

"Oh, my," he whispered in a deep, scratchy voice. "It seems that I have come across yet another illegal one."

He stepped towards me and reached out to touch my face. I backed away from his hand as if it was toxic- which it probably was.
He cackled, but it sounded more like a grunt. "Feisty, eh?" he growled. "I think I'll like you."

I looked at him questioningly and didn't move. He stood completely still for a few moments, the only thing moving being the constant drool coming from his trap. I let my guard down for a second, but regretted it as soon as I did it. His long black hair swooshed in the wind as he pounced on me.

I shrieked when he finally hit me. He dug his claws into the ground around me, making me pretty much paralyzed. My breathing was short and ragged.

He glared at me, drool still dripping out of his mouth. Each time the drool hit my forehead, I winced. The drool felt like a bee sting on my face. I assumed that it had some sort of toxin in it.

After about five minutes of inspecting me, he began to question me, "How old are you, girl?"
I didn't answer. I didn't feel he deserved one. The monster glared at me.

"How OLD are you?!" he yelled in his deep, scratchy voice. I quivered.

"Sixteen... sir," I finally answered. I had never felt this powerless before. Not even when... Madeline died.

He smirked lazily. "Good girl... Now, who is your father?"

I froze once he mention my traitor of a father. "Rufus Payne. He- He's the mayor of Darthbrooke Valley... Sir..." I mumbled.

The beast rose his head. "Ah... I see... The great Rufus is a... mayor?"

I raised an eyebrow. He released one of his claws from beside my body and stroked my cheek with his claw. It left little cuts from each stroke. My cheek stung.

"What is your name, child?"

"La-Lacey. Payne.." I answered, unable to meet his soulless eyes.

"Ah. Well... Lacey..." He stroked my face again. "I shall call you my little illegal chocolate..." His mouth formed into a thin line, and then the drooling stopped. "..And you shall pay for your father's debts... You shall pay indeed."

I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but I knew that from now on, my life was going to suck.