Come All Ye Little Children

Not quite ten yards off the property, a large patch of pine straw shaped a human sized bird’s nest. Clothes snagged in the straw. Children’s clothes…

“What is this?” Julie questioned. She recognized a scrap of Vivian’s favorite yellow fleece and Maggie Walcott’s favorite red raincoat. There was a ruffled dress that looked like it came out of a 50s movie. “What is this…?” Julie repeated. Blood ran cold in her veins.

“I was hoping you could tell me.” Ethan stated. He jotted down notes on his clipboard while a shorter, bald man followed him with a camera. The flashing was blinding.

“I’ve never seen this before,” Julie answered. She cringed as the photographer pulled out a bloodstained, button down shirt.

“Do you recognize any of this?” He questioned.

“A girl in my class, Maggie, had a raincoat like that,” She answered as she pointed, “and Vivian wore a yellow fleece like this one the last time I saw her.”

“Similar clothing; you don’t see anything else here?” He asked again. His eyes focused on her, and she looked away.

“No…” Her eyes traced the nest again and saw something even more disturbing. “I recognize that blue hood.” She leaned closer, and saw the blood splatter on the left side. “It zipped onto my favorite jacket as a kid. The cookie monster I got in trouble for drawing on the inside of it is still there.”

“What the hell is going on?” Julie asked herself. The camera flash caught her by surprise before Ethen’s gloved hand took the hood from the nest.

“Jones, get this into an evidence bag, and get the blood tested. Tell them it’s priority.” Ethen dropped it into the bag Jones produced. “I figured you would remember this…” Ethan held up a sliver of a red dress. Faded black swirls still graced the delicate fabric.

“Sarah…” Julie’s stomach churned. She did recognize the dress. It’s what Sarah Mitchell wore the night of their car accident, the night she crushed her hand.

“There has been another 10-57 report. Jayson Travis, aged 15, missing for twenty-four hours.” A crackling voice sounded across his radio. Growls echoed around them. Officers raised guns, pointing them in the direction they thought the sounds originated.

“What makes that kind of noise?” Ethen asked. Julie didn’t answer. Her mind reeled with the memory of the dark figure. Without thinking, she ran.



A boy’s body lay just inside the tree line surrounding Julie Harrison’s house. His torso was ripped apart, clumps of his long hair surrounded him, and his shoes were missing. She paused roughly five yards from his body. Her hands shook as she covered her mouth.

“Julie?” Someone yelled behind her. She stepped forward, but a familiar searing burn torched her shoulder.

“NO!” She screamed. The talons in her shoulder spun her around until she faced the thing haunting her nightmares. It was large, dark gray with clumps of fur, and it looked feral. Blood dripped from its mouth. “What are you?” Julie asked.

It opened its mouth as if to speak, but it couldn’t. Loud bangs over powered its senses. Bullets whizzed passed them. Talons sliced further into Julies shoulder as it lifted her with one bird like hand and ran.

The creature moved as if it were a night breeze through the dense trees. Blood trickled down Julie’s arm, but it made no move to do more harm to her. She wondered for a moment if it was trying to save her from the bullets. It ducked into the center of a large tree and hid her body behind his. She heard the officers running passed shouting her name. Her mouth couldn’t form the scream she wanted to let out.

“Am I going to die?” She whispered instead of screaming. The creature turned to her with wide black eyes. No whites showed in its glistening eyes, but they did question her. “What are you?”

As the voices faded in the background, the creature grabbed her shoulder again. It moved faster than before, so fast Julie couldn’t see where they were going. They ducked into darkness. The only light was a flickering candle on a wooden table. Julie tried to breath, but fear overwhelmed her. The creature let her go and stood near the candle. It breathed deeply; moving bowl closer to the flame until smoke rose.

“What’s going on,” Julie cried. The gray beast transformed before her eyes. Clumps of fur fell to the floor as its skin turned brown.

“They were shooting,” a deep mail voice spoke in a soft tone. “You almost go hit.” Metal hit the wooden table with a thump. Julie realized with a start the metal was a bullet. The man standing in the light was muscular, but his face held a pained expression. His hands moved as fast as his gray body had, putting a white cloth in the smoky bowl.

“Are you the one…?” She trialed off, seeing the nest behind her eyelids.

“No.” he whispered, wrapping her shoulder with the cloth. “I created it.” He finished taking care of her wound before he sat back. “I disguise myself to try to draw it out so I can take care of what I started. Its blood is made of black magic, so it craves blood to live. Children’s blood helps it stay young.”

“What about the police?” Her mind was so full of questions. “Are they safe? Am I safe?”

“The blythe doesn’t like loud noises or big crowds of people. It hums, a sort of lullaby, to lure its victims.” He watched Julie with his dark eyes.

“How do we kill it?” She asked. He smirked as he stood.

“Shouldn’t you be more interested in who I am?” He asked as he lit more candles around the room. Chicken feet, dried lizards, and jars of things she didn’t recognize.

“I’m scared to ask.” She watched him move jars and herbs over to his table. Her muscles were too tense to move.

“I knew Ms. Katherine. She called me a medicine man, but that’s not exactly truth.” She smiled, and it made her heart skip a beat. What could this man be talking about?

“If you’re not a medicine man, what are you?” She managed to fold her arms over her arms over her chest.

He poured a bottle of water into his concoction, lit a match, and threw it in the mixture. “I’m more of a religious man. Voodoo, if you will. I create things for innocent people, and sometimes they go wrong.”

“Is that what happened this time?” Her shoulder began tingling. Warmth filled her body, and she began to feel sleepy.

“No, this is more of a consequence of taking on the wrong customer.” The bowl began to steam. He moved toward her again. “Drink this.” He unfolded her hands and placed it in her palms.

“What…”

“Do as I say, Julie, and you’ll be in your home soon enough.” He pushed the bowl to her lips. His hands on her fingers felt rough and calloused. She took a small sip, and then a gulp. He pushed the bowl further until its contents vanished.

“How do you know my name?” Her eyes began to droop. She was exhausted as if she ran through the woods herself.

“I told you, I knew Miss Katherine.”



“Julie?” A familiar voice asked. It sounded official, not like the soothing, whispered tone of the medicine man. “Miss Harrison, I need you to wake up now.”

She forced her eyes open. Had someone replaced her eyelids with sandpaper? Her head pounded as blood rushed into her face. She coughed, and the pounding got worse. She turned to see who called her name, who held her arm. Ethen Cross?

“What-?” Julie tried to question, but Ethen stopped her.

“I don’t know what that thing was, but something grabbed you. We went looking, but you were gone. When we circled back around to the nest, you were sound asleep in the middle of it.” He explained, before pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You weren’t hurt or bleeding, so I had some of the men bring you back home.”

“There’s…” She trailed off. He offered her a glass of water.

“They’re scouring the woods for the animal that took you. It needs to be put down since it’s attacking humans. We’ll catch it.” He promised. “Someone dropped this off for you about an hour ago.”

He pushed a dark envelope toward her. She grasped it weakly and tore it open. It was a letter in a scrawled handwriting. “Who brought his?” She croaked.

“A man, he had dark skin, big brown eyes, and a whispery voice. He said he knew Katherine well.” Ethen shrugged. “I need to go join the search party.”

‘Dear Julie,

I told you this creature was an unfortunate consequence, but I did not tell you that it was a consequence I risked because of your aunt. Katherine was the only kind person I met in Mason’s Creek, so when she asked me to protect her family at all costs, I agreed. Her sister just passed away, and her brother-in-law tried to take you from her. I am the reason your father was paralyzed, and I am the reason for your friend’s death. You asked how to kill the creature...

I must die.

Yours truly,
Jeramiah the medicine man.

Julie forced her body off her couch. She moved sluggishly to the door, and made her way to the woods. What had her aunt done? This man created evil for her, and now he all but said he must die to protect Katherine’s family.

She moved passed the police tape to the nest. Most of the clothes were in evidence bags now. There were no police in the area. Soft growls echoed around her. “Medicine man? Can you explain your letter?” The growls grew louder. “Jeramiah?”

“That’s not me,” the soothing whisper answered. She turned to see the dark man with tattoos along his neck. “You are going to face your aunt’s creation.”

“You said you had to die,” Julie retorted.

“I do,” he said, “for it to die.”

“Why?” She scanned the trees. Nothing appeared out of place, but the growling got considerably louder.

“Because I linked it to me in order to keep it alive since I knew Katherine was sick.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “She wanted you to be close to her, for you to be safe. When it attacked you she contacted me, and I have hunted it ever since.”

Julie turned to face Jeramiah, questions sprawled across her features. Everything went silent as she realized why the growling was so loud but the blythe was nowhere to be found. She screamed.

“Julie!” Ethen’s voice echoed through the woods. A gunshot pierced the sound barrier. The creature dodged it, but blood pooled from a hole in Jeramiah’s stomach.

“Tell him to shoot again.” He whispered. “Tell the cop I’m controlling it.”

“NO!” Julie objected.

“Do it!” Jeramiah grabbed her arm. Before Julie could speak, Ethen fired again. The creature fell to its knees as blood trickled over Jeramiah’s lips.

“Are you okay?” Ethen asked as he stepped between Julie and the medicine man’s body. Tears streamed down her face as he hugged him.

‘A witch doctor has been found guilty of more than 60 counts of child abduction and murder.’ The local paper read in the next week. ‘He was shot before police could take him into custody.’



“I’m sorry for accusing you.” Hannah said as she took a sip of her water.

“It’s okay,” Julie reassured her. “I’m glad it got solved. We all needed justice.”

“Speaking of justice,” Hannah said with a giggle. “How’s Ethen…?”