Dead Village (15 page)

As he looked deeply into the bathroom mirror, he unscrewed the small top. Then he hurriedly poured the contents down the sink, before habitually rinsing the bottle thoroughly.

Now sleep had left him, so he removed the small bible from the bedside cabinet, and read until he couldn't keep his eyes open. Then he slept again.

*  *  *  *  *

Father O'Neill stood at the rear door of the church and waited for Scraps to finish his call of nature. “Hurry back inside Scraps,” he ordered.

He could hear Scraps growling somewhere in the darkness, about forty feet away.
A rabbit or hare perhaps had startled the little dog,
he thought. Scraps would always bark when he saw those furry creatures anyhow, he knew. Or maybe this was something different. Maybe this was…

He stared back inside and thought of Tully. He was aware of how according to Tully the demon would come looking for him, and he began to feel frightened, as a heavy wind picked up and twigs and leaves were blown across the side of the building.

“Scraps,” he whispered, “come here now boy.”

Suddenly Scraps was running toward him, tail wagging, and he ushered the dog inside and slammed the door.

Across, at the edge of the forest, the two hooded figures stared across toward the church. Then they slowly turned in unison, and moved quickly back into the darkness.

CHAPTER 17

It was after midnight when the Kavanaghs entered the forest. Adam, the eldest, held the heavy duty flashlight in his left hand, while he adjusted his rucksack with the other, and as it slid down his arm, he cursed.

Paul Kavanagh, and his twin brother Samuel, held the dogs tightly, as the high spirited animals strained at the leash. The two little Patterdale terriers would be used to go into the sett and see if there were any badgers there. They would bite and snap at the badger, and the frightened badger would fight back for its very life, while the two, Pit Bull, cross Lurchers, would be held until the badger was forced out into the open.

The men were aware that, Tully, the gamekeeper, could be out and about on a night like this, and they would have to be careful. However, Adam had already decided, that should Tully try to stop them, then they would lay into him with a will. But they would not be turned over to the law by a man they regarded as nothing more than a bloody paid tout.

It would be more than likely in any event, they agreed, that Tully would probably be up at the bridge, which was at least a good half mile from were they where now.

Tully had warned them quite sternly what the consequences would be for them, should he catch them Badger baiting. He had informed them that the badger was a protected species, and he would not listen to their usual excuse that they thought they had been chasing a fox.

But the men believed they were only doing something that Irishmen had been doing for hundreds of years, and there was just no way that this toe rag was going to put a stop to their hunting traditions.

Besides, Adam felt. There was not a feeling in the world as that of watching the dogs tear the badger apart as he fought hard for his life. In fact, he had once witnessed a badger kill two dogs, before he and his brother's clubbed it to death. Oh, yes, those badgers could be real mean, tough sons-o-bitches when cornered.

In the distance a roar of thunder could be heard, and Samuel pointed at his brother.

“I don't like this place at night,” he stated.

“Shut up, or you'll feel my boot in your arse. What the hell is wrong with you man?” Adam barked.

“It's the, um, you know, the stories of th…”

“Rumours boy, that's all they are, and started by Tully and his whore, to keep the likes of you and me away from the forest,” Adam interrupted. “Well it won't work Tully,” he shouted. “It won't bloody work.”

*  *  *  *  *

Paul had also heard rumours, but he held his tongue, afraid of what his brother would say. In fact, his older brother had practically built his life around this sort of thing, and nothing would ever stop him coming to the forest.

A light patch of rain began to fall, and Paul pulled at his cap. He hated being out in the rain, and now he wished he had stayed at home by the fire.

He had also made his mind up that this would be his last time for a while. He was much too busy with trying to get things in order at the house anyway. And Holly didn't feel good about him doing what she called, ‘this barbaric activity.' In fact, she had ordered him to stop, or there would be no wedding. His psycho brother's could do as they pleased, she had told him, but no husband of hers was going to run ram stam around the country, cruelly killing innocent animals.

He had promised her under oath that this was to be his last hunting trip. But he had lied to her. His real plan was to wait for a few months, then slowly get back into the swing of things.

He hadn't mentioned this yet to his brother's though. And if he were to blame it on Holly, then he knew he would be laughed at and made fun off for the rest of his life. His brother Adam hated men who were henpecked, and he had stated before, ‘that any man, who would let a woman rule his life, was not a man at all.'

He knew he would have to tell them somehow, but he would have to make it clear that it was his own decision. He had simply just gotten tired of it, he would pretend. Perhaps he would be better getting it off his chest, and tell them now, he felt. Or maybe, he would wait until later, when Adam was in a calmer mood.

*  *  *  *  *

“We're here,” his brother stated, breaking his trance, and Paul couldn't help but notice that Adam was almost drooling at the mouth.

Everything was now done as before. The small dogs were let loose into the badger's sett, and the shocked badger would then be cornered, with nowhere to run. Adam shone the torch, as Samuel climbed up onto the top of the sett and dug down with his long heavy shovel. Then the terriers frantically ran in and nipped and harassed the badger. Samuel forced the shovel down, into the set, and prized at the badger. It would still be in shock, and it would soon be out in the open, where the Pit Bulls would be let loose on it.

The last time they had done this; there were four pups in the set. The dogs had pulled them out in pieces, and as one of the pups, sill alive, but almost cut in half, squealed loudly, Adam clumsily stamped on it a number of times until it was dead.

Now they would have the same excitement as before, cause' this badger was a big bugger, Adam somehow knew.

Paul watched anxiously, as he waited to release the almost frenzied Pit Bulls. Samuel pushed and jinked at the shovel, swivelling it back and forth, panting hard as he became caught up in the excitement.

The old injured badger stayed firm though, and wouldn't budge. Samuel leaned on the shovel, exhausted.

“Out of my way,” Adam slated, as he pushed his brother to the side and thrust the shovel up and down, into the sett, injuring the badger even more.

When he finally became exhausted, he too stopped.

A long silence followed, and the men looked hard at each other. Usually by now there would be a mad frenzy as the badger was forced from the sett.

The men looked confused and rattled.

The terriers suddenly ran out from the set. Blood dripped from their mouths, but the men couldn't tell if it was their own, or the badgers blood. The dogs stood back from the sett, growling hard, but shaking and refusing to go back inside. Adam kicked at them.

“Get back in there, you damn shit heads,” he ordered. He kicked out at them.

“In, in, I say.”

The dogs stayed their ground and whimpered.

“I told you, you were over feeding those bloody dogs,” Adam spat at Paul. “Didn't I tell him not to over feed them, Samuel?”

“You told him Adam,” Samuel reluctantly agreed.

“They've lost the will.”

Nothing was happening now, and the men moved closer to the entrance and shone the flashlight inside.

“Come out from there you overgrown rat,” Adam shouted.

“Lord Almighty,” Samuel groaned, as he pointed into the sky.

Just above the treetops, they came. The hooded figures hovered down toward them, behind Adam.

The badger limped from the set and stopped in the middle of the lane, and licked hard at its wounded leg. The Pit Bulls were snapping and snarling at the frightened injured badger, as it gallantly bared its teeth in a last act of defiance.

Adam hooted with a kind of joy, unaware of the large creatures moving slowly down behind him, their capes blowing in the wind.

“Let the dogs go,” Adam yelled. “Let them go, you stupid bastard,” he ordered. He stood with shovel at the ready, in case by chance the badger would maybe get the better of one of his dogs. If this happened, he would drive the shovel into the badgers face, because there was just no way that he was going to lose Kaizer or Trojan, (his name for these hardened dogs of his), to some fucking old badger. He had trained these dogs well, building them up in bulk by making them wear special lead weighted collars, and special weighted back packs. Oh yes, these dogs were strong. These dogs were the best, he felt.

But Paul held the leashes firmly, the badger forgotten about, as he stared at the horrifying sight before him.

Samuel walked slowly backward, in line with Paul, as Adam straightened up. He stared at his two younger brothers, puzzled, and angry.

“What the hell is wrong with you pair tonight?” Adam shouted.

Samuel pointed up to the treetops, behind him.

Paul also pointed behind him, and Adam spun around. He stared open mouthed as the hooded creatures moved closer.

“It's the demons of the forest.” Paul gasped. “They've come for us,” he added.

The larger of the creatures hovered twenty feet away. It held something in its hand, something small.

The other creature moved forward, almost upon them, and that's when Paul released the dogs.

Trojan charged first, and dived up onto the creature, snarling and biting at its arm, as it hung on, legs dangling, as it climbed into nothingness.

The creature tugged its hood back, revealing its grotesque face. Its wide open mouth showed rows of pointed teeth. The many teeth stretched across the top and bottom, its lips pulled back, and when it opened its mouth it was large enough to place a man's head inside.

“Nooo!” Adam yelled, as it raised the frenzied dog up, and in one swift movement, bit a large chunk from the dog's neck.

When Trojan fell to the ground with a thud, Kaizer leapt over its dead body, and charged up toward the demon, but the creature swiped out and caught it square, sending the injured dog some twenty feet into the trees.

“You bloody bastard,” Paul yelled, as he swung the spade into its head with a clunk.

A heavy blood like substance poured down the creature's face and it wailed loudly.

“It's hurt.” Samuel shouted. “Hit it again.”

The two small terriers ran off, frightened by the sounds, and Adam followed, stumbling and tripping into the darkness.

The taller of the two creatures, which had been standing silent, suddenly became involved. It flew across, and clawed at Paul's face. Blood gushed from his deep wounds like a burst pipe, and he screamed loudly.

Then it gripped his arm, and tore it from the socket, and Samuel watched in horror as it flung his brother's bloodied arm through the air, high into the trees.

“Help me,” Paul pleaded. “Help me.”

He tried to run as he held his armless wounded shoulder, but now the other creature attacked him. It severed his ear off in one quick bite, and Paul fell to the ground.

The badger had finished licking its wound now, and it stood straight, watching.

Now Paul Kavanagh knew just what it felt like for the many badgers he had set his dogs on over the many years. Now he was feeling the fear they faced in death. But unlike the brave badger, he would not fight back-could not.

The excrement and urine that filled his pants was of no consequence to him. He just wanted to get away from this. See Holly again. Live life again.

He forced himself up, his made of lead legs moving slowly. Something sharp tore at the back of his head, and he sprawled in a heap to the ground. He was still conscious, but now he could feel the warm blood pour out from all over his head. The badger stood in front of him, ten inches away, grunting.

Then, and just before he passed out, it bit his nose off.

Samuel picked up the discarded shovel and swung out at the badger, as it walked off, chewing at his brothers nose, but he crashed the heavy shovel into the ground, and missed. He raised it to have another swing.

“Die you fucker,” he screamed at the badger.

As he swung to strike, the smaller creature gripped his throat. For a second he stared into its face. “What are you?” Samuel groaned.

The creature seemed to grin, before tearing out his larynx, killing him instantly.

Everything was dark, as Adam scrambled and thrashed at the low branches to get away, as the wailing echoed across the forest.

Now though, he could see lights, way off in the distance, and he ran toward them.

He didn't have time to think about the fate of his brothers, or even care for that matter. Now it was a case of every man for himself.

His heart skipped a beat as something passed him, low to his right. It was Kaizer. He could tell instantly the dog was very badly injured, as it was barely able to run. But it still managed to leave him trailing behind.

“Come back here,” he whispered, as though the dog could somehow help him-save him.

He tripped head first, face tearing into a bunch of nettles, but he clambered up quickly and struggled on.

He was panting heavily now, and his stinging face ached, but his adrenalin and fear spurred him on.

Just as he felt he was going to make it, the demons of the forest appeared in front. They hovered at the top of a cluster of trees, about thirty meters away, watching.

He clung to a heavy tree trunk, and slumped against it. But he couldn't run anymore, and he choked for breath.

Now he was sure his two brother's had been killed, and now he was sure he would be joining them, sooner rather than later.

“Come and get me, you bastards,” he groaned. “Come and get me.”

He slid to the ground and waited, but only the sound of the wind whistling through the trees reminded him of where he was.

*  *  *  *  *

After some time, he stood up. They were gone. He scanned around and walked back. The moonlight had broken through the clouds, and the moon was well lit up. Samuel's body was the first he came across, and he dropped to his knees. He sobbed loudly, but made no attempt to touch the bloodied corpse, that lay mangled and butchered.

When he looked across, he could see Paul, bloodied and unmoving. The creatures were nowhere to be seen.

Adam didn't know how or why this had happened, but one thing was certain. He wasn't sticking around to find out.

He took a hard last look at his brother's. They were once great outdoors men with hunting in their blood. Now they were dead.

His mind wandered back to when they were children. Sometimes his brother's would have gotten into trouble with some of the local boys. But when he stepped in the other boys would run scared. It had always been this way, until now. Now he couldn't save them. Not against this.