THE HOUSE part 5............

Melody stood over a load of dishes in the sink after dinner while Dave sat at the small table drinking coffee…
“Dave,, Dave,, come here quick,, there’s somebody in the woods”…Melody exclaimed as she looked out the kitchen window…
“Where?”…said Dave as he leaned over the counter…
“Those lights”…”See them?”…
“Must be some kids fooling around in the woods”…”I’ll
go have a look”…”You stay here”…
Dave put on his windbreaker and headed out the side door…
“Dave!!!...take your shotgun”…Melody half-whispered…
“It’s just some kids”…
As soon as Dave had left Melody turned off the kitchen lights and watched anxiously through the windows,, clutching her bathrobe tightly to her neck…

Dave steadily walked closer and closer to where the lights were,, expecting to find a group of kids having a beer party…
The lights were dimmer than flashlights and seemed to dance through the air…As he got nearer he could hear chanting and murmuring from a group of figures all dressed in full-length grey cloaks,, their heads covered by the hoods…He crept closer to watch,, being as careful as he could not to snap any branches underfoot as he walked…Near a large clump of bushes he crouched down to watch…
“Malgalo,, malgalo,, huito,, hurtowaaa”…the group chanted…Dave’s heart was pounding in his throat as he watched the group of figures dance in a circle around a stone that was half buried in the ground,, each figure carried a candle that flickered in the night air…He couldn’t make out any of the figures faces as he watched the ceremony…From behind him he heard the snapping of branches…Two figures in grey robes where approaching…He squeezed himself deeper into the bushes and as low to the ground as he could…
“When do you think it will happen?”…a male said,, a voice that Dave did not recognize…
“Can’t be long now,, it’s been months”…replied a females voice…
“Hurry,, we’re late”…
The two figures continued towards the group,, passing
just yards from where he was hidden…Dave let out his breath and breathed easier,, he continued to watch for another 10 minutes then crept back to his house…

“Well,, what was it?”…whispered Melody to Dave as he
stood in the kitchen taking off his coat…”You took so long I was frightened”…
“I don’t know what it was,, some crazy people all dressed
up in medieval cloaks,, all dancing around some stone”…
“Who were they?”…”Where did they come from?”…
“I don’t know,, I couldn’t see their faces”…
Dave grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and took a large swallow,, his hands were still shaking…
“What are we going to do?”…
“Is this the first time that you have seen them?”…
“Of course it is”…
“Tomorrow I’m going to go over there and see if I can find anything”…”Next time I’m going to call the cops”…
“I’ll go with you”…
“Lets just make sure the doors are locked tonight”…

Around noon the next day Dave and Melody stopped their work on the house and headed over into the woods where Dave had seen the group of figures the night before…He brought along his loaded shotgun just in case they found anyone there…
“This is where they were alright”…”Look at the grass it’s all been trampled down”…”And look a couple of candles”…
said Dave…
“Is this the stone they were dancing around?”…
“Yeah,, that’s it”…
Melody bent down to have a closer look at the stone,, she began to pull away some of the weeds around the base to get a better view…
“Dave look,, it’s a grave stone”…
“What?”…
Melody dug the soft back dirt away from the tombstone so she could read the name craved into the face…
“It’s the grave of Carlton Cranston”…”Born 1832,, died 1884”…
“Isn’t he the guy that built our house?”…
“That’s right”…
“I thought you said he disappeared”…
“Guess not,, here’s his grave”…
“I’m going to look around and see if I can find anything else”…
Dave wandered into the nearby grass,, he could see trails where the grass had been stepped on leading towards the main road…
“Melody come here”…Dave yelled
Melody stood behind Dave looking at the gravestones he had found…48 graves in what appeared to be 3 rows,, all of them leaning over in some manner,, a few had cracked and fallen to the ground…
“Dave they all have the same date of death”…”1884,, the same as on Cranston’s grave”…
“Maybe there was an epidemic or something”…replied Dave
“I wonder why Cranston’s is way over there”…
“Lets get out of here”…said Melody…”this place is giving me the creeps”…

Dave and Melody sat in the parlor,, each of them sipping on a warm cup of coffee,, discussing the events of the past few days and what to do,, what did it all mean…They decided just to be more cautious about leaving the doors unlocked and would call the police if they saw anyone on their property again…

A week later Melody began to have nausea,, and severe headaches in the morning,, she would wake up early and sit by the toilet with her head over the seat ready incase she started vomiting again…She had these symptoms before when she was pregnant with their first child…
“Are you feeling alright hun?”…”You look worn out”…asked Dave one morning during breakfast…
“I think I may be pregnant again”…groaned Melody…
Dave wrapped his arms around his wife and gently kissed her…”That’s wonderful”…
“Get away from me,, you did this”…Melody replied as she dashed off to the bathroom…

Dave’s work load began to increase at his office with him working 12 hours a day most weeks…He rarely got a chance to see Melody,, she seemed to be always sleeping,, and her mood changed to more sullen and quarrelsome…Dave noticed that she was getting much bigger than she had the last time,, and it seemed to be happening much quicker…
“Hun,, when was the last time you saw your doctor?”…
“What do you care?”…”I saw him just last week”…retorted Melody…
“What did he say?”…
“He said,, if you must know,, that everything appeared normal”…”That I was just retaining water,, and he gave me a prescription for some vitamins”…

The first light snowfall of the winter had fallen during the night when Melody screamed and woke Dave up…
“Dave,, it kicked me”…”It hurts”…
“That’s not possible is it?”…”It’s too early”…
“IT MOVED!!”…”I think I should know”…
“Take it easy”…Dave said trying to calm his wife…
He put his hand on her stomach and caressed it gently,, then
he left it kick also…
“Your right”…”I just felt it”…”I’ll take you to the doctor,,
and let him look at you”…
The trip to the doctors office the next day did little to dispel
the worries of Dave and Melody…The ultrasounds were inconclusive and suggested that she might be carrying twins…He just prescribed more rest,, and better eating habits…

On the 2nd Saturday in December Dave and Melody sat at the kitchen table watching the snow fall…
“Boom”…came the sound of a shotgun blast near by…
“Boom”…
Dave rushed to the front parlor and looked out the window,,
there standing in the freshly fallen snow were figures in grey cloaks…Dave grabbed his shotgun and stepped out onto the porch to confront them,, Melody hid behind the front door,, peering out through the small inset window…Dave recognized some of them…Jericho,, the gas station owner was there with his shotgun trailing smoke from the barrel,, and Martin Reinhand,, the owner of the ‘Mill’ café,, as was Lisa with her son Timmy…
“Put down that pee shooter son”…demanded Jericho…
“Or I’ll blow your head clean off”…
“What do you people want?”…replied Dave…
“Boom”… Jericho shot over the head of Dave…
“The gun sonny”…
Dave complied with Jericho’s demands and threw his shotgun to the side…
“Melody,, Melody”…said Lisa…
“What do you want?”…yelled Dave
“We want to see Melody”…Lisa replied…
“Move over there boy”…and kept your mouth shut”…
Jericho commanded as he gestured with his shotgun… ”Melody,, come out here dear,, we wouldn’t hurt you”…
Melody timidly stepped from behind the door and walked down the porch steps,, standing only a few feet from Dave…Her face pale and full of fear,, she started to sob…
The front door behind them opened and two glistening black tentacles emerged,, they stretched out and hovered above Dave and Melody…The tentacles quickly seized Dave and Melody wrapping itself around them…
“aggggghh”…Melody screamed as Dave was hoisted into the air and then pulled back into the house…
The townsfolk lined up in a semi-circle with their heads back and their mouths wide open,, their eyes rolled exposing only the whites of their eyes,, they stood there with their arms tightly to their bodies and the palms of their hands facing upwards…
“Malgalo,, malgalo,, huito,, hurtowaaa”…emanated from their open mouths…
Melody was hanging in the air in the grasp of the black tentacle…As it squeezed her tighter,, her water broke and she was dropped into the snow…Melody laid there in pain,, screaming as loud as she could…The black tentacle narrowed in size and entered her mouth…Lisa stepped forward and spread Melody’s legs apart and removed her underwear…

Soon a baby’s head appeared,, as it emerged Lisa grabbed it and bit off the umbilical cord…Then raised the black haired boy high above her head…Melody’s body was dragged back over the ground and up towards the house,, her neck was broken as she bounced over the porch steps,, the tentacle dragged her into the house,, and the front door slammed shut…
Lisa held the baby high for all to see…
“This is my new son,, the God has given him to us so that our family will grow”…”He shall be called Steven”…


Mark and Julie stood in the front yard looking at the old house…
“It’s the oldest house in town”…“It’s not much to look at from the outside,, it needs a little repair work…But the inside is still in wonderful condition,, with all the original woodwork…Its barely been changed on the inside from when it was first built…Like I said it needs some work but it used to be the grandest house in town”…” You can see that some repairs have already been started”…”A young couple was restoring it,, but they got transferred to Seattle”…
“Lets go inside”…”Here Mark you better open the front door,, sometimes it sticks”…Lisa said enthusiastically while her son Steven walked beside her………….

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The end......