Peoty

Dead, dying, driven to death.

Do you see those colors, those pretty colors of red and black and yeller and, and ... ... blood. They come in mah dreams every night, those colours, every night. They are very pretty, very pretty, or atleast they seem so until, until they start forming.

They form the pistures of mah childhood all in yeller and black. In yeller and black. I see mah home back at the farm. It is night and I'm hidin' out in the farm. The corn, all the standing corn is yeller swaying slowly, slowly in the wind like Peoty's body had swayed after Pa had cut off her head with 'is sickle, slowly from left to right. I can hear the screams of my Ma and grunts of my Pa. I can't see what he is doing but I can feel it, He is beating Ma. The corn is swaying so slowly, it keeps reminding me of Peoty, swaying slowly from left to right. Peoty had been so good to me. But Pa had killed her, said he was allergic to them, people like Peoty. But I was not allergic to Peoty or people like her. I had buried her body under the cherry tree, not the head, Pa had taken the head laughing out loudly. Said he would have it framed in a plaque, his first huntin' trophee. But I miss Peoty, she used to talk with me for hours'n hours. She always knew all the answers to all the questions I ever asked. For example she knew about the man on the moon, his dawg and his bush. She also told me about the river ghost that lived down in the creek and how it would not harm you if you first threw a four leaf clover into the river and then went to the creek.

But Peoty was dead now, Pa hadn't framed 'er head in a plaque as he 'ad promised. I 'ad wondered then if Peoty might talk to me with her head framed in a plaque. But her head was nowhere to be seen. Later I had found it in the rubbish dump, rotted, its eyes gone. I guess she was not goin' to talk to me no more.

The sounds have stopped. My mother 'as fainted, I guess. Pa never hits any'un or anythin' that don't squeal or scream. He would drink some more whisky and then come out searchin' for me. I try to get lower and lower into the ground until I am lying flat on the ground. My buttocks are still sore and bloody from to last night's beatin's. I hear him scraping out of the door. The corn swaying in the wind, I hear his grunt.

"Boy, where are ya boy, ya want some whisky , boy ? "

I keep still, I can hear 'is footsteps on the ground now his boots crunching on the pebbly ground. He is singin.

"Fifteen men un a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho hooooo ..
A bottle of rummmmmm.
Drink a devil done fer the rest
Yo ho ho ho hoooooo
A bottle of rummmmmmfff... "

"Boy ,where are ya hidin' boy ? Your ***** of a mothaw ain't here no more boy. She's gone boy, gone to the magic land boy ."

My heart's beatin' wildly now. Ma is gone too, gone like Peoty. I wonder if he cut her head off, like Peoty. I could see her body, headless swaying in the wind, slowly, from left to right, left to right, like the corns.

"Ha ha ha ha, to magic land, to magic land ... ..."

I can hear his footsteps coming nearer and nearer. But I don't move. I keep very very still. He must not know that I am here, no, not until the last moment.

"Boy, where are ya boy ? Come out and we will 'ave a drink together, you and me son , like father and son, a family , ha ha ha ha ... ... a famileeeeeeee ."

He is very near. I can hear his heavy breathin' and smell o' 'is breath reeking of whisky. But I must wait, wait until the right moment, just like Peoty had told me.

"You are makin' me angry boy, I am gonna send you to the magic land boy jus like your mothaw and that that, whatsisnehm, Poetee no, Peotee, Peoteeeeee."

Just a few more steps Pa, a few more steps.

"Peoty, Peoteeeeeee what a name fer a ... "

But Pa gets no chance to complete the sentens. He is standin' jus' over me lookin' ahead with his unfocused eyes talkin' about Peoty when I raise the sickle and throw it, exactly to his neck.

There's an odd gurgling sound as blood pours out of Pa's neck falling all over the place, all over me.He sways dangerously, like Peoty had swayed left to right, left to right. Then he slowly falls on his back still making that odd gurgling sound.

"Gluphh , gloop ... ...", that odd gurgling sound.

"Peoty warn't no cat Pa", this is the last words my Pa hears.

Another semi-horror story with somewhat gothic elements. This story also has a child as a major character.