Madeline

Madeline (A Short Horror Story)

  by

  Craig McGray

  2nd Edition; Copyright ©2014 by Craig McGray

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  by Craig McGray

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Gray Skies Publishing

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  MADELINE

  Jonah walked into the house and set his briefcase on the floor, unaware of the horrors lying in wait.

  His meeting ended a day early, and he just wanted to get home, crack open a beer, and relax in the peace and quiet of his own home. Instead, he opened the door to a house in disarray. The sink was full of dishes, dirty laundry littered the floor, the carpet smelled of dog piss, and food covered the kitchen counter. It looked like a shit bomb had gone off.

  Things had gotten worse over the last few months, and Julia had withdrawn from him and Madeline further each day. She spent more and more time in the shed working on her so-called art. He had never seen a piece of her work, and she always kept the door locked.

  Julia started bringing creepy books home as “inspiration” for her new hobby. One night, he thumbed through one of the books and found the pictures of half-naked people dancing around a fire while wearing animal skins more than a bit disturbing.

  He slid his shoes off, loosened the designer noose hanging from his neck, and went to check on Madeline. Rusty weaved between his feet, and Jonah stumbled, cracking his toe on the doorjamb.

  “Dammit, Rusty!” His left foot swung forward, catching the dog in the hindquarters. The dog yelped and scurried into the living room to find safety. Rusty glared at him before circling the floor and lying in the corner.

  Jonah hobbled toward Madeline’s room only to find her bed empty. Passing through the kitchen, he stopped when an orange glow danced inside the small shed in the woods out back. He opened the porch door and stood on the pool deck, peering into the moonlit backyard.

  Stepping off the deck, his foot throbbing, the cold, wet grass sent shivers twisting up his spine. A light flickered in the glass, and Jonah went out to the shed to see if Julia and Madeline were out there. Mud squished under his feet as he strode along the path. In the distance, fog hovered just above the ground, surrounding the tiny wooden structure like a halo.

  He tried the door, and it was locked, so he walked to the window where he saw the flame. He’d built the shed on cinder blocks to keep the water out when the yard flooded in the summertime. He couldn’t quite see in and struggled to pull himself up. His feet scratched at the wood until he cleared the sill.

  Madeline lay in the middle of a table, surrounded by candles. Julia stood over her, holding a large object above her chest. An orange glow illuminated the room, creating more shadows than light. He dropped from the ledge and charged to the door. Lowering his shoulder, he rammed the wood until the frame splintered from the hinges and he spilled into the room.

  “Madeline!”

  Julia raised her head while holding a large cross, sharpened to a point, just inches over Madeline’s chest. “Don’t come any closer.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

  Jonah sat up, his mind searching for traction. Candles burned around the eyeless heads of squirrels and various other animals arranged around the room. The smell of incense and death permeated the air. She must have killed dozens of creatures. Flashing in his mind were pictures from the books she’d started reading. In the center of the room, his nine-year-old daughter’s arms and legs struggled against the ropes holding her to the table. Headless carcasses hung from the ceiling like macabre piñatas. Julia stood naked from the waist up with random patterns painted on her skin. Thrashing her head from side to side, Madeline tried to scream, but duct tape covered her mouth.

  Jonah swallowed the vomit that rose in his throat and tried to inject calm into his voice. “It’s alright. Daddy’s here.”

  He turned to his wife. “What the fuck are you doing? That’s our daughter.”

  His wife’s eyes were empty globes. “I have to do this; she has to die.”

  Her attention turned back to her daughter in the middle of the room. She lifted the cross overhead with both hands and let out a primal scream. Jonah jumped up and rushed at his deranged wife, punching at her head, but the side of her face caught the blow, sending her, and the stake, to the floor. Her skull crashed into the corner of a low wooden table, and Jonah raced to untie his daughter.

  He tore the tape from her mouth and worked to free her arms. “Come on. I’ll get you out of here.” His voice cracked as he fought with the ropes at her wrists. “Shit!”

  Madeline lay motionless, her empty gaze fixed on the ceiling and her face painted with what appeared to be blood. He scanned the room to find Julia had vanished. The last of the bindings fell loose, and he scooped his frightened daughter from the table before scrambling out of the shed.

  Cradling Madeline, he raced up the path when the back of his neck told him they weren’t alone. A maniacal giggle came from somewhere behind him. He stopped and spun around, nothing. The crazed laughing hung in the air before floating away. He scanned the area for Julia when a shrill screech came from the darkness. His eyes searched left and right while a cool wind rolled through the woods, depositing a solid helping of fog among the trees.

  The cackling came again and drifted around them, floating in from all sides. Leaves crunched under falling footsteps, and he bolted the house while spindly fall branches raked at his skin, the path barely visible.

  A weak wind cleared the path for a moment, and Jonah’s feet came to a halt. Looming there, a figure stood in the middle of the trail, holding a long stick, the silhouette blocking the path to the house. Breath spewed from Julia’s face, like a train chugging uphill.

  He put his daughter on the ground and pushed her away. “Run!”

  Without hesitation, Madeline disappeared into the woods.

  Jonah ran at Julia, but stopped when she raised her head. Her jaw hung floppy to one side, and several teeth were missing. Saliva overflowed the corners of her mouth, giving her a rabid appearance.

  “Where is she?” Her torn lips distorted the words.

  Movement in the bushes behind him pulled his attention away. His brow furrowed while dozens of eyes in the branches worked toward him. He ran, but after a few steps, a brilliant flash of light struck him, and his world went black.