Microhorror Writing Contest

Unnecessary sadness.

Taking matters into their own hands, the labourers formed a consortium with neighbouring labourers against the farmers over the meager wages paid out, because of poor crops due to the lack of rain. In the early hours of the night, farm labourers took up arms, any kind they could find, and went on a murder rampage.                                                                                                                            14-year-old Simon Cress hid in a secret passage in his father’s study while his family was massacred. The passage was cold and damp, but Simon endured the discomfort for a while. He waited until the morning. He thought the danger was over, so he silently slipped out. The sight of his slaughtered family blacked out his mind.                                                                                                                                                 Simon woke up in an abandoned warehouse on the town's outskirts. He had no recollection of how he came there. The poor boy wandered the streets feeling dazed and out of sorts. Passersby pulled their young ones closer and shied away from him. Simon found himself sitting on the church’s steps. Reverend Harrison sat in his kitchen having a late breakfast when he noticed Simon. Reverend Harrison came over and sat beside him.                                                                                                                      “Hello there, young Simon.”                                                                                                                    Simon stared at him. Reverend Harrison looked into Simon’s eyes and saw something dark. He helped the boy up and walked him towards the church to pray for him. Simon shook violently as if possessed.  He tried to speak, but he only groaned. Reverend Harrison took the boy to the hospital, where he would be in good hands. The reverend explained what he had witnessed at the church and told the doctor that he would drive to Cress Farm and find out what had caused this.                                                                                                                          Reverend Harrison reached the Cress Family farmhouse. The eerie silence made him shiver. He stepped up onto the porch, and the smell stung his nostrils. He knocked, no one answered, but the door stood ajar. He pushed the door wide and stepped over the threshold. What met his eyes was evil. Bodies were strewn everywhere, blanketed with flies. A lone labourer stepped over the threshold with his bare hands, tried to strangle the Reverend.     

                                                                                                                                                                                  Back at the hospital, Simon fought and yelled when doctors tried to help him. He threw a jug of water at a doctor and then lunged towards him. Simon slipped, hitting his head on the floor. When Simon came around, the cloud in his eyes lifted.                                                                                     Fixing his gaze on the doctor, he said, “Evil rains down on my family's farm. Please help.”                                              The doctor remembered the Reverend went out there. He called the police to assist and rode with them. The sight that caught their eyes was horrendous. Dead people and livestock lay everywhere. Wheat fields were burned. A policeman hurled at the stench. The Reverend, wild-eyed, dragged the farm labourer to the police. The police learned from the surviving labourers of the consortium, and these lads were thrown into jail.  As for young Simon Cress, he went into foster care until someone adopted him.

The End