Trespasser (Part XXIV)

Posted on November 19, 2015 by R. Richardsson

Many hours had passed since having heard his daughter’s story. The clouds had blown in from the north, carried by the bitter winds that had preceded it, and now blanketed the sky. What little remained of the light dwindled as the coming storm choked out its life, making way for the inevitable darkness to come.

John sat quietly in his den, but he was not alone. There were three other men in the room, all listening as he recounted the morning’s events, all looking at the grim evidence that backed his story. Where there was normally a chip dispenser, which they used for their monthly card games, was a soiled pair of girl’s panties.

In any other circumstance, there might have been excitement in the air. They may have had a bead of sweat on the tops of their brows, and many possible scenarios would have already been dreamt of, or spoken about. Any other time, there would have been the sharing of sexual tales, of conquests real and imagined, and nervous laughter would have filled the air.

This wasn’t like any other time.

The mood in the room was somber, the air; thick with tension. The panties weren’t of the kind belonging to a grown woman. They weren’t one of the many styles of lingerie used to ‘raise’ the interest of a potential lover, either. These were nothing more than the simple cotton underwear that might come in packs of three to five, of which no man was ever meant to see.

They belonged to his daughter.

“Y-you’re sure about this,” a nervous Rob Hammond cautiously asked. “There’s no way she could have accidentally…”

John shook his head back and forth, angrily, pounding a clenched fist on the table to interrupt his friend’s line of thinking.

“She wouldn’t lie to me, Rob,” he growled through clenched teeth.

One of the other men in the room, who had been pacing back and forth in thought until up to this moment, stopped behind John and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Easy buddy,” the new voice said from behind him. “It’s not that we don’t believe you, the evidence is plain to see! I think that Rob, like the rest of us, wants to be sure on this before we do anything.”

“Donnie, if you had been there…”

John choked as his emotions reached a boiling point. He was furious, but, when he began to recall the look on her face, he was hurt beyond comprehension. Grief struck him as acutely as if her life had been taken from her, rather than just her innocence.

Donnie, John’s older brother and the only person who didn’t live on Bryer Street, leaned forward and embraced his sibling, wrapping one arm around his chest and placing his left cheek against his brother’s right. Rob stood, quietly, and walked around the table to place a supporting hand over his friend’s.

The remaining person in the room, and the only one who had yet to say anything, slowly leaned forward until the light revealed his haggard face.

“Whatever you want to do, John,” he said slowly for emphasis, “we’ll stand behind you one hundred percent.”

Trespasser (Part XXIII)

Posted on October 23, 2015 by R. Richardsson

Vanessa sat quietly in her room, staring across the table she used for tea parties, at the three guests she had invited over this morning. Barb, who looked lovely in her pink flowing gown and perfectly applied makeup, smiled sweetly as she waited for the latest gossip to begin flowing.

Ted, the rougher of the three, leaned slightly to the left in his chair. A true bear if there was one and covered in splotchy brown hair, which was falling out in places, he was the quickest to lose interest in such affairs. However, she had known him since she was a little girl, and she trusted him with every fiber of her being.

Finally, there was the Professor. She was sure that he had a name, but he looked so intelligent, with his enlarged head, that she had figured him to be the type of character who could easily build time machines, and flying cars, and such! The Professor, however, wasn’t a person. He was a small mouse, with brooding eyebrows and a long pink tail. He had come with a taller, dumber, looking companion, but she had long since lost it.

“Thank you all for coming,” she began solemnly. “I’ve gathered you here because something terrible has happened.”

There was a collective gasp, or, at least that’s what she had heard, but in truth; Barb only continued to grin, with that vacuous expression of hers. Ted only leaned a little further out of his chair, and the Professor only glared at her from atop the pile of books he was perched upon.

She paused for the longest time, longer than she had originally intended, but it wasn’t something that she could help. It had sounded good in her thoughts. She would tell her closest friends first, and then her mommy. This way, when she did it for real, it wouldn’t be so hard.

When it came time for her to utter the words, she couldn’t do it. Instead, hot, bitter tears began to pour down her cheeks. She began to cry, but not out of loss or sadness, but out of hurt and fear. She had been hurt in a way that was hard for her to accept, or understand. It made no sense to her, what he had done, and it was just as embarrassing for her to even think about, than to actually say!

Crossing her arms on the table, she buried her head, hiding her shame from those with whom she spent most of her time. If she couldn’t face them, then who could she possibly ask for help?

Soft moans grew from the depths of her soul, rising through her lungs, and escaping with the anguish that filled her. They were sounds that no child should ever create, sounds that would break that hearts of any who heard them.

Sometimes, when it’s hardest for one to tell their story, something happens that makes the way for it to come forth. In this case, her cries reached the ears of someone who shouldn’t have been home this day. His heart sank beneath their weight, threatening to suffocate him beneath the pure emotion that filled them, but instinct would not keep him still.

” ‘Nessa, honey, what’s wrong,” he cried frantically as he burst through her bedroom door.

“Oh Daddy,” she wailed, “I’m so sorry.” She buried her head in his chest and bawled tears normally reserved for grieving mothers, or widows. They were tears from the man who had just lost every last thing he owns, or they were tears of the infant who hasn’t eaten in days.

She cried until there was no breath left inside, trembling in the arms of the one person who had always done his best to protect her from harm. And when she was done, she told him her story.

And, by the time it was finished, his eyes had narrowed, and his brow was as furrowed with the Professor’s. Only, instead of thinking of the next greatest invention to build, he was thinking of ways to take someone apart.

The Morelli Bros. (Chapter II, Part III)

Posted on August 15, 2015 by R. Richardsson

Toad’s legs were like tiny pistons, working tirelessly as they carried him further into the fort’s interior. Though it was small on the outside, the halls beneath it were many, and it would be several minutes before he reached his destination.

Toad was very different from the majority of his people. Unlike most, who were happy to integrate into society per norm, he was born with an adventurous spirit. As a child, while his siblings and peers were performing light duties to help their parents, he was exploring dark caverns, or climbing magic vines, just to see where they’d lead him.

When he wasn’t questing, he spent his time running. Toad was the fastest creature this side of the kingdom, aside from the wild yoshi, but those were so rare that it was hard to find contest in the claim. He found comfort in the movements that his body made. The light swing of his arms, the flex and relaxing of the muscles in his legs, the steady intake and release of the air needed to continue, all had become second nature to him.

So in the comfort of running he retreated as the stone walls blurred past him, and he soon took little notice of his surroundings. He had traversed this path enough times to know the route by heart. As he ran, he had to occasionally duck under the arms of various slave workers, who were busy with the construction of the interior. He dodged when another of his folk, a youngling by measure, stumbled into a pile of unwound Bob-ombs, the latter whose lifeless eyes seemed to accuse any who looked upon them.

A shiver ran down his spine, sending a chill throughout his body as he expected one of the dangerous orbs to suddenly come to life. Before he could find out, he was running down another corridor and the scene was long behind him.

He was only stopped once when, ahead of him, a Magikoopa was using its magic to command a small group of Drybones to work. Four of the undead koopa were tethered to a mighty Thwomp trap, a living block covered in spikes and whose sole purpose was to kill any that cross its path, and were dragging it toward a rope and pulley. There, it would be taken to the top of the corridor and placed in its hidden alcove, where it would await its victims.

He knew that it wouldn’t be long before even he was unable to pass through here, and his little heart grieved for the prisoner below. He had yet to see the dreaded King of the Koopas, but if the fear in the eyes of all those around him meant anything, he knew that there was little hope for the girl he was going to prepare for it.

He was close.

There was only one more obstacle before he reached his destination, a retractable bridge that had to be activated near the door to her cell. He stood at the edge of the chasm, the bottom of which was being filled with molten steel, and motioned to the guard on the other side.

The creature looked very much like the koopas who marched on two legs, only this one’s shell was covered with thick spikes. In the right light, he thought, it could easily pass for true leader of this army, King Bowser. It bore a strong resemblance the cruel tyrant, or at least to its descriptions, such as the purpose for which it was created.

It was the guardian of the depths, the keeper of the key, and the last test any intruder would have to pass to gain access to the door it was protecting. Unlike any other creature, these were created using the blood of the King himself. The intention had been to protect his bloodline, but the outcome had not been as planned.

These creatures may bear the resemblance of Bowser, but they were nothing like the evil king. Most lacked the intelligence to speak and acted solely on instinct, attacking any and all creatures they deemed inferior. While some could only muster enough of their wits to jump on their enemies, others had just enough sense to attack with weapons, or with their legendary fire breath.

Once it had locked into place, Toad slowly crossed the bridge with his eyes pointed to his feet. To look up was to provoke the guardian, and no magic would protect him from the wrath that would incur.

“Please let me pass, please let me pass,” he chanted with each carefully placed step. Even though he wore a magic pendant around his neck which allowed him just that, his nerves wouldn’t allow him to pass quietly.

The Bowserling leaned down as he approached, sniffling deeply of his scent and drooling with anticipation. One misstep and he would be lunch.