The Secret Sonata || Ryeji

Chapter 47: The Monster At The Barn

"But why Jennie?" Lisa sniveled, awfully sad and stunned, and she wiped her tears, whilst her girlfriend pulled her into a comforting hug. "Who could have done such a cruel thing to our piggies? It was just yesterday when I held these lovely babies, fed them, played with them and even tucked them in bed like my own children. But now... but now they're all d-dead!" The mournful girl weeped and sobbed, her tears soaking the front of the cat-eyed girl's shirt.

Other than patting Lisa's back and hugging her tight, Jennie didn't know what to say to fully reassure the other since she, herself, was at a loss for words and immensely horrified by the grotesque scene right before them. They were both crouched down in the middle of a heap of carcasses, dismembered ones at that, which used to cute and cuddly piglets, and the amiable little creatures would come oinking adorably toward the two lovers upon being summoned, nuzzling them with their snouts and nestling in the girls' arms as if they were their mothers. With tears spilling down her cheeks uncontrollably, Jennie ground her teeth and clenched her jaw out of fury as she let her feline eyes probe the pig barn: blood was splattered everywhere, butchered-most likely bitten and torn off- parts of the poor piglets were scattered around in piles, bloody footprints akin to that of human beings were found nearby the holes and crevasses that weren't supposed to be there, inhumane claw marks and deep scratches were evident on the walls. It was a terrifyingly accurate depiction of a slaughterhouse that Jennie would often see in horror movies.

"D-do you think a wild animal from the woods invaded our barn and... and ate our piggies?" Lisa asked in a vulnerable voice as she lifted her head from Jennie's chest and looked the older in the eye, her nose red and runny from the intense crying.

"That would be plausible since the barn is situated near the woods," Jennie replied, eyeing the strange footprints that seemed to originate from the holes. "But, we both know that, there are no such carnivorous animals in the woods and it's all a made up story to keep the children at bay. And "- She pointed at the said-footprints, so her girlfriend's gaze followed where she was motioning towards. -"these footprints seem to come out from the holes. Judging by the direction where they're headed to, I suppose they did not even exit the pig barn by going out of the door, and instead, they just returned back to the holes they first emerged from after they finished their business." Lisa nodded in approval, slowly processing Jennie's words.

"Isn't it strange how they resemble human footprints?" Lisa verbalized, earning a hum of agreement from Jennie. "It just doesn't make sense. What they did was so animalistic, yet they left behind marks that are similar to that of human beings."

"Human beings with fangs and sharp claws?" Jennie mumbled inaudibly under her breath, unable to grasp the uncanny situation anymore and having a difficulty in classifying the species of the wicked predators who ripped the piglets apart with their razor-sharp teeth and devoured them.

"Ugh! Why does it have to be today? I just gave my workers a free week off and this happened! If only they were here, we could've caught those monsters!" The barn owner grumbled, messing her hair up and pacing back and forth remorsefully.

"Monsters..." Right, the culprits did belong to that particular category. "Babe, those monsters must have used their hind legs for walking since we see no marks on the ground that resemble forelegs."

"So, you're implying that they really were... human-like monsters? Because they walked just like us?" Lia chewed on her lower lip, a crease in her forehead and her eyebrows knitted.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jennie brought her hands up and placed them on the back of her head, fear creeping up her back like a huge spider the more she mulled her theory over. "Look. This might sound crazy, but..." She faltered, afraid to continue, but her younger lover looked at her expectantly and beckoned her to be vocal about her theory. "Okay... What if... what if zombies did this?"