Cruel & Blue (Eyeless Jack story)

Chapter 37

Sam cackled and so did I. I satisfied my hunger with a few more pieces of bread, cheese and a red apple, followed by a few sips of the water. Once my stomach was full, I closed the burlap sack and carried it over my shoulder. I began trekking to the forest, back towards the edge of town to find the place where I have kept my horse, Philip. My feet paddled against hard dirt. The soles of my feet have toughened up over the years. I've also become faster but I am small and not too capable of strength. Sam takes care of that occupation. I walked, the bag of food bumping into my back, another object tied to a string around my waist also bumped against my leg. A mask of mine.

I was closing in upon the place where Philip rested when I heard a small ruckus. Curiosity tempted me and won as I cautiously made my way towards the noise. I weaved my way through alleyways and found what was causing the noises. My brow furrowed as I glared at the scene of five children teasing a little girl. They danced about her in a taunting manner, whilst chanting, "She's a witch! She's a witch! Hang her up! She'll rot in a ditch!" The little girl was crouched down, cowering and on the verge of tears. "Please, stop," she whimpered, trembling. A little boy stepped out of the circle of hate and struck her down to the ground. "Shut up, witch!" He cackled and the other children laughed along with him. There was a red mark across the cowering girl's cheek and tears streamed down her face. One child grabbed her by her long, black hair and shoved her into a puddle of mud. Another little boy jumped on top of her, pushing her further into the mud and making her struggle for a good breath. All of the little ones laughed as they caused the cowering girl pain and humiliation. I looked around the area and found a few bit of people walking but none offered to stop this.

A growl reverberated deep in my throat and I muttered, "Sam, have those kids crying to their mothers."

My pleasure.

I could hear the deviousness behind his tone of voice and I watched as he went to work. There were barrels against buildings and they tipped over and rolled towards the children. All of them stopped picking on the cowering girl and starred. One little boy was brave enough to walk up to a barrel and kick it away. "Stupid thing," he grumbled before turning towards his peers. Suddenly, the contents of the barrel came shooting out, breaking the barrel into splinters. The contents turned out to be garbage. The rest of the barrels exploded as well, covering the other children in trash. They whined but it wasn't enough to get them scared. Sam could sense my dissatisfaction and tried something else.

A little girl screamed as her hair was pulled by nothing. She kept whining and clutching her head as her hair splayed around in the air. Some strands fell on her dress and she began to cry. A little boy yelped and jumped, rubbing his bum as if he was kicked. He jumped again, this time holding his shin with a grimace on his face. Another boy screamed in pain as his trousers were pulled taut up his bottom. The other child left was given the embarrassment of having his trousers pulled down to his ankles. The children caused a loud racket with their crying and screaming of surprise and pain. Finally, Sam got them running when he used an abandoned, trashed hay-man to chase the children. All of them screamed in terror at the flailing arms of the hay-man and they scurried off. Even the little boy with his trousers down ran without picking them up. It was amusing to see him run, trip, run, trip and run again.

The cowering girl sat in the mud with a look of bewilderment in her striking gray eyes. Mud was on her clothes and in her hair. The redness of crying still shaded her eyes but she let no more tears fall. She sniffled and stood to her feet, clutching her dress tightly. She turned towards the hay-man which still stood animated by Sam. I could see the tension in her body as she slowly approached it. The hay-man suddenly raised its arms and the girl reeled away. Before she could start running away too, the hay-man kneeled forward and wrapped its flimsy arms around her. She was still and then slowly wrapped her arms around the hay-man too. I smiled. "You're so cheesy," I remarked.