[warning: this is a horror story. If that doesn't suit your reading tastes, now's probably a good time to leave.]
Cosette’s tiny moccasins scraped along through the mud. Branches swayed, picking at her creamypale skin. “Hurry up, Cozy!” The voice of Hattie shouted from ahead.
“Slow down!” Cosette’s breathing was heavy. She laid a hand across her little chest, feeling her lungsbeat out of her body with exhaustion. “Hattie, you’re bigger! You have towait!”
Hattie had begun to forget her younger friend. “I’m here, Cozy!” She screamed in delight. “I’mhere! I told you!”
Cosette stumbled on through the heavy thickness of the underbrush, finally breaking out into anopen space beneath an oak tree.
Twenty or so birdhouses were haphazardly glued together and attached to the base of the tree. Flittingin and out of the openings were splotches of color, which Cosette soon realizedwere fairies.
The magical creatures perched on Hattie’s skinny arms. “I told you they’re real!” Hattie stuck hertongue out at Cosette.
“Mommy told me fairies aren’t real.” Cosette said matter-of-factly, but she could hardly deny thelittle creatures darting around her head.
“So did mine,” A grin that would have impressed the Cheshire cat crossed Hattie’s young face. “Theywere wrong, Cozy!”
Cosette reached out toward of the fairies. Its wings were a lovely shade of blue that she had neverseen before. Its limbs were only slightly wider than a toothpick, and itssmall, fragile face was one of terror. “Don’t worry, Bluebell,” Hattie noddedat the fairy. “This is Cosette. She’s a friend,”
The fairy didn’t seem to accept this. Bluebell backed away from Cosette, taking refuge inside of thebirdhouses. “How did you find them?” Cosette asked in wonder.
“I was in the backyard and saw Rosie.” Hattie motioned to the pink fairy positioned on her wrist.“Mommy didn’t believe that I really saw her. So I followed Rosie here, whereall of the fairies live.”
“What else is real?” Cosette’s thoughts jumped to stories of dragons and werewolves. “Do scarythings exist too? Do they live here?” Goosebumps rose on the little girl’sarms.
“Of course not!” Hattie rolled her eyes, as if this were obvious. “Only fairies are real. This isn’t aDr. Seuss book.”
Cosette’s ruby lips quivered. “But if fairies are real, then doesn’t that mean—”
“All the other stories are just in silly books. The only thing I’ve ever found are fairies, and Rosiesays there’s nothing else. Except,” Hattie’s eyes darted side to side.
Cosette leaned forward, her blue eyes wide with fear.
“Vampires!” Hattie tackled Cosette, pretending to bite her neck.
Cosette’s screeches filled the forest. Hattie got off of her, laughing hysterically. “Oh, Cozy!”She managed between fits of giggles. “You should have seen your face!”
“Vampires are real?” Cosette’s voice quavered.
“No! I told you, those are just stories!” Hattie clutched her stomach, her laughter slowly subsiding.
“It’s not funny, Hattie.” Cosette crossed her arms, having almost entirely forgotten the magicalcreatures before her. She returned her attention to the fairies, inspecting thebirdhouse construction. “Is this where they live?”
Hattie nodded enthusiastically. “They were leaving in a hole in this tree, but that seemed sosad. I helped them steal the birdhouses and glue them all together.” She stuckher hands on her hips proudly.
It wasn’t long before Cosette had befriended all of the fairies, including their queen, Marigold. Thelittle girl returned to the fairies daily, the trek through the woods becomingsimpler over time.
In the world of the humans, Cosette was considered a mere child at six years old. In stark contrast, thefairies regarded her as an elder. The oldest fairy in their history had livedto be seven, but most never made it past four or five. Queen Marigold wasrelatively young at a year old, and became the closet of Cosette’s otherworldlyfriends.
When Cosette left the fairies, they never made any attempt to contact her. Until one night whenCosette was curled up in her trundle bed, she felt a soft tingling at the tipof her nose. The little girl’s eyes slowly fluttered open, but widened in shockat the sight of a fairy standing on her face.
“Who are you?” Cosette blinked in bewilderment.
“Well, hello to you, too.” The fairy rolled her eyes. “The name is Poinsettia.”
“What do you want?” Cosette rubbed her eyes tiredly.
Poinsettia’s wings began to beat, lifting her from Cosette’s nose. “Something is wrong, and I needyou to help me fix it.”
“Why haven’t I seen you with the other fairies? I thought I knew all of you.”
Poinsettia waved her hand. “I’m a bit shy. Won’t you come with me? The fairies need you.”
“Why would they need me?”
“You’re going to have to come see for yourself.”
Cosette reluctantly climbed out of bed. “My mommy and daddy are going to be upset if they find outthat I left.”
“It’s okay, they won’t find out,”
Cosette followed Poinsettia into the depths of the woods. Unable to see in the inky blackness,Cosette had to rely on the fairy’s guiding hand.
“We’ve been walking for a long time.” Cosette noted. “It doesn’t usually take this long.”
“It just seems longer when it’s dark. Anyways, I have a story to tell you.” There was a darker hintto the fairy’s voice. “Did the other fairies tell you about the monsters thatlive in these woods?”
Cosette froze. “They said there weren’t any.”
Poinsettia burst out laughing. “What would a forest be worth if it weren’t infested with monsters?” Shakingher head, she continued. “Anyway, as I was saying before, monsters do livehere. Specifically a pack of ogres only about a mile from the fairies.”
“Let’s leave then!”
“No, no, there’s no reason to leave. The other fairies lied to you, little one. They are the monsters, not the ogres.The ogres and kind, loving folk.”
“Why didn’t you bring Hattie instead? What’s wrong, anyway?”
Poinsettia refused to answer. “We’re almost there.” She called out in a louder voice not intended forCosette. “Hey, meat sacks! I brought your dinner, you fat pigs!”
Deep, guttural sounds resounded from not far ahead. Cosette backed away from the noises. “I’ll seethe fairies tomorrow. I want to go home.”
Poinsettia glowered at the little girl. “Human children are such dimwits compared to magical beings.There is no trouble with the fairies.”
Cosette blinked innocently. “Then why are we here?”
“Because ogres get hungry too!”
A scream tore itself from Cosette’s throat as muddy hands swiped at her. She sprinted back the wayshe’d come, her small legs already aching. The ogres weren’t much faster, sotheir chase continued for what felt like an eternity.
Cosette happened upon the birdhouse construction where the fairies dwelled. She shook it madly,begging the fairies to come to her aid. What Cosette hadn’t seen at first was abody, only a few inches taller than her own, lying beside the fairies’ home.
Upon closer inspection, Cosette realized that the young figure belonged to Hattie. Her face was smearedwith blood, and her body oddly picked at. The fairies covered her body like aswarm of bees, consuming the girl’s body at a vicious rate.
Cosette grabbed her head, squeezing her eyes shut and imagining herself back at home. She sobbedviolently, her small body shaking. She wrapped her arms around herself forwhatever faint protection they could provide.
“Cosette, sweetheart,”
The voice belonged to Cosette’s mother. Even for her, the little girl refused to open her eyes.
“Mommy, there’s monsters! The monsters ate Hattie!” She shrieked. “They’re going to eat metoo!”
“No, baby girl, there aren’t any monsters. It was all just a bad dream. Open your eyes and we’ll godownstairs and have a nice breakfast. I’ll make you whatever you want.”
Believing that her mother was the hero that could protect her from any evil ogre or fairy,Cosette’s eyelids slowly lifted.
She should have seen her mother’s face smiling back at her. She should have felt her soft beddingpressed against her side, and the curly fur of Mr. Snuggles the bear againsther chin. Instead, a massive hand was pressed against her side, andPoinsettia’s sharp fangs hovered inches from Cosette’s eyes.
Screaming hysterically, it wasn’t long before Cosette had joined Hattie. However, they weren’t the onlyones in the woods that soulless night.
Officer Tolbreak’s flashlight illuminated the underbrush. “Are you sure the girls would be in thewoods?” Tolbreak glanced back at the set of parents behind him.
“Yes.” Both Hattie’s and Cosette’s mothers answered simultaneously. “Hattie was in the woods all thetime, and Cosette started going with her. If they’re both gone, they must behere. I’d also be willing to bet it’s Hattie’s fault.” Cosette’s mother glaredspitefully at the woman beside her.
“Hattie would never—”
“Please,” Tolbreak interrupted halfheartedly. “Let’s worry about motives later. First let’s findthese little girls and get them somewhere warm.”
The pack stopped in their tracks. A screech so full of pain and terror that it would have worried eventhe most apathetic outcast echoed from not far to their right.
“That’s Cosette.” Her mother could barely speak. “Cozy!” She trampled through the dense forest,stumbling repeatedly. “Cozy, I’m here!”
Tolbreak managed to catch up to Cosette’s mother. “Mrs. Mara, allow me to go first.”
“My baby is crying!”
Tolbreak was unable to slow the determined mother, but it wouldn’t have mattered. None would have beenable to escape the terrible sight before them.
The carnivorous ogres and fairies had made quick work of the young girls. Their bones showed throughtheir tattered nightgowns—the only thing left to identify them.
“Where are they?” Hattie’s mother had glimpsed the skeletons, but thought nothing of them. It wasa prank by teenagers or something. Her daughter had to be somewhere nearby.
Tolbreak’s flashlight shined on the bodies, his jaw gone slack. “Detective!” Hattie’s mother shovedhis shoulder in outrage. “Find my little girl! She’s here somewhere! Isn’t yourjob to get her back?”
“I—I,” Tolbreak stammered, unable to avert his gaze from the bodies. The three hadn’t even yetnoticed the ocean of hot, steaming blood that surrounded them.
Reading Tolbreak’s thoughts, Cosette’s mother pointed past the skeletons. “This is some practicaljoke by some sick teenagers. Cozy is somewhere nearby. Don’t you botherspending time looking at those fakes.”
“I don’t think they’re fake.” Tolbreak choked with emotion. “There’s—there’s so much blood. I’ve neverseen a crime scene this violent before, or so thorough. There’s nothing left,but we heard her scream only a minute ago.”
Cosette’s mother’s breathing turned ragged as tears began to stream down her face. “No, Detective,that’s not it. They’re still here somewhere. This is all just some stupidprank.”
The maternal instinct buried deep inside of them barred the mothers from believing that the two tinypiles of bones could belong to their only daughters. “Oh, god, this can’t be,”Hattie’s mother knelt beside the larger body—that of her child. “Hattie,lovely, that isn’t you.” Blood soaked her fingers as she gripped the set of children’spajamas. “Hattie,” Her voice broke painfully. “Where are you hiding?”
Tolbreak laid a hand on Hattie’s mother’s shoulder. “I believe you should go. I’ll call in a murderinvestigator, and—”
“Murder!” Cosette’s mother repeated, dropping to her knees. “She was six! She was only a littlegirl! No one murders little girls!”
Tolbreak was relieved from duty once his fellow officers arrived, but his work wasn’t complete. Thetwo heartbroken mothers had slowly become insane, and he’d already had to turnthem away from the murder scene by force three times. Their neighbors werecalling in reports of bouts of hysterical laughter, followed by rapid bangingon their doors. The two, the most disturbed being Cosette’s mother, rambled onto anyone who would listen about how their daughters were playing in the woodswith murderers. Finally, Tolbreak had them committed to an insane asylum in thenearby town of Sunnystone.
After a year of depraved grieving, Hattie’s mother was released from Sunnystone Asylum for theCriminally Insane. Hattie had been her only child, and her mother learned thatshe would never again be able to have another. While Hattie’s mother did notlive happily ever after, she was still more fortunate than Cosette’s mother.
Cosette’s mother spent the rest of her life locked in Sunnystone. She began to hallucinate, relivingthe horrors of her daughter’s lifeless body. Even her dreams were not anescape, for Cosette’s corpse would rise and attack her. For Cosette’s mother,when the fairies invaded her cell and devoured her, it was a blissful ending.That was all she had wanted—for her insufferable insanity and pain todisappear, and to be able to rejoin her daughter in the gates of heaven.
[warning: this is a horror story. If that doesn't suit your reading tastes, now's probably a good time to leave.]
Cosette’s tiny moccasins scraped along through the mud. Branches swayed, picking at her creamypale skin. “Hurry up, Cozy!” The voice of Hattie shouted from ahead.
“Slow down!” Cosette’s breathing was heavy. She laid a hand across her little chest, feeling her lungsbeat out of her body with exhaustion. “Hattie, you’re bigger! You have towait!”
Hattie had begun to forget her younger friend. “I’m here, Cozy!” She screamed in delight. “I’mhere! I told you!”
Cosette stumbled on through the heavy thickness of the underbrush, finally breaking out into anopen space beneath an oak tree.
Twenty or so birdhouses were haphazardly glued together and attached to the base of the tree. Flittingin and out of the openings were splotches of color, which Cosette soon realizedwere fairies.
The magical creatures perched on Hattie’s skinny arms. “I told you they’re real!” Hattie stuck hertongue out at Cosette.
“Mommy told me fairies aren’t real.” Cosette said matter-of-factly, but she could hardly deny thelittle creatures darting around her head.
“So did mine,” A grin that would have impressed the Cheshire cat crossed Hattie’s young face. “Theywere wrong, Cozy!”
Cosette reached out toward of the fairies. Its wings were a lovely shade of blue that she had neverseen before. Its limbs were only slightly wider than a toothpick, and itssmall, fragile face was one of terror. “Don’t worry, Bluebell,” Hattie noddedat the fairy. “This is Cosette. She’s a friend,”
The fairy didn’t seem to accept this. Bluebell backed away from Cosette, taking refuge inside of thebirdhouses. “How did you find them?” Cosette asked in wonder.
“I was in the backyard and saw Rosie.” Hattie motioned to the pink fairy positioned on her wrist.“Mommy didn’t believe that I really saw her. So I followed Rosie here, whereall of the fairies live.”
“What else is real?” Cosette’s thoughts jumped to stories of dragons and werewolves. “Do scarythings exist too? Do they live here?” Goosebumps rose on the little girl’sarms.
“Of course not!” Hattie rolled her eyes, as if this were obvious. “Only fairies are real. This isn’t aDr. Seuss book.”
Cosette’s ruby lips quivered. “But if fairies are real, then doesn’t that mean—”
“All the other stories are just in silly books. The only thing I’ve ever found are fairies, and Rosiesays there’s nothing else. Except,” Hattie’s eyes darted side to side.
Cosette leaned forward, her blue eyes wide with fear.
“Vampires!” Hattie tackled Cosette, pretending to bite her neck.
Cosette’s screeches filled the forest. Hattie got off of her, laughing hysterically. “Oh, Cozy!”She managed between fits of giggles. “You should have seen your face!”
“Vampires are real?” Cosette’s voice quavered.
“No! I told you, those are just stories!” Hattie clutched her stomach, her laughter slowly subsiding.
“It’s not funny, Hattie.” Cosette crossed her arms, having almost entirely forgotten the magicalcreatures before her. She returned her attention to the fairies, inspecting thebirdhouse construction. “Is this where they live?”
Hattie nodded enthusiastically. “They were leaving in a hole in this tree, but that seemed sosad. I helped them steal the birdhouses and glue them all together.” She stuckher hands on her hips proudly.
It wasn’t long before Cosette had befriended all of the fairies, including their queen, Marigold. Thelittle girl returned to the fairies daily, the trek through the woods becomingsimpler over time.
In the world of the humans, Cosette was considered a mere child at six years old. In stark contrast, thefairies regarded her as an elder. The oldest fairy in their history had livedto be seven, but most never made it past four or five. Queen Marigold wasrelatively young at a year old, and became the closet of Cosette’s otherworldlyfriends.
When Cosette left the fairies, they never made any attempt to contact her. Until one night whenCosette was curled up in her trundle bed, she felt a soft tingling at the tipof her nose. The little girl’s eyes slowly fluttered open, but widened in shockat the sight of a fairy standing on her face.
“Who are you?” Cosette blinked in bewilderment.
“Well, hello to you, too.” The fairy rolled her eyes. “The name is Poinsettia.”
“What do you want?” Cosette rubbed her eyes tiredly.
Poinsettia’s wings began to beat, lifting her from Cosette’s nose. “Something is wrong, and I needyou to help me fix it.”
“Why haven’t I seen you with the other fairies? I thought I knew all of you.”
Poinsettia waved her hand. “I’m a bit shy. Won’t you come with me? The fairies need you.”
“Why would they need me?”
“You’re going to have to come see for yourself.”
Cosette reluctantly climbed out of bed. “My mommy and daddy are going to be upset if they find outthat I left.”
“It’s okay, they won’t find out,”
Cosette followed Poinsettia into the depths of the woods. Unable to see in the inky blackness,Cosette had to rely on the fairy’s guiding hand.
“We’ve been walking for a long time.” Cosette noted. “It doesn’t usually take this long.”
“It just seems longer when it’s dark. Anyways, I have a story to tell you.” There was a darker hintto the fairy’s voice. “Did the other fairies tell you about the monsters thatlive in these woods?”
Cosette froze. “They said there weren’t any.”
Poinsettia burst out laughing. “What would a forest be worth if it weren’t infested with monsters?” Shakingher head, she continued. “Anyway, as I was saying before, monsters do livehere. Specifically a pack of ogres only about a mile from the fairies.”
“Let’s leave then!”
“No, no, there’s no reason to leave. The other fairies lied to you, little one. They are the monsters, not the ogres.The ogres and kind, loving folk.”
“Why didn’t you bring Hattie instead? What’s wrong, anyway?”
Poinsettia refused to answer. “We’re almost there.” She called out in a louder voice not intended forCosette. “Hey, meat sacks! I brought your dinner, you fat pigs!”
Deep, guttural sounds resounded from not far ahead. Cosette backed away from the noises. “I’ll seethe fairies tomorrow. I want to go home.”
Poinsettia glowered at the little girl. “Human children are such dimwits compared to magical beings.There is no trouble with the fairies.”
Cosette blinked innocently. “Then why are we here?”
“Because ogres get hungry too!”
A scream tore itself from Cosette’s throat as muddy hands swiped at her. She sprinted back the wayshe’d come, her small legs already aching. The ogres weren’t much faster, sotheir chase continued for what felt like an eternity.
Cosette happened upon the birdhouse construction where the fairies dwelled. She shook it madly,begging the fairies to come to her aid. What Cosette hadn’t seen at first was abody, only a few inches taller than her own, lying beside the fairies’ home.
Upon closer inspection, Cosette realized that the young figure belonged to Hattie. Her face was smearedwith blood, and her body oddly picked at. The fairies covered her body like aswarm of bees, consuming the girl’s body at a vicious rate.
Cosette grabbed her head, squeezing her eyes shut and imagining herself back at home. She sobbedviolently, her small body shaking. She wrapped her arms around herself forwhatever faint protection they could provide.
“Cosette, sweetheart,”
The voice belonged to Cosette’s mother. Even for her, the little girl refused to open her eyes.
“Mommy, there’s monsters! The monsters ate Hattie!” She shrieked. “They’re going to eat metoo!”
“No, baby girl, there aren’t any monsters. It was all just a bad dream. Open your eyes and we’ll godownstairs and have a nice breakfast. I’ll make you whatever you want.”
Believing that her mother was the hero that could protect her from any evil ogre or fairy,Cosette’s eyelids slowly lifted.
She should have seen her mother’s face smiling back at her. She should have felt her soft beddingpressed against her side, and the curly fur of Mr. Snuggles the bear againsther chin. Instead, a massive hand was pressed against her side, andPoinsettia’s sharp fangs hovered inches from Cosette’s eyes.
Screaming hysterically, it wasn’t long before Cosette had joined Hattie. However, they weren’t the onlyones in the woods that soulless night.
Officer Tolbreak’s flashlight illuminated the underbrush. “Are you sure the girls would be in thewoods?” Tolbreak glanced back at the set of parents behind him.
“Yes.” Both Hattie’s and Cosette’s mothers answered simultaneously. “Hattie was in the woods all thetime, and Cosette started going with her. If they’re both gone, they must behere. I’d also be willing to bet it’s Hattie’s fault.” Cosette’s mother glaredspitefully at the woman beside her.
“Hattie would never—”
“Please,” Tolbreak interrupted halfheartedly. “Let’s worry about motives later. First let’s findthese little girls and get them somewhere warm.”
The pack stopped in their tracks. A screech so full of pain and terror that it would have worried eventhe most apathetic outcast echoed from not far to their right.
“That’s Cosette.” Her mother could barely speak. “Cozy!” She trampled through the dense forest,stumbling repeatedly. “Cozy, I’m here!”
Tolbreak managed to catch up to Cosette’s mother. “Mrs. Mara, allow me to go first.”
“My baby is crying!”
Tolbreak was unable to slow the determined mother, but it wouldn’t have mattered. None would have beenable to escape the terrible sight before them.
The carnivorous ogres and fairies had made quick work of the young girls. Their bones showed throughtheir tattered nightgowns—the only thing left to identify them.
“Where are they?” Hattie’s mother had glimpsed the skeletons, but thought nothing of them. It wasa prank by teenagers or something. Her daughter had to be somewhere nearby.
Tolbreak’s flashlight shined on the bodies, his jaw gone slack. “Detective!” Hattie’s mother shovedhis shoulder in outrage. “Find my little girl! She’s here somewhere! Isn’t yourjob to get her back?”
“I—I,” Tolbreak stammered, unable to avert his gaze from the bodies. The three hadn’t even yetnoticed the ocean of hot, steaming blood that surrounded them.
Reading Tolbreak’s thoughts, Cosette’s mother pointed past the skeletons. “This is some practicaljoke by some sick teenagers. Cozy is somewhere nearby. Don’t you botherspending time looking at those fakes.”
“I don’t think they’re fake.” Tolbreak choked with emotion. “There’s—there’s so much blood. I’ve neverseen a crime scene this violent before, or so thorough. There’s nothing left,but we heard her scream only a minute ago.”
Cosette’s mother’s breathing turned ragged as tears began to stream down her face. “No, Detective,that’s not it. They’re still here somewhere. This is all just some stupidprank.”
The maternal instinct buried deep inside of them barred the mothers from believing that the two tinypiles of bones could belong to their only daughters. “Oh, god, this can’t be,”Hattie’s mother knelt beside the larger body—that of her child. “Hattie,lovely, that isn’t you.” Blood soaked her fingers as she gripped the set of children’spajamas. “Hattie,” Her voice broke painfully. “Where are you hiding?”
Tolbreak laid a hand on Hattie’s mother’s shoulder. “I believe you should go. I’ll call in a murderinvestigator, and—”
“Murder!” Cosette’s mother repeated, dropping to her knees. “She was six! She was only a littlegirl! No one murders little girls!”
Tolbreak was relieved from duty once his fellow officers arrived, but his work wasn’t complete. Thetwo heartbroken mothers had slowly become insane, and he’d already had to turnthem away from the murder scene by force three times. Their neighbors werecalling in reports of bouts of hysterical laughter, followed by rapid bangingon their doors. The two, the most disturbed being Cosette’s mother, rambled onto anyone who would listen about how their daughters were playing in the woodswith murderers. Finally, Tolbreak had them committed to an insane asylum in thenearby town of Sunnystone.
After a year of depraved grieving, Hattie’s mother was released from Sunnystone Asylum for theCriminally Insane. Hattie had been her only child, and her mother learned thatshe would never again be able to have another. While Hattie’s mother did notlive happily ever after, she was still more fortunate than Cosette’s mother.
Cosette’s mother spent the rest of her life locked in Sunnystone. She began to hallucinate, relivingthe horrors of her daughter’s lifeless body. Even her dreams were not anescape, for Cosette’s corpse would rise and attack her. For Cosette’s mother,when the fairies invaded her cell and devoured her, it was a blissful ending.That was all she had wanted—for her insufferable insanity and pain todisappear, and to be able to rejoin her daughter in the gates of heaven.