Daddy Won't Kill You- The Haunting in the Woods

by Caroline Clark

  “Look, Mummy. Bunkie’s coming to sit in your new chair.” Unable to say bunny when she was little, Lucy had called the toy Bunkie and the name had stuck. It had become her constant companion, her security, but gradually she’d started to forget the toy as she found other things to play with.

  Lauren rocked backward and forwards, seeming to be almost bathed in sunshine.

  “Look, Mummy. Look at Bunkie,” Lucy repeated. She reached up and shook her mum’s arm.

  Lauren rocked on as if she hadn’t heard, her eyes stared straight ahead.

  “Oh, you’re so cold.” Lucy pulled her hand away quickly and rubbed her fingers as if they were burnt.

  Lauren continued to rock, her face a serene mask, and she closed her eyes.

  Steve and Chase walked out of the cabin. They both wore blue jeans and red checked shirts, making Chase a miniature version of his dad.

  Steve loved the way Chase tried to be like him, unlike Lucy, who always wanted to be different. She sat on the deck wearing a cerise pink fleece top and brown and pink spotted leggings, so cute that it stabbed his heart in an entirely different way than earlier.

  He picked her up and spun her around, placing her gently on the deck as she clung to the rabbit.

  “We’ll be down by the lake, sweetie.” Steve bent over Lauren to kiss her cheek. Her eyes opened and her expression stopped him dead as she gave him a look of pure spite.

  “I have to stay here, while you enjoy yourself?”

  Steve pulled back. “What?”

  Lauren’s face cleared and she smiled. “Okay, honey. See you all later.” She closed her eyes again and continued to rock.

  Steve stood, wondering if something was off. Even her hair seemed straighter. He picked up a ball and watched as Lauren rocked in the chair, so serene, so peaceful. He put a hand around each of the kids and walked across the grass to the lake.

  Lauren heard the footsteps as they left the deck. She smiled a wicked smile and kept rocking. The motion was addictive, almost as delicious as chocolate. It made her feel good, heady, and even a little scared, which was ridiculous.

  She opened her eyes and picked up her recipe book, thumbing through the pages as she rocked. A gentle breeze lifted her hair from her face and as it settled, the curls eased out, the strands still curly but less so.

  “Yes,” she said as she found the recipe she wanted. She got up from the chair a little reluctantly and headed for the kitchen.

  Chapter 8

  Lucy pulled her hand from Steve’s as they walked away from the cabin. She skipped ahead, throwing the faded Bunkie into the air and catching him most of the time as she ran ahead. Up he went, spinning in the sunlight. She reached out clumsily, but he sailed just beyond her reach and Lucy laughed as he fell to the floor and she raced ahead to rescue him.

  Steve looked on with a smile on his face, but his brow was still furrowed.

  “Can we go out on the lake tomorrow?” Chase asked.

  Lucy turned around and ran back, scrambling to keep hold of the fluffy bunny. “Yes, Daddy, we could go fishing,” she said, looking up expectantly.

  He bent down and scooped her onto his shoulders, spinning her around as he did so. She’s getting too heavy for this. “You don’t like fishing,” he said.

  “Do, do, do, do. Like the little fishies too,” she sang, giggling and wiggling about on his shoulders.

  Steve lowered her to the floor. “You’ll have to touch woooormies.” Steve laughed as he said it.

  Lucy squealed with delight.

  “I can handle the bait, Dad. Just like you taught me.” Chase’s expression was deadly serious.

  Steve smiled with pride. They stopped on the short grass just before the smooth waters of the lake and formed a rough triangle. Steve tossed the ball gently to Lucy. She lunged forward and just caught it, laughing with delight. Jumping up and down, she threw it toward Steve.

  He had to run, but he stretched and caught it. Spinning around, he threw it a little harder at Chase.

  The boy fumbled the catch and the ball landed near his feet. With a pained expression, he reached down and picked up the ball. He looked as if he would lob it into the lake, but instead he threw the ball back.

  Steve caught it and tossed it gently to Lucy, but all the time he kept his eyes on Chase. Something was wrong. The boy was worried, seeming to want to say something but not knowing how to.

  Lucy missed the ball and threw the rabbit at it. “Look, Bunkie caught the ball.” She picked up the ball and the rabbit and tossed the ball in the general direction of Chase.

  Steve watched Chase’s expression. He didn’t even want to play. Something was definitely wrong.

  Chase went slowly and picked up the ball.

  “Come on,” Steve called, and held out his arms.

  Chase walked over to his dad.

  “Are you okay?” Chase asked, his eyes liquid with concern.

  “Of course, I am,” Steve said.

  Lucy came over too and she shared a look with her brother. “The fights. Will you die?” she asked.

  Steve felt a hand squeeze his heart at the pain he had caused these wonderful children. “No,” he said. “I promise, I’m better now.” He sat down and pulled the kids to him.

  Lucy sat on his lap and cuddled him close, her hug comforting him as Steve watched Chase kneel down on the grass, his expression neutral while he tried to hide his emotions.

  “We heard you had to be careful. Are you sure?” Chase asked.

  Steve wanted to pull the boy to him, but Chase was trying so hard to be grown up. “I have to be careful about adrenaline, but don’t worry. I’m fine. Okay?”

  Lucy leaned back. “What does adralyn mean, Daddy?”

  Steve pulled her close. “It means no danger or frights.” He made monster faces and tickled her to emphasize the fact. Lucy giggled with delight and pulled her own scary face. Then her expression changed completely.

  “Oh, no!” Lucy stuffed her hands in her mouth and tears filled her eyes.

  “What is it?” Steve asked, pulling her hands away and wiping her tears.

  “We scared you! Sorry, but don’t die.”

  Steve laughed. “I won’t, I promise. But maybe no more scares for a while.”

  “Sorry, Dad,” Chase said. “Are you and Mum getting a divorce?”

  Steve thought back to his own feelings and how he had wondered if that was what Lauren wanted. More than anything, he hoped not. Hoped that this was just a rough patch brought on by financial and health pressures. They would ride it through and be stronger on the other side. They had to be, for the children. “No. God, no. What made you think that?”

  Lucy stood up, fiddled with Bunkie, and looked at Chase. “Mum’s never home, and you’re both kinda hissy,” she said.

  “Hissy?” Steve asked.

  Lucy smiled and said, “You know, hiss, hiss at each other.”

  Chase shrugged at his dad to agree.

  Steve stood and picked Lucy up. He winked at his son and spun her around, to delighted laughter. “Hissy, huh. I’ll show you hissy.”

  He put her down and put a smile on his face to hide how much it hurt that the fighting was bothering them so much. “Mum and I are fine. Now, last one to that tree gets called grumpy.”

  “That’s poetitic, poettc. That sounded rhymmee,” Lucy said.

  “Yes, it did.” Steve’s smile was genuine now. “Don’t you worry about me and Mum. Things will be better now. Right, I’m starting in three ...”

  Lucy squealed in delight and headed off for the tree. Her knees rose so high that she covered very little ground, but she put in her full effort. Her arms pumped furiously in time with her legs and her giggles floated back to him. Chase followed, allowing Lucy a slight lead, but he was determined to beat his dad.

  “Two ... one.” Steve raced after them, laughing.

  Chapter 9

  Lauren walked out of the cabin and into the sunshine. She walked past the chair but turned back to look a
t it. It felt almost as if it called to her. She shook her head and stepped off the deck.

  She could see Steve sitting with the children, their backs against the gnarled old trunk of a huge oak tree. He waved at her and for some reason, she was annoyed. She saw him get up but turned her back and walked away.

  Steve watched his wife’s back. Stung by the snub, he almost sat back down, but he had to talk to her and let her know how the children felt. He steeled himself, squared his shoulders, and set off across the grass.

  Lauren was skirting around to the back of the cabin where the grass sloped down to woodland. Steve increased his pace and caught up with her. He matched her steps and asked, “Are you okay?”

  She half-smiled but kept walking. “Yes. Sorry. I can’t think what to put in tonight’s pie.” Her eyes searched the area as if looking for the perfect ingredient.

  Steve reached out and touched her arm. “The kids are worried about us.”

  “What?” She continued on toward the woods, scanning the area before them.

  “I want them to know we’re okay. We are okay, aren’t we?” Steve asked.

  “Yes. I’m just upset about …” Lauren waved her hands to indicate the cabin and shrugged.

  Steve wished there was a way to keep the cabin, but knew they had to let it go. “We should try to keep it down around them.”

  “Yes, I know. No.” Lauren stepped back quickly, a look of disgust on her face. She had stepped into the writhing mess of a dead raven. The bird’s ink-black feathers were covered in blood and seemed to crawl as a thousand maggots feasted on its flesh. Its night-black beak lay open in a silent scream and the smell of decay wafted up to meet them.

  Steve pulled his wife back. “You go back to the house. I’ll get rid of this.”

  She spun away, her stare blank as she spat at him, “Don’t force me to stay in the house.”

  “What?”

  Lauren’s face relaxed, and she patted his arm. “I can do it. Go. The pumpkins might come.”

  “Sweetie, let me.”

  Lauren almost shouted, “Steve, just go.”

  Feeling useless, he took one last look at the writhing bird and then, with his head down and shoulders slumped, he walked back to the children.

  As he left, Lauren looked down at the maggot-covered mess with a look of pure disgust. Then her gaze moved to Steve’s back, and her expression remained the same.

  Steve left her to clean up the bird and went to play with the children. He knew they had to handle this, but he also knew he must give her a bit of time. When he’d planned this trip, he had hoped that they would get on better once they got here. Now he realized how foolish that had been. Coming here had just rubbed it in for Lauren that the cabin had to go. Maybe it had been cruel to come for this last trip, but they were here now, and they had to make the most of it.

  After an hour, he went back to the cabin and found her sitting outside, rocking. At first, the look she gave him stopped his heart, but then her face changed and she smiled. Quickly, he explained what he wanted, and Lauren seemed to agree.

  Lucy and Chase were playing down by the shore of the lake, where a beach of stone pebbles sloped gently down to the still, gray waters. As Chase threw a pebble across the water, Steve led Lauren down to the lake, making sure the kids could see that they were holding hands.

  Lucy jumped up and down, her curls bobbing as she did. “Chase makes the stones float.”

  “Skim,” Chase said, sending another stone to bounce five times across the lake’s dark surface.

  Steve watched the stone. Clouds were forming out over the lake, dark and angry. They threatened that a storm was coming. He could almost feel the pressure, dark and depressing. Maybe that was why they were so antsy. He let go of Lauren’s hand, picked up a stone, and knelt down at Lucy’s side. “Here, let me show you.”

  He smoothed the flat, gray stone in his fingers and then, getting low, he sent it across the pond. Lucy squealed with delight each time it bounced.

  “Me, me, my turn,” she said, picking up a round stone.

  Steve laughed at her excitement. “Okay, like I showed you, throw it low and flat.”

  Lucy nodded, and then tossed the pebble high into the air. It plopped into the lake and sank. She squealed happily anyway.

  Lauren giggled at her daughter’s efforts. “That was great, honey.”

  Chase had another flat stone, as he waited his turn. “My turn, Dad.” Chase concentrated hard. He bent low and let the pebble fly. It bounced five times, raising a white flare of water each time before it disappeared beneath the murky depths of the lake.

  As the kids took turns, Steve ran from one to the other. He picked up stones and delighted in their success while Lauren watched from the shoreline. She was enjoying their fun, a carefree smile on her face.

  On the deck behind them, the chair started to rock. Lauren felt herself pulled to look around. It rocked slowly back and forward and she felt a pull, a wish to go to it.

  “Mummy, watch,” Lucy shouted.

  “I’m watching, pumpkin,” Lauren said.

  Lucy threw the stone high up into the air. It splashed down into the water, sinking not far from the shore. Lucy squealed with delight.

  Lauren looked longingly at the rocking chair. She so wanted to go sit down. Maybe she was just tired.

  She turned back to the shore and saw Steve bend with his daughter and put her hand at the right level so that the trajectory was right for her throw. She let go of the stone and it skimmed, bouncing three times across the water.

  Lucy jumped up and down. “Mummy, three! Did you see?”

  Lauren pulled her eyes from the chair. “That was excellent.”

  In the background, the chair continued to rock. Lauren felt loss, and the pain of withdrawal. She must go to the chair. Instead, she shook her head and watched the children.

  Chase sent another stone skimming far out into the lake and then it was Lucy’s turn again.

  “Mummy, see?”

  Lauren turned away from the lake as if she had been called. The rocking chair rocked back and forth. Lauren started to walk back to the cabin, ignoring Lucy jumping with excitement on the lakeshore.

  She reached the chair. It stopped again as she turned to sit down. A sliver of fear ran through her as she took the seat. She sat down, her hair appeared to straighten slightly, and her expression fell from her face.

  On the beach, Lucy stood, crushed with disappointment that her mommy had missed her best throw.

  Chapter 10

  The children ran into the cabin, excited after their stone throwing. Lucy was bubbling over, desperate to tell her mum what they had been doing. She skidded to a stop.

  “Mummy, Mummy, I can bounce a stone five ...” She dropped the stone she had been holding out and froze on the spot.

  Beside her, Chase stepped in front, his mouth open, but unable to speak. He was shaking, but he kept Lucy behind him as he backed away from Lauren.

  Steve walked in. His heart froze at the sight before him. The children stood stock still, their faces masks of fear. Their eyes were locked on Lauren. She was standing at the counter, her face, hands, and hair smeared with blood. A large carving knife was in her right hand, which was also dripping blood onto the counter as she cut into the pastry.

  “Lauren, what the ...?” Steve felt his heart stop, his knees weaken, and for a moment, he thought he would fall.

  Lauren’s eyes looked wild. Her face was manic, and there was so much blood. Steve wanted to run to her but the knife glinted at him and his fear turned to the children. “Outside, kids. Now,” he said, and ushered them to the door.

  They didn’t want to go and dragged their feet. Steve pushed harder and shoved them to the door. “Take her to the table, Chase.” He barked the words and turned back to Lauren.

  Lauren looked at Steve. Confusion crossed her face. It was as if she didn’t know where he had come from. Then her face changed again, there was a wild look in her eyes, and the k
nife flashed, gleaming steel, as she advanced toward him.

  Steve held his ground, his hands raised in supplication.

  “Can’t I have five minutes’ peace to cook one bloody meal?” Lauren snapped at him.

  Lucy let out a high, keening wail as she stopped in the doorway. Steve looked at Chase and the boy helped Lucy out of the cabin onto the deck.

  “Honey, what happened?” Steve asked, his heart in his throat. “We need to get you to the hospital.”

  Lauren waved the knife in front of her as she stepped toward him. Steve finally took his eyes off the blood and noticed the knife. What was going on?

  “Lauren, the knife,” Steve said as he stepped closer.

  She looked wild and changed her direction, moving toward the doorway and the children. It was as if she didn’t see him.

  “Put the knife down, honey,” Steve said, urgency making his tone more forceful.

  Lauren turned toward him. “What?” Her eyes seemed to change and her face crumpled with confusion. She turned and almost threw the knife onto the counter.

  Steve jumped as it clattered on the side. “Honey, we need to get you help. Your face. The blood.” He was torn between running to the children who hovered in the doorway and running to his wife.

  Lauren looked down at her hands and laughed. “This is just tomato puree. Now, you lot go outside. I will bring drinks, and dinner will be ready soon. Game and tomato pie, one of my favorites. Go on, off you go.” She shooed them away and turned back to the pie.

  Steve felt his heart return from his throat back into his chest. He took one last look at Lauren as she continued to work on the pie and then he herded the kids outside and sat them at the table.

  She had seemed wild, as if she didn’t recognize them. What was going on?

  Chase had an arm around Lucy, and he squared his shoulders. “Dad, is Mum okay? Do we need to get her help?”