by Sammy King
“Child, listen to me carefully, stop screaming, you are about to have your own child” Aunt said.
Laura nodded, but couldn’t cease the screams that escaped her lips. Laura twisted her head and caught a flash of orange; the fox sat sneering up at her. The look on its face caused Laura’s heart to grip in fear. She didn’t have time to reflect on the fox, as another pain took over her whole body, she screamed again, twisting the woollen blanket in her hands as she beared down her hips into the bed. After what seemed to be hours, Laura heard the door swing open and looked up to see Doctor James and her father bustle into the room.
The doctor looked down at the state of Laura, her face contorted in pain, her hair damp and stuck to her face and her eyes wild, flicking between the fox and the people who were shouting for her to keep quiet. She could hear the screams, it didn’t sound like they were coming from her lips, but somewhere off in the distance. The fox crept its way towards the bed, Laura tried to move away, it’s mouth snarling, it’s eyes narrowed, she could feel it’s breath on her face, it looked rabid and fear was lurching from Laura’s stomach to her throat. She backed up as far as she could and felt the cool stone wall hard against her body. Her hips pushed down and she felt herself tearing open, she could hear her Aunt fussing, widening her legs, but Laura couldn’t understand what they were saying to her. She glanced at her father who stood in the far corner of the room, his face ashen and the deep wounds looking larger and more vicious; his eyes welled with tears as he twisted his hands nervously together.
Laura felt her baby slip from her body, her mind crashed back into her head and Laura was able to gain her senses. She looked down at her body, the fox had gone and the doctor held the baby in his hands. He slapped the baby on its backside and pinched its foot. But there was no sound. The baby wasn’t pink in colour, but a purplish blue. Panic began to rise again as Laura watched the fox appear and then grow larger. Its hands becoming almost like that of a human’s, it stood as tall as the doctor. Laura screamed for it to get away from her child. She screamed at the Doctor to make the baby cry. Her Aunt tried to soothe her, but her panic was overwhelming, the fox turned its head to look at Laura small and withered on the bed, it sneered again.
“You should have let me take you” it spat. Its voice had changed to a gravelly angry voice that she recognised.
Laura blinked and watched as the foxes face transformed into human form, his girth growing, a beard falling down his chin onto his chest, his front teeth were gone, and the eyes of the devil stared at her, as he reached out to her baby. In an instant Laura recognised who the fox had become, James Slater, the stinking man that had tried to take her as a child. Laura’s panic was overwhelming as she realised that the horrid stinking James was about to steal her child as he already had attempted with her. She screamed, in garbled speak to try to tell her father he was there. But she was unable to form the words as James reached out and grasped her baby. He tore the baby from the Doctors arms and she watched as he sunk down into the floor, taking her baby with him. Laura scrambled off the bed, trying to catch the man. But he fell through the floor, her baby hanging by its foot in the tight grasp of his fat hands. Laura collapsed onto the floor, her screams becoming no more than sobs that shook her whole body.
Aunt sat down beside her, she could hear the Doctor and her father speaking in low whispers and watched as her father left the room. A sharp pain stabbed her arm and quickly darkness took over her body.
Chapter Fifteen
Laura opened her eyes slowly, blinking, trying to take in her surroundings. She knew that she was no longer in her home, but she couldn’t figure out where she was. When she was able to focus Laura could see that she was in a long room filled with beds. Women laid in the beds, some crying out, some silent and others groaning. Nurses in crisp white uniforms floated between the rows, checking on the women. A putrid smell hit Laura’s nostrils and she turned her face to see the woman in the bed next to her, crouched down, her fingers between her legs. Laura felt bile rise in her throat as she watched the woman pull her hand covered in faeces and begin to lick at it as if it was the most delicious meal she had.
Laura heard one of the nurse’s squawk at the woman. The woman stood suddenly and cocked her arm at the nurse, her eyes narrowing, before she flung her prize, splattering across the crisp white uniform of the nurse. The nurse’s face became red and Laura could see the hatred that filled her eyes. The nurse leapt forward and pushed the woman hard onto the ground. Within seconds two men had appeared from seemingly nowhere and wrapped the woman in a jacket that tied her arms behind her back and escorted her out of the room. The woman cackling like the witch of a fairy-tale, craning her neck to look at the nurse stained with the woman’s filth.
The nurse stalked out of the room, muttering her hate for the women in the room.
“Hello there” a friendly voice spoke.
Laura turned to see a young woman in a nurse’s uniform, her red hair tied and pinned under a white cap that sat starched on her head. Laura gave the nurse a small smile. The nurse appeared quite friendly and didn’t seem to share the same hatred that the other nurse.
“My name is Nurse Alice” she spoke quietly as she sat on the edge of the bed with Laura.
“I’m Laura” she replied.
The nurse nodded and pet Laura’s hand gently.
“Do you know where you are Laura?” Nurse Alice asked.
Laura shook her head as she tried to remember the days leading up to where she was. The memories hit her like a tsunami, the fox, her father, her baby, James Slater taking her baby. Her heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces and that she would never be able to repair it. Nurse Alice continued to smile at Laura and pat her hand as she explained that after Laura lost her baby Doctor James bought her to the hospital so that she could rest and get better before going home. Nurse Alice explained that Laura had become mad with grief and needed time to get well again. Laura tried to take in all that Nurse Alice said, but her words seemed to get lost in the fogginess of her brain. Laura could feel sleep starting to push its way into her mind and the darkness attempted to take over again. She tried to fight it, by focussing on Nurse Alice’s words, but it became overwhelming and soon Laura could only close her eyes and allow the darkness to take over again.
Over the following weeks and months it seemed to be always the same. Laura slept only waking occasionally to a nurse attempting to stick some vial food in her mouth. The screams of the other patients melded into the background and almost felt like a lullaby to Laura’s ears. The only time that she got out of bed was to go and visit with the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist was a small wiry man, who was in a perpetual hunch as he sat in a big leather bound chair. His round spectacles sat perched on the edge of his nose. His beard was closely trimmed to his face, his forehead wrinkled and his eyebrows pulled together in a frown. Laura hated having to visit with him as he always gave her an uneasy feeling, like his intentions weren’t pure. It was the way he looked at her, the gleam in his eyes, it filled her with nerves. Nurse Alice told her that if she stood any chance of getting out of the hospital, then the best way was to show the psychiatrist that she was getting better.
Laura hadn’t seen the fox again, but it didn’t seem to ease her anger. She was filled with a fury that was like a fire burning in the depths of her soul. When the psychiatrist asked her to speak about the loss of her child, whom he told her was a son; the anger would threaten to bubble over. She would see herself pulling that weasly little man by his jacket lapels and biting his face off in anger. But Laura would bite down on her cheek, feeling the blood surge its way into her mouth, keeping the anger at a simmering level allowing her to speak calmly.
On one sunny afternoon she was summoned to the psychiatrist’s office again. Nurse Alice had just changed Laura into a fresh nightgown and brushed her hair. Laura had never been called into the psychiatrist’s office without it being her weekly appointment and Laura felt both excitement and fear b
egin to rise. She hoped that finally she might be able to leave the hospital, but that feeling was being attacked by an unwarranted fear of the psychiatrist. Nervously Laura knocked on the door.
“Come” the psychiatrist called out in his shrill voice.
Laura slowly turned the knob of the heavy wooden door and stepped over the threshold into his office. Sitting in the same leather-bound chair sat the psychiatrist, but with his back to her in a small wooden chair sat another man. He appeared tall with dark hair, he didn’t turn in his seat right away until Laura began to approach the large hand crafted desk between the psychiatrist and the mystery visitor. The man turned in his seat to look at Laura as she approached and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Her eyes settled on the dark eyes of the man in front of her. Recognition hit Laura in the pit of her stomach and she felt her heart leap. Porter; a small smile on his face as he sat in front of her. The man who gave her a child that she would have ripped from her by the fox. Laura bit into her cheek hard tasting the familiar coppery taste of blood fill her mouth; calming the sudden leap in anger. She continued to stare at Porter whilst she swirled the blood around her mouth savouring the taste and pain that throbbed through her cheek.
“Laura, please sit down” the psychiatrist demanded.
Not taking her eyes off Porter Laura slowly moved forward and sat in the spare wooden chair. He hadn’t changed at all. Memories of his naked body on her own flooded her mind and she could feel herself moisten between her legs. She heard the psychiatrist clear his throat which drew Laura from her memories. She shook her head and saw Porter’s eyes change with amusement, Laura turned to face the psychiatrist who wore a small smirk. He waved his hand towards Porter.
“This is Father Porter Slater, he is here with the ministry team to speak with our patients and I thought you would benefit in spending some time with him. He is from your village” the psychiatrist spoke, slowly standing from his chair.
Laura looked backed between Porter and the psychiatrist. Porter smiled again and she searched his eyes for any recognition. Laura knew that her appearance had changed somewhat, she had lost a lot of weight and her hair that once had a shine to it now sat drab and hung around her face. But he didn’t seem to recognise her at all. Porter tentatively held a hand out to Laura for her to shake it. She looked down at his hand, but her body wouldn’t move. She couldn’t bring herself to touch him for fear that her anger would boil over. He was the reason that she was in this god forsaken place, he was the reason she would never have another child, he was the reason for the loss of her innocence, for her broken heart, for her hatred. Laura’s eyes narrowed and he seemed to realise that she was angry, as a low growl built up in her throat. The psychiatrist cleared his throat again and Laura snapped her head to look back at him. Her anger was at boiling point and she could feel herself ready to explode.
“Laura please” he pleaded.
She looked back down at Porter’s hand that still was held for her to shake. She slowly reached her hand forward, feeling his skin on hers. Suddenly her hand felt like it was on fire. She tried to pull it out of his grip, but Porter held her hand tight. Laura stood up quickly, wrenching her hand from Porter’s. Laura slid back towards the wall making sure she was out of reach of him and looked down at her hand. She could see something crawl under her skin. Laura screamed as she watched movement under her skin. She looked up at Porter, terror filling her body. Her skin began to crawl as if tiny bugs were seeping through her every pore.
“What did you do to me” she screeched at him.
Laura lurched forward, Porter’s face changed to fear, all colour falling away as she knocked the chair out of the way, her anger boiling and started to ebb its way out. She screamed again as she felt the skin of his cheeks rip away under her fingers that clawed at him. Stefan bellowed and two men swung the door open flinging Laura’s writhing body onto the floor. They wrapped her in a white jacket that held her arms behind her back. As they dragged her screaming and kicking from the psychiatrist’s office she saw Porter, who was on the floor against the wall look up at her, his eyes sad and blood trickled down his cheeks from the deep claw marks on either side of his face.
Chapter Sixteen
Porter.
The girl was completely crazy, Porter thought to himself. Stefan, the psychiatrist had said she was on her way to healing well. Porter had believed that, until she scratched great gouges from his face. He had just finished in the seminary and had been appointed as chaplain of the lunatic asylum. He heard that a young woman from his town was a patient. Stefan had explained her story and how she had attacked her father attempting to kill him after losing her mother and baby. But Stefan hadn’t told Porter the girl’s name. As he sat he was astonished to see the pretty blonde woman with her deep green eyes that darted between the two of them. She looked utterly terrified. When Stefan said her name, memories filled Porter’s head. Laura. It couldn’t be. He could see the resemblance, but the Laura he knew was a beauty to be reckoned with. This Laura was like a broken and crushed bird.
He remembered Stefan telling him that she had lost a child and he was pondering while looking at her who had fathered the child. When Laura had scragged his face, tearing his skin away from his cheeks, the realisation came crashing down around him. She had been a virgin when he met her. He had taken her innocence. Her child was his child. As he sat watching Laura being taken away into a solitary room, pain filled his chest, for a child lost, no one had told him. He didn’t know about the child. Porter couldn’t understand why she hadn’t reached out. He needed to speak to her on his own, but he didn’t know if he could do that without her trying to hurt him further. He needed to explain that he didn’t know. He needed to tell her that had he known he would have married her, he would have thrown the seminary away.
As he left the asylum his heart was heavy with the grief of what had been discovered. He returned home to his father where Cole stood on the dirt driveway unfastening his horse’s saddle. Cole looked at Porters face and frowned.
“What happened to you?” Cole asked.
Porter shook his head, his voice lost in his grief.
“Laura” he spoke barely above a whisper.
Cole’s frown became deeper as he stepped forward towards Porter. Cole put his hand on Porter’s shoulder and looked like he was about to speak when they heard his father’s voice in greeting from the front marble stairs. Richard stopped and his face paled as he saw the state of Porter, the wounds deep into his cheeks.
“What is this?” Richard bellowed as he marched towards Porter. “Who did this to you son?” he said Richard’s eyes narrowing as he inspected Porter’s wounds.
“Laura” Porter said, watching something cross his father’s eyes suddenly only to be replaced by fury.
“That lunatic child? Why isn’t she in the asylum?” he bellowed.
“She is. I was asked to see her, to minister to her.” Porter spoke quietly, watching the many unreadable emotions run over his father’s face. “Did you know that she was with child? And that her child died?” Porter questioned.
His father’s eyes flashed again, before Richard shook his head. Porter felt Cole’s hand stiffen on his shoulder.
“Whore, like her mother” Richard spat before turning away. “Wash for dinner” he said dryly before stalking back up the steps.
Porter’s anger was threatening to spill over.
“Porter” Cole spoke from behind him.
He turned to face Cole who looked down at the ground.
“Father knew she was with child, we all did, she came here and she spoke with father. Laura told him that it was your child” he looked up into Porter’s eyes, sadness filled Cole’s face as the weight of the deception he had kept flooded through him.
“Why didn’t you tell me, I know why Father wouldn’t, but you Cole?” Porter spoke; his anger was replaced by hurt.
Cole looked down at the ground again, before pulling Porter into an embrace tight against his chest.
>
“I’m sorry Porter, I argued with him, I told him he should tell you, but when it was known she had lost the child, he told me to never speak of it, that what you didn’t know wouldn’t hurt you” Cole spoke sadly.
Porter nodded his head. He knew more than ever that he needed to speak with Laura; he needed to let her know the situation. He needed to explain himself.
Chapter Seventeen
Laura.
As she sat on the floor of the solitary room, it’s stained white walls feeling like they were going to cave in on her; the anger and pain she felt overwhelmed her. She screamed until her voice was hoarse. The men had taken the jacket from her body as they threw her into the room releasing her arms. Laura scratched at her skin, ripping at her flesh, the physical pain only shifting the emotional pain slightly. She was so angry. Everything inside her told Laura that Porter was only there to mock her. He wanted to let her know that he didn’t care about her as he had the day under the bridge. He was truly evil and yet he wore the cloth of God. Her father was right when he said that the Slater family had an evil spirit that ran through their souls, Laura had witnessed it. It destroyed her.
Laura pulled herself into the corner of the dank room and brought her knees tight against her chest, her eyes felt heavy and exhaustion was taking over. She heard the rattle of keys in the door, but she didn’t look up. The footsteps were light across the stone floor. She felt small cold tender fingers reach under her chin lifting her face up. Laura instantly recognised the face of Nurse Alice.
