1-Death At The Market

A series of disappearances cause panic in a small village

    Hele's father maneuvered his bulky frame around the wooden center table in the kitchen to rub her cheek with the stubble of his beard, his usual morning greeting.  "Good morning Hele!" he laughed.

    "Ah, dad!" she protested, jerking away from him and rubbing her tender face.  "Why do you always do that?  It's gross!"

    He laughed again and picked up a piece of bread from the table and stuffed it into his mouth as he walked out the front door, "Bye sweetie! Work time!"

    Hele chuckled at his optimism as she continued sorting the wash for the day.  She stared out of the window after him and noticed the older boys from a few houses down making their way to the market to sell whatever goods they could rummage up and advertise their services.  Sighing dreamily, she thought of Paulo's handsome face and hefted the heavy basket of clothes towards the steamer in the back of the house.

    Brushing the loose hair off of her brow, Hele began piling Madam Haleoa's whites onto the small platform by the opening of the steamer.  Madam Haleoa was the wealthiest person in town.  She had never married, despite numerous offers throughout her life, however she did have a son, which no man claimed, and these two facts made her comings and goings a staple in the town gossip cart.  Because of her other eccentricities, she did not have any friends, but she always paid Hele to do her washing, and she always had a nice treat for Hele's little brother, Jetu.  "Probably in the hopes that I'll marry her ugly son" Hele huffed to herself.  "The reason isn't important", Hele corrected herself.  In light of the trouble her town and the surrounding smaller villages had seen recently, any work was welcomed.

    People were disappearing, and more and more people were becoming frightened.  There was fewer and fewer opportunities for work, and money was scarce.  People leaving was unusual in general, but the manner in which the departures had occurred was simply unsettling.  People were disappearing in the middle of the night without a word to their families.  One instance would have been strange, but overlooked and all but forgotten after a time, but for so many people to disappear over the past few moons was causing a panic amongst the townspeople.

    There were rumors that Mr. Jusi was seen walking into the forest barefoot and wearing only his under cloth just before sunset the week prior.  Of course the children ran half naked in the streets like heathens, but it was very unusual for a man of his age to wander outside wearing nothing more than his cloth.  The local gossip Tehna swore to all who would listen that he walked right by her in a daze, and when she said good evening to him, he kept walking as though he hadn't even heard her.

    At the time of the last half moon, Hele's friend Ugha's grandmatron had also wandered away from the town, and no one had heard anything more from her.  Groups of men had done sweeps of the surrounding jungle for months as more and more people disappeared, but to no avail.  They followed the tracks as far as they could, until the trail went cold and they could go no further through the suffocating bush.

    As Hele lifted the lid of the steamer, Jetu ran by her, pulling her apron off and laughing as he dropped it on the floor on his mad dash to the door.  Frustrated, she realized the steamer was cold, and she would get no washing done today.  "Jetu!" she ran out of the door to find her brother, "You get back here, wherever you are, and bring the wood!"  Her little brother was nowhere to be seen, and was hiding from her.  He was still at the age when he preferred to play games rather than do his duties at home.  Stalking around the neighbor's lot, she peeked under the crawlspaces and behind piles of rubbish.  Seeing movement from the corner of her eyes, she turned just in time to catch Jetu as he pummeled into her for a hug.

    "Ha! I got you!" Jetu yelled triumphantly. "Ah, let me go!"

    Hele laughed, "No, I got YOU" she teased, holding him tightly.  "Get back home and get the kindling under the steamer going or we won't have any bread to eat for lack of money, boy!  I can't do the wash in a cold steamer!"

    Jetu twisted from her grip and stopped a few feet away, taunting his big sister. "Only if you catch me first!", he laughed and ran towards the market with Hele close behind him.

    They ran breathless through the muddy streets, and laughing at their game, made it to the market.  The market had always been exciting to Hele.  She rarely had reason to go, as her work kept her home most of the time, and she was only allowed one new dress every year since the cost of fabric had risen.  But she would go whenever the opportunity presented itself, and chasing her brother was the perfect excuse to be there. 

    On her first trip to the market as a child, she felt as though she had stepped into a fantasy land.  She had gleamed at the colorful stalls and smiled at the yells from the vendors vying for her attention with bold fabrics and sparkling trinkets.  Exotic foods and animals were on display, thickening the air with the conflicting scents of roasted meats and dung.  Traveling musicians paraded through the streets playing music from their faraway homes.  Street performers danced and juggled, and a woman painted as black as a starless night was breathing fire into the air with her plaited hair brushing the ground at her jeweled feet.  The market had always been a place of wonder and excitement.  But today there was a different feeling in the air.  Hele saw that most of the stalls were empty, and the smoking fires used for cooking were left burning and unattended.  There were no dancers, and the air held not music, but instead a fervent, and angry clamor coming from the center square.

    "Jetu, come here at once!" Hele instructed urgently.  "Something is wrong.  Stay close to me".  Jetu started to protest but the look in his sister's eyes and the way she gripped his arm made him do as he was bid.  They walked carefully around the row of stalls and saw a mob of townspeople, gathered around a single person, though they couldn't make out who it was through the crowd.  Hele was able to decipher some of the shouts in the crowd, and the hatred in the voices made her skin chill.  "Witch!" she heard from somewhere, "Kill her!" came another shout.  "Yes, she is the one!  It's her fault!!" was shouted by several others.

    As the crowd shifted in it's cluster, she was able to see the figure of Madam Heleoa, huddled and terrified in the middle.  She was bleeding from her scalp and above her eye, and streaks of tears were visible through the dirt caking her face. She pleaded with the mob desperately and unheard, "Stop, please, you are wrong!  This is not from me, please!"  She cowered as the crowd surged towards her again, and Hele lost sight of her once more.

    Ugha appeared beside Hele, "she is the reason people are disappearing and we will kill her for it", he said with conviction.

    "Ugha," she started, "I didn't see you there.  What is happening?"

    "Well," Ugha said importantly, raising his chin, "Tehna remarked how she had seen Madam Witch performing a ritual by the light of the last full moon, right before my dear grandmatron was taken into the woods by demons.  She had cut a young calf's throat and covered herself in it's blood and chanted to her demon friends to take away anyone who did not befriend her."

    Hele covered Jetu's ears hissing, "Quiet!  That is not for children to hear, and it isn't true anyway."  Turning to face Ugha, she scolded, "You know Tehna is a deceiver!  Look at all the trouble she causes!  Madam Heleoa is not a witch.  I've never heard something so ridiculous... demons!"

    "We need to go home right now" Hele bent to eyelevel with her brother, "We have to find father". 

    As soon as they turned to head back to the safety of their home, she heard her father's booming voice amongst the angry mob, "Please, everyone, this is not right, you cannot do this!"  Hearing his father, Jetu broke free from her grip and ran towards his voice through the crowd.

    "Jetu, no!" Hele yelled after him, now fearing for her brother's safety in the turmoil.  She pushed through the wall of people, desperately looking for him, though he was too small and the crowd too tight.  He had vanished.

    She broke free through the fleshy barrier, towards the inner ring of the circled townspeople, where she had a clear view of her father and Madame Heleoa, where, with new fear, she saw a rock hit her father from behind.  Grabbing his wounded head, he fell to his knees onto the dusty ground.  The strike was quickly followed with other objects thrown from the frothing mob, now becoming more savage as blood was spilled.  A man entered the circle and kicked her father in the face as he tried to lift himself up, causing him to fall onto his back.  Another man entered and stomped her father in the chest, and almost at once, another man hit Madame Heleoa with a large stick.  The savagery escalated quickly towards the now helpless victims, and more people began attacking the two.

    As the mob pulsed, Hele was unable to move towards or away from her father.  She saw the crowd and her father as though suspended above them, helpless to intervene.  Clenching her eyes shut to block out the horrid scene, the smell of blood and dust filled her nostrils, and she was crushed from all sides by her sweaty, heaving neighbors.  Jetu was nowhere, nowhere... How would he get out of this unhurt?  Opening her eyes once more she was dismayed to see him burst from between the legs of the brutes leading the violence and splay his small figure protectively over his father.  Hele saw his mouth moving but couldn't hear him over the shouting around her, and she pushed to get through the front line.  With every bit of strength she had, she pushed trying to reach him.  It was no good.  There were too many people and they were crowded too tightly. Screaming, kicking and punching those in front of her, she was pushed back violently as the swarm pulsed and moved as a living terror. 

    Hele watched helplessly and exhausted as the beatings continued; her father's handsome face now a mass of red and mud and blue and bone.  She saw Jetu's small face, his once hopeful, happy, smiling face, so much like their mother's, now petrified in fear, split in half by the bludgeon that hit him from behind.

    As Madame Heleoa's head was hoisted into the air, the crowd cheered.  Hele was carried away by the current, wanting nothing more at that moment than to drown in it, and join her family in death, away from this seething mob.

Reviews

[Kathy Van Kurin]

"Death at the Market"
D. connolly,
This chapter takes the reader back to a much more ancient time.
People are suspended of logic by fear. The thoughts are brought
on by helplessness. Your writing is interesting and suspenseful.
It was a good story!
Blessings,
Kathy

[D Connolly]

thank-you Kathy! I'm glad you enjoyed. I'm still working on the story, and it's my first attempt at an actual book. I'm hoping I can keep up the pace!

[barleygirl]

Your story is well-conceived & well-organized for a constant flow of intensity, curiosity, & action. Your many imaginative descriptions bring the scene to life. Good mix of dialogue & description & action. Most of the time, there's a good balance of short simple sentences & longer complex sentences. Once in awhile, tho (like 5th paragraph), the longer complex sentences go on for a bit, making this a little bit of a heavy read in spots (short simple sentences are like a breather for the reader). This is a minor thing, but everything else is so tightly written.

[D Connolly]

thank-you. I will review.

[Valentine]

You write very interesting and well. Not my type of a read but many others will enjoy it. Valentine

[D Connolly]

:) Very different from your style, I know. I'm glad you took the time to read, thank-you