farm on a thursday

Elkhazel stuffed an acorn into her pocket with the scariest deadpan expression that she could manage.

“Stop being weird,” Calista ordered and peeled off her socks, stuffing them into her oversized bag. “Do we have everything, Annabelle?”

Annabelle glided over to her belongings and scanned her sources, shuffling through her own bag. “We have food, water, hats, rope, bandaids, knives, gloves, a single acorn, but we do not have an offering.”

Calista pondered for a moment, but Elkhazel ruined the peace by stating, “Let’s offer Patch.”

“We cannot,” Annabelle said solemnly. “Humans are not allowed.”

Saber prepared to squawk an insult, but Calista began, “We aren’t offering anything alive. I have a cookie in my bag.”

“Great!” Candy cheered and clasped her hands together excitedly. “Let’s leave!”

Candy bounded toward the door, but Calista grabbed her arm and tugged her backward. The former protested, but Calista shot her a look, and everyone immediately quieted and waited for instructions. “We have to go through the gate, and we’ll be on the farm. Follow Annabelle’s instructions, alright?”

“Question,” Saber chimed, “why are we doing this?”

“Bot wanted to.” Elkhazel‘s finger rose to her lips, a mischievous smile playing on her face. “I can’t tell why.”

“Illogical as always,” muttered Saber.

Calista ignored the remarks that followed and grabbed Candy’s hand, instructing the rest of the group to follow their movements and form a line behind them. Annabelle jumped behind Candy as Elkhazel forced Saber to be the caboose, much to her annoyance, but nobody spoke when they first exited the cabin.

Then, Saber mumbled, “This is dumb.” She watched as a flower near the gate withered abruptly, and the grass that circled it became brown.

“Stop that,” scolded Calista without craning her head to look at the girl.

“A coincidence,” Saber stated before widening her eyes upon hearing an odd noise. She did not understand what the noise was, so she inquired, “Did anyone else hear that?”

“That was likely from the animals,” Annabelle explained. “Half of the odd noises that you will hear come from the animals.”

Saber frowned, alarmed. “The other half?”

Grazing cows beyond the gate abruptly mooed, but the sound, which should have been natural, was odd and petrifying. Elkhazel allowed Saber and Annabelle’s hands to leave her grasp as she laughed, “That’s rather terrifying.”

Saber paused with her hands now hanging limply at her sides, staring at the cows with an expression that was unnatural for her. Calista stared daggers at Elkhazel, but the latter ignored the glare and confidently strolled toward the gate, kicking it open. The cows fell silent and turned away from the group once the gate was opened.

Calista let go of Candy’s hand and inspected the splintered gate. She attempted to close it, but half of the gate was broken, preventing the action. She glowered and said, “Elkhazel, you’re an idiot.”

“That’s a change of attitude for you,” Elkhazel countered with a smug grin. “We’re on the farm now, anyway.”

“That’s not the point,” Calista snapped. “We aren’t supposed to break anything on the farm.”

“It’s not on the farm. It’s bordering the farm.”

Calista crossed her arms, defeated. She instead whirled to face Annabelle and questioned, “Where should we go first?”

The light beneath Annabelle’s hat glittered for a moment as she checked her sources. “It does not matter, but we should not go anywhere alone.”

“Why?” piped Saber.

“There’s ghosts, of course!” Elkhazel sneakily placed her hands on Saber’s shoulders menacingly, and Saber startled, pushing her onto the ground with glaring eyes. Elkhazel chortled and placed a hand over her mouth.

Candy pouted and offered a hand to Elkhazel. “We’re all too jumpy. Can we go to the cows?”

Calista frowned but nodded, glancing in the direction of the fenced area where the cows roamed. “Please, don’t break anything else.”

Elkhazel, who was already skipping toward the area filled with disturbed cows, craned her head to look at Calista for a moment. “Okay, Mom.”

Calista rolled her eyes but followed at a slow pace, watching the group’s movements intently; if Elkhazel broke another object, she would just leave the farm behind. Elkhazel dragged Saber through the gate, and Annabelle entered the area shortly afterward, extending her hand cautiously toward a cow. The cow stared at her but swiftly turned around, paying no mind to the kind offer. Candy excitedly burst through the gate, and Calista was the last to enter, closing the gate gently behind her.

“Be careful,” Calista warned, watching as Annabelle attempted to pat a cow on the head.

Annabelle paused and momentarily placed a finger on a cow’s head, scanning the animal for practically useless information. When the action was completed, she recoiled and grimaced, stiffening when the cow seemed to scowl at her.

“What’s the matter?” Candy asked, stepping away from the cow that she was caressing.

Annabelle frowned. “It is nothing.”

Elkhazel stumbled over to Annabelle and placed a hand on her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. “Bot, you can’t use that excuse on us. What’d you scan?”

Annabelle hesitated but mumbled, “This cow has eaten something unsavory today.”

“Unsavory?” Saber questioned, placing her hands on her hips.

“Ribs, to be exact.” Annabelle watched as the cow finally whirled away from her. “I think that they are human ribs.”

Calista queasily backed away from the cows that all suddenly turned toward Annabelle with seemingly annoyed gazes. Candy seemed terrified, but Saber merely folded her arms over her chest and sighed. Elkhazel, however, giggled and shook her head.

“I mean, isn’t this place haunted?” Elkhazel laughed. “Isn’t this normal?”

“No,” Calista snapped.

“Stop saying that it’s haunted,” Saber hissed.

Elkhazel spun to face Saber with a mocking grin. “This place is famous for being haunted, Patch. I remember this farm being talked about a lot in the newspaper.” She glanced about the area, pointing toward the white farmhouse in the distance. “That’s where the farmer died. Nobody knows his name.”

Saber looked at Annabelle. “Why did you want to come here?”

Annabelle nervously fidgeted but remained silent, instead sneaking out of the pasture that held the slightly malicious cows. Saber deeply sighed but said nothing, instead following her out of the area.

“I have one question,” Candy mentioned solemnly.

Calista signaled Candy to continue.

“If this farm is as scary as they say, then who tends to these cows?” Candy nodded toward the replenished food and water that the cows were offered. “Nobody lives here, right?”

An abrupt and unfamiliar voice sounded behind them. “I tend to them,” someone grumbled, nearing the gate with a soft glare. When all eyes fell on the someone that the voice belonged to, the someone simply blinked.

“Ah, so people do live here,” Elkhazel murmured and placed a finger to her chin.

The someone remained unfazed and tapped his foot. “Most people leave after meeting the cows,” he added and sneered. “I’ve never actually had to greet anyone.”

Candy jumped forward with an animated smile and offered a hand to the someone. Calista, however, cautiously placed her own hand atop Candy’s and studied the strange someone, causing the lively girl to pout.

The someone threw his hands into the air and, clearly annoyed, muttered, “I’m not a ghost or anything.”

“What’s your name?” Calista demanded softly.

He pursed his lips. “What’s yours?” When Calista glowered, he monotonously replied, “Oliver.”

Candy offered the hand that Calista was not covering, but the latter carefully grabbed Candy’s hand with her free one. Candy yanked both hands away and stared at Calista with an expression of hurt, frowning widely.

“You’re free to look around,” Oliver noted. “Just don’t disturb anything. My brother’s in the farmhouse, if you’re that interested.”

Candy’s frown disappeared as she clasped her hands together in excitement. “Can we meet your brother?”

“That may be a bad idea,” Saber worriedly hummed.

Candy whirled to face her, staring with resent. “I’m sure it’s fine,” she huffed, crossing her arms.

“You two should liven up a bit,” Elkhazel muttered tauntingly, stepping forward toward Oliver.

Candy then turned to face Oliver again, finally holding out her hand with no restrain. Oliver eyed her hand but did not take it, instead opening the gate for the others. Candy happily exited the pasture and began to follow Oliver when Calista hurried over to her and took her hand into hers; not with the intent of holding her back, however. Elkhazel, too, rushed out of the pasture, and Saber and Annabelle reluctantly followed.

“Oliver,” Annabelle shyly murmured, “what is wrong with the cows?”

Oliver glanced at her, raising his eyebrows in confusion. “Nothing.”

“They’ve been eating ribs,” Saber commented.

Elkhazel nudged Saber roughly. “Tasty.”

“I don’t explain what they do. I just keep them alive.” Oliver scowled and turned away from the group, continuing to walk at a quicker pace than the rest.

Annabelle nervously stuffed her hands into her pockets as they neared the farmhouse. The farmhouse was deteriorating, and the wood looked as if it could be blown to pieces with a simple poke. The roof was missing shingles, and some of the windows were cracked, causing pieces of glass to be present in the yard. The steps creaked underneath Oliver as he strode onto the porch and toward the door. The door screeched maniacally, but he peered into the home and dully said, “Milo, there’s people here.”

Candy attempted to enter the farmhouse, but she was knocked backward by someone bolting from the home with a wide grin on their face. Calista caught her before she could have a date with the ground, but Candy was unfazed, jumping excitedly.

“Ah! I’m sorry!” the someone, presumably Milo, cried, waving his hands in panic. “Nobody ever comes here!”

Oliver pursed his lips. “They do, but they leave,” he mumbled, but Milo ignored him and greeted the group enthusiastically.

Milo rushed over to Saber and stood on the tip his toes, staring at her eyepatch in wonder. “Why do you have an eyepatch? Did something happen?”

Saber stepped backward and shook him off, beginning to sweat. “Nothing happened.”

Milo then darted over to Elkhazel, pointing to her pointed ears and widening his eyes. “Your ears are pointed! Is there a reason?”

“That’s…,” Elkhazel began, but he quickly turned his attention toward Annabelle instead, sprinting over to her.

Annabelle attempted to hide behind Calista in fear, but Milo stared at her hat and tilted his head to the side. She relaxed slightly when he gushed, “Your hat is really cool! Where’d you get it?”

“I made it myself,” she murmured, feeling grateful when he scampered over to Candy quickly afterward.

Milo reached out and gently grabbed a handful of Candy’s hair, gasping when he felt how soft it was. “Your hair is really pretty!” he exclaimed and smiled. “Is it naturally this color?”

“Yup,” Candy responded and sparkled, watching as he finally reached Calista and studied her carefully.

Milo directed his gaze toward the pink star near her eye, gaping in amazement. “Why is there a star?”

“It’s paint,” Calista bluntly explained, and Milo merely nodded, which was the only reaction that he seemed able to muster.

Oliver yanked Milo away from the group with a scowl, sighing apologetically. He folded his arms over his chest and muttered, “Sorry about my dumbass brother.”

Candy laughed, smiling with her eyes. “No, it’s fine. Meeting energetic people is fun.”

Silence filled the air for a moment, but Oliver broke it by offering, “You can still explore the farm. I couldn’t care less.”

Milo pouted at his choice of words, but before anyone could accept or decline the offer, he clasped his hands together and jumped in excitement. He drew a lightbulb in the air with his finger to signal that he possessed an idea. “We should give them a tour.”

Oliver shot him a look. “A tour.”

“Of course!” Milo cheered and placed his hands on Oliver’s shoulders, shaking him roughly. “You can take some to the milking shed, and I’ll take the others to the barn!”

Oliver pushed Milo away and crossed his arms over his chest, grimacing. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Let’s go to the milking shed,” Elkhazel hummed and slyly draped her arm over Oliver’s head, leaning against his body. She was briskly shoved away, but she grabbed Saber’s arm and began dragging her toward the milking shed, anyway. Annabelle glanced at the group but ultimately followed the two girls with her hands visibly quivering.

Milo pushed Oliver toward the trio with an encouraging grin. “You can’t let them go alone!”

Once Oliver did not turn around to scramble into the farmhouse and hide from the world, Milo whirled around to face Calista and Candy with a smirk. “The barn is that way,” he said and pointed north of the farmhouse. “It’s not much, but it’s super cool.”

Calista and Candy followed Milo toward the barn, and Calista sometimes tripped over her feet in an attempt to match his brisk pace. He occasionally turned his head to glance at the two girls that trailed behind him, smiling brightly when he realized that they were still following. He began to skip faster when the barn was just ahead, flinging open the doors with great effort.

“It’s safe, right?” Calista immediately questioned as she peered into the dark barn.

Milo hummed in response and held out his arms, nodding at the inside of the barn. Candy instantly jumped through the doors and launched herself into the dirty hay, but Calista cautiously entered and maneuvered her way around the barn. Though Candy absentmindedly twirled around support beams, Calista remained alert and stood near the entrance, startling when Candy nearly fell from the ladder that lead to a platform.

“There’s no animals,” Candy abruptly whined and plopped down on the platform, allowing her legs to dangle over the edge.

“Most of them escaped,” Milo revealed, glancing at her with saddened eyes. “Only the cows stayed.”

Some of the hay was abruptly blown into the air, forming a tiny flurry of yellow. Calista speedily directed her gaze toward the sudden flurry and narrowed her eyes, noticing that Candy and Milo were conversing innocently; only she had observed the phenomenon.

“Milo,” interrupted Calista, gathering his attention, “how did the animals escape?”

Milo shrugged as his eyes darted toward her. “I don’t like assuming, but I always thought that Oliver let them go.”

Candy’s smile twitched into a frown. “Why would he do that?”

“He doesn’t really like this farm,” Milo admitted, sorrowfully kicking the hay with his scuffed shoes. He cupped his mouth with his small hands and weirdly whispered, “I think he tried to burn down this barn once.”

The ladder snapped in half, scattering pellets of wood about the barn, and Milo yelped and jumped backward to shield himself from the pieces of wood. The platform began to shake violently, and Candy attempted to stand and carefully lower herself to the ground. The vibrations caused her to automatically sink to her knees, splinters piercing her skin.

Calista launched herself toward the spot on the ground that Candy was above. “Candy, jump!” she yelled desperately. “It’ll be fine!”

Candy’s voice trembled. “Will you catch me?”

“Of course!” Calista held out her arms and stared up at the platform, her face grave.

The platform abruptly shattered, and slices of wood sailed to the ground like a swooping bird. Candy immediately plummeted toward the ground, shrieking wildly, and before Calista could position herself correctly to catch her, a portion of the wood smacked against her forehead and sent her tumbling backward. Candy landed atop the rough hay instead, and though she was practically unharmed, she would have preferred if she had been caught in someone’s grasp.

Candy heard a groan and snapped her attention toward the noise, scrambling over to Calista. “You’re bleeding,” she fretted as she pushed back her girlfriend’s bangs to reveal the wound.

Milo then zoomed toward the entrance of the barn, seemingly unhurt. “Come on!” he shouted. “We should go back to the farmhouse!”

The entire barn seemed to screech in pain as the wind licked the outside.

“Like, now!” Milo repeated.

Candy finally stood and yanked Calista to her feet, whispering apologies as she swiftly dragged her out of the barn instead of helping her walk. Milo directed them toward the farmhouse, and eventually, halfway through the journey, Candy slung Calista’s arm over her shoulders after noticing that she was on the verge of unconsciousness.

Milo paused when they were feet away from the farmhouse. “I think the others are still at the milking shed.”

“They better hurry back,” Candy croaked.

Elkhazel, however, was not in a hurry, unlike the rest of her companions. She bounded around the milking shed as if she were inside a bouncy castle, nearly slipping on the unclean floors. Annabelle, although nervous, scanned the multiple objects that she found throughout the building. Saber merely glanced at the many contraptions that were used to milk cows, uninterested.

“There’s nothing interesting,” Oliver coughed, standing in the doorway of the shed.

Saber stared at the grimy floor. “You’re right. Let’s go back.”

“You’re no fun,” Elkhazel huffed and popped out in front of Saber with a sarcastic frown, reaching out to bop her on the nose.

Saber grabbed her arm before her finger could connect, pushing her backward with an angry glare. “It’s useless here. The others are probably waiting.”

“They can wait, Patch,” Elkhazel countered.

Saber crossed her arms. “You’re annoying. Don’t call me that.”

Annabelle, meanwhile, scanned the many tubes that she found around the milking shed, finding that they were most recently used several years ago. She cringed at the filth now on her hands and anxiously commented, “These tubes have not been used for some time.”

“We don’t milk the cows,” explained Oliver, overhearing her thought.

Annabelle, worried, trudged over to the doorframe and asked, “Why?”

Oliver glared at her, but he was not bothered. “Must there be a reason?”

“No,” Annabelle quickly answered, her hands fidgeting. “Sorry.”

Oliver silently stared at her for a moment but eventually turned his attention toward Elkhazel, who was dragging an unwilling Saber around parts of the milking shed that they had seen multiple times already.

“It’s kind of like ice skating,” Elkhazel joked and slid across the floor after releasing her grip on Saber’s hands. “Just dirtier.”

“That’s gross,” Saber retorted and turned toward the entrance of the shed. “We’ve seen the place now. Come on.”

“You’re mean,” Elkhazel argued but followed Saber to the entrance, visibly irritated.

The peculiar noise that the cows produced earlier sounded from the back of the milking shed, and Saber glanced toward the noise. “You heard that, right?” she questioned her companions, agitated.

“Clearly,” Oliver muttered and pursed his lips.

“It’s ghosts,” Elkhazel snorted, and before Saber could object, she gasped in pain; something had brushed past her, stamping roughly on her foot.

“Geez,” Saber growled. “What now?”

Elkhazel stared at her foot as Saber uttered a similar noise, cruelly swatting the air in front of her. Her hand connected with an invisible force, and she was knocked backward, but Elkhazel seized her arm and steadied her.

Annabelle patted the air until her hand came to rest upon the same invisible force. The light underneath her hat shined as she scanned, and her sources showed a death date. She squealed and backed away from the figure, exiting the milking shed completely.

“Annabelle?” Saber called, twirling on her heel to face Annabelle. “What did you find?”

“I think that it is a dead cow,” she whispered softly, her eyes wide and afraid.

Saber, even though she still backed away from the entrance after Annabelle’s statement, muttered, “That’s impossible.”

“I tried to tell you,” Elkhazel boasted and grinned mischievously, holding out her hand. An invisible force bumped into it but did nothing more.

Saber narrowed her eyes. “Elkhazel, don’t.”

Oliver watched the situation unfold with a bored expression. He simply leaned against the doorframe with folded arms, looking as if he would fall asleep.

“I think that we should go back to the farmhouse,” Annabelle nervously suggested.

Another invisible figure crashed into Elkhazel’s hand, but unlike the former, it forcibly rammed into her body, causing her to grasp her stomach in pain. Saber widened her eyes and scurried over to Elkhazel, tugging her out of the doorframe.

Saber’s features darkened as she muttered, “Are you alright?”

Elkhazel grinned vexatiously. “Patch, you actually looked worried for me,” she taunted and bopped Saber on the nose.

Saber shoved Elkhazel away and turned her head.

“We should go back,” Annabelle repeated, playing with her fingers.

Elkhazel seemed upset to leave the milking shed but ultimately agreed, hastening to catch up with Saber and Annabelle, who were already feet away from the building. Oliver remained near the doorframe for a minute before shutting the doors and following slowly, like a feather floating to the ground.

Candy was the first to notice their presence when they appeared in the distance, chatting amongst themselves. She beamed and hurled herself off the porch, sprinting toward them while waving her arms wildly. Saber held out her arms, stopping Elkhazel and Annabelle in their tracks, while Oliver raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

“Something happened!” Candy cried, grabbing ahold of Saber’s hands. “Calista is bleeding really badly. You can help her, right?”

Saber shook off Candy’s grip but nodded solemnly. “I can. What happened?”

“The barn went crazy,” Candy explained, her voice quaky. “A piece of wood hit Calista, and she keeps going unconscious.”

When the group reached the porch, Candy riskily skipped the first few steps and threw herself next to Calista with an exaggerated frown. Saber climbed onto the porch and carefully moved Calista’s bangs to fully examine the wound, ripping off her jacket and tying it around her head tightly. Blood instantly coated the jacket, but the bleeding ceased shortly, and Calista finally blinked open her eyes again.

“If it gets worse, we can always go to a hospital,” Saber suggested.

Elkhazel cackled. “The last time you were hurt like this, you wouldn’t even see a hospital, Patch.”

“That was different,” snapped Saber. “That was my leg. Plus, it was a streetlight. Nothing serious, dumbass.”

Annabelle tapped her foot against the wood in order to gain everyone’s attention. “We should go back to the cabin,” she shyly suggested and nodded toward the beautiful sunset. “This farm seems dangerous at night.”

“It’s not dangerous!” Milo wailed, and Oliver glared at him, glancing at Calista’s injury. Milo’s eyes followed his glance, and he pouted, hanging his head shamefully. “I’m sorry for what happened, though.”

“Don’t apologize,” Candy murmured and offered him a smile. “It wasn’t your fault! This farm is just…”

“Haunted,” Oliver finished, noticing that Candy’s voice trailed off into the darkness.

Saber pursed her lips but decided not to comment on his conclusion.

Saber followed Annabelle off the porch, not glancing behind her at the two boys. Candy then slung Calista’s arm over her shoulders, but Elkhazel stepped forward and scooped Calista into her arms effortlessly, winking at Oliver and Milo as if to say ‘goodbye.’

Milo gaped in surprise as Elkhazel followed Candy off the porch. “She’s strong.”

Candy stayed beside Elkhazel as they strode toward the farm’s main gate, speaking loudly to an asleep Calista as they walked. Saber rubbed at her cold arms but was the quickest to reach the gate, waiting for the others before leaving the farm completely. Annabelle strayed behind everyone and scanned her surroundings once more, resisting the urge to scan the odd cows near the entrance of the farm again.

“Something just occurred to me,” Saber suddenly stated after shoving through the broken gate.

Candy tilted her head to the side. “What?”

“We left our bags in the cabin.”

Meanwhile, Oliver propped his head against his fist, leaning against the bannister with his arm on the railing. Milo sat on the ground and pondered for a moment before gasping in realization. “I don’t think they had the right materials with them.”

“Those are myths on the internet,” Oliver clucked.

Milo stuck a finger into the air. “Not the offering.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Oliver turned to face him with a displeased look. “They’re alive, so it’s fine.”

“Well, I feel bad.” Milo shrugged and stood, placing a hand on the doorknob. “I’m going inside. When are you coming inside?”

“Later,” Oliver responded.

Milo forlornly nodded and climbed through the door, disappearing into the darkness of the home. The light briskly flicked on, and the television crackled to life, but Oliver continued to stare into the distance for awhile.

He finally retired into the farmhouse when the wind began to blow.

Author's Note

as always i barely proofread, but i saw this tumblr post and wanted to write about it.