The Unwanted Winter - Volume One of the Saga of the Twelves (41 page)

A faint tingling along her
temples reminded her she was awake and not dreaming.

~~~~~~~~<<<<<<{ ☼
}>>>>>>~~~~~~~~

Taken

Wednesday, November
24
^th
-
The Day Before Thanksgiving -

6:25 pm…

The day had come and gone.
For all three of them, it had gone faster than they’d expected,
which was a good thing. Today, their grandmother had picked them up
from school. Not their father as was the norm. This was a special
day, wherein their usual routine was altered. It was a day that
came only once a year - The Day they all helped their grandmother
prepare and cook for the Thanksgiving holiday and feast to
come.

It was a day unlike all
the others. It was a day without homework. It was a day all three
of them looked forward to and enjoyed. It was the only time, they’d
actually prepare grand meal for their parents with the direction
and help of their grandmother.

It was a sweet twist of
family responsibility, this evening before Thanksgiving. Over the
years, they’d become thoroughly enthusiastic over it, because the
rewards were priceless. They got to see the looks on the faces of
their parents as dish after dish was brought from the kitchen –
homemade cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green beans with French
onions dipping in clam chowder and cheese piled high. They’d bring
out macaroni and cheddar, mashed potatoes, fresh dinner rolls and
loaves of bread, yams and tossed, green salad. Each item would
illicit compliments and high praise from their parents, excited
over the fruits of their own children’s labor in celebration of
their family. There was nothing more fun for the three of them than
watching the many faces about the tables light up, together, when
they brought out the Turkey and the Gravy made from its’ drippings.
The “Ooo’s” and “Aww’s” were well worth the hard work, worth the
late night preparations.

Of course, for Raymond and
Myelly Herrera, it was a gift - a special gesture from their
children. It was a telling of thanks for all of the care and love
they had lavished upon their children throughout the year. Ray and
Myelly were very grateful to the children’s grandmother, who had
turned this event into a family tradition of sorts. Over the years,
it had grown into The Event that officially kicked off the Holiday
season.

Therefore, immediately
after school, the three siblings and their grandmother had gone to
the local Vons supermarket near the intersection Figueroa Street
and La Loma Road. They bought the last minute items their
grandmother needed to complete the feast they would begin to
prepare that night for service the following afternoon. After,
they’d arrived at their grandmother’s house, put their school stuff
aside and washed their hands. Ready then, they had spread out all
of the things they would need to commence the preparation of what
Anthony had coined many years ago as “The Best Meal of the
Year”.

Their grandmother, like a
general, issued her directions, having some items placed in the
laundry room or refrigerator for use later, while overflow items
went onto the dining room table for easy access when needed.
Lastly, the immediate items stayed in the kitchen and were divided
about the various workstations she had prepared in advance.
Finally, together, like some wondrous orchestra, they got to
work.

For the next few hours,
the kitchen was all talk and chopping, chatter and slicing, and
laughter and clanking and clanging of pots and pans and platters.
So much noise, it filled the whole house. In the background, as
always, their grandmother’s favorite music blasted - whether Prince
or James Taylor or Michael Buble it mattered not – the music was
always on. They would sometimes move to the thrumming beats, while
they worked. Most times, they weren’t even aware they’d been doing
so all along.

Now, hours later, all
three of the Herrera kids were outside, in the backyard, in their
warm coats and gloves and scarves. They were cleaning up after the
dogs, sweeping the various walkways free of fallen ice and snow.
They were setting out the lawn furniture, a few umbrellas, and the
many plastic chairs and cushions.

Above, the skies had
finally cleared, but it was still cold out. Well, cold for Los
Angeles that is, since most Angelinos would only see daytime
temperatures in the mid-twenties, two, possibly three times, in
their entire lifetimes. So, for these environs – it was
cold!

Their grandmother had told
them to put out the all of the electric heaters and firewood in the
outdoor Chiminea. The forecast had called for brisk temperatures,
in the mid-forties for Thanksgiving, but the day would dawn clear
and bright, and would stay that way throughout the daylight hours.
With so much snow on the ground, a true rarity in the southern
California, their grandmother had thought, who wouldn’t want to be
outside? Who wouldn’t want to make snowmen or have snowball fights?
What better way to burn off the thousands of calories consumed at
the Thanksgiving table?

The siblings had talked
excitedly about that, knowing their grandmother and their dad would
definitely join in, once the white stuff started flying about the
yard. The talk of the fun to come was a welcomed interruption of
the stress and misgiving they’d experienced over the course of the
past few days. They were all looking for to it. The sisters were
giddy with anticipation.

They were just about
finished, making the last of the preparations. Anthony was almost
done sweeping the snow off the cemented portion of the yard. He’d
been cleaning the concrete slab leading from the backdoor of the
house, all the way around the side of the home to back yard and
some distance beyond as well. Mikalah had just placed the last of
the large fire logs into the Chiminea, standing in a central
portion of the yard, while Elena was closing the large door of the
tool shed. The wooden structure stood farthest from the house, in
one of the remote corners of the yard. She’d been tasked with
putting away the last of tools they’d used.

Elena rubbed her gloved
hands together in an attempt to warm them. She glanced about,
watching Anthony’s hunched shoulders sway back and forth for a few
seconds, then turned slightly to the right, just in time to see
Mikalah readjust the last of the logs in the fire pit. She knew her
sister was making sure they were balanced directly over the
kindling below, ensuring the fire would take once it was lit. Since
she was in the darker portion of the yard, she could see her
siblings, but was certain they could barely make her out behind the
glare of the outdoor lights all about the yard. She flexed her
hands again and smelled at the air, the many delicious scents
emanating from their grandmother’s kitchen wafting into her nose
had made their way all the way back to the rear of the
property.

I hope everything calms
down enough so we can enjoy the holidays like we’re supposed each
year
, she thought, bringing her hands up
to blow on them - another failed attempt get them warmer.
It would really suck if we couldn’t have a good
time during the Christmas season, especially since I waited for it
all year long!

Ahead of her, she saw
Mikalah stand and wipe off her gloves on either side of her jeans.
Elena was going to yell out to Mikalah. To let her know, she was
done with her part of the chores and was about to head back inside
where it was warm.

She never got the
chance.

Something grabbed a hold
of the collar of her coat.

Suddenly, she was yanked
viciously off the ground and hosted into the air. All she could
manage was a small, strangled quip of a wail…

*****

…it was a muted screech,
just loud enough for Mikalah to hear as she went erect quickly,
looking in Elena’s general direction.

“
Ellie, are you ok?” she
inquired in a shaky voice, thinking her sister might’ve fallen down
in the dark. The short scream she’d heard sounded strange in her
ears, but she couldn’t see her through the glare of the lights to
discern what had happened. The relative dark of the back portion of
the yard beyond had rendered her sight useless.

Not knowing why, she felt
her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. Her mouth went
dry…

*****

Near the back door,
Anthony heard Mikalah’s questioning voice and stopped cold. His
ears strained to hear something, anything. Then, he thought he
heard something move, back toward the far end of the yard,
something heavy. He dropped the broom where he stood, began walking
toward the sound, stepping closer to Mikalah. When she came into
view, he could see her craning her neck toward the tool shed, her
hand over her eyes, trying to block the brilliance of the
nightlights strung around that portion of the yard. His gaze
followed Mikalah’s, but all he could see was shadows. He tried
harder, straightening his glasses before his eyes as if that would
give him a clearer picture.

Were those shadows moving
back there? Jeez, they’re gigantic!

*****

The initial shock had worn
off. Elena fervently prodded backward with one of her arms, trying
to dislodge herself from whatever it was holding her, but she kept
hitting something extremely hard and unforgiving. She began to
squirm and kick her legs more frantically, trying to get free, her
screams stuck in her throat out of stark terror.

She heard the good portion
of the fence behind her begin to groan, strain, as the wood began
to bend, then splinter. She could hear the nails screaming in
protest. A second later, there came the unmistakable sound of wood
cracking as if something very heavy was leaning against it, tried
to move through it.

“
Elena! What is
happening?” quailed Mikalah again, borderline fearful
now.

“
Elena, answer us, now!”
That was Anthony, afraid and angry at the same time.

They both sounded so far
away…

Whatever was holding her
shifted to one side, away from the tool shed. She was thrust
forward, her neck bending with the movement as the fence gave way
with the agony of splintering wood.

It was in that moment, her
hands caught a hold of the massive, hard thing behind her head. She
was able to get purchase enough to turn halfway around and see. She
found her voice at once, releasing the most blood-curling scream of
her short life…

It was…
HORROR!

It was too much. Blackness
consumed her. She floated away into the void.

*****

Mikalah stomped her foot
in frustration and was about to give Elena a piece of her mind when
her ears picked up the sound of cracking wood. She stopped, her
eyes trying to make out what was moving in the shadows.

Suddenly, a good portion
of the fence exploded outward, forcing the girl to shield her eyes
from the debris. A second later, Elena shrieked. Mikalah could see
it in her mind.

Elena was being torn limb
from limb!

She wanted to move, but
Mikalah could only stand there, dumbfounded, as an enormous
ape-like creature walked into the light, holding a very limp Elena
by her tiny neck in one of its’ immense hands. It was horrible,
easily the ugliest thing she had ever laid eyes upon. Its’ face was
a melded visage of a man and a gorilla, twisted, with beady red
eyes, exuding malevolent intelligence. Its’ mouth full with a
single row of sharp teeth, complemented by four-inch, blunted
fangs. It had a grotesquely large nose, wide, with only one central
nostril that throbbed and vibrated sickeningly when it breathed. It
was a ghastly kind of trumpeting snort when it sounded, dispelling
great globs of mucus with every exhalation. It stood an incredible
nine feet tall with black, leathery skin, much like a great ape,
only it was partially covered by splotchy patches of long
whitish-gray hair. It seemed in the constant state of molting. In
some areas, it was free of hair, while in others its’ skin
completely covered. The coat itself looked decayed and sickly as if
the beast suffered from the advanced stages of mange, and yet,
overall, the creature seemed hale, mighty even. It had arms and
legs the size of tree trunks that moved with jerking twitches, more
bird-like than those of a giant ape-man-thing. It almost made
Mikalah throw up just watching it move. It was so…
unnatural.