Twisted Little Things and Other Stories by Amy Cross Read Free Book Online

it'd be best to get rid of the damn things before they could cause any more trouble.
    “Thanks for the heads-up,” I told Jimmy, “but honestly, I think I've got the situation under control. The statues are going back this afternoon.”
    “That's a wise decision, my friend. There's no point meddling in stuff you don't understand.”
    “Whatever,” I said with a sigh, “I think I just -”
    Suddenly I heard a loud, piercing scream from the driveway. I froze for a moment, before the scream resumed with a more gargled, stuttering tone.
    “Katie?” I whispered, as the scream continued. Dropping the phone, I ran out of Lucy's room and hurried toward the back door. “Katie!” I shouted, as I heard my wife crying out. “Wait!”

Six
     
    As I reached the back door, Lucas came running in, as if something outside had freaked him out.
    Heading into the sun-drenched yard, I stopped for a moment as I saw Lucy straddling Katie, pounding at her head with the two figures. There was already a large pool of blood on the concrete, and although Katie was reaching up to push Lucy away, her hands were trembling and she seemed too weak to save herself. For a fraction of a second, all I could do was watch as my daughter raised the wooden figures up high and then brought them crashing down again, plunging one of them into my wife's eye-socket and hitting her so hard with the other that her skull could be heard cracking.
    “Lucy, stop!” I shouted, racing down the steps. “Lucy!”
    As soon as I reached them, I saw that Lucy had used the two wooden soldiers to pound one side of Katie's face to a bloody, pulpy mess. I grabbed my daughter and pulled her away as she cried out, and then I held her kicking, screaming body as I turned back and saw what was left of Katie's head.
    “No,” I whispered, “please...”
    The left side of my Katie's face had been completely smashed away, leaving plates of broken bone slopping down into rivers of blood. Part of her upper lip was mulched and torn, exposing her bloodied teeth, while her right eye had been completely gouged out, leaving nothing but a mess of reds: the pink, torn flesh; the bloodied meat ripped up from deeper in her skull; and the wet, crimson pool of blood with pieces of crushed white. Part of the pupil had been split down the middle and smeared down her cheek, but no matter how horrific the sight, I couldn't look away. I could only stare, waiting for some sign that the whole thing was some sick joke.
    “It's not my fault,” Lucy said calmly. “Mommy didn't understand. I can't let the world burn. I have to do whatever they tell me.”
    Turning to her, I saw that she was looking down at her mother's body with an expression of calm disinterest.
    Suddenly Katie twitched, reaching up with her hand and touching the side of her face, as if she couldn't quite work out what had happened. At the same time, she let out a faint gurgling sound as more blood dribbled from what was left of her mouth.
    “It's okay,” I told her, reaching down and taking her hand in mine. “I'm going to get help.”
    I waited, but her remaining eye had fallen still.
    “Katie!” I shouted, leaning closer. “You're going to be okay, I swear!”
    “She didn't understand,” Lucy told me again. “She tried to interfere.”
    “What did you do?” I shouted, grabbing Lucy by the shoulders and seeing that blood had sprayed all over her dress and face. Her hands were stained too, while there were fragments of flesh and bone stuck to the two wooden soldiers, which she was still clutching tight. Her eyes were wide open and unblinking, as if she hadn't really noticed the horror she'd caused.
    “You don't understand either, do you?” she asked. “That's okay, Daddy. It's because you haven't heard them talk to you yet. But you will. You just have to learn how to listen.”
    “What did you do?” I yelled again, overcome by panic before grabbing the soldiers and tearing them from her hands.
    “No!” she