One-shots of the Peculiar

The Midnight Owl

Once upon a time, in a small town in Cornwall of which the name has long been forgotten by normal folk, there lives a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths. They weren't wealthy, but were very diligent. People admired and respected them. So it was no surprise that when their first child was born, townspeople gathered to their house to congratulated them. The couple named this boy Thomas.
Every Sunday, the Griffiths family went to a church near the town. Little Thomas may not understand the sermons, but he liked the calm, hopeful tone in the priest's voice, and the angelic sound of the chorus.
As time went by, Thomas Griffiths became a handsome young man. His blond hair was like a field of reeds shining under the bath of sunlight. His arms turned strong and muscular after years of working with his father. He was so good-looking and diligent that girls in town always peeked on him whenever they got a chance.
Gradually, Thomas became close with a girl named Lydia Gates. She had a sandy hair and a pair of big green eyes. Townspeople all believe they were the perfect match.
One night, they were wandering in the forest behind the church, and heard a howl. Lydia trembled in fear, so Thomas held her tight. "It's just an owl hunting for some rat, Liddie. They are great hunters with excellent vision, so they won't mistake human for their prey. It won't hurt you, don't worry."
As to reply Thomas, the church bell rang to mark the arrival of midnight.
*
Every year, on the day the first pioneers arrived this land, they held a evening party to celebrate their history and look forward to the future. This year, the townspeople lit a giant bonfire in the town square. Adults, after a year of hard work, sat casually, enjoying the food they wouldn't taste—or couldn't afford—in other circumstances, while childrens running around the square, laughing and shouting. Younger adults, holding their lovers in their arms, dancing in the orange light of the flame. It was a time of joy and love, but Lydia only sat on a bench, staring at the children running by. Worry clouded her mind.
Tyler Adamson, a boy moved to this town with his wealthy parents a years ago, walked toward Lydia. "What's wrong? Why don't you come dance with us?"
"Nothing. I'm fine, just resting."
"You didn't do anything tiring today, why rest?"
Lydia didn't answer, either don't want to or don't know how to.
So, Tyler went on, "how's Thomas?"
"Since when do you care about him?"
"Because you are always worrying about him, when you could have chosen someone better. That guy haven't been seen for half a year now, what makes you think he cares you?"
"So I should be with someone else? Like you? Is this how you flirt?" Lydia said angrily.
"What good is he to you? He's just a farmer's son!" Tyler shouted.
"You know nothing about him." Lydia replied and left.
*
Thomas heard the door open. "Tom?" Lydia said, "how's it going?"
"It's still getting worse today."
Lydia hurried upstairs, "I'm coming, Tom."
"Maybe you should leave."
"No. I'm not going anywhere."
"Don't you understand, Lydia? There's no cure for this. I don't have a future, and I can't let your life get buried with mine," said Thomas.
"I won't leave you! We will find a cure for this." Lydia said as she walked into Thomas's room.
Thomas sat on the bed, staring at his vague reflection on the window, a figure that can hardly be recognized as human.
Lydia sat down next him. "We will find a doctor who knows how to deal with this."
"Even there is, we can't afford one."
"Then we will find another way. We will get through this together. I promise." The moment she said it, she felt the truth behind it. They will get through this.
Lydia turned to face Thomas and kissed him.
When the church tower bell rang, no one noticed the boy sneaking quietly out of the Griffiths's house.
*One Day Later*
Mr. Griffiths climbed down from his bed, heading to kitchen for some water when his house's door opened with a loud screech.
"Who's there?"
He was answered with a stick to the head.
"Make sure he doesn't make noise to wake the monster." Said Tyler Adamson.
A boy tied Mr. Griffiths's hands together, and held a knife by his throat. "We come to help you get rid of the demon that possesses your son, but you must be... very quiet."
*
"Tyler, you lead us." Said a boy named Xavier. They went up stairs. Slowly, Tyler opened the door to Thomas's bedroom.
It's empty. There's no one in the room.
Then they heard someone shout. "Stop right there, or I will cut his throat!"
Tyler ran to the stairs immediately. The boys followed him out of the room and saw him fall down the stairs.
Xavier carefully moved toward the stairs. Then something sharp pierced his facial skin, his muscle, and, finally, his bones. He was dead before even getting a chance to scream.
Tyler tried to pull himself up, but the pain in his chest was unbearable. He opened his eyes, and noticed a candle on a wooden table, burning alone against night's complete darkness. In the dim light of the candle, Tyler saw Mr. Griffiths sit by the wall, dead, a slash on his throat. He saw Xavier lay dead on the floor, blood and brain and a shattered skull mashed together. No one else made any sound, presumably all dead.
Thomas Griffiths had not only turned into a monster, but become a killer.
Tyler crawled forward, but something stepped on his back. Pain spread out from his spine as talons penetrated his flesh. With his last bit of strength, he reached out to tip the table over. The candle fell on a pile of hay.
The last thing Tyler Adamson saw was a giant owl taking flight in the flames.
The church bell rang.
*
Lydia Gates stood in front of the scorched structure that used to be a house. If mayor Walker was saying Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths both burned to death, she didn't hear it. If her father was trying to comfort her, the words did not reach her mind. Something did, though. The whispers of those who witnessed what happened last night made their way into her head.
They saw a monster.
People were terrified. The town went into lockdown, and the forest became off-limit. The rumor of a giant owl dwelling in the forest soon spread out. Mayor Walker established patrols in case the monster comes back. But that thing didn't come back. After a few months, the Owlman became a myth, a fairy tale to keep children out of the woods. Those who claimed to have saw the monster were considered making stories up for attention.
But nothing can keep Lydia from going to the woods.
Every night, she would venture into the forest, searching for the man she swore to stay with. The howl of birds made her anxious, but then she reminded herself what Thomas used to say when she was terrified in the woods.
"It's just owls hunting for some rat, Liddie. It won't hurt you."
She forced herself to move forward.
For a long time, there was only her, and the screech of birds. Until, finally, she decided to call his name.
"Thomas? Are you there?"
Out of the deathly silence, someone answered. "Lydia?"
*
"That thing isn't coming back." Said James Brown, the self-proclaimed best hunter in the town. "That makes us all look like a joke!" He was sitting in a bar with a few of his hunter friends. "I walk around all day with my knife poisoned, and that thing just don't show up!" "Because it probably doesn't exist." Said another hunter. "Maybe you just mistook a bird for monster."
"I know what I saw, that thing's as big as a grown man!" "Yeah, you can keep saying that." The hunters bursted into laughters.
"Fine, I will  kill it myself." James said. "'If' you can find it," someone replied.
James picked his knife and walked out of the bar. A hunter asked, "Do we need to stop him?"
"He drank too much, probably won't make it to the main road." Replied another.
*
Lydia was at the edge of the town when she heard a man's voice.
"Where are you going little girl? A little too late for young ladies like you to wander around, don't you think?" James leaned against a tree, looking at her playfully.
"I was... lost. I'm going back home now." Lydia said.
"No, you're not 'lost.' You knows exactly where you are going. You are going into the woods, so rare for people to go to somewhere a monster dwells, huh?"
"And what does that have anything to do with you?" Lydia replied.
"You know where it is, don't you?" James asked.
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"So, what about I take you to the square, and tell everyone you go into woods every night to meet a monster?"
Before Lydia could reply, James grasped her hand and dragged her to the town square.
"A witch! I caught a witch! She go into the woods every night to meet up with the monster!"
People gathered to see what happened, and saw Lydia struggling against James's grasp.
A boy saw her and shouted, "She's the lady I told you, Ma. She goes into the forest every night."
"She goes to the forest every night?" Someone said.
"She's a witch! She brought the monster to us!" Someone shouted.
"She brought the monster here!"
"She kill the Griffith!"
"Hang her up!"
"Burn her to death!"
Some people went back home and came back with knives, sticks, and even torches.
"Burn the witch!" "Burn the witch!" "Burn the witch!"
Lydia grabbed James's hand and bit it. The hunter let go of her in agony. She ran toward the forest, clawing her way out of the crowd.
She ran into the forest. A few hunters followed.
The hunters seldom come here these days, and she knew the path like the back of her hands. They were easy to loose.
She kept running, dare not make a sound. If they heard her, they knew where she was. And if Thomas heard her, he will come, and then the hunters will kill both of them.
When she finally couldn't run anymore, she stopped under a tree, gasping.
Then she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, the tip of a knife pierced her flesh.
She was stabbed from the back.
"Burn in hell, witch." James Brown whispered in her ears.
Her vision blurred, her hearing deafened. She didn't see a owl-like figure slashed its claws at the hunter. She didn't heard the sound of the hunter's skull crashing when slammed into a nearby tree or the cry of despair that came after.
Her world sank into nothingness.
"Lydia! Liddie! Stay with me!" Thomas cried.
Lydia didn't answer. Her breathe stopped. The light in her eyes dimmed as life slipped away.
The church bell rang. Midnight had come.
*
Thomas carried Lydia's body to another side of the forest, away from all the slaughter and suffering.
In dawn, he found her a place where sunshine came through the cloak of trees, a rare place where peace still remained.
He buried her, and planted some seeds on her grave. He found two branches, and tied them together to form a cross. It wasn't graceful as the stone monuments in the graveyard back in town, but that was all he could get.
One day, the seeds will sprout. The flowers will display their beauty.
One day, this forest will burn to ashes. But the daisies on Lydia Gates's grave will still be here, guarding her from any harm.
When he finally finished, he fell to the ground, unable to stand again.
Tears streaming down his face, and he made no effort to stop them. He couldn't help it.
He couldn't save her.
He couldn't save his father from the invaders.
He couldn't save his mother from the flames.
And now, he couldn't save Lydia, because she refused to call him, because she refused to expose him to the hunters.
She died to protect him, when he should be protecting her.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" he screamed.
He lunged at a tree, and buried his talons into it. He kept clawing it, slashing it, until it fell.
Then he dropped to the ground, still crying.
He woke up around sunset. The evening breeze brushed his face so gently that he almost thought Lydia was back.
But she wasn't back. She's in somewhere he couldn't reach, now.
*
Mr. Adamson stood in front of his son's grave.
"That monster brought so much loss and pain to us. Tyler, Xavier, James, the Griffith, the Gates, all the people we lost, when is this gonna end?"
"That depends on how long it will take you to kill me." Someone replied behind him.
Mr. Adamson turned to face the owner of the voice, and found himself staring at a humanoid owl-like creature.
"What are you?" He asked in terror.
"I am the monster you created." Thomas Griffiths answered.
*
That night, the church bell never rang.