Strange Curses

October Writing Prompts- Pinterest List by ZellyKatArt

October 31- Cursed

Hunter packed the bags in the back of the car while his wife, Iris, hurried their three children, Gwen, Deryn, and Arthur down the stairs of their house. The children hurried outside and to their car, not understanding fully of what was happening. Hunter smiled at the kids and hurried back inside to grab more bags. Iris stopped by the car and opened the back door.

“I want you all to stay in the car while mommy and daddy finish packing up the rooms and the car, okay?” She glanced behind the car at the driveway. “If you see any other car, I want one of you to run inside the house and yell for us, okay?” Iris looked at her terrified children. “Everything is going to be okay, I promise.” She blew kisses at her kids, then disappeared back inside after Hunter.

Aurthur looked at his sisters before he climbed into the car. He was only seven years old and was curious, but he knew when mommy was serious about something, he didn’t ask questions. Gwen and Deryn, the twin daughters who were twelve years old, knew something was wrong and wanted to ask questions. Gwen sat in the car with her little brother while Deryn hurried back inside to confront their parents. Deryn hurried up the stairs when her mom rushed out, nearly knocking her down the stairs.

“Oh, Deryn, you scared me. Now go get in the car.”

“What is going on, mom?” Deryn hurried down after her. “Why are we leaving in the middle of the night?”

Deryn stopped behind the car when she heard a car speeding towards them. She turned and screamed when a car rushed at them, then skidded to a stop inches from her. A man jumped out and waved a gun in the air.

“You aren’t leaving, now are you? Not on my account? Or the towns?” His words were slurred, and he pointed the gun at Iris. He staggered towards her. “Iris, we should talk about this.”

“Go home, Henry. You’re drunk and need to sleep this off.” Iris tried to persuade the man to leave, but he wouldn’t.

Hunter walked out and saw Henry threatening his wife. “Henry!”

Henry turned and tripped over a rock. He tried to catch himself, but he lost his balance and he fell. The gun went off in his hand and everyone screamed. Henry jumped to his feet, saw what he had done, and ran to his car. He jumped in, backed out of the driveway, and sped off. No one moved.

Iris watched as the world tipped and swayed. She heard voices yelling her name, but they sounded so far away. She looked down and saw something red on her shirt. Iris touched it and flinched. She lifted her hand in the dim light from the patio lights and saw that it was blood. She gasped and looked at her husband and children, barely seeing them through the haze. Iris sighed and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She heard them screaming for her until she took her last breath.

Three Years After Iris’ Murder

Henry sat at the bar, staring at the bar top while he nursed his second beer. That night three years ago still haunted him and, ever since then, he was plagued with bad luck and nightmares. He wasn’t the only one who had suddenly had a case of bad luck. It seemed the whole town had been hit. Henry coughed and covered his mouth. He had been to the doctor about his sudden health decline and the doctor found out he had cancer. Which was strange, because not even ten days earlier, Henry had gone in for his annual checkup and had been declared healthy.

Other healthy individuals had sudden health problems, even a few had died without explanation. The town’s water had to be shipped in because all the water had changed. It tasted wrong and even when tested, it showed that the water was full of chemicals that had never been there before. Several people, including kids, had gotten sick and had to be taken to special hospitals. Livestock kept dying, being eaten from the inside out by maggots and other bugs. Farmers couldn’t keep their fields full of delicious foods growing for long. The vegetables and the other items they had grown usually either went bad, or withered away and died. Two years after the murder, there was a drought, and it killed most of the plants. Wildlife had ceased exist around town only a few months from when the family had fled.

Henry thought about everything that had gone on since then, and he scoffed. Was it the family that had cursed the town? He shook his head and sipped on the beer. It had grown sour since he had let it go flat. He pushed it away from him and dug into the nachos he had ordered. They were almost completely cold, but he better devour them anyway.

The door to the bar, The Red Ruby, opened and Henry turned to see his best friend, Nick, headed his way. Nick sat down and ordered the nachos and a beer. He looked at Henry and whistled. “You look like hell, man.”

“I feel like hell, too,” Henry said with a laugh. He stared at his nachos. “Three years and things are only getting worse.”

Nick looked around at the few other patrons, then back at Henry. “What happened was an accident, Henry. You were drunk. You need to let it go, man.”

“We were just going to push the family out since they didn’t fit in. They were different from us and we knew it. They knew it and yet they stayed. We all warned them they’d never be allowed to join us since they didn’t believe what we did. They were witches, and they needed to be kicked out.”

Nick tried to quiet Henry, but the dying man couldn’t stop. “They should have just left, then Iris would still be alive. They should have listened to our warnings and left.” Henry slammed his hand on the bar top.

The bartender, Marc, glared at Henry. “Calm down, Henry, or get out.”

Henry growled. “What’s next, Marc, huh? They are the ones that cursed our town. They’re witches, and they cursed us because of me killing their mom. They’re punishing us for throwing them out of our town.” Henry slammed his hand against the bar top again. “We should have had another plan to get rid of them.”

Marc growled. “Okay, that’s it. Henry, get out!”

Nick shook his head and asked for his nachos to go. He guzzled his beer, grabbed his meal, and ran out of the bar to catch up with Henry. Henry waved off his friend, jumped in his truck, and drove home. Henry walked into his house, turned on the lights, and coughed as he headed into the kitchen. Something strange hit his nose as he turned on the stovetop to make something quick to eat. A sound from the basement caught his attention and spun on his heel. He walked over to the door, but as he got closer, he coughed. It got harder to breathe and his coughing rattled his chest. Henry opened the door and screamed when Iris walked into the room. He grabbed his chest and fell backwards over his coffee table.

Iris smirked down at the dead man. Her family joined her and stared down at the man. They cocked their heads, then walked out of his house just before it exploded. The family fanned out and wreaked havoc on the town that had killed Iris and had treated them horribly. The curses engulfed the town as the family watched.