The Old Barn

*Originally, I wrote this as a short story, but now I’ve made it a series! Click here to go to previous Chapter:

Chapter Two

As the sun grew closer to the west, the horses galloped around the pasture, circling their black and white cohorts. The herd of cows stood, munching the lush, sweet blades of grass, watching, and adoring the simple dignity and grace of their friends. Maggie and Agatha chewed their cud and clanged their bells.

“Such a lovely day,” Maggie said, sweetly.

“Oh, my yes! A great day for the pasture, dear.” Agatha concurred.

They were fully contented in their own hooves and firmly agreed with Mrs. Williams. They all had a place, and they were quite happy to live out to their purpose and be done with it. There was no point in avoiding it after all, it was inevitable in the end. Why live life with such distress? Why live in such terror of being the Farmer’s next steak dinner?

“You have got to admit though, Maggie…”

“What’s that, Aggie dear?”

“It sure would be lovely to live outside of this corral.”

Their conversation was interrupted by distant yammering that was drawing nearer. The hounds were approaching the fence, probably as an unofficial perimeter walk. Russell, Lemon and Clemence and Poppy approached. Poppy was a collie with long flowing hair. She looked hardly like a sheep dog, but like a pampered princess. Lemon and Clemence were English Foxhounds, and they were hyper and always ready to hunt, but loving and silly, nevertheless. They pounced around and nipped each other’s heels as they approached the fence.

“What are you all so excited about this morning?” Maggie asked.

“The Farmer is going to take us on a trip to the trees!” Lemon exclaimed. Her pink tongue dangling from her mouth as she panted. A trip to the woods only meant one thing. They were going hunting.

“Yeah, a huntin’ trip!” Clem barked, chasing his tail.

“I gathered… Poppy will you be joining them then?” Maggie shook away the gnats from the crown of her head and stepped towards the collie.

“No, there’s too much work to be done here.” Poppy said, resting herself underneath the shade of a large oak tree. “Russell is staying behind as well.”

“Unfortunately…” Russ snarled with a grimace. His head sunk as low as his tail that was now tucked between his legs. “They say I’m not ready.”

“You’re not,” Poppy confirmed. “Next time, Russ. Next time.”

“You always say that.” Russ mumbled.

Agatha and Maggie looked at each other and smiled, shaking their heads. One thing was for certain, it does not matter what species- kids will always be kids. Reckless, curious, rebellious… They always have a knack for getting into trouble. Poppy narrowed her eyes and licked her paw feverishly. She was about to lecture the pup when a whistle came echoing on the wind. Their ears all perked, they investigated the distance towards the old red barn and saw the Farmer loading his truck.

“Time to go, I guess. Nice chatting with you, Aggie. Dogs say bye to the lovely ladies.” Poppy said sharply. She got up and bolted across the grounds. The twins yelped their goodbyes and raced to the truck, while Russell slowly got up and turned towards the cows.

“Have a good day,” He said with a nod. He took a step, but then something stopped him. An unfamiliar feeling came creeping over him, his ears stood stiff listening, and he sniffed the air. There was a scent. It was earthy and strange, but far.

“Something wrong, dear?” Maggie asked, leaning her head towards the white wood planks.

“N-no. Nothing.”

The dogs toppled over one another, barking, and whimpering excitedly by the truck as Farmer John walked back and forth from his supplies. The farmer’s wife came out from the house, wiping her hands on her apron, and leaned against the porch.

“When you get back, you’re gonna work on that barn, right?” Annie William’s nagged.

“What’s wrong with it?” He said, tossing another duffle into the truck bed. He knew exactly what was wrong with it but was avoiding the one of many projects. He had hoped that she would take the hint and let him go on his excursion without a lecture.

“Don’t play dumb, Johnny. Darn thing is falling apart.”

“Gotta have money.”

“Not gonna make any money without it, John,” Annie smirked as wide as a fed Cheshire cat. She was right, as always.

“Yes… I’ll work on it when it I get back,” He walked towards her and kissed her cheek. “I promise."

She smiled, nodded her head, and watched him load up. Every time that he went hunting, she got a pit in her stomach. She never knew if he would be coming back, no matter if it was the hundredth time or more. In what seemed to be seconds, the supplies were in the truck and the dogs were hopping in. Brutus was in the cab of the truck with the Farmer, while Lemon and Clemence were in the back, making themselves cozy along the bags and tarps.

Poppy rested on the porch and Annie stroked her fur as they watched them drive off down the dirt road. Russell did not stay for the sendoff and instead, he laid moping in the barn’s entrance way. Soft scratches and pecks approached as silence drifted away in clucks and squabbles.

“Why the long face?” Lucinda Chicken taunted. She stretched a wing, cleaning her feathers.

“He didn’t get to go with the big dogs.” Betsy whispered loudly.

“Oh, is that what’s going on? Oh honey, it will be alright.” She paused. “I’m sure there’s some mice around here somewhere that you can catch. That’s more you’re speed.”

Their cackles were loud and cruel, Russ growled.

“Get out of here!” He barked.

They screamed and cooed, continuing their chatter as they scampered off towards the coop. He could hear them questioning and complaining about him.

“That’s one dumb dog.”

“How could the Farmer ever have such a useless creature?”

“That boy ain’t right, not one bit!”

I’ll show ‘em… Russ thought. He did not know how or when, but he knew it was coming. Those hens were going to get theirs. The other animals froze around him and stared wide-eyed.

“What’re you lookin’ at?” He snapped, nestling his chin back in his legs.

The sun came and gone, and the moon had taken its place. The fields were full of little lightning bugs, twinkling in the dusk. The animals on the barn were resting peacefully and the farmer’s wife had turned out the lights within the farmhouse. Russell was restless. He tossed and turned in the doghouse alone. He could not shake the feeling he had earlier. It was an upset stomach, a hive’s nest in his gut. Something was coming or someone… He breathed the cool, night breeze. The strange smell remained, but a little more pungent this time. It was getting closer, whatever it was.

Things progressed as usual on the farm (thanks to the missus,) until the night before the Farmer’s return. Russell was nervously scouting the perimeter. His ears erect, his nose burning and his heart racing inside his barrel chest. Something was coming, he just could not put his paw on it. All the gates were closed, and everyone was accounted for, but the feeling continued to gnaw on him, and it was not fleas. He trotted along the fence, feeling the earth squish in between his pads. The night air danced through his coat, tickling at his whiskers. He looked up at the stars and sighed, listening to only the leaves rustling in the wind. He stuck his muzzle up and breathed deep.

There it was again!

The smell was so putrid, so wrong, and so strong that it made the hair on his neck bristle. He chased the scent. Sprinting at top speed, his eyes narrowed, and his gums pulled back. He let out one great boom, followed by another. He could hear branches snapping in the dark underbrush, but he dared not to investigate and leave the perimeter. At least, not until he had a visual. A low trembling thunder rose from his throat, his teeth shining in the moonlight.

“Come out!” He snarled, “Come out or get gone! You don’t want me to come in there.” The bushes shifted and then steadied. There was an eerie silence and calm, even the wind had stopped for that split second and then Russell realized, the smell was now behind him.

There was eruption of noise, screaming and crying from the old, red barn. The other animals beckoned for help, shouting for anyone to come. Russell bolted as fast as a bullet towards the farm, but the earthy smell from before was now a smell of death. It trickled up his nose, metallic and putrid. There was a red mist around the coop and three large shadows. Russell met with evil, yellow orbs in snarled faces. Three dogs covered head to toe with mangy, ruffled fur and scabs. Coyotes… He should have known better. The porchlight lit up as Annie Williams came out in a coat and her nightgown, trudging down the steps with the Farmer’s 12 gauge in her arms.

“Looks like we’ve been caught boys! Scat!” The largest barked.

He smiled, deviously at Russell and threw his body full force into him, knocking him into the side of the coop. Russ tried to regain his footing, but the other two coyotes, trampled over him, fleeing the scene. Annie slowly waddled up, panting, and gasped.

She didn’t know that there were three guests there that night, she didn’t know that Russell wasn’t the culprit and that he was trying his best to protect the farm, but she did know that there was Russell, covered in blood, with a chicken graveyard surrounding his feet. Annie shook her head, her face full of dread and disappointment. She lowered the shotgun and pointed it to the ground.

“Oh, boy…” She whispered. She grasped a lead from her coat pocket and tied it around his neck. “Why’d ya do it boy? Why?” She pleaded as she stroked his ears back.

Russell whined and barked. He tried to pull her towards where the coyotes had run, but she continued to tug him towards the shed.

“John will deal with you when he gets home, Russ. I don’t have the heart for it,” She sniffed.

Russ whimpered, again.

“I’m sorry, boy, but you killed ‘em... It might seem natural, but it ain’t on this farm.” She took the lead from his neck and gave him another pat and then she was gone, leaving him alone in the forbidden shack from Hell.

He curled up into a tight ball and shivered. He tried to close his eyes, but every time he did all he could see what the carcasses of the animals that he was supposed to protect. He had failed to uphold his sole duty. He was just a dumb, useless dog.

I guess I won’t be going on the next trip after all.