The Family Feast

Her heart was beating fast and her brow sweating as she hid in the dingy little cupboard in the kitchen.  She couldn’t believe it.  Her mind was still telling her she was imagining things but there was no debate over what she heard.  They were planning to eat her.  It sounded so silly when said like that, almost like a joke you used to scare your little sister, but this was true and was happening right now.  She tried her best to hold her breath but she’d release small emphatic pants every so often.  The family had been so kind to her, so caring.  She should have known something weird was up.  It was like a modern day Hansel and Gretel.  Only in this story she was heavily outnumbered.

   ‘Pa!’ shouted the youngest one.  A boy of around 12.  ‘When’s dinner out?  I’m starving!’

   ‘Soon, Nathan.  Very soon,’ the father answered.  He was an incredibly calm man.  Unnervingly calm the girl thought.  So many signs that something was up and she still walked into the trap.  She peeked through the tiny slit in the cupboard to observe.  She saw what could only be described as a normal family dinner except they weren’t eating.  They were preparing to eat but were missing the meat course…her.  Andrea shuddered again.  She needed to escape this carnivorous hell.

   ‘But…but, she’s run off!’ the youngster, Nathan, started again.  ‘What if we don’t find her?’  She saw this moody little boy jerk on his seat in anticipation.  After the revelation she had learned that the whole family thought this THING was normal.  From the oldest to the youngest.  It was just another part of dinner to them.  It was his sister that answered him: ‘Would ya quit fidgeting with that chair and calm down!  Daddy said we’ll get a nice feed and he’s never let us down yet.’  She was older than her brother but not by much.

   ‘Silvia is right, honey,’ said the mother.  A portly woman who was busy readying the cooker.  ‘Your father is gonna sort everything out.’  She smiled up at the man beside her and he smiled back: ‘I sure am.  Anyway, Tom is out looking for her now.  She couldn’t have gotten far.  Then we’ll have a wonderful meal.’  This seemed to placate the mother and sister but Nathan still fidgeted on his seat.

   ‘We should have locked the room like we usually do,’ he said in a huff.  ‘Then she couldn’t have got away and my belly would be filled with her meat.’  He gave an almost euphoric lop-sided smile after saying this.  Andrea was disgusted.  She felt like vomiting but that would be suicide.  Best just bide my time.  Wait for an opening.  The father once again answered the question: ‘We couldn’t have.  She was having cold feet already.  That would have scared the poor little lamb off for sure.’

He was right.  Andrea remembered how welcoming the family had been to her when she came to their door lost, cold and hungry.  How they offered her a room for the night and something to eat.  Her gut instinct was not to trust them but desperation took over her and she fell for it hook, line and sinker.  And boy, she regretted not trusting her gut now!  They were good to their word for the most part.  The mother was kind to her while she cooked a nice vegetable stew.  Fully fed, the promise of a bed for the night was also fulfilled.  The little spare room was very comfortable.  On thinking back Andrea wondered just how many other victims had spent the night in that nice little bed, totally oblivious to the fate that was about to befall them.  Luckily for her she woke up abruptly and silently stepped out of the unlocked room.  Curiosity turned to abject horror when she overheard the family revealing their true intentions.

The rain lashed down outside and the wind shook the farmhouse foundations.  This was not a nice night to be alone outside but she fancied her chances a lot more out there than stuck in here with a family of monsters.  Bad weather and all, the family were in remarkably high spirits.  Andrea gulped in silence and eyed up the doorway leading out of the kitchen again.  No!  Too risky.  And even if she did get away from them the oldest son Tom would be out there somewhere.  Best to maybe try and wait them out.  They have to sleep like everyone else, don’t they?

   ‘Gee, I hope Tom doesn’t come down with a cold after being out there,’ Silvia said looking out the window.  The mother wasn’t caring about that though.  She had other things on her mind: ‘Mmm, did you see those legs of hers?’ she said in excitement, almost licking her lips as she did.  ‘I bet those thighs taste nice and tender.  Can’t wait to try me some.’  The rest of the family laughed and Nathan said: ‘Yeah, we all know how much you love a nice thigh, ma.’  Once again Andrea’s heart pumped hard as she resisted the urge to puke.  She needed to calm herself down.  Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead as she struggled to hold out in that toasty cupboard.

She heard a door close shut and Tom walked into the room.  He was a tall young man and his hair was soaked from the rain.

   ‘Phewee!  It is a barnstormer of a night out there!’ he said and took a seat at the table.  ‘No luck with the girl though.  I’m thinking she might have gotten away.’  Nathan and Silvia’s amusement turned to disappointment.  The young boy’s lips even starting to wobble.  The father remained calm and unfazed though.

   ‘Now, now.  I told you we would have a feast tonight and that’s just what we’re going to have,’ he said softly.  ‘I told you before Tom that there are ways of getting meat to taste even better.  All sorts of meat.’  The family hinged on his every word as he continued speaking: ‘One of those ways is to get it pumping with fresh blood.  Exciting it, sweating it.  Making a good meal into a delicious meal.  Isn’t that right my dear?’  He slowly turned his gaze towards the cupboard in the corner and smiled broadly.  The others followed his gaze before they too smiled in delight.  Andrea’s heart sunk like a stone in her chest as she peered through the slit at all those hungry eyes looking back at her.