Leigh was born and raised in the garden county of Wicklow, Ireland. She lives by the Irish Sea with the love of her life, two wonderful boys, a black Labrador, and a three-legged cat that hates people.
She has been published online and in print by Black Hare Press, Trembling With Fear, Books of Horror, and more. You can find out more about Leigh’s work and any upcoming releases on her social media: LeighKennyWrites
Her debut novella, Cursed, is releasing on December 15th and is available to preorder here: https://mybook.to/Cursed-LeighKenny
THE BEAST OF BURDEN
by
Leigh Kenny
I had never seen so many bodies in my life. So much death and destruction.
My limbs trembled, a paralysing concoction of fear and overexertion, as I huddled behind a boulder. I knew it might not offer much protection against this beast that had laid siege to our tight-knit, communal home.
Everywhere I looked bodies lay, limbs askew or detached completely. Groans of pain and anguished screams filled the air around me like gun smoke as I turned my head, frantically searching for my family.
The relief was dizzying when I finally spied my younger siblings trembling among the leaves nearby, desperately trying to camouflage their small bodies. To be so young and yet instinctively understand the threat to their own safety. It broke my heart. What trauma they had witnessed this day. I knew if I survived, that this day would haunt me for the rest of my life too. And I would be responsible for my siblings.
It would be my job to undo the damage this beast had unleashed upon our family, our friends, our neighbours. Despite the horror that unfolded before my eyes, I knew the worst was probably still to come.
A ghastly screech shook me to my core, and a fresh chorus of screams penetrated my grim musings. The beast wasn’t finished with us yet, not by a long shot.
I needed to get to my siblings and keep them safe.
With a final ounce of steel to steady my resolve, I peered out from beyond my hiding spot.
The beast towered over me, a guttural growl crawling up its throat and culminating in a bone-rattling roar filled with anger and bloodlust. Such a dreadful creature I had never seen; its long pale limbs, its dreadful piercing eyes, its huge gnashing teeth, all directed towards me. I was vulnerable now that it had me in its sights.
Closing my eyes, I tried to think happy thoughts, all the while wincing as I waited for the pain to begin. Or perhaps it would happen quickly, and I’d feel nothing. Maybe I was already dead.
I opened my eyes.
I really didn’t want to. I’ve never been the heroic type, and meeting the bringer of my death head-on was an awfully unattractive prospect for me. But I opened my eyes…
… Just in time to see my mother crawl from her own hiding place, waving her arms and screaming for me to “Run away! Go! Save yourself and your siblings.”
I’m ashamed to say that I froze. I could do nothing more than stand there, mouth agape as the beast turned its rage on her. I finally regained the ability to move as her ragged body hit the ground near my feet.
Tears pricked my eyes. I wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her. But what comfort can you offer to those who are dying in such a manner? Dying, writhing in agony as they watch their offspring meet the same fate.
I whipped around towards my siblings, determined to keep them safe. But they had seen what happened to mother, and their innocent minds couldn’t comprehend it. Their wails erupted from my left, a ghastly, ghostly chorus that spoke of the damage that had been done. Emotionally, they would never be the same again.
And as I watched the beast turn its eyes on them, I knew that physically, they would never be the same again either. They had no chance against this horror that had arrived with no more intention than to murder as many of us as possible and displace the rest from our homes.
As the beast stalked towards the innocent young, I knew any decision that needed to be made, would have to be made now.
I could use the distraction to ensure my own safety, but could I live with myself? I didn’t know where my father and older sisters were. How could they ever love me, even look me in the eye, if I sacrificed the young to save my own skin.
I knew what had to be done.
As I stepped clearly into view, directly into the path of the beast, I waved my arms and shouted towards my siblings. The beast turned towards me, and with a glance over my shoulder, I could see with a heavy relief that they were doing as I instructed. They were getting away. They were safe.
Knowing you’ve made the right choice is still difficult to come to terms with when you’re being hoisted into the air by the same creature that just killed your mother before your very eyes. It gazed at me, loathing in its eyes. But there was a hint of something else behind the malice.
Fear.
How could it possibly fear me? Something that was so much smaller than it?
As it plucked my eight legs from my body with its pale fingers, one by one, I suddenly doubted that the flicker I had seen was fear.
From this height, as the life drains from me slowly, I can see the damage that has been inflicted on our home and our people. The web lies in tatters, silk strewn among the litter of broken spider bodies. I can only hope with my final breath that my family is safe, and that my sacrifice has been worthwhile.