Hobbs Lane

Hobbs Lane

The Mitchells moved to Hobbs Lane last year. On the third day my family brought a chocolate cake to welcome them to our street. With hesitation, the tall gaunt woman introduced herself and her family. She spoke only a few words at a time as though our mere presence sickened her.

It was not long before we noticed that the Mitchells never left the house. It seemed rather odd that none of them worked, shopped or attended school. Sebastian did not even go out to play. They said it was because he was too ill. I saw him once staring out the window at me. His skin was maggot white as if the sun never touched it.

Within weeks of them moving in, pets disappeared along Hobbs Lane. We thought it was coyotes. When we discovered our dog Daisy, then we knew better. Something unnatural was happening on Hobbs Lane. It was like Daisy had been filled with overcooked oatmeal. No bones remained inside her uncut brown fur.

Allen Richards was the first to become ill. He went to several doctors but no medicine could help. At first they said it was a new strand of sickle-cell anemia. Then his bones became so brittle that getting dressed in the morning would cause them to break. Before he died, his skeleton liquefied, making it impossible for anyone to save him.

Allen was the first to come down with the illness, but not the last. Each month someone else would become sick with what had killed Allen. The Health Department tested the air, water, paint, and food we ate to see if there was an explanation to the rash of strange deaths on Hobbs Lane. No anomalies were ever found.

That is until Mrs. Larson saw one of them coming out of Jenny’s house late at night. Jenny’s sister’s bones had begun to facture and break like old china. We knew that in a week or so her bones would turn to Jell-O. Just like those before, without a hard skeleton, no organ would be able to function.

A meeting was called the next day. Mrs. Larson told everyone what she had witnessed. It was quickly decided what they were going to do. Some brought gasoline, some salt, and some their Bibles. In prayer, three spread bags of salt around the house. Next the gas was sprinkled like holy water.

No one on Hobbs Lane speaks of that night. No one gets sick like that anymore. Almost everyone moved away or keeps to themselves now. That night the soul of Hobbs Lane burned and died, too.

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