Gramps

Note: This story was an entry for the Sinister Stories Contest. To view the contest rules, click on Contest Rules:

THE RULES:

Only one entry per person, per round.
The deadline for entries is the last day of every month @ 11:59PM WDC time.
New prompts will be posted once the previous round is closed.
Anything 2,000 words or less is acceptable. Short fiction only, please.
Any genre, rating, or subject matter is allowed.
Post your entry as a bitem link in the forum below. Ex:

ID: 1556724   (Rated: 13+) Sinister Stories Contest  The Dark Society's monthly horror contest, open to everyone! by SoCalScribe

.
Spelling and grammar count. While a typo or two will not disqualify your entry, proofreading is an important part of the writing process. Frequent errors and/or poor readability are likely to affect your chances of winning.
New items only (i.e. must have been created between the opening and closing dates of the current round).
You may edit your stories at any time. However, they may be judged at any point after the contest deadline, so there are no guarantees that any changes you make after the deadline will be read.
All entries will receive a rating and qualifying review.
There is only one judge per round. That judge is solely responsible for determining the winners and eligibility of entries. The judge's decision on all such matters is final.

NOVEMBER ROUND
PROMPT:

This month we have an image prompt to change things up.

(The image was that of a dimly lit entrance into, presumably, an attic)

Bonus kudo's to anyone who works a kidnapping in their story!
(Author's Note: I'm pretty sure bonus kudos translate into a bazillion gift points, right?)

"Sinister Stories Contest" 

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Gramps

By Indelibleink

"Mommy...Are we there yet?" The little girl fidgeted uncomfortably in the back seat. This was - by far - the most amount of time she had ever spent in a car going anywhere, and she had long since surpassed her limit for traveling comfortably. She twisted her black locks nervously around her index finger while watching the sun as it sank slowly into the trees on the late November horizon.

"Now, now, Alexis...Mommy told you we had a long, long trip ahead of us, and we still have a long way to go until we get to Pappous' house." Callista Dadas turned from her front passenger seat, reached back, and stroked her daughter's face.

"Why do you call Grandpa 'Pappous', Mommy?"

"Because, in Greece - where Daddy and I come from, and where Daddy is going - Grandfather is called 'Pappous' - instead of Grandfather."

"Well, I call my other grandpa 'Gramps', so can I just call this one 'Gramps', too?"

Ambrosio looked back at his daughter through the rear-view mirror, becoming a little misty-eyed himself. "Well, Precious, there's still more to the story. But Alex, be sure to ask Pappous about the tattoo on his right forearm - he's very proud of it. Now, let Mommy finish."

Callista dabbed a tear from her eye before continuing. "Alex, Daddy isn't sure how long he'll be in Greece, and he needs my support, so I'm going to go with him until he can finish his emergency work over there. And with the school year already underway, we wanted you to stay in an American school, because you only speak English, so your Pappous Dadas has generously agreed to let you..."

That was plenty of information for Alexis, as she knew where this conversation was headed. "No! I don't want to stay at Gramps's house. I want to go with you! I can learn a new language! Please, Mommy? Oh, please?"

Tears streaming down both cheeks now, Ambrosio found it difficult to focus on driving. "Sweetheart, if there were any other way, and we could bring you along, we would..."

"N-N-N-N-N-o-o-o-o-o-o-o" was all that came out of the girl's mouth until finally, emotionally spent and exhausted, the eight year-old cried herself to sleep.

*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *

The morning sun served as a warm wake-up call to Alexis as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, at the same time wondering what Mommy would have for break...Mommy! Suddenly it hit her all at once: She recalled the horrible conversation of the preceding night while at the same time realizing that she had never been in this room before. It was her nightshirt she was wearing, thankfully, but the matter at hand was to resume the plan of convincing her parents that she shouldn't - couldn't - be left behind with a complete stranger, which is exactly what Pappous Dadas was to her, since he hadn't seen Alexis since she was born. Her concentration was broken for a moment when she heard a muffled scratching sound coming, apparently, from the attic, but, first things first!

She sprinted from her bed and into the hallway, smelling the aroma of something good coming from the kitchen, wherever that was. Alexis took off in the direction of the mouth-watering smell, navigating the hallway full of knickknacks until stopping at the kitchen's entrance. She was taken back a bit at the sight of an older man hunched over the stove, his back to Alexis. Hunched over or not, he was still rather large - perhaps a bit larger than her father's six-foot-two frame, and he turned around quickly when Alexis drew a gasp upon seeing him.

"You must be Alexis. Have seat. Breakfast almost ready." No expression of happiness in seeing his granddaughter after so long, and no indication of any real affection or caring. Worse yet, no Mommy or Daddy!  This was not an ideal start with Pappous. The sense of uneasiness inside of the little girl was increasing exponentially by the moment, so she let fly with the only thing that really mattered at the moment. "Where's my Mom?"

The old man turned, nary a hint of expression on the weather-beaten, reddish complexion of one who had spent the majority of his life working a farm. "Mother and father? In big hurry to catch flight out of country. They said good-byes while you sleep..."

It may have been a big, old, and very unfamiliar house, but it still didn't take long for Alexis to figure out where the front door was located, and she made a bee-line out into the dusty front yard. The family car was not to be found, and in the brief amount of time it took her to run to the end of the driveway, Alexis felt a myriad of emotions sweep through her soul: the overwhelming senses of loss, abandonment, and terror. How could her parents have done this to her?

Alexis knelt down in the driveway, placed her head in her hands, and began crying hysterically, to the extent that she hardly felt the large, coarse fingers that picked her up and carried her back to the farmhouse.

*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *

Alexis awoke to muffled sounds coming from somewhere above her bedroom. As had been the case when she had awoken earlier, she was again taken by the smell of something good coming from the kitchen. She made her way down the hallway to the kitchen armed with some questions she needed to have answers to.

Alexis entered the kitchen to find Pappous Dadas facing her, standing at the kitchen table, and scooping the contents from a kettle - it appeared to be stew or similar - onto a couple of plates. He never looked up when he spoke. "I have job for you. Behind barn, there is small creek where two boys play. Names are Jacob and Micah. Tell them Grandpa need help lifting equipment in barn."

"Gramps, I heard scratching noises above my bedroom a little while ago...Do you know what..."

"Raccoons. I set traps. Stay out of attic. Raccoons might have rabies..."

The smell of the food - dinner - again reminded Alexis she hadn't eaten since about twenty-four hours earlier in the car. "But, I'm really hungry."

"Bring boys, then eat."

With her stomach telling her one thing, but Gramps telling her another, Alexis slowly backed out of the room. With the old man watching her every step, she unwillingly took off to find the boys. Sure enough, about four hundred feet behind the barn, a small creek cut through the property, and Alexis heard the voices of two kids playing just upstream. She informed the two boys of her grandfather's problem, and the young men, who looked to be about ten and twelve years of age, looked at each other. They shrugged, nodded, and followed Alexis back to the barn.

The boys went into the barn, but when there was no Gramps to be found, they told Alexis to go and fetch him. She ran towards the house, but Gramps met her out on the porch. He was rolling up his sleeves while holding a freshly-sharpened butcher knife under his chin.

"Go eat." Those were the only words Gramps spoke as he quickly walked off - and then broke into a trot - towards the barn, the knife in his right hand.

Famished, Alexis did just that, but as she sat down at the kitchen table after spooning some stew into a bowl, she recalled Gramps out on the porch, rolling up his sleeves, and what her father had told her about Pappous Dadas. This Gramps had no tattoo! A chilling feeling now running up her spine, Alexis dashed into the living room, searching the mantle, walls, bookshelves, and everywhere else she could think, for pictures of her grandfather. There wasn't one to be found.

Now absolutely certain something was terribly amiss here, Alexis's fears were intensified when she heard a short series of anguished, pleading screams coming from the barn. Alexis froze in the living room, uncertain as to what exactly her next move should be. Again, she heard noises up in the attic, as if in response to the screams from the barn. Too much commotion to just be raccoons.  Petrified though she was, Alexis thought it was time to see what was going on in the attic. She started to sprint for the stairs, but was caught from behind by the tattoo-less arms. Picked up, kicking and screaming, she was thrown into a small study, and the door was locked behind her.

Alexis immediately bounced to her feet, and she struggled desperately with the locked door latch. She screamed out loud when she realized she was covered in blood from the maniac who was not her grandfather. Her heart raced even quicker when Alexis heard the crazy man climbing the steps up to the attic. Sensing that it was imperative she get to the attic immediately, she located an old shoehorn that was being used as a closet door stop. With the shoe horn, she was able to pry the old farmhouse door enough to release the door lock.

Alexis raced up the steps to the attic. As she approached the doorway, the image of her supposed grandfather blocked the entrance. With a trance-like stare that seemed to look right through her, he started down the steps, completely drenched in blood, passing Alexis as if she didn't exist. Alexis, gagging from both the sight of this maniac and the anticipation of what she might find in the attic, nonetheless entered the room. In the dim light provided by the exterior wall vent, she couldn't believe her eyes: Her parents, somewhat bloody but apparently unharmed, removing ropes and gags, along with an old man, doing the same thing. The tattoo on his right arm told her all she needed to know: Pappous Dadas!

Alexis ran to her parents, hugging and kissing them like the traumatized child that she was. After a gigantic hug from her father, Ambrosio explained that he had to go after the killer, and that Alexis, Callista and Pappous were to stay there - no matter what - until he returned. Although the three begged him to stay put, he took off after the madman, which gave Callista some time to explain to her daughter what had happened.

"That crazy man, Alexis, is a neighbor of Pappous Dadas...His name is Joe. A few weeks ago, at Halloween, two boys from a farm adjacent to Pappous's egged Joe's house, because he wouldn't give them Halloween treats. The next morning, Joe's wife went out to clean the eggs off the picture window. She was on a ladder, slipped, fell, and broke several bones, including her hip, and she died shortly thereafter. Joe promised to get those two who had done the 'devil's work', one way or another. The parents of the children forbid the kids from going anywhere near Joe's property, so Joe had to come up with another way of luring the boys. When Pappous mentioned to Joe - who he had run into in town one day - that his granddaughter was coming to visit - Joe devised a plan to use you as bait to lure the boys to a different property, them not knowing crazy Joe was impersonating Pappous Dadas. So, when we came in late last night, Pappous had already been tied up by Joe, and Joe held a knife to my throat to force Daddy to acquiesce to his wishes. Then..."

Just then, Ambrosio came through the door, bloody and crying. "The boys are dead in the barn - butchered by Joe. He was standing in the driveway, and said 'Now justice has been done - but I must atone for my own sins' and he slit his throat. He's dead." Ambrosio bent down and picked up his trembling child.

"It's over, Alex."

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Words: 2000 (Precisely!)