Eternal Love

Chapter 14:The reckoning

Sheila barely could see anything in front of her. Her eyes had clouded over, so all she could see was shadow figures of people in front of her. Thomas had told her it was temporary; it was her body transforming. According to him, she would be in full transformation by the time the full moon rose. Unfortunately, it would be a tedious and painful process.

Her ears had gone deaf, so she couldn't hear the yelling jeers coming from the townsfolk outside. She silently sat holding her children; hoping whatever was going on would end soon. She saw what she could only guess were townsfolk with torches outside. She could barely see their figures in the torch light. She could see them shaking their fists and looking like they were yelling something, but she couldn't make it out.

Suddenly there was a bright burst of light; as if a bomb went off. She ducked her head down and covered her children with her arms. She felt a whoosh of violent wind blowing through the kitchen; then suddenly someone grabbed her daughter's leg and pulled her out of her arms. She reached out for her, but felt nothing but air. She realized her son was still in her arms.

She closed her eyes and waited; holding her son close to her. She could feel heat like a fire erupting all around her. She felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down at her son. He was looking up at her and pointing to the foyer. She looked up towards the foyer and saw the shadowy figure of Thomas standing there.

The figure came up to them and helped them up. The three of them went outside and hid in the grove of oak trees by the guest house. Sheila went inside with the children and Thomas stood in the shadows of the front porch, watching for the townsfolk. Fortunately, none of them saw the guest house and ran on by back towards the town. Thomas was satisfied when he saw them leave and turned and went inside the guest house.

After putting the children to bed; Thomas and Sheila discussed what to do from that night on. Thomas suggested he work on the old wooden cabin and make it a bit bigger for them. They could hide out there until the townsfolk finally settled down and forgot all about them. Sheila said they would have to fake their own deaths and homeschool the children; but she was alright with it. So, they both decided to inform the servants of their plans and give ownership of the estate to the cook; she was the only other adult that had blood ties with her family.

The next morning, Sheila and the children went to the mansion and packed as much as they could handle. Sheila gathered all the servants and told them of their plans. She informed them that cook would be in charge of the estate until it was okay for them to return. They all ageed it was what was best for them and promised to take good care of the estate until Sheila, Thomas and the children could return. With that taken care of; Sheila and the children took what they could carry and went back to the guest house.

When they arrived to the guest house, a horrible sight was waiting for them. There was blood all over the front porch, right to the door. Sheila hid the children in the knook of a oak tree a few paces away and went carefully into the guest house. There was a trail of blood that led to the back bedroom; she cautiously followed it. She called out for Thomas with no reply.

She got into the bedroom and heard a low cry coming from under the bed. She bent down and lifted the bed sheet and saw Thomas curled up, crying in pain. She dragged him out and helped him up on the bed. She asked him what happened; he slowly told her some of the people from town came in and nearly beat him to death. He said they were stopped by someone so fast, he barely saw the figure.

Sheila was wondering what could possibly be happening now; all of this was almost getting to be too much. She told him it was no longer safe to stay at the guest house and they had to move on. Thomas slowly got up and walked with Sheila outside. They found the children and proceeded to the wooden cabin in the forest. Sheila wasn't used to living without the fine things in life, but she was willing to try for her family's sake.

It took a few months before Thomas was completely healed. Sheila spent a lot of her time with the children; teaching them how to forage for seeds. They would take what they found back to the cabin and Sheila would plant them in a little garden she made behind the cabin. The children loved living in the forest, everywhere was their front and back yards; so they had plenty of room to learn and play. Life was much moreso enjoyable and peaceful in the wooden cabin in the woods.

Thomas eventually healed and renovated the cabin; within months they had a house, not a cabin. By Christmas time of Bella's 15th year, they were on their way to the cabin becoming a mansion itself.

Christmas arrived and the cabin was the size of a mini mansion. Bella was becoming restless as well. Sheila was graduated from private school by her age; so she understood her daughter's urges to leave the nest, so to speak.

Sheila knew this day would eventually come; she just didn't expect it from out of nowhere. Thomas thought she was still too young and she was also going through puberty; which made things confusing for a teenager. Sheila agreed to a point, she still knew eventually Bella was going to have to go and start her own family one day; why stop it. She was much moreso understanding than Thomas on such issues. She suggested maybe letting her go back to private school and achieve her dreams.

Reluctantly, Thomas agreed. He was not thrilled about her going out into the world alone; but he knew she was overdue to go become a woman. It was tradition for a girl to leave the home by 13 at the least; 15 is the traditional dead line. He never agreed with the legal age for a girl to either get married or get a occupation. He believed the age should be 16 at the least and 19 at the most; just seemed moreso logical to him.

Bella finally was permitted to go back to school. Sheila would miss her, but she knew this was necessary for her growth into womanhood. She preoccupied herself with her younger child; although he too was on his way out of the house as well. He was 13, so he was ready for his journey into manhood as well. Sheila ended up preoccupying herself with her garden she created behind the cabin/mini mansion.

Meanwhile, Thomas was preoccupied with planning his revenge on the townsfolk. He never mentioned anything to Sheila or the children of his plans; he knew they would just try to talk him out of it. For years he had been making plans on how he would take them out, one by one. He had planned to begin with the village i***t; which happened to be the blacksmith. He would be the easiest to take out.

On a dark full moon night, Thomas began to hatch his plan. After Sheila went to bed; Thomas waited for the full moon to change him and he proceeded to the pub in town. He waited quietly in the bushes across the street. A few hours went by and then Sam, the blacksmith came stumbling out. He followed him for a mile and then pounced on him. After Thomas was satisfied he wasn't going to move again; he ran back to the cabin and cleaned up; then slipped into bed with Sheila.