Black Death - Part One (955 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesLabels: fiction
Rating: 1.41 on 70 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by orphelia (View user info) at 2009-05-20 05:38:07 EDT
'Mummy gone?'
The little boys' brown eyes were wide and full of tears as he spoke in a whisper to his older brother.
His brother, older by six years, fought hard against the emotions building inside him and answered.
'Yes, Georgey, mummy is gone'.
As Georgeys' face contorted with pain his brother Daniel scooped him up in a tight embrace, stifling the boys sobs of agony.
'Hush hush, Georgey, it is alright, hush hush, you'll wake Matty'.
In the corner of the dark and airless room was a small bassinet which held their sleeping sibling. Wrapped in swaddling, his mouth slightly open as he snored gently he was oblivious to the fact he too was now an orphan.
The room in which all four had been dwelling was the extent of their entire house. Constructed primarily of wood the building was really no more than a shack but to it's inhabitants it was still home. Inside contained every requirement they needed to live - in one corner was a mattress of ticking stuffed with hay and feathers and covered with grey woollen blankets, the baby's basket standing proudly next to it on it's white painted frame. The basket had been first bed to three generations of the Horsefield family and it was their most treasured possession. In the corner nearest the only door to the property was the kitchen area. A fire blazed continually, washing was dried here on a line stretching from wall to wall. A huge pot and kettle hung over the fire. It gave sufficient warmth to heat every inch of the building in the summer months but in the winter freezing draughts leaked through the cracks in the soot covered walls. The gaps had been daubed with a mixture of mud and straw but this was now old and falling away in clumps onto the uncarpeted dirt floor.
The only other furniture in the room was a large wooden table with two chairs and it was on this table the three boys mother lay dead and unresponsive to her childs endless sobbing.
In the shadowy darkness Daniel continued to cradle George, rocking his tiny shaking body back and forth, his hand gently running through his mop of matted brown hair.
The only window to the little house had been sealed long ago, back when their father had first shown signs of getting sick. Two men come, banging violently on the door, their faces masked and covered. Their mother had pleaded with the them, insisting that her husband was just sick with working too hard at the mill and was fine, really. But they had boarded their window up regardless and before nailing the entrance shut Daniel had watched one of the men paint a cross on the door before quite literally sealing their fate.
The two eldest boys watched with bewilderment as they witnessed their strong and stocky dad fade away. Their mother tended to him day and night, in between seeing to little Matty as much as possible but mainly letting Daniel take over the role of mother as she became a nurse to their ailing father. His death was slow, painful and the single most terrifying thing they had ever seen. His yells woke them at the times they tried to sleep, there was no night, their room was now cast in permanent darkness.
Their dad, Robert, 32, had been dead for four days before the door was pried open, the stench in the room had been so unbearable at times Daniel felt the urge to claw a hole in one of the walls. The smell of putrid rotting meat hung in the air, so thick and dense there was no respite. Warm sunlight blinding their squinting eyes the boys watched with leaden hearts as his corpse, wrapped in muslin so delicately by their mother Susan, had been slung onto a horse drawn cart carrying at least twenty other bodies all in various stages of decay.
'How many left?' enquired a gruff voice.
'Three and a baby' Susan had muttered, her voice frail, her gaze never leaving breaking from her deceased husband on his undignified final journey.
'Here, you'll be needing these'. The man threw in a bag containing some stale bread, some wooden sticks and some dried meat and a jar of water.
'Thank you' replied the woman, breaking out of her revelry.
'You 'ave the mission to thank not me, if it were me, I wouldn't waste such vitals!' And with that the door slammed, seemingly forever.
Susan had seemed lost without her partner. Even when feeding her baby she seemed distracted, distant. It wasn't long before she succumbed to the first signs of the sickness. Daniel felt angry at her, wanting to shout at her to fight it, they needed her, but she seemed to have given up. He gave her sips of water, held her hand when she cried out in pain, with a grubby rag he wiped away the sweat of her fever. Her cough grow worse, racking her whole frame into exhausting convulsions. Within days the skin near her neck and shoulders was covered in ugly black and purple pustules, and her retching was continuous until there was simply nothing left in her stomach to vomit.
Daniel was sat next to her as she drew her last breath. Her eyes, for the first time in days, opened wide as with fear and she clutched at his hand so tightly she almost drew blood. From her chest there was a loud gurgling sound and she seemed to fight for air as warm red fluid exploded from her mouth and nostrils. Seconds later, she was gone.
With time and patience Georgey soon fell into a deep slumber, at three he was still too young to fully understand the momentous loss his older brother was now feeling. From the corner Matty began to whimper and Daniel rose to fetch the last bit of milk they had. Oblivious to the pain and suffering happening only feet away from his small bed the baby smiled up at him, little bubbles of spit escaping his cupids lips as he giggled. Lifting him, Daniel rested the baby on his lap and fed him gazing at his siblings contented expression.
They would die here, all of them. If not from the sickness then from starvation.
As the baby greedily suckled the remainder of his feed from the bottle Daniel was determined not to let the rest of his family perish. They would have to leave, escape the slums and find a place where the air wasn't infected and deadly. Daniel had never seen anything past this grimy, shit filled town but he knew that miles away there was a place with trees and flowers and grass - green everywhere. And you could look up and instead of smoke and fog there would be blue sky, crystal clear as far as the eye could see. His grandmother Jenny had shown him pictures, drawings from a book she used to look at with him when he went to visit her. He was unable to decipher the black squiggles next to the pictures but they'd make their own stories up together, tales of adventure and fun.
That is where they would go. Placing Matty back down in his cot, Daniel took the empty bag the missionary supplies had been in and filled it with what little belongings they had. They would leave first light.
User Reviews
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2009-10-20 12:39:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by RoadSong (user info) at 2009-06-04 17:49:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Time for Part Two.....
Please don't take the magic cookies and go home!
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2009-05-28 12:46:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I want my dick in your hamburger helper.
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2009-05-28 11:04:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I wasn't proofreading it! Honest! It just stood out was all.
Apart from that, though, I liked it fine.
I just was stumped for a minute by her revelry as she watched her husband get carted away.... unless she was married to MY husband... in which case, revelry is totally the right word.
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2009-05-28 09:41:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Revelry is celebration and happiness.
Reverie is a distant, thoughtful daydreaming state.
I think you meant the second one.
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-28 09:06:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Check your mail!
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-26 12:11:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You have very boring mail!
;)
Submitted by Wildman (user info) at 2009-05-22 03:51:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm hard.
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2009-05-21 08:56:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Opossums are really scary when you're in a pitch black back-yard, with only a mini-maglight, under a canopy of trees, carrying a .38.
Especially when they jump at you, or make that death-rattling sound.
Submitted by TuTs (user info) at 2009-05-21 00:15:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I wasn't here when you first appeared and I find it hard enough to keep up with the new stuff, don't take offence.
Your pictures?
Where are my pictures?
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-20 23:46:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
yo tuts - http://www.ubersite.com/u/orphelia/l/fiction
Thanks for being a fan!
:) lol
ps wheres my pictures?!
Submitted by TuTs (user info) at 2009-05-20 23:17:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You write fiction O?
Submitted by osmosianist (user info) at 2009-05-20 22:01:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Terrible.
Submitted by Lib (user info) at 2009-05-20 17:24:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
: )
Submitted by RoadSong (user info) at 2009-05-20 17:21:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Looking forward to the other parts!
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2009-05-20 17:16:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
one a day, udders, one a day.
Submitted by no1hasdis (user info) at 2009-05-20 17:15:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't be bothered to read right now. Is it full of spelling and grammatical errors? No doubt it is. I'll come back later to mock your literary inabilities.
Submitted by Maddog (user info) at 2009-05-20 12:33:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Sorry forgot to rate
Submitted by Maddog (user info) at 2009-05-20 12:32:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Good reading. I'll be awaiting the next installment.
Submitted by FALLEN (user info) at 2009-05-20 12:16:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
secretly I fear this is how we are all going to die.
well..I guess it's not so secret any more.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2009-05-20 10:41:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 15:29:55 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
you fucking BRIT-TARDS broke uber agin.
ahhh
all of you choke on your spotted dick.
p.s. fj..you've got it all wrong, i purr like a kitten
---------
spotted dick? i have heard of that, no idea what it is though
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 10:33:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
oops guess my earlier reply to fj went thru.
my screen timed out and uber went down so i assumed it didn't rate.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 10:29:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
you fucking BRIT-TARDS broke uber agin.
ahhh
all of you choke on your spotted dick.
p.s. fj..you've got it all wrong, i purr like a kitten
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:27:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:15:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
sgt, what are you on about?
i wasnt upset yesterday.
silly squishy
========================
no no I didnt say you were, I just meant that we could hang out and watch the drama unfold!
AND EAT POPCORN
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:27:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
not true fj
i purr like a kitten just before i pop out your eyeballs and eat them with jam
=D
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:15:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by F.J.Bell (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:09:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The Brits are totally stacking this website up at the moment. Without us there'd be no minge for Sgt to sniff around, no wankers to upset mysti, and barely any posts, never mind decent ones. With a few exceptions, the yanks are fairly useless.
http://www.ubersite.co.uk FTW!
============================
I have to say I enjoy the brit banter on this site. Its like watching a british comedy, I dont get all of the humoUr but the language is sometimes fresh.
Marmite eating bastards.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:15:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
you mean 'above'
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:15:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
sgt, what are you on about?
i wasnt upset yesterday.
silly squishy
Submitted by F.J.Bell (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:15:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You just know mysti would be a total hellcat in bed.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:13:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hot, unfish-like, totally sane, respected conrtibuter below.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:10:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
well i wasnt upset until you reminded me to be
fj
you fucking wanker
go eat some spotted dick.
<3
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:10:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
its kinda true Spam, most are pretty optimistic about their day, then at some point the drama kicks in like good coke and everything kinda spins outta control.
as indicated by yesterday.
*puts arm around mystia, gets out popcorn, and waits...*
Submitted by F.J.Bell (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:09:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The Brits are totally stacking this website up at the moment. Without us there'd be no minge for Sgt to sniff around, no wankers to upset mysti, and barely any posts, never mind decent ones. With a few exceptions, the yanks are fairly useless.
http://www.ubersite.co.uk FTW!
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:04:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
...and gradually it all goes downhill.
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:01:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I love uber this early in the AM, all the UK folks are up and running at full speed, then slowly but surely the rest of the US users rise and shine to meet the day.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 08:00:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i'm good. going to be a lovely day.
Submitted by F.J.Bell (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:57:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You're all nuts.
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:56:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:54:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
well I was worried about not looking 'cool' Sgt, and we all know thats the only reason on comment on posts nowadays.
======================
now relax mang, it was a tiny, bad attempt at jest.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:54:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
well I was worried about not looking 'cool' Sgt, and we all know thats the only reason on comment on posts nowadays.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:53:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
You know spammy, i'd do the testicle one but really you ain't worth it
honey
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:50:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:48:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
g'morning SGT!
how's my favorite squishy?
<3
xoxo
=============================
awwwww "squishy" so funny.
Like im a teddy bear or something!
Im doing ok today, the president of my company is coming by today, could be an interesting morning.
HOw are you??
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:49:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
actually on second thought, Im staying out of this one.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:48:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
g'morning SGT!
how's my favorite squishy?
<3
xoxo
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:48:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
back peddler below
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:47:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You started it.
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:47:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
this place is getting interestingly "touchy" as of late.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:46:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Always take it one step too far don't we spammy
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:44:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
No you are right, your "everybody look at me and the men I fancy" posts are so much more enlightening then mine. And for the record, I think you'll find that only about half of the posts I do are such formulaic anecdotes and this is a conscious decision to keep people interested. It's called variety, something you only appear to show when it comes to the colour of your spawn.
Fuck's sake. you try an give people constructive criticism and look what happens.
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:29:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Sure, bring on part two.
And what everyone else said about formatting.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:14:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
well spammy at least not all my posts start with either
* I was sooo wasted on drugs
* I was sooo wasted on alcohol
* I was sooo wasted on both the above
* I am such a cunt at work
* I am such a cunt to women
And I mean cunT, you cunT
Oh my god, I bet you get such a fucking hard on when your completely fabricated bs makes bored at work
three times!
your blow up doll must be so worn and eroded
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:11:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Go back and read your posts? Why on earth would I want to subject myself to such word-butchery?
fucking twat.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:09:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
whats that sound?
its that damn hormone alert again
******HORMONE ALERT**** HORMONE ALERT****
take cover put your head between your legs and brace yourself.
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:09:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Cant wait to read more!
keep em coming.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-20 07:01:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
if you actually BOTHERED to read any of my past posts spammy i am sure you would see that is how i usually space out speech but really i think it was just the way i copy and paste
but i will keep that reference for the future to help achieve status adorable
perhaps i need to write about luuurve
*pukes*
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 06:54:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Re: formatting here, I would advise to put line spaces after speech. I know that's not how it's supposed to be done, but on Uber it makes it easier to read.
Happy?
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2009-05-20 06:29:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 11:23:41 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
Yes blad. Dis wuz sum bear sick-off post, innit tho? fukin heavy bruv. BRRRRRAAAAP.
--------------
there was no need for the fart.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 06:23:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yes blad. Dis wuz sum bear sick-off post, innit tho? fukin heavy bruv. BRRRRRAAAAP.
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2009-05-20 06:19:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Clunky. Be good to see where it goes though.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2009-05-20 06:16:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 10:58:19 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
Overall I thuoght this was pretty good. there were a couple of tings that irritated me but nothing major.
------------
look at Spam, getting all street!
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 06:15:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i dont understand the formatting issues people bring up on your posts.
but i'm not a writer.
as long as it isn't a giant block of text, it's ok with me and easy enough to read.
:)
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2009-05-20 06:06:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
grand
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:59:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Also, needed more werewolves.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:58:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Overall I thuoght this was pretty good. there were a couple of tings that irritated me but nothing major. formatting on some of the speech could have been clearer.
Also, "Robert,32," is something reserved for journalism.
Submitted by F.J.Bell (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:56:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Coleslawesome.
My favourite part was the description of the house being boarded up.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:56:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:53:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
whats up with your formatting?
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:49:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
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Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 10:39:38 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
Shit title.
---
yeah, well i had to come up with all by myself didn't i?
what you expect, spammy
Submitted by w_t_a_y_s_t_r_m (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:44:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:39:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Shit title.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-20 05:39:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
part one of four if anyone is interested i will continue