ELYSIA
Kurt Hoffman
Genre:
Dark Speculative Fiction
Format: PDF
Words:
12,000
Price:
$1.99
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SHORT EXCERPT |
Chapter 1 - MadeleineThe call came in the small hours of the night long after I'd turned in, and I sprang up with a fright. I could hear a viscous storm outside and prayed that it wasn't the Kristophy house, but when I answered there were sniffles from their maid.
"Madeleine?"
"What is it Marie? Is everything alright?"
"I'm sorry to wake you. Margaret is in labor. They ordered me to call you. It's not going well... I heard screams..."
All at once I was on my feet, the receiver still in my hand. "I'm on my way."
"Oh thank God... I'm so scared."
"I'll be there as fast as I can. Don't panic Marie."
With that, I hung up the phone and felt all my training return like a program. This was my very first patient as a midwife, but it was not a pleasant one. I'd been appointed to Margaret Kristophy by the hospital because the room I rented was nearby. Her father allowed no one to live in the mansion except Maria and from what she'd described to me, the reasons were obvious.
He was a brutal and harshly private man. His ceaseless control over his young daughter's life had driven her nearly mad. And when she'd announced her condition to him... it was a near miracle that he hadn't killed her on the spot.
I was dressed in minutes and pulled a long coat over my uniform. The storm raged outside but I tried not to think about it. It would be a desperate effort to get to my car and up through the alleys of the village, the main road up the mountain was a dark and periless drive made even worse by the rain.
I finally came to Kane's peak at the top of the hour. The sun wouldn't be up for hours. The Kristophy house was just off in the distance among other gothic castles with iron gates that looked right at home in stormy weather.
I parked my car outside the main entrance. The lights were one and I knew that Maria was probably waiting for me. She was a good friend, also on her first assignment. She understood the pressure of proving your worth to a family as wealthy as the Kristophys.
The door opened and as I predicted, Maria was there with her hand over her mouth.
"How is she?"
"Horrible... you must hurry! I'm afraid to go in the room. When the door was open, I saw blood! Please... they're upstairs!"
My uniform was damp and uncomfortable. My shoes squeaked as I ran up the staircase. Candles lit my way along the upper corridor. I heard Maria rush along behind me with short gasps. She was making me nervous. Thunder ripped open the sky above us. Lightening flashed through ancient windows. I heard the screams before I turned the last corner.
"Maria! Where are you?"
"Madeleine!" she called out quietly. "I can't. Please..!"
"Come... she needs us! Now!"
I entered the room to see a terrible scene in progress. Father Monet stood before a bed in the corner, his hand gripping a cross. Margaret was whimpering and gripped the sheets in pain. A flash of light filled the room and I saw the blood. It was everywhere. My throat tightened.
Her own father, a huge an imposing man in a dark suit, spoke out in the darkness. "She is dying, as she deserves. The lord will take her."
"Mister Kristophy?"
"Go! Save the child, before it's too late."
"Sir I..."
"Do as he says Madeleine." The priest spoke. "We must carry out God's will."
Margaret screamed and fell limp. I saw her convulse and rushed to the bed. The sheets were soaked with blood but I knelt close to her, remembering my training. I reached out and felt a head. All other thoughts faded. I was alone in the room, performing my duty.
The child came forth like a miracle at first, but then... a horrific sight. The tiny body ended where it shouldn't—incomplete, a head and torso with no body or limbs. I shook with fear and revulsion as it sat in my hands, helpless and nearly dead to the world.
It made a sound and I felt the world fall away. Dizziness and panic filled my head like suddenly this entire outcome was my fault. The fatherless child was mine. Mister Kristophy had called me a harlot, not his own daughter. The guilt of the world was on my shoulders.
And then... a sound. A strange and Human sound. A cry!
"My Lord..." The priest repeated.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
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Kurt Hoffman grew up in the suburbs of Ottawa, Canada. An artistic trait ran through the family, and he took an interest in writing at an early age, completing several novels, short stories and screenplays after leaving high school. His family encouraged him to pursue writing as a career. Having already worked in several cities as a Barber and tradesman, he later enrolled in Vancouver Film School to train as a screenwriter. While his favourite genre is biological Sci-Fi, Hoffman is often drawn to the unlikely female hero in every genre. He draws inspiration from the work of Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, and Krzysztof Kieslowski. His goals for the future are to write feature films and graphic novels based on the fictional city of Alfred – Hoffman’s version of Gotham. He currently resides in Vancouver with a small black cat named Selena.
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