The 28th of February
On a cold, winters night the wind gently blew the curtain open. Outside, Ryan’s room in the cold mean streets of Sydney many creatures stirred .It was not the criminals, low life’s and drug addicts that Ryan needed to be anxious about.
On the foundation that his parents built their house was the site when Sydney was a brutal convict town, where a terrible murder took place. In this town a boy aged fourteen was gutted by a butchers hook, opening his stomach in a gush of blood until his insides spilt out onto the cold ground. The murderer was caught and hung in Sydney jail. Since those times the location of the murder had seen many unusual and unexplained phenomenons.
In the 1800s the family occupying the small house heard wild screaming and crying around the 28th of February each year. The noises got so bad that they reported the event to the governor who had the local sergeant of police attend.
During the 1900s screams were the least of the occupants’ worries as on the 28th of February every ten years a horrific murder would occur. Naturally, after such a murder the owners of the house would move away. The old house was often pulled down to get rid of the memories of those dreadful nights. A new one was built and then sold to an unsuspecting family.
Ryan’s family of course has heard nothing of these events as police records generally did not highlight odd things like murders happening on the same day every ten years. The local people also knew little as they tended to move around. Except for an old lady who lived down the street to Ryan.
On his way to school, riding his bicycle Ryan often passed the old lady at 91 Bloodstone Street. This particular day Ryan was just about to ride past when he heard the old lady call out
“Hey! Come here a minute, young man.”
Jimmy slowed down, braking hard on his bicycle and took off his helmet.
“Hello, how can I help you?” , he said.
“Ryan, I’ve wanted to speak to you for a while.” said the old lady.
“Dear, do you know anything about the history of your house?” , she said.
Jimmy replied, “No.”
“Do you know what happens on the 28th of February at your place?”
“No.”, he said, “what?”
“Well I suggest you find out”, “your very life depends on it.”, she said and slowly walked away.
Ryan was startled by this and continued riding to school. He couldn’t get the old lady out of his head and went to the library. He began researching. After a few hours he began reading how the house was drenched blood from a killing of an entire family, by a psychiatric patient. Ryan dug some more and to his horror found similar stories in 1990 and 2000. It all came out. The original murder, the screams, blood, reports to the governor, the brutal murders every ten years, the list was unbelievable. Ninety-seven people butchered. Their stomachs ripped out by knives hooks and chains. Even ways to die Ryan had never heard of.
Ryan rushed off to see his parents, the police and the newspapers. His mother was too busy to listen, the newspaper said come back tomorrow and the police man said
“Now let me get this straight, you’re reporting a murder that’s going to happen tomorrow?”
Ryan left frustrated and afraid. He didn’t sleep one bit that night. Tomorrow was the 28th. In fact as the clock struck 12.00am, he realised that tomorrow become today. A chilled wind blew under his bed and a low moaning sound came from deep within the house.
“What was that!” Ryan heard his mother shout.
He picked up his cricket bat and walked slowly down to his parents’ bedroom. Before he even got there he could see that the door had been ripped off. Out of the doorway came his mothers head dripping in blood, followed by his father’s severed leg. As he looked inside the room he saw his parent’s copses being mangled by a fourteen year old with a butchers hook. Blood was flying everywhere, the sound of fresh human meat being pulled apart and bones crunching.
Ryan knew the boy that had just murdered his parents from his research. He was the 14 year old that had been killed that night on the 28th. Ryan wacked the boy in the face with the cricket bat but it went straight through him. Ryan realised this was the end as he couldn’t defend himself. With that, in one big long slice, the dead boy embedded it deep in Ryan’s back with the sound of ripping flesh. Ryan howled the scream of death as Nathan vanished with the smell of rotting flesh and blood left behind him.
