Chapter Three: Bang
As the sun slowly rose the next morning, Catherine was found sleeping in a slightly altered position, with a look of only rolling over. Even though Catherine had gone out in the middle of the forest with the mysterious Ralph, she would never remember leaving nor entering her home. Likewise, her young friend Samantha seemed to never notice that Catherine had ever left the chamber at all.
But as shocked to hear that Catherine had left the chamber, Samantha was even more shocked to hear that the mysterious man had come around while she was there, and that she missed her chance to catch a glance at the man who her friend had been obsessing over from the time she entered the chamber to the current moment. But even though the facts remained, Samantha was eager to hear the events of the previous night.
"Come on Annie! You have to tell me ALL that happened!!" Samantha begged as she sat on her knees in her day dress upon Catherine's wooden canopy bed. "Did you two do the naughty?" she asked deviously as she raised her one eyebrow in a look of many suggestions.
"Samantha!" Catherine reacted in a shocked manor at the suggestion of any such ideas. "We danced! That was all! Really, why would I, and a man I've only known for two nights do such awful acts as the one's you suggest? That's just awful Samantha!" Catherine stood in front of her closet dressed only in her under garments. She held within her arms the pearl gown and the lovely hand carved hanger that the gown came with. She carefully hung the gown back into the closet before pulling out her sky blue home dress and carefully stepping into it, and pulling it over her body. As she dressed, Samantha softly giggled at her friend's reaction to her ideas.
Catherine realized not long after Samantha's arrival to town that she was a rather promiscuous young girl, though if the adults of the town were to learn of her actions, she would surely be exiled from the church.
"Come Catherine! I am a naughty little girl! I wish to know what happened on your little date last night!" Samantha begged once more as Catherine came to a soft seat on her bed, next to the dark haired girl.
"Fine then, if you really wish to know so bad!" Catherine sighed heavily as she recalled the events of the previous night. "Well, the first thing I remember was walking together hand in hand down the woodland trail to his home." she spoke carefully as if weighting her every word precisely before speaking them aloud. "When we reached his home, we entered and danced slowly around the fire in the middle of his home. Mind you, his whole home is based around this one fire." she began to speak faster, the excitement in her voice growing. "I believe that it is a source of heat as well as a cooker, but I'm quite unsure, seeing as he has never cooked while I was at his home." Samantha rolled her eyes just the bit obviously, giving her face the touch of annoyance.
Samantha sat staring at Catherine with a face that said something or another along the lines of 'please get to the details!' But still being polite, she sat quietly listening to every word, least a hidden detail slip her ear.
"Well, after that," she sighed heavily before continuing, "we left his home. From there, I only remember waking up." She sat quietly a moment, thinking about these times where she had absolutely no memory.
"What do you mean? How can you not remember?" Samantha asked as she looked at her friend as if she were withholding information that had to be known lest the whole world will explode.
"I don't know. I just don't remember." she repeated blankly as she shrugged her shoulders lightly. They sat in silence for a moment. But soon Catherine's stomach growled, making her suggest that they go into the kitchen to see if there was still food left from breakfast.
"Of course! After eating, you may be able to remember more of last night!" Samantha smiled happily as she climbed off the bed and fixed her dress. It was hard for Samantha to hide her anger at Catherine for withholding information that may be to her interest, but she loved her friend nonetheless.
"Samantha, please. When I say that I cannot remember, I really can't. Honestly. I would never lie to you." Catherine pleaded with her friend as she too stood from the bed, but Samantha was already by the chamber door when she spoke.
"It's alright Catherine, I don't mind if you really wish not to tell me what happened. Rather if you don't remember, then if I were you, I would not go back with him." she said harshly as they walked down the corridor to the kitchen. Her jealousy was evident.
"What do you mean? Why shouldn't I go back with him if I can't remember?" Catherine asked worried as she walked quickly to catch up to her friend, who was already looking through the food chest for settled food.
"Well, you have heard the rumors about, haven't you?" Samantha asked skeptically as she looked up at Catherine from the chest.
"Oh come on now, you know sure well that my grandparents are not letting me out of the home because of the words about." she sighed with an attitude before she continued talking, "I came home one afternoon and told them that I heard naughty words about my parents, and they haven't allowed me to leave the grounds since." Her words were filled with depression as she spoke. Samantha knew very well how badly it hurt her friend to not be able to see new surroundings around her, though to count, she now knew the full story to answer the question of Catherine's depression.
Catherine had always been a secluded person, Samantha thought as she starred up at her dear friend.
"Oh. I had forgotten how they can be." Samantha replied softly as she remembered how often Catherine cursed her grandparent's possessiveness over her. "Well, the word flying about the town is that if one suffers the symptoms of forgetting, then it is safe to assume that whom ever you were with at the time of the memory fault is either a vampyre or a witch." she spoke candidly, as if she were doubtless it could be false.
Catherine knew what Samantha said was to be the exact words about the town due to her always alert attention of gossip. But could Ralph really be a witch or even a vampyre? How likely is something like that? She thought this to herself while they ate quietly.
"Samantha?" Catherine asked out of the silence of the bed chamber about an hour after they finished eating. The home was empty but for the two girls. They both figured, being a Saturday afternoon, Catherine's grandmother was at the market and her grandfather was working in the shop they owned and operated in town.
"Hmmm?" she quietly responded as she lay on her back next to Catherine. The bed they laid upon was freshly made, remade by Catherine just before the two had lain down; Samantha had watched with a blank stare heavily laid upon her face and with a foul air about herself as Catherine struggled with making the large bed.
"Would you like to walk with me through the forest?" Catherine asked blankly. The question held no meaning for her, but Samantha sat up quickly.
"Are you sure you won't get into any trouble?" she asked, not trying to mask her evident excitement.
Catherine giggled softly as she stood up from the bed and fixed her dress. "Please do not worry about me you silly!" she giggled again as she helped Samantha from the bed. "Let's go look for my Mr. Ralph who lives in the forest!"
They gathered themselves a flask of water each, to last them for the walk. Before they knew it, they were surrounded by tall trees and small shrubs that littered the forest floor. There were birds flying from tree to tree and squirrels scurrying from branch to branch. The blue sky over head was littered with small clouds and was just visible from the forest floor where Catherine and Samantha walked.
"So Catherine, do you know the spot where he lives?" Samantha asked roughly as she stepped to look around. There were only trees and little bushes, and all soon backed by even more trees and little bushes. "Oh please Catherine, don't tell me that you've gotten us lost!" Samantha's panic stricken voice pleaded as she walked out into a clearing only large enough for the two girls to lie side by side. They lay to rest and think about where they were. One did one, one did the other.
After hours of lying, Samantha had slept and reawaken to the setting sun's golden rays as late evening became early night.
"Catherine!" Samantha moaned as she lay still on her back. "Catherine! I want to go home!"
"I'm sorry Samantha! I wish I could be at home as well. But I'm not sure where we are." Catherine apologized as she shielded her eyes from the setting sun.
"Catherine, are you alright? You've never done that before!" Samantha asked worried as she sat up to glare at her friend.
"I'm not sure. My eyes have been really weak today, but I'm sure it's nothing, don't worry about Me." she smiled as she reassured her friend, though trying to reassure herself more.
As the sun continued to set, the surrounding trees grew shadows that threatened to devour the two girls. They had continued walking, pausing every three to six feet to change directions or to listen for footsteps.
One such time they paused in their efforts, they heard from the darkness behind them slow footsteps that seemed to be coming closer to the pair. Their hearts began to beat wildly as the panic within them grew to uncontrollable heights. Catherine herself was panicking so badly that she finally screamed, yelling in the process, "Please do not hurt us!"
The footsteps stopped, just shielded by the darkness behind Samantha. The voice of the one at which they searched made a slight cough, then exposed the scary foot steps to be none other than Ralph Crenshaw.
"Dear Catherine, why are you out here with only this girl for your protection? You must understand the importance of your protection to me." he said with an arrogant confidence in his voice. Catherine noticed this and seemed to realize that it must be the presence of Samantha that makes him act this way, no matter how annoying it seemed.
"Actually, we came out here to search for you, my love." she said carefully as she shined a fake smile that exposed all of her annoyance in her eyes.
"You two delicate darlings came all the way out here just to search for little old me?" he asked curtly as he walked over and behind Catherine, wrapping his arms around her waist and setting his head down upon her shoulder. "How sweet of you. But it is dark, so we should get you back home."
"Nonsense. We could stay out here all night, couldn't we Samantha?" Catherine asked her friend proudly, but when she received no verbal response, she looked over at her and she received then a nod. Catherine thought this odd, as Samantha almost always was verbal when given the chance to be. "Samantha dear, are you alright?" she asked as worry for her friend seemed to escalate from nowhere.
Samantha's eyes were fogged over as Catherine looked into them; she appeared as if in a trance, living and breathing, but nobody home.
"Ralph, we have to take her home, I'm worried for her." Catherine whispered in a panic as she ran quickly to Samantha's side. Ralph lost his eye contact with Samantha when Catherine pushed him away, releasing the dark haired girl from his spell.
"Catherine? Why are you crying?" Samantha suddenly asked as she once more became aware of her surroundings and mind.
"You're alright!" she cried happily as she guided her down the forest path back toward the cabin home where Catherine lived with her grandparents; they both followed Ralph, though at a far distance as not to be over heard if they wished to hold a private conversation without being interrupted.
"Catherine, what happened?" Samantha asked her friend terror-stricken; they walked closer to the edge of the forest, which now allowed them to see the cabin where Catherine spent most of her waking hours.
"I'm not sure, you just blanked out. You really scared me! You should never do that to people. It's wrong and completely cruel." Catherine scolded her friend as they now walked through the field. "I don't mind that you call him evil, I only wish for a truthful example, not a joke like that!"
You think I was lying, do you?" Samantha yelled as she stopped in the middle of the field. "That's fine! We will just have to see then, won't we Catherine?" She turned away from Catherine and ran quickly to the cabin, where inside Catherine's grandparents sat together eating their dinner.
"Mr. Porter! Mr. Porter!" Samantha came yelling into the dining hall as the elderly couple abruptly stopped eating their dinner and Catherine's grandfather stood up placidly.
"Ms. Cutsworth, what's the matter? Are you okay?" he asked quickly, almost grouping his words together with no space for air.
"It's not me! It's Catherine!" she yelled loudly, just loud enough for Ralph to hear while he went among his business in the field.
While Samantha was inside the cabin with Catherine's grandparents, the two were left in the field.
"I'm so sorry about her Ralph." Catherine softly cried as he held her in his arms.
"Its alright." he whispered just before he lowered his lips to the nape of her neck and softly bit down. Catherine's only audible response was a small 'oh' as she fell limp in his arms. She never gave a physical objection as he softly took in Catherine's valuable life-force.
"Hey you woodland varmint!" the elder man yelled vigorously as he ran towards the two in the middle of the field, loading the shot gun as he ran.
Ralph quickly pushed Catherine to the ground then whipped the dripped blood from his face. Catherine lay face down in the grassy field barely conscious when she heard her grandfather shoot off a round, impacting the man above her in the chest with strong force, pushing him backwards.
As the elder man gave off another round, once again impacting Ralph, this time in the back as he frantically ran back into the safe hands of the forest.
"N-no" a small voice spoke from the ground as Samantha ran to her own home on the other side of the village and the elder man ran toward his only granddaughter, kneeling down at her side.
"Dear, are you alright?" he asked frantically as he held her head on one arm and his hand on her chest.
Like a vampire of energy, Catherine used her grandfather's physical power to scream a sound so horrifying it held the power to silence a nation.