A/N: Brace yourself for this chapter... things are about to go down. As though you couldn't already tell. And again, I've modified the Cow Festival to better suit the storyline, just as I had with the Chicken and Beach festivals. There are more references to Harvest Moon characters from other games here in this chapter as well, so keep an eye out for that!

-CCM

Chapter 20: Misfortune and Disaster

Thump thump thump!

Claire awoke to the sound with a jolt, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Immediately, she heard Bailey barking frantically from the bathroom, his howls muffled slightly by the closed door. After the incident the day before, Jack had insisted that the dog be locked outside overnight, much to Claire and Bailey's mutual dismay. However, the farmer had managed to reach a compromise with her brother, and the puppy was shut in the bathroom for the night instead. Claire knew it was much too dangerous for the dog to be left outside in the dead of night. She didn't want to take the risk. But this current setup worked fine, so long as Jack didn't wake up to use the toilet in the middle of the night.

Thump thump!

Groaning, Claire tossed her blankets aside and forced herself to sit up, swinging her legs around to the side of the bed and promptly shoving them into something large, warm, and slightly squishy.

"Arggh!"

Oh, shit. Claire leaped out of bed, quickly glancing down to meet eyes with her tousle-haired, sleepy-eyed brother, who looked very angry as he shot up off the ground, clutching both hands to his stomach.

"Claire, what the hell?"

With an internal smack to the forehead, Claire realized that she had forgotten that Jack was sleeping at the very edge of her bed, on top of the floor rug and a mess of old blankets that had been scrounged up from the closet. The night before, Jack had been less than enthusiastic to discover the sleeping arrangements, to say the least.

"What do you mean, you don't have a spare bed for me to sleep in? Not even a couch? A cot?" he had asked, one eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"No," Claire had replied, "but maybe if I had actually known you were coming beforehand, I could have arranged something better. For now, this will have to do. Unless you would prefer to sleep in the bathtub?" She was not going to give up her own bed. There was no way she would let Jack win this time around.

Jack had eventually accepted his fate, albeit with a good amount of grumbling and groaning. He knew that it was no use arguing with his sister on the matter. And that all led up to the situation Claire currently found herself facing.

"I'm sorry," Claire stammered to her disgruntled sibling, "but I need to get the door!"

She hurried to the front door, straightening out her pink polka-dotted pajama shirt as she went, and threw the door open to see... nothing.

She looked down – Mayor Thomas was standing on the doorstep before her, looking prim and proper in his clean crimson suit and hat, his mustache meticulously combed and styled. Claire felt a bit self-conscious addressing the mayor of Mineral Town in only her wrinkled old pajamas, her hair an unbrushed mess, but she easily managed to maintain her composure. It wasn't too difficult, considering how silly Thomas looked in general.

"Uh, Mayor Thomas... How may I help you?"

The mayor grinned. "Dear Claire... I come only with a simple request. As I'm sure you are already aware, Mineral Town's yearly Cow Festival takes place today in the town square, and it would mean a lot to both myself and all of the townsfolk if you would be willing to participate this year. I am correct in assuming you have your own cow?"

Claire nodded, and Mayor Thomas smiled even wider. "Excellent. We need all the help on this festival we can get, so your participation will be greatly appreciated by all! Now, where is the cow in question?" He glanced around, as if expecting to see a cow come wandering toward him through the field. "...It is required that I bring the participating cows from Sunshine Farm and Yodel Ranch to Rose Square at this time so that they will be ready for the Cow Festival contest this evening."

Claire pointed toward the barn beyond the crop fields over Thomas's shoulder. "Clementine is still out in the barn. I haven't had time to get her breakfast yet. Hang on, I'll go grab her for you."

Quickly lacing up her favorite pair of worn sneakers, Claire left the mayor at her front door and rushed out to the barn, still wearing her pajamas. Upon entering the barn, the white and brown spotted cow Clementine ambled over and gave the farmer a friendly moo. Smiling, Claire gave her only cow a slice of carrot and a loving stroke before tying a makeshift leash around her neck and leading her out the door.

Mayor Thomas brightened at the sight of the cow trailing behind the young farmer. "Oh, what a lovely specimen! This will certainly up the stakes of the competition, this will!"

Claire stuck a hand to her hip. "Yeah, about this competition... What exactly do I have to do?"

The mayor chuckled, his mustache bristling. "You came to see the chicken contest, did you not? At the Chicken Festival? Well, just replace the chickens with cows, and there you have it!"

Oh... The farmer frowned. "Um, okay... I don't have any experience with these types of contests, though... I'm a newbie rancher, and this is my first cow and all..."

Mayor Thomas shook his head, cheerfully unfazed. "It's fine, it's fine. From what I can tell, this cow likes you quite a lot," he gestured toward Clementine, who was now chewing on Claire's pajama shirt, "and that's what counts! It never hurts to try, you know."

Claire nodded. "I guess you're right... I'll try it out, then."

"Oh, good, good!" He clapped his hands together excitedly. "This is fantastic, really. I'll just take your cow down to Rose Square with the others until the competition is to begin! Just come to the square at around six o'clock for the contest! Though you may want to come a bit earlier than that, in order to prepare and fully enjoy the festivities."

Still smiling, he took Clementine's leash from the farm girl, prepared to lead the animal away toward the square. Clementine gave Claire a look as if to say, You're really leaving me with this guy? Claire merely shrugged, unseen to the mayor.

Jack approached his sister at the door, fully dressed with a half-eaten piece of toast in his hands, as Mayor Thomas led the cow away down the road. "What was that all about?"

"Oh," Claire turned to face her older brother, "Um... The mayor just wanted to ask me to enter my cow in the contest at the Cow Festival today. You know, since I'm such a great farmer."

Jack merely snorted and finished munching his toast, causing Claire to cross her arms indignantly. "Ugh... Whatever, I need to go water the crops."

She whipped around and stomped out the door, grabbing her watering can on the way out, and Jack followed her wordlessly outside. The farm girl was still grumbling inwardly at her sibling as she came upon the specific plot of ground where her crops were growing.

Or had been growing.

Because what had once been a garden lined with neat rows of corn stalks, onion plants, and tomato vines brimming with bright red fruit, was now a crumpled mess of crushed leaves and haphazardly broken plant stems.

Claire stopped walking. Her watering can dropped out of her hand and clattered to the ground, landing on its side in the dirt.

"Claire, wha-"

As Jack came strolling up behind the farmer, the blonde girl whipped around before her brother could make any kind of sarcastic comment or remark, her eyes flashing with tears of frustration.

"Look at this!" She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him forward unsteadily. "Look. At. This!"

She angrily waved her arm with each syllable, gesturing at the flattened field before them. Jack's eyes widened as Claire continued her emotional rant. "I can't believe this! I cannot believe this! All my crops, destroyed! My savings, wasted! Profits down the drain! You do not even begin to comprehend the damage that has been dealt!"

"Claire..."

"I spent hours toiling in these fields this season! Clearing away every single stray rock and branch, breaking my back to till the soil with that heavy old hoe, going out to water them twice every Goddess-damned day!"

"Claire..."

"My first seeds, my first crops, and I wanted to do it right! All for nothing! I-"

"Claire!"

Claire froze at the sound of Jack calling her name, and looked over to realize that he was no longer standing by her side. The young man was crouched at the edge of the crop field, one hand poking at the dirt by their feet. Claire looked on in bewilderment.

"What are you doing...?"

"Check this out." He pointed an index finger at the damaged crop nearest him, a tomato plant that had been flattened into the dirt, its nearly ripe tomatoes squashed and splattered across the ground to disturbingly resemble blood. Claire bent down for a closer look, and gasped.

"What the... Goddess?"

Imprinted into the ground right where Jack was pointing was a large indent shaped like... well, it was shaped like a foot. There was no other way to describe it.

But it didn't look like any old foot, Claire noticed. The mysterious footprint was enormous... and not at all human. The prints were animal-like, though much too large to belong to any animal in Mineral Town that Claire knew of, and there were deep gashes in the nearby soil, like claw marks. Taking another sweeping look around the damaged garden, Claire saw that the entire plot of land was covered in similar imprints. It was as if some huge creature had trampled the crops to the ground, permanently destroying them.

Jack looked noticeably bothered by the strange prints, although he did his best to hide it for his sister's sake. "Claire... There aren't any bears around here that you know of, are there?"

Claire shook her head, deep in thought. "No... At least, I don't think so... but maybe." However, she couldn't hide the skepticism in her voice. Somehow, she got the feeling that these footprints were not caused by a clumsy stray bear, nor any other animal she knew of in the forests surrounding Mineral Town.

Taking another look at the footprints, Claire couldn't suppress the instinctive feeling that their creator was something... darker.

That afternoon, Claire and Jack set off for Rose Square together, early enough that they would have some free time at the Cow Festival before Claire had to leave to prepare for the judging with her cow. Both siblings had vowed not to speak of the damage that had been done to Claire's crops, nor would they mention the unusual cause of the destruction to anybody. Claire just had the feeling that it would be best if she didn't bring it up with anyone, especially not if doing so might result in an unnecessary panic, and her brother agreed.

However, Claire couldn't forget what Mary had discovered before their earlier encounter at the library, or the way the bookworm had spoken of her findings. The strange event was still on the farmer's mind. An ancient text foretelling a sinister curse... Could it be connected to her farm's damage in any way?

Claire wanted to believe that the old book was just that – a book – but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried. The way all the clues fit together, like scattered pieces of a child's jigsaw puzzle; such a thing couldn't be a mere coincidence.

But what bothered Claire most was the fact that some of the puzzle pieces were missing – they were not all there, and the empty spaces the misplaced parts were meant to occupy left gaping holes in the overall picture. She could make out random bits and pieces, but a good portion of it still didn't make a pinch of sense to her.

At least the Cow Festival would take her mind off things, Claire reasoned. Or at least that's what she was hoping for.

As Jack and Claire stepped into Rose Square, they were met with a good-sized crowd of people, both Mineral Town villagers and outsiders alike, as well as a modest gathering of festival booths that provided a variety of foods and souvenirs to those with the cash to pay for it, helping to promote the different businesses in Mineral Town. The supermarket had its own stand in the square, as did the blacksmith with his assorted array of tools and jewels.

All in all, the festival looked just like the Chicken Festival earlier in the summer, albeit with the obvious shift in animal focus. Gray was even sitting in the same seat as last time, Claire noticed, the brim of his cap shading his eyes from view as he sat in silence at the far end of the square.

The innkeeper Doug was selling meals at his stall again, but this time an assortment of dairy-based foods dominated the menu – soups made extra creamy with milk, cheese soufflés and danishes, yogurt topped with fresh berries and crunchy granola. Kai's Snack Stand was set up nearby, a large variety of homemade soft-serve ice cream flavors available in his refrigerated cart. Claire wistfully recalled the taste of his fresh pineapple ice cream, and made a mental note to try another new flavor.

A quarter of the square hosted a temporary pen full of cows of all different sizes and colors, huddled below a large sign that read "Yodel Ranch" in blocky, blue painted letters. Claire's white-bearded neighbor Barley sat in a wooden chair beneath the sign with his granddaughter May, the latter gleefully stroking the neck of a chocolate-brown calf. Peering through the crowd at the cows in the pen, Claire didn't see her own cow Clementine among them, but perhaps it was just the angle she was at.

She pulled on her brother's arm, who was looking unsure of himself as his gaze darted around the square. "Come on... Let's go buy some ice cream. Trust me, it'll be good."

Kai perked up considerably as Claire approached his Snack Stand. "Oh, hello there, little miss farm girl! Nice to see you!" His eyes scanned the brown haired young man beside her, the sparkle in his eye fading ever so slightly. "And who's this...?"

"Oh," Claire rolled her eyes, "this is my brother-"

"I'm Jack." Jack held out a hand, and Kai quickly shook it.

"Kai here... So you're Claire's brother? That's good... I was afraid you might be her date!"

The blonde girl snorted, her eyes scanning the ice cream list posted to one side of the stand. "Just get us our ice cream, all right? I'd like a black raspberry cone, and Jack wants-"

"I'll just have a chocolate-vanilla swirl, please. Thank you."

Kai nodded and quickly scooped the appropriate ice cream flavors into two separate cones as Claire handed over the money. "Coming right up!"

He passed the cones over the counter. "Your bro sure seems a bit uptight," he whispered in Claire's ear, unheard to Jack, as he placed the black raspberry ice cream cone into her hand.

Claire chuckled softly. "He's not that bad once you get to know him... really."

"Okay." Kai winked at her, and the two siblings then wandered off into the crowd to look at the other stalls set up and converse with Mineral Towners, licking their ice creams contentedly. After all, Jack still hadn't been introduced to most of the villagers yet, and Claire supposed it was a good idea to get her brother and new friends acquainted.

Hours later, the farmer was halted by Mayor Thomas, who grasped her by the wrist. "Miss Claire, it's nearly time for the cow competition to begin! Perhaps it would be best to prepare your cow for the judging now? It starts in half an hour, and we need you ready by then!"

He pointed toward the far end of Rose Square, near the opening to the road that led in the direction of Mineral Beach. "The competing cows are being kept in a separate enclosure back there, so go on and look for yours. I'm about to start the announcements!"

Claire nodded and turned to leave – her brother was well occupied now, anyway, deep in conversation with Doug at the latter's restaurant booth. The mayor grinned at her before scurrying off to his podium on the stage set up in the center of the plaza.

Behind Rose Square, Claire quickly located her own cow in the large pen that was set up. Giving Clementine a scratch behind the ear, the young farmer surveyed her competition nervously. Barley, with one of his prized cows from Yodel Ranch, had decided to compete in the contest, it seemed. And a few strangers she didn't recognize – a muscular brunette man with a large black and white cow; a young blond man around her own age, wearing a red jacket and camouflage pattered pants, who was busy brushing his cow's coat... Surely, they were all a thousand times more experienced than she was. Her stomach was suddenly filled with anxious butterflies.

In the square, Claire could hear Mayor Thomas announcing the contest, but she could barely make out what he was saying. Her ears suddenly didn't seem to want to work properly anymore.

One by one, her competitors filed out into the square with their livestock when their names were called by Mayor Thomas, until finally she registered her own name being announced to the festival goers. "Next up, another Mineral Town resident of local Sunshine Farm, Miss Claire and her cow, Clementine!"

Claire tightened her grip on Clementine's reins and led her out onto the stage, her hands shaking.

You'll be fine, she told herself. At least, I hope so. We can do this.

"Wow, great job, Claire!"

"That was your first time in an animal contest? You did really well!"

Claire was seated on a stool at Kai's Snack Stand, accepting her praise with flushed cheeks. Kai, Karen, Popuri, Gray, Mary, and Cliff were grouped around her (as well as her own brother), all of whom seemed visibly impressed. Even Jack couldn't hide his pride at his sister's success.

"Third place... Hey, that's not too bad. I have to say, I didn't think you had it in you."

Claire laughed, a sarcastic edge to her voice. "Thanks for believing in me, Jack."

To her left, Cliff spoke up in a soft tone, his cheeks slightly pink, "Congratulations, Claire."

The blonde shrugged good-naturedly, though she couldn't hide her proud smile. "Thanks, but it's Clementine you want to congratulate, not me. She did all the work." This was definitely true – Claire didn't think she could ever feel more proud of her beloved bovine friend.

"You had a part in it as well, Claire. Don't be too modest," Mary said, hastily adjusting her glasses without an upward glance from the book she was reading.

Kai laughed. "Hey guys, all drinks on me, all right? It's time to celebrate!"

The group of young people ate, drank, and joked together until the summer night sky began to darken, and the other stalls in the square were starting to pack up. Mineral Town's annual Cow Festival was coming to a close.

Claire had just left the counter where she had been seated for the past hour, and was considering going back to grab Clementine when she heard someone frantically calling her name. Startled, she looked up.

"Claire!"

The farmer turned to come face to face with her elderly neighbor Barley, who had hobbled up to her with visible fear in his eyes. "Miss Claire, please come quickly! Something… something terrible has happened! You must come – and hurry!"

Completely stunned, Claire followed after the old man without a second thought. He led her out of Rose Square, down the road where the competition cows were being kept in their temporary pen for the festival.

At the gate, Barley came to an abrupt stop.

"What?" Glancing over the man's shoulder, Claire found herself looking at something that was certainly not normal... but disturbingly familiar. Something that she had hoped to never see again. Her heartbeat quickened as she hastily unlatched the gate and stepped into the pen, and her eyes widened in terror as she hoped that what she was currently seeing was not true. It couldn't possibly be true.

"No..." she whispered.

Claire's prized cow Clementine lay on her side in the middle of the makeshift enclosure. Her normally clean white and brown splotched fur was matted with dark red blood that billowed out around her in a puddle and stretched across the pavement in streaks. Claire's eyes jerked upward involuntarily – she didn't want to take in the more horrific details of the gruesome scene. But even without looking at the body itself, she could tell that it was in bad condition. Very bad condition, judging from the amount of blood pooling over the street.

The other cows were huddled at the far end of the pen in fear, seemingly unharmed but quite obviously shaken. One wide-eyed cow let out a soft, bewildered moo.

"No... no!"

This can't be happening...

"Claire!"

Not Clementine! Not again!

A crowd of people had begun to form behind her, both villagers and tourists alike. Claire's group of friends had followed her out, as did the most of the festival-goers still remaining in the square. Confusion was alight in the faces and questions filled their voices, until the murmuring quickly gave way to a silent, universal gasp of shock.

Popuri's mouth hung open in a perfect 'o' of horror, her eyes slowly filling with watery tears as her brother Rick pulled her closer to him, away from Kai, who was standing on the pinkette's other side with one hand on hers, his eyes wide. Mary let out a small, audible gasp as the stack of books she was holding fell from her arms and landed on the stone with a loud thump. Jack watched his sister in a state of horrified perplexity, completely unsure as to what was going on, or whether he should try to comfort his sibling.

The crowd became still, as if each individual were part of a single, collective body that was currently holding its breath. Even Manna's usual incessant chattering was put to a stop as the people of Mineral Town looked on the scene in silence.

Claire, however, could barely register in her mind the reactions of the people around her, and didn't even respond when someone put a gentle hand to her shoulder.

"Claire…" Karen pleaded in what she hoped was a soothing tone as she unsuccessfully attempted to pry the distraught farmer from the scene. "Come on, Claire… Come here, let's go-"

"No."

"Come here, Claire, come with me, you need-"

"No."

Her voice came out in barely a whisper, so faint that the rustling of the verdant leaves in the warm summery breeze almost drowned it out completely.

"Clementine-"

Karen took a step back as Claire took a rattling breath, completely ignoring the requests of her friend as she choked back tears.

"I'm sorry." The blonde girl dropped to her knees, facing the cow. "I should have – I should have taken better care of you… I'm so sorry, Clementine."

She wrapped her arms around the animal's unmoving form, ignoring the blood that was staining her shirt and soaking through the legs of her jeans, giving her once-faithful bovine one final hug.

Why… why did this have to happen?

It was too sudden, too soon.

Barley could be heard whispering with Doctor Trent in the background, the former's hands settled firmly on his young granddaughter's shoulders. May was completely quiet. There were no tears visible in her eyes, though they did hold a level of solemnity within them far beyond her years as she studied the end of her raven black braid, twirling it nervously between her fingers.

"Is there anything you can do, Doctor?" Barley asked in a creaky whisper.

Doctor Trent shook his head. "No… Animals are not within my inner sphere of knowledge, of course, but regardless, it is certainly too late now."

"Claire?"

Suddenly, Cliff approached the blonde from the throng of people, an expression of utmost concern etched on his face. He grasped Claire by the arm and pulled her up, helping her steady herself on her feet. The defeated expression on her face made his heart ache.

Impulsively, Cliff wrapped his arms around her, allowing the girl to sob freely into his shoulder. He didn't care that her tears were soaking his vest, or that her clothes were covered in blood that was still wet. At that moment, Claire was all that mattered. And for once, he didn't feel awkward around her, holding her against his chest as he murmured quietly into her ear.

"I'm so sorry."

A/N: Sorry about that, but it had to be done. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you have the time! I would appreciate it.

-CCM