Katerina was the quietest of the group. She perched on the east side of the property, periodically cawing to confirm she was still on duty, while methodically pruning her black feathers. A lot had changed in the past year for her small tribe of siblings. It had taken a hell of a lot to make it to the United States, especially after everything they'd been through back home—how much blood had to be shed.
To the north sat Beatrice, to the west was Freddy, to the south, Julibee, and Brutus kept watch, covering miles of ground on surveillance. They all traded shifts every four hours, though not everyone stuck to the schedule anymore. Except for Katerina, who felt like the only one holding things together. She often found herself scolding Julibee and Freddy for wandering off too long or trying to break up fights between Brutus and Beatrice. Brutus, their de facto alpha, bothered both Katerina and Beatrice. Knowing all Brutus was good for was cruelty. He was better when he was younger trying to protect his sisters but as time went on his soul got more jagged and his bite more mean.
"Just like papas," Katerina thought, a flash of painful memories of an unfavorable family life clouding her mind.
Sure enough, Katerina heard her siblings squawking and nipping at each other. Balls of feathers tumbled to the ground, scattering across the tall grass as two figures morphed, clawing, punching, and kicking each other. Recognizing it as an all-out brawl, she motioned for her two sisters to join her in breaking it up. The three of them rushed over, shifting into their human forms as they intervened, pulling the fighters apart.
"Just wat the bloody hell is garn on this time? Stop it ya two, ya fought enough!" Katerina scolded her male and female siblings.
Rubbing her scalp and letting her nose bleed down to her chin, Beatrice shouted back, "It's not my fault asshole was supposed ta be back eahrlier, he's been gone all fahkin' day!"
Brutus, not being one the let anyone get the last say, quickly smacked the side of her face, causing Freddy to try and protect her again, "If ya ahah garn ta call me an asshole agayyn, ya'ah garn ta get hit agayyn cunt!"
"Stop it already!" Freddy squeaked out, "You won! Okay? You won!"
"Just leave the bloody girl alone," Julibee said patting her hand on his shoulder when this just caused their brother Brutus to fly into a rage again. Grabbing her short, black locks of hair he almost brought Julibee down to her knees.
"Ya do as ya'ah fahkin tol' 'n stay out of shit! Ya dipstick!" He roared, "Every day been garn ahround in circles."
His two sisters, Katerina and Freddy tried to dogpile him, punching his head and trying to scratch his hands to release his grip. He spun around as the two girls went flying off, both landing hard in the dirt.
The scene showed all four girls now having yet again endured the abuse of the only family left. Katerina moved over to hold a crying Freddy before getting the courage to yell again, "Ya think ya'ah the only cunt feelin' liyyke ya'ah runnin' in circles? Take a look ahround, mate! We av no choice - yet agayyn!"
Brutus stared off into the distance, unwilling to engage any longer. He would let the second eldest say her piece. He knew it was only a matter of time before the council realized the human wards weren't worth the trouble and decided to kill them off.
But would they?
Freddy began to shake her head in between sobs while her sister held her, "I can't take this anymawre, I want us ta be in our deadset home now. I'm crook!"
Trying to soothe her as best she could with assurances that once their job was done, they could settle down anywhere in America, but Katerina then felt Freddy break away, running, then taking off as a crow far away. As her sister got to her feet, hoping to chase her, Beatrice stopped her, "Just let hah go. She needs time by hahself. We all do."
Tears streamed down Freddy's face as she walked toward the watering hole. She half-hoped the Texan man with a friendly smile would be there. She had reached her breaking point—sick of her family fighting, the days dragging on longer than usual, the endless repetition, and the constant abuse.
As the abandoned house came into view, so did a truck parked next to the pond. Freddy paused for a moment, torn between going back to her perch and avoiding the humans altogether. But deep down, she knew the only thing waiting for her in the trees was more verbal and physical spats from her brother.
Tex leaned back in his truck; he had timed himself perfectly knowing Freddy would show up eventually. He'd already rehearsed all the right things to say. Grinning to himself, he heard footsteps approaching, knowing he had her right where he wanted her.
"T-tex?" Freddy called out nervously.
"Hey, darlin'!" He said, swinging his door open, pausing to notice she was crying and dirt caked most of her body, "Awh, now, what's got you cryin', turtledove?"
Freddy was taken aback, not just by the pet names, but by the concern in his voice. She hesitated for a moment, then let her guard down. "My... brother... he's—"
Tex gently cupped her cheek, wiping away the tears with his thumb before flashing her his award-winning smile.
"If you ain't good with words," he said, pausing for effect, then reached into his boot to pull out a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of nail polish. "We can let Mr. Jack Daniels do the talkin'."
A smile broke through on Freddy's face as she sniffed and nodded. His simple comfort made her feel, for the first time in a long while, like maybe everything would be okay.
"Let's get in this water, eh? It's bloody hot out here."
It had been another late summer day in the Hewitt house. Thomas worked the basement using his saw to split apart more preserved human remains. The family's reserves were getting low again, and Hoyt ordered the young of the house to scout out for the day to lure anyone wandering around on the road to their slaughter.
Thomas carefully looked over his latest work of two new human faces. it was still damp enough that the skin stretched against the stitching, so it could be altered if he wanted to add or take away anything. He gathered the masks and went right upstairs, where Henriette was waiting right by the banister.
"Tommy!" she said, reaching over to kiss him on the cheek. He couldn't help but blush under his mask. Admittedly, the two were getting close over time, being the only ones taking care of Babi.
"The boys made it to the gas station and back with the smoked meat. We should be good for the rest of the month. But y'know Mama won't quit her worryin'." In the living room, Chop Top came through the door, carrying the last of the smoked meats to the kitchen.
"M-mama Luda! Got plenty here."
The older woman groaned. "Oh, Drayton, this ain't gonna stretch out, no how!"
"Now, hold on," Drayton responded, taking the last of the links of sausage and hanging them up on the wall. "Just so you know, the Sawyer family recipes have been kept alive by yours truly. I can stretch a dime, even in this economy. It'll get taken care of."
"What you got goes in the pot!" Chop Top chimed in, adjusting his circle sunglasses. "Chili, gumbo, jambalaya, we got it all down, Mama!"
"And that reminds me, you snot-nosed buffoon!" Drayton raised his voice, reaching for a cleaver from the counter. "You and the other shit stain gotta clean out the rest of the chili truck out back. Go on and git!"
"Go on a git! Go on and git!" Chop Top repeated mockingly, laughing as Drayton chased after him, kicking at his legs.
It was at this point that Alfredo walked in with W.E. "History is written by the victors. Now, that's Winston Churchill. We made it our own way, with no one else interfering in this demon fiasco now."
"With all this supply coming from the old meat plant, Tinker gon blow them all up to itty bitty bits, Heh, heh, heh!" Alfredo said then setting down a large dumpster bag next to Thomas. "Make sure Tink' gets these here chemicals Bubba! We got lucky searching the last place none hadn't checked yet."
Luda Mae grew concerned. "They didn't follow you?"
"Course they followed us," W.E. responded. "Damn buzzards flying over our head. We kept silent outside so they wouldn't know what we was planning. Where's Vilmer and that jezebel at?"
"They went out back again," she replied. "He's been working on his tow truck—lord knows what he's cookin' up."
As W.E. headed for the backdoor, Alfredo stepped closer to Luda Mae, speaking in a low tone. "Them three been slinkin' away from the house more 'n more. You sure about Charlie keeping an eye on them? They gotta be up to something no good."
Sighing, the matriarch knew it wasn't just her feeling this way—other family members were starting to sense it too. She tried to shake off the unease, knowing they, too, were trapped in the homestead. "They still blood. It may run thin, and they may be dumber than a bag of hammers. But bless their hearts, they want those demons dead as much as we do."
Alfredo shrugged, knowing he wasn't going to get much more out of Luda. He turned and walked toward the back, where he found Tinker with the twins, cleaning out the food truck beside the slaughtered animals, working on their tow truck. The sun was high in the sky, and Alfredo huffed, irritated by the thought of doing outdoor work in this heat. Then, he noticed a face missing.
"Where the hell is that fucker Tex at?" he called out to the others getting their attention.
Tinker wiped the sweat from his face, his hook hand clanking as he moved. "Seent him this early morning. Said he was taking the truck out towards the gas station for scouting. I wouldn't doubt he's bullshittin' at that ol' watering hole again."
A moment of silence passed, the heat seeming to intensify, before Nubbins spoke up. "Why we even workin' this hard? Ain't shit changed since the first night y'all came in!"
The rest of the men murmured in agreement, even Vilmer and W.E., who paused their work on the truck.
"I-I say let's go down to that watering hole too!" Nubbins exclaimed, jumping out of Drayton's chili truck, followed by the rest of his male family members. The excitement of taking a break lifted their spirits as they made their way down into the fields.
Thomas came outside to see what the noise was about, only to find Darla alone, smoking a cigarette in shades and a large-brimmed hat.
"Hey, you big hunk," she said plainly, noticing him. "You just missed 'em. You oughta join them. Maybe it'll be good for family relations." She grinned, then walked toward the side of the house to find some more shade.
Thomas shook his head no. He didn't want to get involved in whatever fun they would be having, not to mention the demon women they would now be chasing. To him, it would just be more work and another Babi happening.