15 years on...

It may have seemed like a good idea long ago, but typical teenage independance broke us up.

White hair was the icepick. We astounded all of our parents. Though "Astounded" may not be the correct word of it...

We soon began to speak in sync, devloping the hive mind. We cast aside our emotions in exchange for power. Dark power...

The Midwich Cuckoos they called us, as they ran in fear...

There were 10 of us... what do you do once you've scared everyone away?

We didn't know either. We lived life as usual, going about our daily chores. But with no-one around to make things dirty, or to tell us we did a good job - was there a point to it all?

We soon lost interest in the normal life, and decided to take roles in the town, to make a commune like the hippies do. It was fine initially, until Mikey decided to call himself the mayor. It wasn't a bad decision, we needed a leader, and for those 4 years he brought progress - we traded with a nearby town. established a democracy. But when the elections came, the seeds of distrust began to grow.

Mike ran for office again - "Exceed all former expectations, look to the future.".
But Jane ran too - "Reclaim what is ours by birthright.".

We didn't know what to think. Mikey was looking for progress, but Jane wanted us to go back to how it was, saying we should "Branch out...".

We had a tie, believe it or not. That was the day democracy died for us.

Those who followed Mikey, like myself, moved to the eastern side of town, to continue the trading with Shorevale. But without the river, we lost the fish to Jane. The corn and farm produce became our livelyhood.

For a while, at least, we got along. Jane's group studied and trained their power back to their peak, and even beyond, while we worked at the ground. But things began to happen to us, just small at first - people would be sick with migraines, or even diahorrea. The silos would be spiked - split at the high points, letting it drain and egro attracting insects and vermin, and those animals would then eat at the fruit and vegetables. It was harder to keep the farm clean than it was to grow the stock.

Things grew out of hand. David found Stella, a girl whom Jane had affection for, attempting to pour our pesticides into our water tanks. We didn't have the heart to punish her, but we knew who was to blame for our misfortunes.

Later still, Mike became sick - really sick. He'd been having the migraines like most of us, but he was feeling bad all over. He began to waste away, finding it hard to breathe most of the time. It cost us a lot to keep him going - we trading god knows how much for oxygen tanks at the beginning, in a panic. We eventually had to ask Jane for help, as she was somewhat adept at the art of healing. Myself, David and Frederick went to the west for help.

Their half was... much the same as ours. Though dust lay deep upon the bakery, police station, and the town hall, where we expectd her to be. Jane, we later discovered, made her home in the church.

The church was a regal old building, kept in good condition in the olden days by Rvd. George and his associates before we'd had our way. Jane had, however, gutted it's innards, evident by the large number of pughs laid out like the dead in the yard. Jane was all too happy to help. David got a strange vibe from her, just a sense of sheer madness - that was enough to keep us on our toes. We trusted David, as he was at the centre of the incidents all those years ago. He was finely tuned into everything.

Jane said that Mikey's problems were due to stress. She gave us a load of pills, some we couldn't even remember being in the village. Freddy even thought Jane may have some kind of trades established, but there were no towns that would have trusted Midwich over to their side.

The pills worked, much to our relief. Mikey was up and about again, putting plans into action about how we could bring the farm back from the brink. Those of us who'd been to the other side of the village were still on edge.

We still didn't get it. Why did Jane send Stella to try and, for all purposes, to kill us, and then decide to heal our leader? Things didn't add up.

In a flash, the full picture came into view.

What I had omitted from this retrospect, was when Stella came to our side, she wasn't alone. Not on that night, but the attempts on our lives were numerous. Stella was jut the beginning.

On that night with Stella, there was a struggle. Another thing I forgot to mention. Stella swung for David with a knife. Freddy and Mark had to intervene, holding her down. Ursula and myself looked on. Stella was swinging wildly and grabbing at us. She wriggled out of the boy's grip, and shot for the door. Ursula tackled her back down to the wood. Ursula was always a tomboy at heart. But even she wasn't strong enough to keep her down. Stella ripped out a chunk of her hair and fled.

We all began to experience... strange dreams. They weren't nightmares, but they were damn close. We all had the same dream - stood on a dark moor, facing a dim moon. We stand immobile, blankly staring into the light. Shadows rush across us. We scream. We awake to a cold sweat, and in some cases, damp sheets.

Ursula became sick. Not like before though. This was worse. She was pulling potatoes and her leg... it broke. There was no reason for it to do so. It split badly. We thought of asking the other side for help, but David outright demanded we not do so. A friendly doctor from Shorevale came to treat her. She was to be in plaster for months, maybe even a year. She'd never walk the same again.

Mark became ill again. Just like before. The pills didn't even work anymore. I tried one long after this. Sugar pills. God-damned placebos.

Frederick toiled hard for us all, just so we could trade. One day, he collapsed from heatstroke. He was badly burnt across the back. The strange thing was, the burns grew worse every day, moving like a snake across his body. We then knew something was badly wrong.

David went out one night, one night when everyone was at their worst. He said he was going to confront Jane.

He was on the porch of the farmhouse the next day. Fast asleep. When we woke him up, he was lucid. He'd been drugged, or somethingworse. He could remember leaving, and flickering candles, then us waking him up.

We knew now that something NEEDED to be done.

David regained his senses soon enough. Mark demanded to go as well, saying he was strong enough.

We headed over to the church. They were nowhere to be found.

What we did find was... Was the reason for our troubles.

Dolls.

Children's dolls.

Children's dolls, tied around the neck with hair, clothing and other things. Thing we at the farm had assumed lost.

One was in a jar, filled with a clear, viscous liquid. It's head was stuffed Mark's hair and parts of an old shirt. We emptied the jar of its contents. Mark suddenly began to breathe clearly again.

Another had a leg torn off, the open wound stuffed with hair. Wasn't anything we could do about it then.

Another was suspended in bootstrings over an open flame. Several candles under, melted to wicks. We blew a calm wind across Freddie's back.

Two dolls sat idle. One male, and one female. Various devices sat beside them, ready for use. I shivered in fearful anticipation.

And there we were. On the dark moor. It was a trap. We were apart from each other, inside of our nightmares.

They had been working hard at making themselves more powerful. Like dark little spiders they had spun their webs. We were trapped in the gaze of the moon again. It stared a hole through our bodies, prone and nude on the edge of madness. The eye of Jane was strong.

But they weren't the only ones who'd worked hard.

Through our blood, sweat and tears we had become strong.

And we hadn't forgotten our dark gifts.

David had instructed us to work again To work on our gifts. Ever since we had visited Jane the first time, he had been afraid of her power. So he, along with the rest of us, agreed to work as one again.

We were just as strong as they were.

Jane's eye was blinded as soon as we were aware of our predicament.

Our bodies shined like silver in the darkness. We embraced the darkness once again.

We took her being, her form, her eye. We made her a part of ourselves.

When we awoke, she lay motionless on the floor, a serence look on her face. She was finally at peace. We lay her upon the cross, now ruined at her command.

The rest of her brood - Stella, Johnny, Harriet and Paul - Were nothing more to her than tools in the end. We found them sat around the font, as if a part of some dark ritual. We buried them by the river.

We were changed. No-one was the same after the dark business. We worked at bringing people into Midwich again. Settlers eventually came and the village was alive again for the first time in a long time.

With Mike leading us, we now lead some semblance of a normal life again. David became the chief of police, not that there's ever any crime in such a small place. Ursula became a teacher, and I married David. The old farm became our combined home once again.

Children who pass our home often ask why our hair is so shiney, and we tell them our tale.

But when they ask why there is a black streak going through it... We never answer. We still fear the eye, as much as it is now a part of us. We fear the abandoned church. We fear the now barren river.

Fear was our power, now it is our cross to bear.