Night People by J.L. Aarne

Author:J.L. Aarne [Aarne, J.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J.L. Aarne
Published: 2018-11-11T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

From the Journal of John B. Bledsoe, 1610

June 11, 1610

We arrived day before yesterday just in time to intercept ships carrying colonists away from James Fort. They were terrified, emaciated in appearance and in very poor health. I knew them to be human only because it was day and men who I knew very well could not see in the dark saw them quite clearly. Lord Thomas West ordered them to return to the colony. There was great protest at this decision, but the unfortunate people were in no health to fight against the lord’s men, and ultimately the ships returned with us.

I have heard the most dreadful tales since our arrival. Tales told almost entirely in whispers. These are stories that the colonists dare not speak above a whisper. It is assumed that their attempted abandonment of the colony was due entirely to impending starvation and the hostilities of Indians. It is true, they were starving, but we have brought with us provisions and there are plans to begin farming once again. Still, the people who survived the winter whisper about leaving for fear of the monsters. Creatures, they say, who were once men, but no more. They do not expect me to believe their stories, but I do. How could I not with the things I have seen?

In truth, however, I have never seen a creature of the night who could honestly claim human origins. I have seen those who look like men, but it is a disguise, they were not born human. Even so, there are many stories of such beasts, it seems there must be some truth in them.

Mr. Richard Warwick, a vanguard who traveled with us, scoffs at these whispered tales. I have tried to convince him to listen if he cannot yet believe, but I am afraid he does not hold me in very high regard. Perhaps it is because I am a carpenter and not a soldier like himself, but I wonder too if that should matter. Mr. Warwick does not seem to hold many of his fellow men in high regard. There are a few others like myself who came on this voyage and I have met them and call them friends, but while they respect Mr. Warwick—and fear him a little, I suspect—I have yet to hear anyone declare that they enjoy his company. He is a most disagreeable fellow.

July 25, 1610

One of the ladies who made the journey from England is called Verity Ainsworth. She is like me and a very strong woman, unlike any other I have met. She expects to teach school, but there currently are not enough children for a school and the boys who are old enough are put to work. She and I have struck up a friendship due to our shared interest in the mysterious happenings at the colony.

It seems that during the recent winter more than eighty out of every hundred people died and those starving wretches we returned to the fort are all that remain.

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