The Kins (standard:horror, 3400 words)
Author: kilto	Added: May 26 2002	Views/Reads: 3268/2108	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Whilst in the process of moving into a new house, Jack discovers a family of abnormal outcasts living in the attic, whom he quickly befriends, much to the dismay of his long suffering wife. She soon wants to be rid of the 'freaks' living in the attic.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

lives, but once the initial shock was over, it wasn't so bad.  Mary 
Jane had a note, which she handed to me, without saying a word.  I 
smiled at her, and carefully unfolded the delicate piece of paper.  It 
was short, and neatly written. Nobody wants them.  Nobody outside will 
understand.  Please take care of them. J. Jones. And that's how I came 
to befriend the people in the attic. 

Jenny looked passive as we sat down to dinner.  She was playing with her
food; her eyes were wandering here and there, like she had somewhere 
more important to be. ‘Something wrong?'  I asked. She smiled half 
heartedly, and shook her head.  ‘No.  I'm just tired.'  She forced 
another grin, and stood.  ‘I'm not really hungry.  I think I'll just go 
to bed.' ‘You work too much.' Me and my big mouth.  I knew that was the 
wrong thing to say as she slammed the plate down on the table, and 
glared at me intensely.  ‘Don't start,' she said in her most serious 
voice.  ‘Don't start, not tonight.' ‘Start what?' I asked, although I 
knew the answer.  I just wanted to get a rise out of her.  At least she 
was talking to me. ‘For Christ sake,' she bellowed, ‘you knew I was a 
nurse when we first got together.  I'm going to work long hours; it's 
part of the job-.' I cut her off.  ‘You were a student when we started 
dating.' ‘Don't twist the situation, Jack, you knew what I wanted to 
be.' ‘Nobody's forcing you to work all the hours god sends, Jennifer.' 
She folded her arms, and rolled her eyes.  ‘You know what?  I really 
can't be bothered to get into this with you right now.' ‘There's a 
surprise,' I said sarcastically. ‘Just grow up,' she said calmly, and 
marched over to the sink with her plate. ‘Bitch.'  The words came out 
of my mouth before I had time to think. This time, she stared right 
through me.  Her eyes could have burned a hole in my shirt.  ‘What,' 
she screamed, ‘what did you call me?' ‘I'm going upstairs.'  I knew 
what was coming next, just like always, just like every time we fight 
nowadays. ‘ Let me guess.  You're going to the attic.' She was getting 
upset now, but they were crocodile tears.  She was an ice queen most of 
the time, and she was just looking for sympathy.  Anything to stop me 
going to the attic. ‘You've changed, Jack.' She slowly walked right up 
to me, right in my face, and stared me down.  ‘They're freaking me out, 
Jack. They scare me.  I want them out of my house.' There was silence 
for a moment.  ‘What's the matter now,' she said, angry again, ‘scared 
they might here us?'  She placed her hands to her mouth, and shouted at 
the top of her voice.  ‘Freaks!' She looked at me defiantly.  ‘Don't 
you ever do that again,' I said. ‘What? You afraid I'll hurt their 
feelings?  They don't have any feelings.' It would be a while before 
Jenny would speak to me again.  But someone has to stick up for them. 
I'm all they have. 

Jenny learned about the Kins by complete accident a few months ago.  I
made a point of keeping the only access to the attic – our stepladders 
– under lock and key in the shed out back, so she wouldn't be able to 
wander up there; she would have to come find me if she needed 
something.  The keys never leave my trouser pocket. 

After I had been visiting the Kins for a while, at least a couple of
times a day, I became very close to Mary Jane.  She was only a 
teenager, maybe eighteen, but she was a bright kid, and still very 
pretty, despite her facial deformities.  She had a firm, petite body, 
and a wonderful smile that would just light up the place every time I 
came to visit.  I was quite taken, I'm not ashamed to admit.  She was 
so vibrant and young, she would have been tough for any man to resist. 

One afternoon, while the others were sat together playing with a bunch
of old board games I had unpacked and brought for up them, we were 
alone, crouched behind some of my old stacking crates in the corner, 
and we kissed.  It was like no other kiss I ever had.  More passionate 
than Jenny, more lingering and seductive than any so-called average 
girl I had been with.  The poor girl was so starved of affection, I 
think I was the first guy she had ever been even remotely intimate 
with.  But she was good, the best I had ever experienced.  We sat there 
for a while, embraced, kissing, hiding away, with the rest of the 
family, who were only feet away, oblivious.  It was just about perfect, 
and I could have stayed that way all afternoon and all night.  But then 
she came home. She spoils everything. 

No more was said about what happened, but there was always something
between Mary Jane and I from then on.  The looks, the glances, the 
secret smiles and thoughts. There was tension; a passion the likes of 
which just didn't exist between Jenny and I anymore.  I could barely 
stand to be around her without touching her, without holding her nubile 
body in my arms; kissing her again.  She fast became the one thing that 
I had to look forward to during the course of the day, amid the rows 
and fall-outs Jenny and I seemed to be having on a regular basis now. 

A few weeks later, I decided that the Kins should have a little more
experience of the world outside of the attic.   I had thought about 
taking the portable TV up for them, and running an extension to the 
upstairs bedroom.  But why should they hide?  They never hurt anybody.  
No, they shouldn't be forced to hide away up there.  I guided them all 
downstairs, one by one, and into the front room.  Of course they were a 
little apprehensive, but when I assured them that I was the only one in 
the house, and that Jenny was working late, they relaxed a little.  
Soon enough, we all had the TV on, the stereo at near full volume, and 
they were, for the first time, experiencing something outside of the 
world that they had come to call home.  It felt good to see them all so 
happy. 

While we were all sitting together; ma and pa, Joe with Cousin Pete,
Mary Jane asked me to show her around the house.  She had never the 
inside of a proper house before, which sounds odd to normal people like 
you and I, but she had spent her entire life in the attic, with no 
friends, and just her own family for company.  To her, this whole thing 
was amazing.  Fascinating.  But of course, we both knew the real reason 
for her belated interest in the house.  I sheepishly took her from room 
to room, the dining room, the kitchen, the bathroom, until we reached 
the bedroom.  There was little talk between us, as we undressed, lay on 
the bed, and made love.  I had no way of knowing, but Mary Jane's 
sexual organs were not like that of a normal girl.  But we still found 
a way, and were as intimate as possible.  It was a wonderful 
experience, and so it went from there on.  I'd bring the family 
downstairs, then find some contrived reason why Mary Jane and I would 
both have to leave the room.  Usually, she would just go to the 
bathroom, and I would follow, fetching something from upstairs or 
making something to eat.  It always worked out.  Mary Jane was quiet, 
and I kept the bedroom door locked, just in case.  Not really in case 
any of the other Kins ventured upstairs alone; they were all too 
wrapped up in the TV or the radio to even notice that we were missing, 
but in case Jenny came home early, and discovered us together. 

Of course, there was the thing; the thorn in my side, the one thing that
could go wrong, and it did.  She didn't catch Mary Jane and I, rather 
she came home an hour early one evening and found us all sitting 
together in the front room, laughing and watching TV.  She was, 
understandably, horrified.  I mean, I was surprised when I first saw 
them; maybe even a little repulsed, but I got over it.  Jenny just 
couldn't believe her eyes.  She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  
She told me just to get them the hell out of there, out of her sight.  
I guess that's why the Kins need to be kept away from the prying eyes 
of the civilised world; like Mr Jones said, people just don't 
understand.  Jen was furious, and wouldn't listen to reason.  I tried 
to explain that they had nowhere else to go, and they had more of a 
reason to be here then we did; about the note and Mr Jones, but she 
just kept on bawling at me.  ‘Get rid of them!  Get them the hell out 
of my house!' 

Eventually, I had to calm her down.  I grabbed her by the shoulders, and
shook her as hard as I could.  She looked terrified, but I guess it 
wasn't her fault.  It would have been a shock to anybody. It took a 
while, but she settled, and I talked her round to the idea.  She would 
never have to see them, or take care of them in any way, I would take 
care of everything. 

Still, I know that she has trouble sleeping, and I sometimes catch her
just staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night.  She never 
looks at the hatch when she's upstairs. She wants to deny they exist.  
I know that, and as long as she just leaves them alone, I don't have a 
problem. As long as she leaves them alone. But lately, I'm beginning to 
wonder... 

I was sitting on the couch, reading the TV guide, when Jenny came home
from her evening shift at the hospital.  She looked tired, but no more 
than usual.  Her face suggested that she was in conciliatory mood, 
after the argument we had last night.  She came and sat next to me, and 
placed a hand on my leg. ‘Baby, I'm sorry,' she said.  ‘Let's not argue 
again, okay?  Let's just talk.' ‘What about?'  I asked, still flicking 
through the magazine. ‘I've been doing some thinking today.' She pushed 
the magazine down, and looked me square in the eye. ‘Don't be angry-' 
Right, I thought, here we go. ‘Don't be angry, hon, but I went to see 
Dr Weinburg in the psychiatric unit today.  He was really great.  He 
says if we want to go see him sometime, together, maybe talk about 
things-' Oh shoot.  ‘You did what?' She looked panicky.  ‘You did 
what?'  I asked again. ‘Just calm down.  Listen-' ‘Did you tell him 
about them?' I grabbed her.  ‘Did you tell him?  Do you know what 
you've done?' ‘Jack,' she garbled, ‘you need help.' ‘The only thing I 
need is you off my damn case.'  I let go of her, and paced back and 
forth.  I kicked the armchair hard. She stood up, and I could see that 
she was close to tears.  Jenny turned, and stormed out of the room, and 
ran upstairs. I was worried.  If the doc knew about the Kins, he might 
try and come here.  They'll try to take them away when I'm not around, 
and the Kins don't even have the collective strength to fight back 
alone. Dammit, I thought, dammit.  I left the stepladder upstairs.  The 
colour must have drained from my face; I felt week at the knees. 

I ran from the front room, and bounded up the stairs, two at a time.  I
stumbled at the top, as I saw Jenny climbing up to the hatch.  She 
reached for the cord. I grabbed her leg, and pulled her down, hard as I 
could.  She fell awkwardly on top of me. She was screaming blue murder 
at me, and clawing at my face.  I teetered at the top of the stairs, 
trying to fend her off. ‘You asshole,' she howled, slapping me hard 
across the face, ‘I'm leaving you and I'm gonna tell everybody about 
them.  Everybody, you hear me?' She went for another shot, and I 
grabbed her wrists.  Her weight carried her forward, and I turned, 
yanking her across my body.  She lunged forward, and went tumbling down 
the stairs.  She rolled from side to side, clattering off the walls on 
the way down, until she fell into a crumpled heap at the bottom. I 
slowly made my way down. 

I awoke that morning to a tender kiss and a soft voice, whispering in my
ear. ‘Babe, I have to go to work now.  I'll see you later on tonight, 
okay?' Kate hugged me, and left for the office, leaving me sprawled on 
the bed.  I could barely bring myself to rise from the maelstrom of 
comfy sheets, as the alarm went off again, and any hope of returning to 
my mellow slumber were finally gone. I lay there for a while, staring 
at the ceiling, waiting. I eventually got dressed, stumbled into the 
bathroom, then downstairs to make breakfast.  Coffee, toast, cereal.  
Nothing too inspired.  I watched a little TV, the breakfast news, and 
read the papers.  I decided, after a few hours of lolling around the 
place, to go get the ladders and see how the family was doing.  I don't 
know; it's not the same as it used to be.  We don't spend as much time 
together nowadays; maybe it's just that Kate and I are getting on so 
well, and the Kins are managing just fine on their own.  I still see 
them plenty, though, and Mary Jane and I are close as we ever were 
whenever we get the opportunity, but apart from that, it just feels 
like things are more... settled.  Everyone is happy. 

The hatch isn't as stiff as it used to be anymore, I guess the months of
use have loosened it up.  I installed a light, and covered the window 
so we could all have a little privacy whenever I was up there.  It's 
quite a home from home now; nice and clean, spacious.  I had to take an 
extra chair up there a while ago, for the new family member.  The Kins 
are very accommodating, really. We call her Jenny Kin. She isn't like 
the others, though.  They don't grow old, or change.  They will never 
die, and in all honesty, they were never truly born.  Just made in a 
factory somewhere, forever frozen in time, their only experience of the 
outside world seen from a cheap display in a high street shop window.  
They could never really speak, never really move. But Jenny Kin changes 
every day.  She's beginning to smell.  Her skin is beginning to rot.  
It's quite distressing to see her decline day in, day out.  And to be 
honest with you, I think I may have to take her out of the attic.  She 
never really fitted in anyway. There's plenty of space at the bottom of 
the yard, and besides, Kate is beginning to ask about the smell. She 
ventured a guess yesterday that it may be coming from the attic. She's 
beginning to ask questions. 

Too many questions. 


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