C.Toms-Arbel

The afternoon sun was waning, casting amber columns across the fields of swaying maize. Kai had finished baling for the day and was tending to the cows. The children were in the tractor shed, marvelling at the size of the steel monsters when Kelly announced they had half an hour left before Ellie’s mum came to pick her up.

From somewhere inside the house, a loud bang echoed across the farm followed by the sound of running water. ‘Jesus! What was that!?’ Kelly shouted running towards the kitchen. ‘I’ll be back in two minutes. Stay here!’ she shouted before disappearing around the corner. Mischievousness was part of Charlie’s DNA and he never missed an opportunity to prove it. Within seconds of his mother’s exit, using the rungs on the enormous tractor tyre for support, he hoisted himself up into the driver’s seat and grabbed the wheel. 

‘Look Ellie, I’m driving!’ ‘Mummy said you shouldn’t touch daddy’s tools,’ said Annabel. 

‘Stop being such a goody – goody,’ replied Charlie, making engine sounds and pretending to drive. 

Excited by the performance, Ellie took two steps closer. She applauded, whooped and hollered as Charlie grabbed hold of the gear sticks. ‘What’s that?’ said Ellie pointing up. 

‘That’s a hay bale. Dad cuts them, puts them into huge balls and stores in here, ready for the winter.’ 

‘Why?’ said Ellie, intrigued by the black sack of hay. 

‘To feed the animals.’ Charlie was so enthusiastic in his explanation he hadn’t noticed a red light appear on the dashboard. 

‘It so big!’ squealed Ellie, standing directly underneath it. 

‘I know, isn’t it cool.’ ‘I bet you wish you could drive a tractor,’ said Ellie. 

‘I can drive a tractor, just like my dad. Watch.’ Charlie mashed some buttons and opened his mouth to imitate an engine but instead the deep rumbling of the 4 Cylinder Turbo Engine shook the barn.

 ‘Turn it off!’ yelled Annabel, her voice barely audible. ‘Dad will kill you!’

 ‘I’m trying!’ Charlie yelled back. His hands shook as he pressed random buttons, panic igniting within him like wildfire. In the background of the engine’s roar, he could hear his mother’s footsteps pounding towards them.

‘Please Charlie, turn it off. I don’t like this game anymore,’ said Ellie, taking half a step back.

 Charlie pressed another button. The metal forks holding the bale began to shudder. Charlie saw a red button with an ‘R’ painted on it. It reminded him of the big red buttons he saw in movies which shut everything down. In one last desperate attempt, the sounds of his mother’s shouting coming closer, he hit the button.

 A metallic scream rang through the barn as the forks were released. The two-tonne block of feed smashed into the earth with the sickening crunch of bone. 

The gentle summers breeze carried the howling of children through the farm and across the shredded pastures.