Vengeance For The Dead - Chapter 1

Vengeance For The Dead

A Novel

By Paul McCann

Chapter 1

The House That Spoke

Niaz Toran built a sawmill one day on some spare  land his dad gave away . He hired and fired , as  he didn’t care  and treated them all very unfair . He took a lot more than he could give , made it hard for his workers to live .

The sawmill with nonstop production left forest’s with total destruction . They never cared as all the trees dropped night and day the sawmill never stopped .
Mr Toran we’ll say was the boss, in his sawmill where he made a cross for everyone to carry but him and his workers never wore a grin as he was mean and rude to his men and then he sacked them every now and then with the pittance he paid those who stayed unless they like the trees dropped down dead like old Billy Horneman one sad day and a horse and car took him away from the sawmill to his early grave . 

Somehow all the money that he saved and the wooden cottage that he built was taken by Toran with no guilt for outstanding loans so Tornan said , but who knows because Billy was dead so he couldn’t say  if that was true . Greedy miser Toran took the lot,  even the furniture Bill had got and then  he moved into Billy’s home and said that everything was his own.

Then when the sawmill came to an end , no trees were left , no time to amend . The forest was gone and sadly missed , the last wages paid from his tight fist .
Toran had to pay off all his men and grumbled with what was owed to them .

Then one cold dark night he sat alone in the cottage he had called his own  ,  right there in front of the fireplace as embers died with a cold embrace , so he took a walk to the wood heap. 

On his way  he heard Billy’s voice  speak .

“Hello ?”

Toran asked but no one spoke .
He thought his mind was playing a joke .
Bank to  the house he was returning with plenty of logs for the burning .
He knelt down before the dying fire and threw a log as flames jumped higher .
The embers glowed and a screamed out

"Stop what you're doing you stupid lout ."

Billy’s voice was heard everywhere . Toran nearly had a heart attack .
"Who’s there ?"
He said , no answer came back .

Toran knelt before the fire again and placed some log’s on a hungry flame .
Again the voice screamed,
" Hey . I'm the fire but I’m not here for you to admire . Before I’m dead I'd like you to see , how these logs were once part of a tree ."

"Who said that ?”
he shouted angrily .

"Get off your knee, before you burn me, I’m going to make you understand , for the life of me you can’t demand , any more leaves or anymore wood . Get it straight , it must be understood , you have a debt I’m here to collect , so Toran this is the big pay back .”

Toran jumped up to his feet in fright  and said on those cold dark winters night. 

"Listen I don’t have any money; there’s nothing kept here . So, leave me be ."

Then he heard a knock upon the door and reached for the big stick on the floor .
But the stick began to shake and said ,

"Hey . Don't grab me or I’ll bang your head . I once was part of a lovely tree , before your greed took the life from me ."
Toran dropped the stick and ran away into the kitchen and screamed
“OK”.

He sat on a chair his nerves were frayed as the chair rocked back and to him said ,

" Don't sit on me I once was a tree , but you chopped down what I used to be . For too long now you've taken too much and now don't take what you want to touch . Now it’s time for you to be afraid, we're things you made in your timber trade ."
Old Toran began to sweat and shake like the sulphur pouring from an earthquake .
He was mad with rage and then he spat to all of the house he shouted back .
"No not ever , I'll never repent . Nothing for you , not one lousy cent and nothing will I ever regret so don't come to be speaking of debt . Leave me here to what's rightfully mine , because all of you are out of line ."

Then he felt good when he had a say and left the chair at the end of day , up the stairs he decided to go , each step on the way a voice said ,
“No . Hey, don't step on me . Can’t you see , once upon a time I was a tree but now look at me I'm just a stair ,it's all so cruel it’s so unfair . It's all your fault , it’s because of you, that I'm cut in two and stuck with glue, I’ve been hammered and nailed just so you can get upstairs buy I’m telling you . I reckon the debt you’ll have to pay for your time has come ,this is the day ."

The stairs tossed him up into the air he fell to the floor and landed there heavily he fell there was no choice , a door opened with another voice .

"Hey , look at me I'm not just a door I used to be a tall tree before . . So, before you can walk out the door you must understand and pay some more . You see that chair the one over there , with her I stood in the open air . My son is your bed; my daughters wood was logs that burnt in the fire good . We were all living tree families ,so now it’s time to pay , if you please .

The rafters echoed ,
" Look up at me , , once I was a tree now look at me .. I can no longer grow all my fruits , you’ve killed my leaves and pulled up my roots , so give life back and learn to respect the woods that once grew , want something back ."

Toran was worried and ran and hid . But the house said
“I saw what you did . The wardrobe shook and so did the bed then the house again furiously said ,

"Don't live in me I once was a tree . Then you cut down all my family There were we reaching up to the sky but we fell down and began to die , we were all chopped up you cut us down . But what goes around will come around and into the woods where no one knows you will be planted where nothing grows .
The house and furniture had some fun , they took his life and then it was done .
They took their revenge , Toran was dead .
There was silence , not a word was said  . suddenly the  flames jumped overhead ,
The house was alight the debt was paid .

Billy had the last laugh so  they said .Ashes to Ashes and dust to dust  . in the end justice comes as if must.

There was no grave for the greedy man, no kind words said for Niaz  Toran 

End of chapter 1

Link to Chapter 2

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/vengeance-dead-chapter-2

Vengeance For The Dead

A Novel

By Paul McCann