Gil Thompson shut down his computer, put his notepad and pens in his desk drawer and took his empty coffee cup to the dishwasher.
“See you Monday Terri,” he said to his colleague as he picked up his briefcase and headed for the door.
Teresa was engrossed in her work and took a moment to respond.
“Oh, yes, see you then,” she called after him, “wish Sally good luck from me,” she remembered to add.
Sally Thompson, Gil’s ten year old daughter, was playing the lead in her school’s production of Calamity Jane. Tonight was opening night and Gil had only an hour and a half to get home, eat dinner and get showered and changed before he drove the whole family to the performance.
It was already dark and raining hard when he pulled out of the multi-storey. The traffic was bumper to bumper and every light turned red as he approached it. It took him nearly twenty minutes to get out of the city centre so once he was on the open road he put his foot down. Visibility was bad. He knew he should slow down but his wife would be livid if he was late. With wipers going full pelt and main beams on, he tore down the country lanes towards home.
He heard a gunshot. And another one. He wasn’t alarmed because he knew what they were. The badger cull had started again. It was a shame but unless the country wanted to give up on dairy farming, it had to be done. He had issued another seven licences that day. It was vital that the spread of bovine TB was stopped. It was so upsetting for farmers when their herds got sick and had to be slaughtered. Plus, it was costing the tax payers a fortune. Ok, dairy farming was costing the tax payers a fortune anyway, but at least they were getting cheap milk out of it. He shook his head. He was the one who signed the forms but he didn’t like it, and he didn’t want to listen to it. He switched on the radio to mask the sound of the guns. The weather forecast warned that it might rain later and then one of his favourite songs began to play. His furrowed brow relaxed and he absent-mindedly started to sing along.
Suddenly something rushed out into the road in front of him and he slammed on his brakes. The car had been going too fast for a quick stop on the wet road and it hit something. Filled with dread, Gil put on the handbrake and got out to have a look. At the side of the road lay a badger. Her left ear was bloody and heart-shaped. It looked like a gunshot had taken a piece out of it. He’d hit her with his car as she ran from the guns. How awful. He looked closer and saw that she was still breathing. As he leaned over her she opened her eyes and recoiled in fear.
“It’s ok,” he tried to reassure her, “I’m going to get you some help.”
There was no way to tell how bad her injuries were and he couldn’t bear to think of her suffering. He would take her to the vet. They might have to put her to sleep but at least it would be humane.
The badger, however, had no intention of letting him near her. With great effort she got to her feet and limped towards the hedge. She squeezed through it to the field and was out of sight. Gil felt responsible. He’d been driving too fast. He switched off his headlights, turned on his hazards and locked the car. He climbed over the gate and looked around. Under the full moon he could see a dark shape limping sluggishly across the field and walked towards it. There was another one ahead of it, and another one. Six, seven, …. there were eight dark shapes moving across the field. Which was the injured one? He fumbled in his pocket for the miniature torch on his keyring and shined it over the dark shapes, crouching to look for the bloody, heart-shaped ear. But they were gone. There was not one dark shape; not one fleeing animal; not one injured badger.
Then a deafening boom shook the sky and Gil hit the ground hard. He heard voices approaching.
“Got another one! Bring the cage!”
“Oh my God! What have you done?”
“I thought it was a badger! I saw the glint in its eyes, close to the ground. I aimed for the glint!”
As he breathed his last breath, Gil saw the cage of dead badgers. Just visible, sticking out from under the pile of bodies, was the soft, black and white head of the first kill, two hours earlier. She had a blood-soaked, heart-shaped ear.
**************************
badgers, badger cull, Natural England, licence to cull, ghost story, vegan ghost story, Halloween
https://bibliofiles13.wordpress.com/2017/09/15/one-lovely-blog-award/
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Thank you so much for the nomination 😀
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You’re welcome 🙂 ❤
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Nice woody atmosphere 🙂 An animal ghost story, cool!
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Thank you 😀
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I love how much there is to read on your website 😀 This one is very creepy and chilling 🙂 I like it a lot. 🙂
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I’m so glad, thank you so much 😀
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nice post
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Thank you 🙂
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Very gripping and creepy, really enjoyed this ghost story. There are not enough ghost stories. 🙂
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Thank you, we’ll have to come up with some more 🙂
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gripping… though i felt sad for the badgers more….. i just hate culling of animals….i wish there was a way to stop hunting….
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Me too 😦 all that’s needed is for the government to listen to reason. What are the chances??? Glad you liked the story, thank you 🙂
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Love it 🙂
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Thank you 😀
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Great story! All’s fair that ends fair. 🙂
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Thank you 😉
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You do know how to entertain at a Halloween 😀
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Thank you 🙂
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Wow, that was a great story!! We love being scared. We are using an adapted weewee poopoo spell for protection against fear and death, and we couldn’t find an appropriate gif, so here is a cat: http://www.catster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/600-shy-kitten.jpg
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Well the lovely cat looks well-versed in what to do if you’re scared, and you should be ok since weewee and poopoo won’t be in short supply at such times 😉 Glad you liked the story, thank you 😀
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😀
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😮 !! Very shocking story! I had no idea that would happen! 😀
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I’m glad to have taken you by surprise 🙂
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That story is awesome!! Haunting ghost story, very good. 😉
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Thank you so much 🙂
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I love ghost stories!!! 😀
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Me too 🙂
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Great story! Loved reading every word.
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Thank you so much 🙂
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Help ma Boab! I didn’t see that coming..
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Nor did he! 😉
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I learned something from this that I did not know and that is that there is a Badger Cull in the UK. I thought it was just a story, I did not know what was behind it and I am greatly saddened. I always thought Badgers and England kind of went together.
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It is absolutely tragic. Mindless bloodlust.
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Wow, a very fine story on a timely and timeless theme, one I identify with as well. We have a wild and free being that is “culled” without cause. And the cows are victims without cause. There is no sound evidence that they even transmit bovine TB in the first place.
Everyone loses here: the innocent badger, the factory farm fresh cows and the planet.
This story made my Halloween. Kind thanks to you too for this great blog 🙂
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/26/badger-cull-bovine-tuberculosis-tb
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Thanks so much for your comment Bill, the story was my only way to vent my feelings on the subject – my MP is useless and the Government is more like a dictatorship in its complete disregard of public opinion and reason. The badger cull, and all culls, are heartbreakingly hideous. I wish there was a way we could refuse to pay our taxes for things we are morally opposed to. Sorry to get depressing. Thanks again for your kind words 🙂
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Ooo creepy! 🙂 Sounds fair.
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All’s fair and above board 😀
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OMG! This is a scary one. Poor Gil.
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He died by his own hand. That’s karma 😮
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Now that’s what I call a Hallowe’en story!
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Thank you 😀 😀 😀
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😮
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Cool! 😀
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🙂
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Gil’s dead! 🙂 He took a one way trip, and that was that 🙂 That reminds me of a little song I heard in Chicago… 😉 Great story – happy Halloween 😉 Mwahahahahaha
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😀 Ha ha ha, oh yes, ‘He had it coming’! alright 😀 Happy Halloween to you too 😀
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😀 That’s exactly what I mean 😉 Thank you 🙂
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😀
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