The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Crop
by Linda Lee Rice

The full moon shone on the crop, and I realized it was almost harvest time again. The moon always shone on the ones that were ripe, ready to be plucked out of the ground. It also shadowed the ones that needed to spend a bit more time in the ground.

I always had a green thumb; I could grow almost anything in the Before Time. Veggies were always green, and the fruit from the trees dripped with juice. I still had the most aromatic herbs for soups and medicinal purposes. Flowers were beautiful, and I did grow some of them, but you can’t always eat flowers.

When the plague hit, food was scarce. People started riots and killed their neighbors over a slice of bread. It was a terrible time, and I almost didn’t live through it. But being here in this out of the way spot did buy me some time.

I noticed that the soil had changed and whatever I planted grew. It started when I buried a few rabbits’ feet after I had trapped and killed them for my larder. When I went out the next morning, little rabbit toes were stuck above the surface. I figured that some creature had started to dig them up and were interrupted.

When I bent over to cover them back up, they wiggled. I admit I jumped back and let loose some expletives. I pulled one of the feet out and noticed it had grown slightly, but now it lay still in my palm. So, I experimented over the next few days.

I caught some other of the deformed creatures around my wooded area. Killed them and planted different body parts. I always got the best crop, though, with the extremities. So, I would harvest under the full moon enough food for the month. I was content.

Then THEY showed up. The little corner of my world started to become invaded by the remnants of humanity. I tried showing them how planting worked now, but they only wanted what I had. So, I did what I had to do.

My crop has changed now, and I no longer need to get rid of all that disgusting fur after pulling up my harvest. I can just choose what I need, either smoke it or pickle it later for storage. When adding my dried herbs and some strange looking veggies, the crop makes a delicious meal.

As the hands wave in the moonlight, my mouth begins to water.

Fiction © Copyright Linda Lee Rice
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More about Linda Lee Rice:

Linda Lee Rice aka Ruzicka has poetry published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Descending Darkness, Writing Village, Spine, and Page, Muses Gallery, Bloodbond, Lycan Valley Press Publishers, Alban Lake, Highland Park Poetry, Rosette Maleficarum, The Siren’s Call, Edify Fiction

and the June Cotner anthology, “House Blessings” and “Garden Blessings

She has short stories published in The Grit, and Reminisce, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family, FrostFire Worlds. Plus, a personal essay at Mamalode. She also has various articles and blogs published online as a freelance writer.