The Devil's Missing Children

By Kevin Densmore

Every story deserves to be told, and here in this unique collection, are nineteen stories that were almost forgotten. Join us as we visit a unicorn with an attitude, stop into Lakewood for a spell, go on an ill fated hunting trip, and even travel to a universe where Hollywood gets what it deserves. So come take one of these long lost children by the hand and let them guide you to some horrific, but sometimes magical places. But please be careful…

 

The children are at play!

 

And some of them don't know how to play nice.

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Densmore
• Release date: Jan 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393957324

Kevin Densmore

Kevin began writing short stories when he was an awkward teenager living in a small town in Alabama. Now as an awkward adult, Kevin now lives in a small town in Illinois and still writes short stories. Only this time he is releasing his madness into the world.

Book preview

I Love All My Children, Even the Ugly Ones

Hello friends! I hope you all are well. I want to invite you all on a strange journey. This book is a collection of stories that I had cut from all my previously published and upcoming anthologies.

Why did I gather them here you ask? To be honest, I am doing it to clean the clutter out of my mind. Seriously, I have so much stuff living in my head, it could do with a little house keeping.

That being said, I want to thank you all for choosing this little book of oddities! I do hope you enjoy them. And yes I call my stories children, don’t judge me. While they didn’t quite match the overall narrative of some of my other books, I think they fit together nicely right here in this limited collection.

Let's just see how bright my forgotten children actually shine, shall we? Hold on tight people! There’s some insanity ahead. The asylum is open. The screams are real and yes, the children are at play.

That Summer

No one knew exactly where the mutated bats came from, not that it really matters anymore. There are enough rumors and urban legends about the creatures to give anyone nightmares. Some say the bats were created in China as a weapon against America. Others say they were created in a secret base underneath Salt Lake City, Utah, for use against the Middle East. Scientists say it was a natural mutation, caused by the extensive environmental damage to the rain forests in the Amazon. No matter what insane or obscure theory people have come up with, it doesn’t change the fact that these goddamn bats are here to stay, and we as humans have barely survived them.

The bats, which have a five foot wingspan and an insatiable appetite for blood, seemed to appear out of nowhere. Like most things that want to destroy the world, this entire calamity started in China. At first it was just a few disappearances that people overlooked. Even after authorities found the bodies of the missing people, torn to shreds and completely drained of blood. Livestock and pets went missing and have been eaten in China too. There was speculation of a conspiracy, but a few people dying violent deaths was hardly newsworthy. In hindsight, that had always been our problem as a society. We grew so complacent with death and destruction that we could not fathom that what could affect a few, could have any impact on the many. And just like always, our selfish nature became our downfall.

When the first bat was spotted, no one imagined that the world was in danger. After all, it was just a dumb animal, and mankind beleived that we have dominion over every living creature. Everybody assumed that they were safe and had nothing to worry about, until the president of China was eaten by one of these bats on live television. That was when the proverbial shit really hit the fan.

The Chinese president’s death was both violent and confusing. People couldn’t comprehend what they had just witnessed. Most people figured it was a hoax or a publicity stunt, while others swore that it was the beginning of the end of days. The president of China was about to assure the world that the bats were nothing more than a rumor. A trumped up story created by a fake news team planted inside China by the United States government. The president of China decided to hold his press conference outside to prove that there was nothing to be afraid of. As the sun went down he was in the middle of his prepared speech, blaming the manipulation tactics of western media for the crisis when he was suddenly lifted into the sky. The cameras panned up to catch the action and all anybody saw was the silhouette of a winged beast, ripping a shrieking man in half. The Chinese president's legs and hips fell toward the ground, striking the podium he was standing behind a moment ago with a loud, wet, slap. His internal organs spilled out, falling to the platform around the podium in a rain of blood and viscera. What remained of the president's body was taken away by what everyone knew now to be a mutated, hungry, bat. However at the time, no one knew exactly what had just ripped a world leader in half. All the world knew was that something had gone very wrong in China.

A photo of the Chinese president's amputated legs draped over the podium surrounded by blood and guts, became the most viral photo on the internet. A cell phone video of the incident was shared as well and went even more viral than the photo. News outlets all over the world ran the story and couldn’t show the photo or the video, as they were deemed too gory for television. Some people made a joke at that poor man’s expense, while many grew quite afraid. Most notably, the world’s other leaders.

In a startling move, Russia was the first country whose leaders decided to lockdown it’s citizens. Every man, woman, and child was required to shelter in place the day after the death of  China’s president. Surprisingly, China didn’t require its citizens to take shelter until a week later. Which people around the world felt was odd, considering that all of the early fatalities caused by the bats happened in China, not Russia. Japan quickly followed suit after three people were found mutilated and drained of blood on the outskirts of Osaka. People didn’t really start to panic until the near slaughter of the entire North Korean city of Samjiyon. It was at that moment, people realized the bats were on the move, and that their number was much greater than originally perceived. The Chinese government never confirmed where these bats came from. They released a statement claiming that only five of these bats existed. The massacre of Samjiyon proved otherwise.

Samjiyon used to be a small city of around thirty thousand people. Today it has a population of only sixteen thousand. The slaughter happened during the Spring Lantern Festival. The citizens of Samjiyon were all aware of the bats but their dictator assured them they had nothing to fear. And why should they be afraid? The attacks were, for the most part, isolated to China, and the Chinese government had already deployed troops during the daytime to hunt down the bats. The Japanese government had reported no attacks since they implemented the lockdown and not a single bat was spotted in North or South Korea. Because of this, the people felt it was safe enough to hold their festival. There isn’t much physical evidence to correctly identify how the attack took place, but the survivors had a really horrific tale to tell.

The festival started as it always did in the city’s wide open town square. Each citizen that attended the festival held a lantern high above their heads, and all the lanterns were released simultaneously. Just as the lanterns began to float above the happy crowd, the bats attacked. There was no sound, no warning, and suddenly several people were lifted up into the sky among the lanterns. It was quick and violent. At first, people didn’t understand what was going on until they felt something warm and slightly sticky rain down on their skin. One of the survivors recalled that it was a child who first realized that it was blood raining down on the crowd. The citizens of Samjiyon did not panic. Most took it as a sign, and while a few people did turn to run to safety, several decided to kneel and pray, hoping that they could be saved by a collective display of reverence. It was only when the bats attacked a second time that people really started to panic. The once serene scene of people deploying lanterns into the sky, was suddenly transformed into chaos and bloodshed. Once more, several people were whisked up into the sky, screaming. Then there were the sickening, wet, tearing sounds followed by more blood raining down on the crowd. During the second attack, everyone that remained finally decided to run away and seek shelter.

The sudden attack proved to be fatal for several elderly people and many young children. When the crowd gave in to their panic, they moved quickly and in such a blind state of fear; that they didn’t realize they were now trampling others to death, most of whom had slipped and fallen because of the blood covered ground. The bats third wave attacked the people trying to escape and it wasn’t long before the town square was silent. Those that had managed to get away, took shelter in their homes or were allowed into the homes of strangers. The survivors huddled together in silence while staring up at their ceilings, praying that daylight would come soon.

It wasn’t until a few hours after dawn, that the first brave soul ventured outside. It was a young man of twenty-five who decided to investigate first. Upon witnessing the remains of the butchery in the town square, he fainted. When he came to, he began to wail and scream as others exited the safety of their homes as well.

News of the massacre quickly spread across Asia and Europe and it didn’t take long before mainstream media descended upon the city of Samjiyon. The news outlets have no shame, and began to broadcast images of the carnage to almost all of the free world. Thousands upon thousands of lives were lost that day, all of them torn to shreds or eaten alive. Their discarded bloodless limbs littered most of the city, and the remainder of the bodies were found in the surrounding woods and fields. The sheer amount of blood that covered everything was shocking and disheartening. The roofs of houses and buildings were still dripping, and the blood started to dry in large sticky patches across the village. The death toll was close to fourteen thousand people, while another thousand were reported missing, and most of the world took notice. The only good thing to come out of this tragedy was the unification of both of Korea’s military forces. They formed one cohesive task force with the singular goal of eliminating the bats, and Korea became one of the first daytime countries.

Russia as well as Korea, implemented a curfew to keep their citizens safe. China, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia all quickly followed suit. India added their name to the list after roughly seventy five percent of their cattle population was slaughtered in one evening. Soon, these daytime countries began to work together to eliminate the threat that had instilled fear in the hearts of their citizens.

As there always is, there were those who pushed back against the daytime initiative. Since most of the police force retired to their homes at sundown, there was nothing to stop thrill seekers and misguided rebels. Who were never seen again, with the exception of a few torn pieces of flesh and rather large blood puddles that were left behind.

Europe chose not to join the daytime countries at first. It wasn’t until a popular nightclub in London was attacked that the government as well as it’s people, stood up and took notice of the problem. The bats seemed to have grown smarter or perhaps more desperate. A few of the creatures had managed to fly into the nightclub and mutilate eighty-five people. The nightclub was such a mess, the British government decided that the best course of action was to burn the building to the ground, effectively turning it into a large funeral pyre. As the fire burned, all of Europe decided to join the daytime initiative.

After several deaths were reported in and around it’s populated cities, Africa joined the daytime initiative as well. Unfortunately, the African government only put programs in place for those that lived in cities and populated townships. Countless tribes that still lived in open huts, were lost. No one will ever know the exact number of people that died in Africa, but it is estimated that the number could very likely be in the millions.

Trouble is, it wasn’t just people that were dying. Countless animal species were starting to go extinct as well. Dogs, cheetahs, horses, cows and zebras seemingly vanished from the face of the Earth. Elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses, seemed to have been left alone, while many other animals adapted and tried to survive. All of this happened during the first week of summer.

Meanwhile in North America, the cockiness of the western continent was on proud display. Canada and Mexico initiated a voluntary curfew, but the United States felt no threat from the bats. The president, who had a very rabid fanbase, declared that the bats were a Russian, Asian, and European problem. The sad fact was, he had full support of both the Senate and Congress, all because of a well known, celebrity scientist claiming that bats do not like crossing large bodies of water. The president of the United States offered to send additional troops and firepower to help the daytime countries hunt and eradicate the bats. As far as he was concerned, no additional measures were necessary. South America wasn’t willing to risk the