[ TT ] `` Only monsters smile around here . ''

The vulture cried from its place atop the cactus. It was impatient, watching the man crawl through the desert, a vacant smile on his face. The loose skin from his stomach dragged behind him. Occasionally, he'd giggle as he caught himself on a sharp rock and tore more of his flesh away. 
 
 Lucy watched this horrible thing with a grimace. It had been following their carriage for about a half-mile now, but it felt a waste of bullets to shoot it. As they neared the town, the thing cried out with joy as a sniper tagged it between the eyes. It lay there, still, twitching, and smiling as dusk settled into the canyon. Adeline clung to her ma's arm tighter. `` Mama, I do n't wan na be here,'' Adeline hissed. 
 
 She patted Adeline's white-knuckled fist. `` Well, tough cow pie, girlie, we're already here.'' Adeline could n't help thinking her ma was being calloused. She pouted, but she should have known better than to think it would be anything but ignored. Instead of spending the summer in New York, her mother had declared she'd needed some backbone. The next day, they were on a train to the family ranch. 
 
 `` It's hot, too,'' Adeline complained, fanning herself. 
 
 Her ma gave her a flat look. `` That's what you get for choosin' skirts over practicality.'' Adeline gasped and shook her head, pulling back. There was no way she'd put on jeans and boots in public. She was still too scandalized by the sleeveless shirt her ma wore that showed if she was only wearing a bra underneath and not a lick ashamed of it. 
 
 She continued fanning herself as she sulked, hiding her expression from her ma. Adeline had been the butt of many jokes at soirees for how eccentric and unladylike her ma was. Not to mention her ma proudly declared Adeline was born out of wedlock and that she'd shoot the first man who ever tried to trap her in marriage. 
 
 Their family's only social grace was an immense fortune and her mama's business sense. Adeline did n't appreciate being high society's novelty. 
 
 The carriage rolled to a stop and the door was pulled open by a sweating butler. Her ma was immediately gone to a waiting horse. Adeline barely had time to get out of the carriage. `` Ma, where are you going?'' 
 
 She glanced down from atop the horse. `` Got ta set that giggler on fire or he'll be right back after us.'' Adeline frowned at remembering the creature. Her ma had told her stories of the mad gigglers, but she did n't want to think about them being real. `` And remember, girl,'' her ma warned, `` Only monsters smile'round here.'' She cracked a grin at Adeline and then took off, two farmhands trailing her on their own horses. 
 
 Adeline covered her mouth, coughing from the dust. The carriage began to roll away and Adeline stood, staring at the old manor. It'd grown from a farmhouse by necessity and now stood as a testament to her family's stubbornness. 
 
 She sighed, picking up her skirts and heading inside. The place was simple, most of the rooms for the people who worked on the ranch with the horses. Since the town had grown around the manor, she could see nearly every house from the upper floors. Almost no one was inside this time of day, moving the horses back inside or cooking dinner in a separate building built for that purpose. 
 
 She continued her exploration to the attic. Adeline thought she heard something moving around when she opened the trap door, but saw nothing. The ladder would prove difficult with skirts. Adeline glanced around to assure no one was there. She quickly loosened the hoops, stepping out of them. Then, she tied her skirts off to the back and went up. `` Hello?'' 
 
 Her call went unanswered, so she went back down and found a candle to bring back up with her. It gave her a small bubble of light to combat the dusty darkness of the attic. Adeline used it to riffle through boxes and crates of old clothes. 
 
 The box exploration quickly proved boring, so she sat at a desk that faced out on the only window, setting her candle aside. She pulled the drawers open, finding nothing but a pocketbook. It felt like some kind of leather Adeline could n't pinpoint. She wondered who would waste leather on something so small, so she brought it closer to the light. 
 
 There was something *off* about the tiny book, but Adeline could n't quite put her finger on what. It was vaguely unsettling. She put the book back where she found it and sat for a moment. It had spooked her a little. 
 
 There was a loud explosion outside and Adeline started, knocking the candle over. It snuffed out during the fall to the ground. Adeline felt a cuss on the tip of her tongue. The search for it proved fruitless. She sat back up, squinting out the window to see if she could find what had gone up. There were no flames, so she turned back to the room behind her. 
 
 Unease lifted her stomach and she swallowed. She could see the faint light from the trap door, but the short distance from the desk suddenly seemed immense. The image of that giggler reaching out and grabbing her foot flitted through her mind. Her hands tightened on the back of the chair. 
 
 Adeline stood on shaky feet and started walking quickly to the ladder. She stepped on the candle from before and just barely caught her footing. `` Well, there you are,'' she chastised the candlestick as she picked it. There was a match in her pocket, she always kept some on hand in case a gentleman asked her for a light. 
 
 The wick eagerly soaked up the match's flame. The pool of light expanded to include a rotten creature. It looked like two old men had been sewed together. It giggled at her and she jumped back a bit, then sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead. 
 
 `` Oh, Jenkins, you dang near scared the daylights out of me.'' The butler merely giggled in response and held out her hoop skirt. `` Oh, I know, it ai n't proper, but I could n't get up the ladder otherwise.'' He started back down the ladder and she followed him down. 
 
 `` Is ma back yet?'' He giggled and she nodded. `` I figured that much. Ca n't overlook a new farmhand. She'll get bit.'' The butler presented his hand to her, a clear bite mark. Adeline exclaimed in dismay, patting it soothingly. `` She had you catch the thing?'' Adeline huffed, angry. 
 
 Jenkins shook and pointed to a door with one of his hands. Adeline went over, opening it to find a terrified, hogtied and gagged young man. She grabbed an ax, pinning one of the man's hands to a table. `` I do n't even care if she was saving this one for later. I'm gon na fix you right up, Jenkins, do n't you worry.'' The tip of the ax blade brushed the man's wrist as he began to sob, muffled against the gag, terrified eyes on Jenkins. 
 
 `` She warned me earlier today, but is she really gon na be like this the whole summer? I do n't mind if she makes a mean joke to me, but sendin' you off to chase a mad giggler'round?'' Jenkins giggled. 
 
 `` I know, I know, she's my ma. But what kind of monster lets a sweet thing like you get hurt, Jenkins?'' 
 
 Adeline brought the ax down and the man screamed.
