In country Victoria Australia.

Between the Cities of Ballarat and Bendigo.

Lies a sleepy little Town named Talbot.

In the 1850s Talbot was part of the Victorian Gold Rush.

 

Now Talbot is known for its Historical Buildings its Vineyards

and Farming.

But something is happening in Talbot

Something Bad

Something very Bad.

 

In a Classroom at the Talbot Public School.

28 Kids are looking with rapture at their Teacher Mrs Foster.

Mrs Foster is Twenty Five Years Old.

With more curves than a Mountain Road.

All of the Boys in the Class have a crush on Her.

But that isn’t the reason that She has the Kids attention.

 

She has a special project for the Kids.

She has heard about how the Farmers are suffering.

But are suffering from the Drought.

But also from all of the Birds that are attacking their Crops.

And Eating all of the Grapes off the Vine.

Plus all of the Fruit from the Trees.

 

There is only One thing to do.

Only One way to go.

And that is to build 28 Scarecrows

All the Kids have to do is bring in some of their Fathers old

Clothes.

Trousers a Shirt an old Coat and a Hat.

And the School will do the rest.

 

It takes a few Days.

But finally all of the28 Kids bring their Fathers Clothes to the

Classroom.

And they get to work assembling 28 Scarecrows.

 

Mrs Foster with some help from the Schools Handyman have

built 28 Life sized Wooden Crosses.

Padded out with a Pillow.

With a Soccer Ball for the Head.

 

The Kids are all excited as they Clothe the 28 Scarecrows with

their Fathers Old Rags.

Then they Paint their Dads features onto the Soccer Ball.

Lastly they Glue Straw under the Hat.

And up the Coat Sleeves.

 

Now those 28 Scarecrows look just like 28 Scarecrows should.

If those 28 Scarecrows could Talk then they surely would.

 

To let the Paint and Glue dry the 28 Scarecrows are left at the

School Over night.

The Kids race Home as soon as the Bell Rings.

They want to tell their Parents all about the 28 Scarecrows.

 

The 28 Scarecrows are stacked in the Storeroom.

Waiting for the Kids to arrive in the Morning

The Paint and the Glue is drying nicely.

 

At around Midnight the School Cleaner is doing Her Rounds

As She Wheels Her Cleaning  Trolley past the Storeroom.

The 28 Scarecrows start to Talk and Mutter among Themselves.

The Cleaner almost has a Heart Attack when She Hears the

Whispering.

But when Se opens the Door.

All She can see is 28 Scarecrows.

 

When the Cleaner leaves the Area.

The 28 Scarecrows start to whisper so they wont be overheard.

And it is a good thing that You cant Hear a Word.

You wouldn’t believe what they have to say anyway.

 

The next Day at School all of the Kids Study hard.

But all that they want to do is take those 28 Scarecrows Home.

The 28 Scarecrows are all Dry and ready to travel.

 

Then at 3:00 PM sharp  the School Day is over.

And 28 Mothers and Fathers arrive to take the 28 Kids Home

Plus the 28 Scarecrows.

 

One of the Fathers is Ryan Fellows.

Who is picking up His Son Johnny.

Plus their very own Scarecrow.

 

For Ryan the Scarecrow cant have arrived at a better Time.

He Owns the Talbot Winery.

The Birds are Eating all of the Grapes.

Which means Eating all of the Profits.

So maybe the Scarecrow is the Answer to His Prayers.

 

Another Father is James Phelan

Picking up His Daughter Jo Beth.

And their very own Scarecrow.

At His Farm the Birds are Eating  His Apples and Plums.

So this Scarecrow could save Him a lot of Money.

 

Eight Year Old Sally Richards runs to Her Daddy Jim

And helps Him load the Scarecrow  into the back of the Pickup

Lim doesn’t own a Vineyard or a Farm.

Just a modest little House.

 

He would do anything to keep His Daughter Happy

So He gladly takes the Scarecrow Home.

Maybe it can watch over the Vegetable Patch?

 

That Afternoon another 28 Fathers arrive to take their Kids

Home.

Now in the small Town of Talbot 28 Scarecrows  are in position.

 

Ryan Fellows knows exactly where to put the Scarecrow

He Plants it right in the Middle of the Vineyard

Where it can watch over the whole Winery.

 

James Phelan after a bit of thought digs a Hole

And Plants the Scarecrow right in between the Apples and Plums

So that the Birds can see it from a Mile away.

 

Sally Richards Smiles as Her Daddy Plants the Scarecrow near the

Vegetable Garden.

She feels good now that the Carrots and Beans are protected

 

The other 25 Kids and their Fathers also find a spot for their Scarecrow

It is like having a Guardian Angel in the Back Yard

Now They can all Sleep easy.

 

And for the next few Weeks Everybody does Sleep easy.

The Scarecrows are doing an awesome Job.

The Grapes and the Crops are flourishing.

And there isn’t a Bird in sight.

 

Come to think of it.

There aren’t any Birds insects or any Animal at any of the Properties.

No Animal noises fill the Night Sky.

There is just an eerie silence.

 

Even the Farm House Pets and Livestock are all quiet

The Dogs walk around with their Tails between their Legs.

Is there something out there?

 

From their vantage points the 28 Scarecrows are starting to stir

The Wind is ruffling their Clothes.

A Storm is Brewing.

The Static Electricity is charging up the Scarecrows.

 

Then at precisely Midnight the Thunder and Lightning hits Talbot

Victoria has never seen a Storm like this.

Six Months worth of Rain falls in just Three Hours.

And like a freak of Nature all 28 scarecrows are hit by Lightning

at the same time.

 

And just like Frankensteins Monster the 28 Scarecrows are jolted to Life.

Just like a Car getting a Lump Start.

Their Eyes snap open

And they take in their Surroundings.

Then the 28 Scarecrows start Talking

And then they start to Howl

 

All of the Residents of Talbot Hear the Howls

There are no Wolves in Australia

So what is making that Sound?

 

In 28 Vineyards Farms and Houses 28 School Kids and 28 Fathers

all see the same thing.

They all are out in their Backyards and they cant believe what they

are seeing.

All of the 28 Scarecrows are Glowing.

 

All of them race back to their Houses and Lock all of the Doors

Even though the 28 Scarecrows are stuck in Place

They pull the Blinds and hide as best as they can

 

The Rain is still poring down

And the Water level is rising fast

You can almost See Noah building His Ark.

One by one just the 28 Houses that own a Scarecrow are inundated

with Water.

And the 28 Kids and their 28 Fathers have no escape

And they all Drown

The 28 Scarecrows lay in wait in the Muddy Moors.

 

The Water is still rising

All of the Fields and Paddocks are Six Feet under Water

It has almost reached the 28 Scarecrows Toes

And when it does they give them a little Wriggle

 

Then They Square off their Jaws

They open and close their Mouths to check the Alignment

Then They open up wide.

And flash their 28 Pearly Whites

28 Razor Sharp Teeth

 

Then their Bodies start to shake.

And the 28 Scarecrows break their Binds

And they fall into the Water.

Then the 28 Scarecrows start to Swim.

They can smell the Bodies of the recently Deceased

All they have to do is follow the Smell

Then the first of the 28 Scarecrows reaches a Back Fence

 

All of the 28 Scarecrows slip into the Houses

And all of the 28 Kids and the 28 Fathers are Devoured.

They Eat until their is nothing left.

They even Eat all the Bones.

 

They soon run out of Food

So they slip back into the Water

Still hungry for more

 

Part Two is coming soon

28 Scarecrows “Hungry for More”