Okay, so, inspired by my students who are writing scary stories at the moment to submit to a Halloween essay contest, I thought I'd write something a bit scary/creepy today just for fun because our internet was down and I just finished my also semi-creepy book....
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The Path
The pathway had always been there in
Hayley's backyard. A dark place that she never went anywhere near
when she was playing outside, and always seemed to become the subject
of the ghost stories they'd tell at sleepovers when she was younger.
When she asked her parents about it, they had always just brushed it
off, as if they had gone down it a million times and even the idea of
being worried or afraid was ridiculous. Yet from where Hayley sat in
her kitchen, staring through the window, and across the yard at its
entrance, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was just not
right, and never had been.
So, why, after 17 years of always
being careful to avoid it, she let her friends dare her into
exploring it that night, she couldn't explain. As she stared out the
window, the two creepy branches that always overhung its entrance
from the mess of forest above shook in the wind and seemed to wave at
her, menacingly, beckoning her into their clutches. But the reason
she'd allowed herself to be talked into it was that it was Halloween,
and due to the renovations being done on her friend Brandon's house
this year, his annual party was not happening—so everybody needed
another source of treat and trickery for the night.
It had actually been Brandon, her
longest friend, who was more than familiar with her backyard and all
of its... features, that suggested the alternative plan. “Hayley's
Haunted Walk” he called it, and invited everyone to a facebook
event from his iPhone quicker than she could protest. Of course,
after the event was posted, cancelling would make her seem like a
party-pooper, so it was on. He'd even made an event description that
pretty aptly described the creepy path, and joking about Hayley
wandering to her DOOOOOOMMMMmmmmm. She had to admit, all the hype he
wrote did make it sound spooky, and obviously, no one had anything
else going on that night, since everyone had reserved it for
Brandon's party that didn't happen, so the RSVP list was already at
almost 50 people—most of their graduating class. She couldn't back
out now. But the branches continued to claw at the air, and she
couldn't help a momentary vision of her hair becoming tangled in them
and Brandon's story coming to pass in a few short hours.
Hayley looked around the kitchen
taking stock of all the party supplies she'd bought. She had never
hosted a party before, mainly because her house wasn't really that
big, and her two much younger brothers meant their house was still
pretty kid-focused, and thus, not ready to host a bunch of teenagers
late at night. Plus, Brandon's house had pool tables, sound systems,
the works, and since all of their friends were mutual, she'd never
really had the need. What Brandon's house did not
have, however, was a haunted, forbidden place in the backyard. She
looked outside again, and watch a squirrel prance across the yard.
She watched also as it came close to the path, and then bounded in a
distinct circle to avoid it before darting off into the forest
beyond. Even the animals avoided it. No amount of human superstition
or silliness could explain even the squirrel's avoidance.
So, after her
brothers and her parents left to go trick-or-treating, Hayley sat for
the next 2 hours waiting for her guests to arrive, psyching herself
up for going down the path that evening. Brandon was the first to
arrive, of course, because she'd told him to come half hour early to
make sure she had everything ready. She opened the front door to
greet him. “Hayyyyley... I Vant to Suck your Blauddd!” he
announced, sheilding his face with a red-lined cape just like Dracula
did in the movies. He dropped the cape, “Or should I go for more of
an Edward vibe? 'Ohhh.... Bellaaaaa' “ and with that he pretended
to swoon against the porch. “More likely to get the ladies excited,
eh?” he joked, raising his eyebrows in her direction.
“Oh
stop,” Hayley chided as she let him inside, “No amount of blood
sucking is going to trick girls into falling for you, trust
me.” She laughed, “besides,
I need you to be totally focussed on coming to my
rescue after I get attacked by the Creature from Lake Woodlands when
I invade his path later. The ladies will have to wait for the
Christmas party, maybe you can try the mistletoe again. Remember
when...” she trailed off. All joking aside, she really hoped
Brandon would rescue
her, and thinking of her impending mission, she suddenly didn't
really feel like teasing anymore. Plus, now that they had reached the
kitchen, she could see the path again, outside. Waiting.
“What?
Come on, pussycat, the girls were talking about that for months
afterwards. I'll be a hit! As
long as someone doesn't show up dressed as a werewolf and tries to
out-do me with his six-pack, because then I'm screwed.” He lifted
up his shirt to reveal his always on-the-skinny-side pale stomach,
and prodded her with his elbow after she didn't look or even respond.
She was transfixed on the path. Brandon saw her blank eyes staring
right through him out the window, maybe he shouldn't have pushed her
to do this after all.
“Mreow?”
he tried joking again, playing up her cat costume, “Look, if you
don't want to do this, Hayley, just say so. It's just a joke, for
Halloween, come on... people love haunted houses and monster legends
and all that crap. Did you see that event description I wrote? Pure
gold! 'Creature from Lake Woodlands'??? Hahaha... I even heard
Meredith telling some kid she saw it when she was out rowing the
other day. People are freaked.
This is going to be awesome Hayley.” But still, she stared past
him.
“Look,” he
grabbed her by the shoulders, “Snap out of it. This isn't like you.
People are going to start arriving soon, and then the rest of the
night will be a blast. Trust me, don't worry. Everything will be
fine.”
But she wasn't so
sure. Hayley couldn't help noticing the ring of dead grass around the
path's entrance, and the twisting, thorny vines that seemed to
overtake all the other plants near the path, and writhe like snakes
when she wasn't looking directly at them, and the same waving
branches, which now, in the dimming light, looked more like bony
fingers than ever before. She shuddered and snapped out of the
trance. “Yeah, it'll be fine,” she met his gaze, “It's fine.
I'm fine. Let's put these coolers outside,” and she shook her head,
and grabbed a handle.
The guests slowly
trickled in, and about an hour later, smuggled booze from people's
parent's liquor cabinets, pop, punch, cupcakes, chips and candy
flowing, people were ready for Hayley to brave the path. She stepped
outside, and someone took her Coke out of the hand as she crossed the
lawn to chants of “Hayley! Hayley! Hayley!” surrounded her. She
felt like she was in a daze, and she felt like grabbing the hands
that tapped her shoulders for encouragement as she passed like
lifelines, and screaming for help. But all she could do was walk
closer and closer to the path. Someone had thought to bring
spotlights for outside—probably Brandon—she thought, as a
momentary distraction from her fate, but the eerie shadows cast by
the super bright bulbs just made her target seem more ominous because
the light appeared to vanish as it crept over the edges of the path's
entrance, so that all that lay beyond it was unknown darkness.
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So I can't really seem to give anything an ending.... kind of a problem. well, they dont really have beginnings either, yet. just like fragments... interesting.
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