Halloween! A Short Story

This story is a work of fiction. It does not contain the names of actual people or events. 

Warning: Contains some graphic depiction of violence. 

Time: 3:45pm 

Lacey skips her education class to accompany her close friends Lakeisha and Ciara back to their home at Writing House. Today was Halloween, so Lacey’s reason for skipping was more special.

“I have to get my outfit from Education house,” Lacey suddenly remembers. The girls are dressing up as Twice for Halloween, one of their favorite girl groups.

“I thought you left it in my room?” Ciara asks.

“No, remember that her pants didn’t arrive until this morning,” Lakeisha countered. “And she wanted to have all her ‘fit in one place, so she left it in her room.” 

“Ohhh okay, I didn’t know about that”. Ciara said

 “Yeah, so I’ll get—” 

Their conversation is cut off by a female scream resounding throughout campus.

“Someone is really dying over there,” jokes Lakeisha, her eyes glued to a game on her phone. The girls chuckle.

Another scream echoes in the distance. This time the screams belong to a male voice. For the first time since leaving her class, Lakeisha takes her eyes off her phone.

“What the hell is going on?!” asks Ciara, breaking the silence. 

The girls were used to hearing yells and other loud noises around campus, so the sound hadn’t frightened them at first.

“It’s probably people fooling around on Halloween,” says Lacey, trying to sound unconcerned. She creeps closer to Ciara with exaggerated movements and wraps her arms around Ciara playfully.

But realizing that something was a little off, they hasten their footsteps.

Just as they are hurrying past the fountain in front of Masters Hall, a sudden gush of wind knocks them off their feet. 

Everything goes black. 

Time: 4:30 pm

Lakeisha opens her eyes. It feels like only seconds went by. She’s momentarily confused about why she’s lying on the ground. And now she has a terrible headache. What’s happening? Lakeisha thinks. Then she remembers the strange mega-wind that came out of nowhere.

“Where are my friends?” She asks aloud. No longer on the ground, Lakeisha checks her phone, but it won’t turn on. She repeatedly taps on the screen, toggling the power button. “Come on, come on.” But the phone still refuses to turn on. 

In the distance, a seven foot, lean shadow kneels, head down, behind Lakeisha. Oblivious to whatever is standing behind her, Lakeisha continues to try to make her phone work.

“Wait–why is everything so quiet?” Noticing that there is no one around and that the campus is eerily quiet, Lakeisha gives up on her phone and starts looking around for her friends. In the distance, the shadow still kneels, not moving an inch, but dark energy is now emitting from its body.

Lakeisha stops walking. She has the sudden urge to turn around. Her heart is racing and her palms are starting to get sweaty. It’s like something is forcing her to turn around. As if an invisible hand on her shoulder is slowly turning her body. She looks in horror at the creepy shadow kneeling directly in front of her. Her body refuses to react–she’s too in shock from the fear and terror of what’s going on in front of her. The shadow stands up to its full, distorted height. Yet something about it reminds Lakeisha of Lacey.

“Lacey…?” Lakeisha manages whisper tentatively, with tears of sheer terror in her eyes.

The shadow releases a sound similar to that of a rusty pipe. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK. The shadow arms dislocate from its shoulders and fold upright behind its back. Lakeisha stares in horror, trying to fight against the invisible hand and her own shock holding her in place. CRACK CRACK CRACK. The shadow’s legs break and fold up along its body. The shadow still stands impossibly seven feet tall, even as it stands on broken knees. It makes the rusty noise again.

Someone please help me, Lakeisha thought, tears pouring from her eyes. Please… 

The creature charges towards her with a loud screeching sound. 

Lakeisha screams as her body is ripped apart, blood splashing everything. Her soul leaves her as the creature takes her eyes.

Time: 4:00pm

Lacey opens her eyes to a painful headache. She sits up in front of Musselman Library, a hundred feet away from the water fountain. What the hell happened?! Why am I here? Where are Lakeisha and Ciara?? Lacey thinks, suppressing the fact that she may have the worst headache she ever has of her nineteen years. Damn, something is seriously not right here… Maybe I should just head straight back to Education House. Maybe Lakeisha and Ciara are there, Lacey reasons. She experiences a little difficulty picking herself up. She feels like her head is caving in.

On her way back to Education house, Lacey is checking her phone when she notices a dark, super tall figure from the corner of her eye, standing behind some trees. It’s so tall that the trees can’t hide its immensity. Lacey takes off running, the fastest she has ever run before. She’s spooked and doesn’t want to take any chances on whether the figure’s good or bad.

When Lacey reaches the side of Schmucker Hall, she’s hyperventilating, fighting to let out each breath. She begins digging everything out of her pocket, looking for her inhaler, as she crouches behind the wall, praying that the thing doesn’t catch up to her. 

“OH GOD!!!” screams Lacey. The shadow was standing right in front of her. Up close it’s scary beyond imagining. It’s not of anything that she has ever seen before. Lacey usually laughs when scared, but all she can do now is stare in terror. She can’t even move as the shadow slowly approaches her. “Help…” she manages to whimper, feeling choked.

The monster charges at Lacey.

Crack. Crack. The sound of her bones breaking drown out the sounds of Lacey’s screams.

Everything goes black. 

Time: 5:00 pm

Ciara wakes up to tapping noises at the window. TAP. TAP. TAP. Ciara stands and nervously approaches the sillhouettes at the window.

“Lakeisha? Lacey?” 

TAP TAP TAP. The two shadows come into focus as twisted versions of her friends. They smile at her as if taunting her. Ciara trips backwards. The tapping sound continues, each time louder than the last, until the figures are smashing the glass out of the window. 

Ciara pulls down the bookshelf separating her from the things impersonating her friends. The figures clamber in through the window.

“Stay the hell away from me!!” Ciara takes off running from the room.

Disoriented, she runs aimlessly through the hallway, trying to find the exit. Her breathing is short and ragged, but she plows ahead. She comes to a hallway end, which brings her to an abrupt halt.

She swivels rapidly to find the two shadows right behind her. The shadow that resembles Lakeisha has holes in its face where eyes should be, and its arms drag along the floor. There’s a hole in its chest, where the heart might be. There’s no trace of the real Lakeisha on the shadow.

“This can’t be real,” Ciara starts to cry in hysterical disbelief. “What kind of Halloween prank is this?” 

CRACK CRACK CRACK. The shadow resembling Lacey moves towards Ciara. It lunges for her throat.

Ciara screams as everything goes black.  

Thanks for reading my story! I hope you enjoy Halloween. 

• Halloween 2019