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The Fight on Halloween Night: A Short Story

  Copyright 2013 Stefan Geir

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  The Fight on Halloween Night:

  A Short Story

  by Stefan Geir

  It was a foggy Halloween night in Trewsick Town. The pumpkins were shining brightly from the carefully carved out faces, giving them an orange, flickering glow as the flames from the candles danced in the wind. The different colored leaves made a soft clinking sound as they blew across the paved street. The air felt chilly as Sawyer walked toward his home. Stopping to adjust the straps on his backpack, he pulled them tighter. Stuffing his hands back into his pockets, he trotted on.

  There were still a few children out hoping to find more candy for their bags. Like fading embers, porch lights blinked out for the night as the late evening approached. As he walked along the dark and lonely street, Sawyer could hear the sound of a dog barking in the distance. As the sunlight was all but fading away behind the distant mountains, it created an orange glow across the twilit sky.

  Sawyer kicked a rock and sent it skittering across the sidewalk. The bouncing rock landing in some nearby bushes, causing a rustling sound as it came to an abrupt halt. Startled from its hiding spot, a jet-black cat sprinted out, racing right in front of him, causing him to jump back a step.

  As the black cat came to a halt halfway across the street, it defensively looked back toward Sawyer with its yellow, slanted eyes.

  “Silly cat.” He said out loud to himself. He knew that it was supposed to be bad luck to have a black cat walk in front of you. However, he didn’t believe in that sort of thing. Laughing to himself, he moved on, amused at the silliness of some people’s superstitions.

  As he continued walking, lost in thought, he abruptly noticed that all of the kids were gone. The dog was no longer barking. He also hadn't realized how dark it had gotten. Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, he glanced around, wondering if he had somehow walked past his home. It dawned on him that he had no idea where he was. In fact, this wasn't even the right street.

  Looking down at his wrist, Sawyer pulled back his coat sleeve revealing his black and red digital watch. With his thumb, he pushed a button on the side of it, causing the back-screen to glow with a soft green light. He looked at the time. It was 11:59 PM. Fear suddenly set in. He realized it was only one minute till midnight.

  He remembered back to when he was younger. His great-grandpa would tell him stories about creatures coming out in the night on the thirty-first of October. His great-grandpa, whom he had always adored and believed, told him that the true story of Halloween was to ward off the night creatures; to protect the children. Sawyer, wanting to know how that was even possible, had asked him. His great-grandpa told him that people wore costumes, so that when the creatures came out they would become confused. With everyone wearing costumes, they assumed that the children were actually just other night creatures like themselves, leaving them alone.

  Still not believing him, he mockingly asked, “Grandpa, how do you know when the creatures will come out?”

  With a serious look in his eyes, his great-grandpa had looked at Sawyer square in the face and said, “They come out at midnight my boy. They always come out at midnight!”

  Although this information had come from a trusted source, Sawyer knew that it couldn't be true. Still, he suddenly felt uneasy.

  Quickly looking around, he started to walk faster, hoping that he was heading in the right direction. He had no idea how this had happened. How could he have taken so long to get home? Did he miss the turn? He wasn't sure.

  Up ahead, he thought he spotted a late Trick-or-Treater. Thinking that maybe he could ask for directions, Sawyer yelled to him in an uncertain voice, "Hello."

  The boy must have heard him, because the Trick-or-Treater started moving toward him. Sawyer could now see that whoever this boy was had decided to dress up as a goblin for Halloween. He observed his greenish-brown outfit and what appeared to be a fake sword in his hand. His eyes seemed to be glowing yellow in the dark. He looked slightly hunched over as he moved forward.

  As the dressed up boy walked underneath a light post, Sawyer could see him more clearly now. His costume was very elaborate. It almost looked life-like. He was definitely impressed with it.

  "Do you know where Maple Street is?" Sawyer asked, hoping to get an answer.

  The Trick-or-Treater ignored him as he continued moving closer and closer toward him, the fake sword gripped tightly in his hand. He watched, as this boy continued onward. This kid must have lost his Trick-or-Treat bag, because Sawyer didn’t see him holding one. Maybe he was lost as well.

  The nearer that this boy came with his elaborate costume, the more uneasy Sawyer became. He felt like something wasn't right. In fact, everything was wrong. Something was off with the way this Trick-or-Treater was moving. Even the way he was staring at Sawyer was really starting to creep him out.

  Just as it started to dawn on him that this might not be a Trick-or-Treater after all, Sawyer decided to turn around and head in the opposite direction. At that same moment, a low growling sound started coming from the boy. Then, without warning, he raised up the sword and started running directly for him.

  Without wasting another second, Sawyer spun around on the balls of his feet and started sprinting as fast as he could. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn't want to stick around to find out. He had recently been practicing hard and running a lot during P.E. At school, everybody said he was one of the fastest ones in the class. Now, he was about to find out just how fast he was.

  He could hear this creature growling louder and louder behind him! It sounded like it was gaining on him by the second. Digging his heels in harder, Sawyer forced his legs to move faster, trying to outrun this thing. Everything was happening so fast, it was a blur in his mind. It seemed so bizarre; one second he was walking home and the next he was being chased.

  He had no idea who or what this was. Was this just a seriously unstable kid? A monster? A Goblin? Could the story that his great-grandpa told him actually be true? This was crazy! There was no way this could be happening! Sawyer tried not to think about it and kept on running.

  This creature was right behind him. He could hear the growling and panting, as if it were some deranged, greenish-brown dog running on two legs. The smell! It stunk like dirty diapers left too long in a garbage can. It was awful. Sawyer tried to block out the stench and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

  The creature was almost on top of him. He knew that he wasn’t going to make it. He had to do something.

  He stole a quick peek behind him. He was out of time. It was now or never. He knew he had to act. In one quick movement, Sawyer stopped as fast as he could while dropping down to the ground in a tight ball. The creature couldn’t stop in time and tripped over his balled up form, falling to the ground with a big thud. Sawyer sprang to his feet and hurriedly ripped off his backpack, using it as a shield.

  Ready to defend himself, he frantically looked around, but the creatur
e was nowhere to be found. To his surprise, he was surrounded by a bunch of large pine trees. Somehow, he had run right into the middle of a forest. He hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going; he was just trying to get away from the creature.

  Taking his flashlight out of his backpack, Sawyer flipped it on, scanning his surrounding area. The forest was dark and eerie, making it hard to see anything at all. The shadows were playing tricks on him as he moved the flashlight back and forth, trying to find a way out. He figured that any direction was better than just standing there. Attempting to be as quite as possible, he began moving forward.

  He thought he saw some lights in the distance and started moving toward them. He wanted to find a way out as quickly as possible. To the left, he heard a twig snapping from behind a tree. It was followed by that same deep, growling sound. Sawyer slowly started backing up as the noise grew louder. As he shone the flashlight on the tree, a dark figure slowly stepped out from behind the shadows. He could see it clearly now.

  Its beady, yellow eyes looked like two small flames reflecting back at him. It was definitely shorter than him and had a rough looking, greenish-brown skin with pointed ears and a pointed nose. If there ever was a goblin, this would