Entry # C19

HALLOWEEN

BY

RICHARD COTTON

Ian Jones walked along the path on Ferndale Road it was a cool Halloween night and the stars where out. He had his vampire outfit on for the party he was heading for. Even now at fourteen he still enjoyed the party at Thomas Evens houses. He wondered what the wound do to the house this year. They were a riot last year they had turned the outside of their house in to a pyramid and dressed up as mummies. His dad John Evens had the full bandage across him down to his feet and Ian laughed when watching him eat the party food dropping lots on to the cream coloured floor. His mum Jane Evens didn't laugh much as she had to clean it up, but played along. The white street lighting here was nice and bright has they didn't live to far for the centre of town. Ian wished he could live closer like them. He didn't mind them walk apart from the odd person whom tried to take his sweets now and then. Last year he lost the whole lot before he reached the house number twenty five. It had a long front garden and even a bigger back one. He turned the corner of high street into Ferndale road. Only to be stopped by the white and blue police tape stretching form the lamp post on this side of the road to the other. Ian looked around but couldn't see any police around. He knew that Thomas dad worked in the police force but didn't think they were allowed to use tape from work and he also knew that the local supermarket sold the tape but it didn't look like really police ones did. Then he noticed that all the lights were off in the street even the houses. The only light he could see was a red one above number twenty five. This was getting stranger by the minuet. He glanced around to make sure there was no police, but there wasn't, so he ducked under the tape knowing he was braking the rules but needing to find out what was going on. The street was dark apart from the light from that red glow making it feel very eerie. He couldn't see any people around the houses. Normally they were lit up like Christmas trees, but not this time. He started counting the numbers with one been on this side and all odd ones would be here too.

He looked over to the other side of the street it looked so eerie. He soon reached thirteen. Last time he walked past there the cat jumped out and scratched him on his leg. He didn't even look like a mouse yet this cat hit him like one. Yet tonight it was missing not even a twitch from the bush. He wanted it to jump him so much he missed seeing the double tape in front of him which caused hip to trip slightly. But he didn't fall luckily. He had broke the tape though which now flapped loosely in the slight breeze. He pressed on number nineteen was the two nice old ladies that always gave him sweets every year with out fail, but even their house was dark. From here he could just see the front garden of twenty five. The garden was red from front door to the gate. It was a eerie red like a fire from the pits of hell and above the house stuck out two horn shapes that also glowed red and flickered like flames. The red streamed like blood down the garden he wondered how the did that. He reached the gate the blood rivers running either side close to the well cut grass and hedges. He opened the gate to the sound of creaking. The evens had made it do that every Halloween on purpose. This year it seemed to fit in with what was happening. He was startled to see the windows light up red and in the shape of two evil eyes flickering. Then he notice the small daemons dancing on the grass they couldn't be fake or could they he thought. He was starting to shake uncontrollably.

The sound of the trickling blood and wail was enough to turn any ones hair white early. The doorway was black, but not normal black but that of the horror films it looked like it could suck you in and never spit you out. There was one red flicker of a dot that was the door bell. Ian thought the evens had outdone them selves this time and gone to a special effects film set to get it to look like this. He didn't know if he should go to the door, but he had gotten this far and so wanted to get to the party if there was one. He walked slowly to the door and pressed the doorbell ringer. The tune Toccata played out making him jump. The door creaked open and a creepy voice like that of Christopher Lee said Beware enter at your peril. He pushed the door open feather to get in. The hallway was lit with flame red lights all flickering. The stairs up were dark and cold. Full of spider webs hanging down. Then he glanced down to his left and saw the body. Blood pouring from the chest out of the door and along the ground. The arm was missing and blood went along a tube up the door frame and along the door fame. The chest was slowly rising and falling on the body yet the person couldn't be alive. There was classical music playing the ride of the Valkyries was blasting from the front room. Yet still there was no one around. He looked to the kitchen area there was fresh food in there bowls of crisp, jelly, cakes. There was even a turkey. So someone had cooked here. Where were they. He went into the kitchen to look there. On the table there was several glasses of red liquid with Gray fog frothing out of it. It wasn't something he would drink. The turkey was still warm and there was potatoes made to look like ghost on the side. The peas had been turned into eyeballs somehow which surprised Ian. He didn't know Thomas mum had it in her. He looked to the serving hatch that stood open the music was louder here and there was a plate of steaming hot food balanced just between each room. He went to the front room door not knowing if it should be opened with out the police been here. He pushed it open the room was empty apart from the music, food and drink. The television was on its screen fall of swirling colours that flashed in time with the music. He walked in there in front of the sofa was an other body. Blood streaming out of the throat towards the back door. His party looked like it was more like a murder scene now, yet somehow those bodies didn't seem real. He stepped over it carefully to look out of the French doors onto the large back garden. It glowed red with a flickering flame and the music out there was classical but one called The hall of the mountain king. Little daemons danced out there on the grass and some swam in the pool. He had to give it to the evens they had gone the whole hog this year. He turned there was only upstairs and outside plus the garage to look in now. He went back into the hallway. The stairs didn't seem a good idea but he would never know if he didn't look. He placed his foot on the first one to hear the creak that was loud enough to cover the music. This went on all the way to the top. He looked around the landing here the light was dull but he could clearly see three bedroom doors and a bath room door. He could hear a sniggering up here it was light yet strangely he felt like he knew who was giggling. Yet there was no one around to laugh. He went to the bath room door were the sound was coming from. He put his hand on the door handle and the laughter stopped and silence fell. He was to nervous to open the door just in case there was an other body there. He pushed the door open. The light flicked on to show the Evens all five of them smiling broadly at him. Not the nice smile but an evil smile and blood pouring out of there clothes.