Frightful Flash Fiction

Late Night Treat

I had woken up in the middle of the night. It was 3AM, and the cold winter air had filled my house. I couldn't seem to fall back asleep, so I put on a robe and sweatpants, and decided to watch some TV. While scouring multiple streaming services for a show or movie to watch, I heard a strange noise coming from outside. Now, it wasn't that the noise itself was strange, but, simply out of place.

I heard an ice cream truck driving by. It was weird to see an ice cream truck during winter, but even more peculiar at night. I looked outside my window and saw the truck stopped a few feet away from my house. Ice cream trucks always filled me with a sense of nostalgia. They reminded me of those hot summer afternoons when I was a kid, and I'd beg my mom for money to get some ice cream.

A vanilla cone with sprinkles. Simple, but was my go to choice. Thinking about it though, kinda got me in the mood for ice cream. I grabbed a couple bucks, and walked outside. The truck hadn't moved, and it seemed no one else had come out for ice cream.

Something felt really off, nothing about this said safe, or that what I was doing was a smart idea, but I couldn't help it. Something about the truck, something about the music, it drew me in. As I walked closer to the truck, the music seemingly drowned out all other noise. Well, that might not be the right way to put it, the music didn't get louder than the other noises I heard, the other sounds, just seemed to stop.

I stood in front of the truck, and a man appeared in the window. It was dark, and the street was poorly lit. I couldn't really make out his face, but I could see this big grin he had, showing off his yellow teeth.

"Hello", the man said, not breaking his smile.

His smile creeped me out, but I still felt so calm, although everything that was happening was obviously suspicious. That music, that same music I heard when I was a kid, it didn't seem to matter how creepy or scary I found the situation, it made me feel calm, and for whatever reason I couldn't bring myself to walk away.

I gave the man my order, a vanilla cone with sprinkles. He made a quiet moan, like he was excited about my order.

"One vanilla cone with sprinkles, I'll have that ready for you in a moment," he says, keeping that wide grin.

He sinked back into the truck to prepare my order. I waited there for a couple minutes, listening to the same song on loop. Finally, he returned, and handed me a cone. However, the cone he handed me, wasn't my order.

The ice cream was black, or a dark grey, to be more specific. It was topped with what seemed to be some kind of strawberry sauce. I told him it wasn't what I ordered, but he insisted that I try it. I just stared at it for a bit while he continued to try and convince me.

"You'll love it," he said.

"It'll become your new regular."

"Just one bite and it'll take you right back, to the time you hold so dear."

And well, I gave in. I took a small bite from the ice cream. It was cold and bitter, my eyes closed, and my face scrunched up. I was ready to tell the man that it was terrible, but, when I opened my eyes, it was daylight. And I was shorter than before.

The cone that was once black and red, was my vanilla cone with sprinkles. I looked up and saw the man in the truck, now with daylight, so I could see his whole face. He still had his large grin, and yellow teeth. But that was it, he had no eyes or nose, his hair was black, short and raggedy. Although the hat he wore probably didn't help.

He looked down at me with his empty sockets, and began to speak.

"Run along now, I have places to be, and your mommy is waiting for you."

I turned around to see my mother standing on the other side of the block, smiling and calling me over. I walked up to her and she asked what I got. I went to tell her that the ice cream man had no eyes or nose, but when I turned around he had already driven off. I'll admit, it was kinda nice to relive that moment, but I slowly began to panic, when I realized I wasn't going back.