Eridanus ~ A Collection Of Short Stories

Hide and Seek

(Written for a short story contest by Ghost.
Word count of 1499 words)

"How're things at your house, mate?" Mike asked as we trudged down the dusty path on the way back from school. I jammed my hands in my pocket.

"The happenings have... increased," I replied grimly, dragging my feet.

He sighed and neither of us said a word for a few minutes. It had been only twelve days, but it seemed like a month more.

Twelve days since a young boy and his friends playing by a lake had drowned by unknown causes. Twelve days since our town began witnessing supernatural occurrences. Twelve days since the clock's strike at midnight signalled the onset of cold gusts of wind, shattering streetlights, screams without sources, and pale, formless apparitions.

My house had recently become a target for such happenings. I had gotten accustomed to bolting my room door and staying in bed without a sound before the clock struck 12. It seemed to be a beacon for unseen spirits, the witching hour. Every night at the same time, the sound of water splashing would make its way from the pond behind my house and there would be stange patterns drawn in the mud the next day. For the past two nights, I had heard fingernails softly scratching at my window, a smiling face drawn on the frosted glass.

The street lights were being replaced every two days, but we'd hear the sound of their shattering every night, two minutes after midnight. One man had volunteered to patrol the streets to check if it was just a mere kid playing a troublesome prank. A week later, we still don't know what he observed. He returned home the next morning having completely lost his vision and memory.
The city newspapers were plastered with articles of the sudden horrific happenings in our town.

"The Rouville Hauntings," I recalled aloud, almost scoffing at its absurdity. Mike chuckled beside me, his feet kicking up clouds of dust.

"Compared to their ridiculous articles, I like my explanations better," he remarked, smirking. I rolled my eyes. He was the first person I knew who'd crack a smile while referring to the death of six children in the village.

"It fits in," he continued adamantly. "The young boy who drowned mysteriously? He died along with his five friends when they were playing at the banks of the lake. Some folk heard them playing Hide and Seek, I've been told," Mike went on, demanding my attention.

"Maybe those kids never got to finish their game. The hauntings began only after they died, so what if the apparitions and flickering lights... are in fact those kids still playing Hide and Seek? A streetlight shattering could be like a hint to where the players are hiding!"

I looked up at his excited face. "You mean like Hide and Clap? The players clap when they're asked to, so the seeker can find them?" I asked, hitching my bag on my shoulder.

"Exactly," Mike replied with a nod.

I turned back to the path ahead, considering my friend's explanation.

"Didn't you say that no photographs of those six children have been found till date?" I continued, recalling how no posters of the kids had been put up. Mike shrugged.

"I guess it's true... Or maybe there are pictures but the parents don't want to release them for some reason," he replied. "But guess what? I found something."

I turned my gaze to his palm, which had retrieved something from his pocket. Mike held out a torn photograph.

"This," he spoke softly, as though afraid of being overheard. "This is the only picture I've found of that boy. Neville, his name was."