If you go down to the woods today...
Well, in this town, you probably won't come back.
Unexplained deaths and disappearances are normal around here. In Haltonshaw Grove, we tell these real life horror stories to our kids like bedtime tales. They hel...
We were happy. We were free. And then, we weren't.
The glowing eyes, that's what haunts me the most.
And then we ran and ran and ran.
It's just a blur of darkness and sounds and flashes and screams and...
No! Please, no!
The fear. The pain.
A flash of silver. Knees hitting the ground.
And the blood. Oh god, so much blood.
Blood on my hands. Blood everywhere.
The look in his eyes...
I can't!I can't...
And then I wake up, cold and alone, the residual fear keeping me paralysed where I lie in bed, the sweat dampened sheets a tangled mess around my limbs.
Fuck.
**** SEVEN YEARS AGO
Finally, it's Halloween.
This is the day I wait for every year, the one day that makes me feel alive.
In my town, today is a bigger deal than Christmas or any other holiday. It's the time when this place really shines. It comes alive tonight.
It's not just today though because we celebrate the whole of the autumn season here. There's always something going on, especially when you get to October. For the other three seasons this place sucks, but in the autumn...there's nowhere else in the world I would rather be.
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It's the little things like getting October buns from Wilder's Bakery, the most delicious, sticky treat that you could ever imagine. Or eating toffee apples as you watch the fireworks on Bonfire Night. Getting cosy and drinking pumpkin spiced hot chocolate. Playing duck apple on Mischief Night. Getting chased through the scare mazes. Going to the scary movie marathons at the cinema.The Halloween Festival. Even the Samhain Ritual...it freaks me out but it's beautiful too.
I take a deep breath, inhaling the scent that is pure 'autumn' as I wait in line outside Wilder's. The queue goes right around the block but I made sure to get here early to guarantee I don't miss out on the last chance of the year to get their famous October buns. Everyone in Haltonshaw Grove knows it isn't Halloween without one. My mouth waters in anticipation, the smell wafting from the bakery making it even worse.
I don't mind waiting though. In fact, I like that I can freely people-watch from my view of the whole town square. I like watching others and it's something I do often. I don't know why. Sometimes I like to imagine that I'm out there having fun with them instead of being alone. Like now, there are so many kids running around in their Halloween costumes with their friends and all I feel is their joy. I think it's called living vicariously through them...that's what people have told me I need to stop doing anyway.
