I saw something when I was a kid

Story

It was a good day, well it normally once since I was 8 and I didn't really know what a bad day was. It was Friday morning, I was doing what I normally did in the morning, playing Team Fortress 2. I had a headset with a mic so I could talk to the other players, they were normally all nice. I made the choice to eat some corn dogs as I played, which annoyed some players. I was considered smart by my Nina and my mom, since I knew how to use a computer and fix problems with it like when it lagged or froze. My family isn't the most technologically smart, only my grandpa really knew how to work any tech. Anyways I'd gotten bored, normal 8 year old attention span, so I got off the multiplayer Steam game. I went over to my Nina, who was in the kitchen rolling my grandpa some cigarettes. "Can I go outside?" I asked her. She packed a cigarette and set it down, "You going to be by yourself or go find Pop's kids?" My Nina replied. Pops was my grandmother's neighbor who lived beside us, his name was Wayne but we called him Pops as he was like a grandfather. He had two kids, Isabella and Emily. Isabella was the older one, being about 14. Emily was just a bit older than me, being 10. "I'll find them." I told my Nina. She smiled, "Okay, have fun." She kissed my forehead. I hugged her and grabbed my jacket, people who know me know I usually wear a jacket or hoodie. It wasn't cold or hot outside, it was around Summer so it was very nice. I walked over to Pop's house, smelling the beer as I stepped up the stairs. I knocked on the old wooden door, almost instantly getting a reply. Pops opened the door, he looked down at me with his normal smile. "Well how are you Xander?" Pops asked. "I'm good, how about you?" I replied. "I'm great, you're looking for Emily and Isabella huh?" Pops said. I nodded, I smelled the beer from Pop's breath but didn't care as it was pretty normal. Wayne held up his finger, I waited as he got my two friends. "Have fun, be careful." Pops told us. Emily, like usual, was energetic. I didn't have many friends when I was younger, only having Isabella and Emily, my cousins who'd come by sometimes, and the two kids my aunt had over when she was babysitting them. When I was over at my Nina's almost always when outside I'd play with the Nerf guns I had, Isabella and Emily loved to play with them too. I grabbed a few of the toy guns and came back outside, giving one to each of my two friends. We went into the treehouse, climbing up the ladder. How Cowboy made the treehouse was there was a beam that held a regular swing seat and also a tire, then behind the treehouse was a slide and beside it was the ladder to get into the treehouse. I was looking through the scope of my Nerf gun over at the hill, Emily was on the floor aiming her gun out of one of the slits, and Isabella was looking out at my Nina's trailer. As I looked around I saw something, it looked to be a person. I looked away from the figure at Isabella, "There's something on the hill." I told her. She looked and had a slight smile, "Zombie!" She yelled. We always played zombies when we had the Nerf guns, but I wasn't playing. I looked back at the hill, and the figure was gone. I shook the sight off, chuckling as I shot my Nerf gun. After maybe an hour of playing around Isabella and Emily had to leave to go to the store, I waved goodbye as I watched Pops drive off with them. My Nina and aunt also left to get food, so I was by myself. I slid down the slide and looked at my Spongebob Squarepants watch, Patrick's arm pointed at seven while his leg pointed at halfway between five and six. I didn't know how to read time very well so I just knew it was almost eight o' clock, I usually stayed out till 10. I walked over to the hill, looking around as it was still bright out. Then, I saw the figure again, except more clearly. What I saw is and always will be stuck in my head, haunting my mind until I die. The figure looked to be a man, his skin was charred to a crisp, almost completely black. On his sides you could see his flesh and muscle, in some places you could see bone. His face, his fucking face was the most disgusting and horrifying part. The man had a smile, not a regular smile, but an inhuman smile that burned into my eyes. His eyes were wide, giving a psychotic and deranged gaze. The man's head was just like the rest of his skin, burned and looked like charcoal. I didn't know what to do, I was stuck staring at this man or this thing. I was frozen in terror, shaking as tears rolled down my cheeks. Suddenly, the man started walking towards me, slowly creeping up. He walked like he'd been run over by a truck, limping and stumbling. I still couldn't move, I just watched as the man crept towards me. I started to hear groaning coming from the man, then snickering. I then remembered Austin, my friend that lived down the hill. "A-Austin, this isn't funny." I stuttered. The man's smile went to a grimace, he let out a shriek as he darted towards me. I snapped out of my stance and ran up the small mound of dirt that led into a garden box, I tripped over one of the wooden beams and fell hard on the concrete path beside the garden. I screamed in pain, I'd smashed my head on the concrete as I fell and cut it open. I didn't have time to move as the man stood over me, his smile returned as he crouched. I thought I was dead as the man reached for my face, he put his left hand on my throat and his right hand on my cheek. His touch made me want to scream or vomit, Hell I was surprised I only had tears going down my face instead of sobbing. The man finally opened his mouth, he said a phrase that will never leave me. "Stay here, I will be here, they will be here." The man's voice was deep, gravely, and as he spoke small drops of blood and saliva hit my face. The man got off of me and ran down the concrete path, going into the small patch of trees that were behind my Nina's trailer. I coughed violently, my asthma was kicking in from the terror. I vomited into the garden box, coughing and spitting once I stopped. I wiped the bile and saliva off my mouth, grunting as I stood up. I looked around, I couldn't find the man. I wiped off the blood that the man spat on me then put my hand on the back of my head, blood dripped down my head and neck from where I hit my head. I got inside the trailer and washed the blood out of my hair, drying off. I had the hood of my jacket up for the rest of the day, I watched the VHS tapes my Nina had. I heard a noise from behind me though, I turned around to see what it was. My eyes widened as I saw the man, he was smiling and waving. I heard my Nina's Ram truck pull up, I ran out to the door. I then realized, they wouldn't believe me. They'd dismiss it as an eight year old kid's imagination gone wild or something. I checked the window, and the man was gone. The only thing on the window was a brown and red smile, smeared on the window. I helped with getting the food, as I ate I sat with my Nina watching Lion King on a VHS. Almost forgetting the event that went on that day.