Halloween Town

Chapter 1 : To begin (new)

I always knew that my mom was hiding something from me. I didn't realize it was true until this night in March.

I took a look at my house, one last time. I was still mad with my mom. She lied to me. I remembered searching for these books, the one that my aunt offered me every year. And my mom would always tell me that she didn't know where they were after my aunt flew back to Alaska. For sure, she could tell that to the attic now. I found them in a box, tagged by her handwriting. Was she this stupid to hide them just under my nose?

I always knew that my aunt and my mom were hiding something, but what was it? Why did she keep hiding these books? What was the point? Besides, even if my aunt did offer me these books any time she came home, I couldn't read them, they were always blank pages. I remember the first time I open one and the pages were white. Nothing in it ! So what was the point of placed them in a secret places.

I took my phone, trying to call Lisa. But as always, she didn't pick up. I decided to turn up all my notifications, Tonight I wanted to be alone. I wanted to go to the beach. We were living close to it. And tonight the wind seemed pretty calm.

Some people were already there, but it was still quiet. I looked backward, trying to see if someone followed me. But nobody did, I was reassured. I took off my shoes and walked on the hot white sand. I was getting closer to the sea. The water was cold, refreshing my feet, and making me calm down. The sun was almost going down. The waves were calm too, and the noise of seagulls was still present.

Even though everything was relaxing, I was still not at peace. I was still thinking of my mom actions. I didn't have a clear idea what was the meaning of these books. Why did she keep secreting them? And why did my aunt still give them to me? I couldn't read them at all. 

« You're okay ? » I looked at the man, who just sat close to me in the sand. His black hair was almost shining in the twilight. I've seen that even if he sat next to me, he did leave me some space. I realized that some anger tears were still running down my cheeks. That's what must have worried him.

« Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry. » I passed my hand on my cheek, trying to erase my tears and calm myself. He nodded and got up from the ground, eventually, he gave me his hands, maybe he wanted me to go back home.

« You shouldn't stay alone here, Right? » I looked back at the waves that now were getting as mad as me. Even if this random dude was nice to me, I wanted to be alone. And he was ruining my time. 

« You're very kind, but I want to stay here for now. » I nodded wrongly, trying to show him again that I didn't need what he offered me. Yet, as I was still sitting in the sand I felt inferior to him, I felt like perhaps my mind was trying to convince me also to listen to him. That was weird. 

« Alright, but please be careful. » He finally left, and I was now alone with the strong noise of waves crashing against the sand. I took back my phone and turned it on, multiple calls from my mom and my sisters had been missed. Still, Lisa didn't call me back, this girl was not reachable on the weekend. It was really annoying, she was my friend, but after college, I couldn't count on her. It was like she was preoccupied with going back home as soon as possible.

I decided now that the sun was down, to go back home. It was dark outside. Tonight the sky was empty, maybe one or two stars were only shining. But fortunately, I had a full moon to keep me company. I shook off the sand on my jean and went back to the parking lot, nobody was there anymore. Some thrills grew on me, even though I was not feeling cold. A raven caw, making me scared. And a strong fog started to surround me, something strange was happening.

« Is there someone? » I tried to shout, but the only thing I saw was this big crow on top of the streetlight. His dark color, reminded me for one second, the young man from the beach. The temperature seemed now to decrease. I tried to warm myself by rubbing my hand on my uncovered arms. But I was still freezing now.

A strong gust of wind spun my hair, I tried to replace them. Yet my vision was now reduced by the fog which appeared slowly but surely, I couldn't even see the houses close to the beach. My last thought was to grab my phone, but like a bad horror movie, I had no connection. I tried to put the flashlight on but with this strong fog that looked like a giant cloud of smoke, I couldn't see anything. I tried to rub my eyes, thinking maybe I was hallucinating. But I was not, even the streetlight seemed so far and invisible anymore.

I tried to get away from this fog, however, I met this gaze, two red eyes, that were piercing the fog. I didn't scream, I was not afraid anymore, I'd seen him multiple times in my dream, and I trusted him. I was used to his red eyes, and his soft voice telling me: « I'll come for you. ». So as he was getting closer through the strong white smoke, I left him taking my hand, only waiting for him to drive me back home.

What happened next went too fast, I could see some black hair strands. But I couldn't clearly see his face. He was so fast and the fog so thick. A strong odor, merely bearable, appeared. And a firm migraine appeared in me, I couldn't stay up, and in the last movement, I fell into him. Seeing one last time the massive fog of California.