One late October evening in 1963, in a lab nestled in the sleepy town of Haddonfield Illinois, a group of 4 lab workers were scampering around their workstations. They were turning off lights and shutting down computers and machines, which were all well beyond their time. The pristine white lab was illuminated in purple light, which originated from a row of eight glass cells along the wall. Each cell had a heat lamp hanging above it, glowing purple, allowing the creatures inside to know that it was nighttime, as the lab had no windows. The soft click-clack of claws could be heard on the concrete floor, as the cells’ inhabitants paced around lazily, too tired to play, but too focused on the movement that remained outside their cages to sleep. Occasionally, a scaly nose would try and poke its way through an air hole, fogging up the glass as it sniffed the air. Every so often, too, a long tail would smack against the wall, or against the glass as the animals turned around; they were almost too big for their cells, they weren’t supposed to be this big. According to fossil records, they were only supposed to be as big as chickens, or maybe a turkey, but they’d surpassed that weeks ago. At 8 months old, they were nearly as tall as their handlers, none of whom were shorter than 5’10”. They should’ve had feathers, too, but they were scaly with not a feather in sight. Except, of course, for one; a big female, almost a foot taller than her cloned sisters, who wore a yellow and red crest on her head, not unlike that of a cockatoo, and a few flashy feathers along her spine and on the tip of her tail. She had big, emerald-green eyes and shiny, sharp claws.
As the workers cleared out, one by one, all of them eager to go home for the night, the largest of the caged animals jumped backwards as her door was swung open, and a worker stepped inside, his name tag read “David Strode”. He held a clipboard in his hand, and as he grabbed a pen from behind his ear, he murmured, “Ok…velociraptor number 1…female…”
The raptor tilted her head, and, as her oblivious handler was distracted with his notes, she grabbed his walky-talky in her mouth and pulled it off his belt with a “click”, then set it down on the floor.
Not noticing what she’d done, the handler turned his attention to her, “You’re a big gal. We ought to call you ‘Alpha’.” he said, attempting to pat her head, but she ducked away with a hiss. The handler chuckled to himself, and shook his head, before leaving the cage and shutting the glass door behind him. Within minutes, he was the only employee left in the lab, so it was his job to call his boss at Ingen, the company that supervised this whole operation, and let them know that the lab was closed for the night. But when he reached for his walky-talky, he found it missing. Looking around the dark lab, he spotted it in Alpha’s cell. He smirked as he said, “Took it again, huh, girl?”
He stood at his desk nervously for several moments, as his boss had told him that, under no circumstances whatsoever, was any handler to be inside raptor cells without backup. But he couldn’t just leave, he had to radio his boss, and he couldn’t call and ask for advice, because, well, his walky-talky was in the cell, with Alpha. The young velociraptor watched him from her spot, perched atop her bed, with an eager, almost excited look in her reptilian eyes. She was waiting; waiting to see what he was going to do. Her gaze all but taunted him, beckoning him with an expression that screamed, “Come on. Come get it, I won’t hurt you.”
The handler sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. “Well…I guess I don’t have a choice, do I? What’s she gonna do? She’s just a baby.”
He took a deep breath and slowly approached the cell and made a mental note of the fact that Alpha wasn’t even looking at him and was instead chewing on her toy. The handler reached for the padlock and, with shaky hands, put in the code. The glass door made a harsh squeaking sound as it was opened, and he stepped inside, allowing the door to shut behind him. He glanced at the raptor one more time and, seeing that she was still paying him no mind, he turned his back to her, and bent down to pick up his walky-talky.
This was the moment for which Alpha had so patiently waited for months. She dropped her toy, stood up ever so slowly from her bed, and took a silent step forward. Her handler examined the walky-talky for damage and teeth marks, as Alpha’s other foot was placed on the floor. Her lip curled up in a snarl, and she tapped her sickle claw on the concrete.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The handler didn’t even have time to turn around before he felt a huge weight slam into his back, and he fell forward onto the floor. The other raptors were woken by his screams as Alpha’s claws and teeth tore into him, and they all began to bark and caw, like a choir of doom, and some even began slamming themselves into the glass like mad, wanting to get in on the action.
As alpha did her work, tearing her meal to shreds, she poked pieces of meat through the air holes for her fellow raptors to eat. She cared about her pack, truly, and, due to their sharing of food, by morning, nothing was left, except for bones and shredded clothes, and half licked up blood stains on the floor.
The next morning, the rest of the lab staff found the remains of their colleague and despite the Ingen’s protests, the operation was immediately shut down, and the young raptors were locked away in a single dark cell, and only fed enough to keep them alive. The lab was locked up tight to prevent any adventure seekers from accidentally discovering the raptors, and it was abandoned except for an employee feeding the raptors once a week.
Halloween: 1978
The last bell of the school day rang, and two teenage girls made their way out the door and onto the suburban sidewalks. The older of the two, Lynda, was rambling about how much she had to do that night. “I’ve got cheer practice at 4:00 and coach expects us to learn 2 totally new routines by the game on Saturday, then I have to go to the doctor at 6:00 and get my hair done at 8:00 for the dance tomorrow!” She complained. The younger, Laurie, let out a soft chuckle and said, “You know, Lynda, I don’t think you have enough to do tonight.”
“Totally.” Lynda replied, rolling her eyes and flipping her long, blond hair. As the two rounded a corner, a voice called to them from behind, “Lynda! Laurie!”
They both stopped and turned around to see Annie jogging to catch up. “Why didn’t you wait for me?” Annie asked.
“We waited for 15 minutes, Anne. You never showed.” Laurie explained. Annie huffed, “That’s not true, here I am.”
Laurie chuckled, but her smile fell when she saw Annie’s distraught expression. “Hey, I’m sorry, Annie…I would’ve waited if I’d have known you’d get upset.”
Annie shook her head. “No, that’s not it.”
Laurie tilted her head, “Then what is it?”
Annie let out an aggravated sigh. “Paul’s parents got paranoid over that fire at that old lab last night, they won’t let him come over tonight.”
“What fire?” Lynda chimed in, popping a cough drop into her mouth. “Didn’t you see it in the newspaper?” Annie asked, looking between her two friends, who both shook their heads.
“Yeah, that old Ingen lab burned, that place they claimed to make dinosaurs or something.” She explained, running her hands nervously through her curly dark hair.
“Dinosaurs? That’s silly.” Lynda said, shaking her head. But Laurie remained serious. “So…that made Paul’s parents paranoid why?” she asked. Annie shrugged.
“The police couldn’t find the remains of the raptors they’d made there, so they thought that maybe they’d gotten loose during the fire.”
Lynda scoffed. “Oh, please! They’d totally be dead by now! If they were ever even real at all.” She argued.
“I said the same thing, so did Paul but his parents are overprotective.” Annie replied, but Laurie remained quiet.
“You ok?” Annie asked.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, That’s just a little creepy, don’t you think?”
“Poor Laurie. So sheltered.” Annie teased, bumping Laurie’s shoulder. Laurie groaned in annoyance. “It’s not funny, Annie. You don’t think that could be dangerous?”
Annie shrugged. “I mean…I guess so, if they were ever there in the first place.”
Laurie sighed.
“Hey, are we still on for tonight?” Lynda asked, eager to change the subject which had now become a bit ominous.
Annie nodded. “Yeah, we are. I’m watching Lindsey Wallace tonight; her parents are leaving at 9:00.”
“Hey, that’s perfect, I’m watching Tommy Doyle across the street, we can keep each other company.” Laurie said.
“Great! You can protect me from those creepy dinosaurs.” Annie joked.
“Oh, shut up.” She fired back, giving Annie a playful punch in the shoulder.
Among the giggling of the girls, Laurie stopped dead in her tracks when she heard another, more unfamiliar sound. Lynda and Annie stopped a few feet ahead of her. “What is it?” The girls asked in unison.
“Some kinda weird clicking sound.” Laurie replied, her eyes trained on a large shrub, from behind which the sound had come.
“Probably Lynda’s heels.” Annie joked.
“Annie, can you be serious for 2 seconds!”
Laurie’s stern tone was quite out of character, which prompted both Annie and Lynda to immediately shut up.
“I feel like we’re being watched.” Laurie said softly. Annie turned to the bush that Laurie was staring at, and she saw a flash of movement from behind it. Her eyes widened briefly in fear, but the sassy teen’s fear quickly turned to annoyance. “Hey jerk! Go creep on somebody else!” she yelled, her hands on her hips.
Laurie stepped forward and grabbed Annie by the shoulders, pulling her back and accidentally causing her to fall flat on her butt.
“Laurie!” she screamed, swatting at Laurie’s hands.
“Sorry. But one day that mouth of yours is going to get us all in deep trouble.”
Annie stood up with an annoyed huff and dusted off her pants.
“Oookaaay… on that happy note, I’m home so… see you girls later tonight.” Lynda said.
Laurie nodded. “Ok. Hey, tell the doctor to give you something for that cough.”
“Ok, Mom, I will.” Lynda joked, before disappearing into her house.
As Annie and Laurie kept walking, Laurie couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. She’d noticed that, when she accidentally made Annie fall, everything had gone eerily silent. The birds went quiet, the crickets stopped chirping, even the neighborhood dogs stopped barking for a minute or two. Laurie couldn’t help but be paranoid by this; her mother had always told her that when nature goes quiet, that means there’s a predator close by. She tried to comfort herself with the explanation that she’d simply imagined things in her stress, after all, she certainly wasn’t used to Annie being angry with her, nor was she used to returning that feeling of anger to her best friend.
“Well, home sweet home. I’ll pick you up at 6.” Annie said. Laurie gave her a nod and a soft smile, as Annie trotted up the walkway to her front porch. Now that Laurie was alone, the eerie feeling was really getting to her. she looked over her shoulder, eyeing the bush that the odd sound had come from. As she walked backwards, not wanting to take her eyes off the bush, but in her distracted state she bumped into Annie’s father, and sheriff of the town, Leigh Brackett.
Laurie yelped and staggered back a step, letting out a sigh of relief when she realized she wasn’t in any danger.
“Sorry, Laurie, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said, giving her a warm smile. Laurie chuckled nervously. “It’s ok, Mr. Brackett, I’m sorry too.”
“Don’t worry about it, kiddo. After all, it’s Halloween, I guess everyone’s entitled to a good scare.”
Laurie nodded, and the two said their goodbyes and parted ways. As Laurie made her way home, she watched a group of kids trick-or-treating, she gave them a soft smile and trotted up her front porch steps and into her kitchen, where her mother was standing at the sink, washing dishes.
“Hey Mom.” She said setting her bag down on the table. “Hey dear.” Her mother replied, not looking up from the sink. “Mom? Can I ask you something?” Laurie asked. Her mother turned around as she dried her hands on a hand towel. “Sure. What is it?”
Laurie fidgeted with her hands. “That lab, the one that burned down last night… were there ever really dinosaurs there?”
Her mother’s expression fell instantly, and she turned back to her dishes. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason, just wondering.” Laurie replied, before turning and running up to her room; she could tell by her mother’s demeanor that she would not be getting a straight answer, so she felt that there was no point in pushing the issue. Laurie closed the door behind her as she entered her room, and sat her bag on the floor, and her books on the dresser, before flopping down on her bed. She sighed deeply and hugged her stuffed bat to try and calm her nerves. “Calm down…this is ridiculous.” She scolded herself aloud. After a few minutes of lying on her bed, Laurie realized that she should probably take a shower before going to her babysitting job tonight. She pulled herself off the bed with a grunt, before stepping over to the window to close it. As she reached for the window, she caught a glimpse of something large running among the hanging laundry in her neighbor’s yard. Laurie gasped and slammed the window shut, and when she went to get a second look, the large shape was gone, and in its place, a tear in one of the sheets on the line. Laurie shuddered and left her room to get a shower.
After her shower, Laurie stood in her closet doorway, wearing a fluffy white robe and her hair wrapped up in a towel. As she shuffled through her clothes for something to wear, she heard frantic knocking at the front door.
“Coming!” she called as she made her way down the stairs. As soon as she opened the door, Lynda practically tackled her getting in the house. “Close the door! Close the door!” Lynda said, standing in the corner of the living room, her arms wrapped around herself. Laurie shut and locked the door and turned around to Lynda. “Why so panicked? What’s wrong?” she asked. Lynda played nervously with her hair. “Someone’s following me. I was walking home from cheer practice, and I kept hearing footsteps either behind me, or in the bushes beside me, but every time I looked, I couldn’t see anything. And the creepiest part was… I kept hearing that same clicking sound that you heard earlier.”
Laurie’s eyes widened. “That’s…really creepy.” She said.
“I know, I’m totally scared now.” Lynda replied, plopping down on the couch. Laurie sat down beside her, and she put on a reassuring smile.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I were you, it was probably a dog or something.”
Lynda shrugged. “I guess so. Hey, Laurie, I also wanted to ask you a favor.”
“Of course, go ahead.” Laurie asked, taking the towel off her head.
“So, you know how I have a date with Bob tonight? And we’ve been planning this for weeks?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Well, I couldn’t find anything to wear so… can I borrow that leopard print blouse of yours?” Lynda asked, using her best puppy eyes. Laurie chuckled and nodded. “Of course, you can, Lyn.”
Lynda squealed. “Thanks! You’re totally the best!”
Laurie gave Lynda’s shoulder a squeeze. “No problem, Lyn. It’s in my closet on the left side.”
Lynda nodded and ran upstairs to get the blouse, and as soon as she was back down, she said, “Thanks again, Laurie. I…I’m guessing whoever was following me probably got bored and left by now, so I better get to that doctor’s appointment.”
Laurie gave Lynda a quick hug. “Ok, see you later tonight.” And with that, Lynda left.
Soon, 6:00 rolled around and Laurie hurried to get ready for Annie to pick her up. She’d run out to the store down the street soon after Lynda left and picked up a pumpkin for Tommy. She went outside, struggling for a moment under the weight of the pumpkin and her bag, before sitting down on the rock wall to wait for Annie. Moments later, Annie’s red car came around the corner, and Laurie quickly hopped into the passenger seat.
“Hey Annie.” She greeted her friend, pulling the door shut.
“Hey Laurie. What’s the pumpkin for?” Annie asked.
“It’s for Tommy. I figured carving a jack-o-lantern would keep him occupied. Plus, when I talked to his mom on the phone this evening, she said that some bullies at school made him drop and break his.”
Annie’s expression softened. “Aw, poor guy.”, she said,
“I know. He’s such a sweet kid, I don’t understand why they’re so mean to him. His mom said they were teasing him about some ‘monsters’ running loose in town.”
Annie shook her head. “Kids can be so cruel sometimes.”
The girls rode in silence for some time. The sun was starting to set over Haddonfield, and the neat rows of houses were illuminated by a soft, golden glow. The last beams of sunlight made the girls’ hair and eyes sparkle, and their skin glow as it penetrated the windshield of the car. Annie tapped her nails on the steering wheel of the car, softly humming to the song on the radio as Laurie stared out the window. As peaceful as the situation was, Laurie couldn’t help but feel uneasy, because almost every time she glanced away from the window, something was darting behind a bush, or a house, or a parked car on the street when she turned back. She calculated the size of the thing, based on the glimpses she could catch, and the objects surrounding it, that it was big. Noticeably taller than a mailbox. But, against her better judgment, she decided not to say anything to Annie; for one, she figured she wouldn’t believe her, and, for two, if she did believe her, she didn’t want to worry her.
“So, what are you and Lindsey doing tonight?” Laurie said, breaking the silence.
Annie sighed, “Well, I plan on making popcorn and watching TV; Six straight hours of horror movies are on tonight, little Lindsey won’t know what hit her.”
Laurie chuckled. “Sounds about like my evening plans.”
Annie reached into her bag and pulled out a can of beer, then handed it to Laurie.
“We have just enough time for this.” She said.
Laurie cracked the can open and handed it to Annie, who promptly took a swig from it, before handing it back to Laurie. Unlike Annie, Laurie just took a small sip. Annie took the can as Laurie handed it back to her and took another drink and handed it back again. She was definitely concerned about Annie drinking while driving, so, she had the bright idea that she should drink a lot, so Annie wouldn’t drink a lot. She brought the can to her lips and took a big gulp. Her idea backfired, though, and what little didn’t set her throat on fire went down the wrong pipe. Laurie went into a coughing fit, which promoted a concerned look from Annie as she was once again handed the can. Annie only managed to get one more drink before she spotted Leigh, surrounded by other officers and police cars, on the sidewalk ahead.
“My dad! Laurie, get rid of this!” she exclaimed, shoving the now empty can into Laurie’s hands. Laurie, still coughing, quickly shoved the can under her seat and tried to take deep breaths to stop coughing as the two pulled up and stopped beside the sidewalk. Her hacking was the first thing that caught Leigh’s attention. “You alright, Laurie?” he asked. Laurie cleared her throat and nodded, quickly whipping up a lie. “Yeah. Must’ve caught this cough from Lynda.” Leigh gave her a sympathetic smile and a nod, before Annie chimed in.
“What happened?!” Annie yelled over the police sirens.
“Something broke into a barn last night! Killed a couple cows!” Leigh responded. With those words, he caught Laurie’s attention immediately.
“Do you know what did it?!” Annie asked, and Leigh shrugged. “Wolves, probably. Or maybe coyotes.”
Annie nodded, satisfied with that answer, but Laurie couldn’t help but be skeptical. Wolves were rare, especially in the suburbs, and she had trouble imagining coyotes killing one cow, more or less more than one.
As the girls drove off, Laurie thought about the events of the past day; the lab fire, the shadows following them, the dead cows…surely all of this was just an unfortunate coincidence, right? She surely hoped so.
“Hey, Laurie, who are you going with to the dance tomorrow?” Annie asked. Laurie shrugged. “I…actually don’t think I’m going.”
“What?! Why?!” Annie exclaimed. “Did your date dump you? Because if he did, I will roll some heads.”
Laurie chuckled. “No, it’s not that. I never had a date in the first place, actually.”
Annie shook her head. “It’s tragic, Laurie, you never go out. If you could pick anyone to go with, who would it be?”
Laurie’s cheeks bloomed a deep red and she fidgeted with the stem of the pumpkin in her lap.
“C’mon, now, you can tell me.” Annie prompted.
“Ok, but promise me you won’t tell anyone?”
“I promise, now who is it?”
Laurie took a deep breath and answered, softly, “Ben Tramer.”
It wasn’t long until the car came to a stop in front of the Doyle house. Laurie said goodbye to Annie, grabbed her stuff, and hopped out of the car. Annie then proceeded to drive across the street. Annie parked her car in the garage and then made her way to the front of the house. The parents let her inside, said goodbye to their daughter, then left as Annie disappeared into the house.
Meanwhile, at the scene of the attacked cows, an older, bald man, announcing himself as Dr. Loomis, jumped out of a car and ran up to Leigh on the sidewalk.
“Can I help you, sir?” Leigh asked, turning to the panicked doctor.
“Sheriff, I need to talk to you.” Loomis said. Leigh nodded and the two stepped somewhere private.
“I assume you heard about the fire at the Ingen lab last night?” Loomis asked, and Leigh nodded.
“Ok, listen to me, you need to warn the people of this town. Those velociraptors were not at the lab. They’re remains were not there, which means they were not only still alive at the time of the fire, but they survived the fire and escaped.” Loomis explained.
Leigh raised an eyebrow. “Velociraptors, huh?”
“Yes! Now, I know this sounds farfetched, but you have to understand…some of them may not have been too risky but believe me they still are not safe. But one, the alpha, she will turn this town into a warzone, and the others can and will do what she says.”
“What’s so unique about the alpha?” Leigh asked, deciding to just play along.
“I was the head of that lab, and I came in to observe the raptors’ development every week. All except for the alpha behaved as expected. They showed some levels of empathy, and obedience, but not her. I studied her, and her alone when I noticed that she was different. Most animals, even predators, have some capability to be docile but, that raptor, is purely and simply a monster.”
At the Doyle house, Laurie sat on the couch, reading to little Tommy. The young boy stopped her mid-sentence and asked, “Can you read me some other books instead?”
Laurie tilted her head. “I thought ‘Black Beauty’ was your favorite?”
“Not anymore.” Tommy replied, as he pulled a couple of dinosaur books out from under the couch.
“Oh, you’re into dinosaurs now?” Laurie asked as Tommy handed her the books. Tommy nodded and eagerly scooted forward. Laurie opened the book and made a surprised face as she saw the names of some of the dinosaurs in the book. “Wow, well, don’t blame me if I butcher some of these pronunciations.” Laurie said, prompting a chuckle from Tommy.
Across the street, Annie was in the process of making popcorn for herself and Lindsey. She called Laurie as she stood in the kitchen, and Laurie hopped up off the couch to answer it.
“Hello? Hey Annie.”
“Hey, Laurie. I’ve got some news for you.” Annie said, a mischievous smirk on her face as she played with the phone cord.
“Oh? What is it?” Laurie asked, twirling her hair around her finger.
Annie giggled into the phone. “What would you say if I told you that you’re going to the dance tomorrow night? With none other than Ben Tramer.” At that, Laurie’s smile fell. Annie continued, “He was real excited when I told him how much you like him.”
Laurie felt like crying or hiding in a hole. Maybe both. “Oh Annie, you didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t.”
“Well, Laurie… what’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy.” Laurie buried her face in her free hand as Tommy looked at her, his head tilted and a curious look on his young face. “Annie, how could you? I’m so embarrassed, I could never face him.”
Annie sighed. “Oh Laurie, sure you can face him. You two would make a fine couple, you just needed a little nudge.” Laurie scoffed. “Annie! That wasn’t a nudge, that was a push off a cliff!”
Annie rolled her eyes with a soft huff. “Laurie, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were gonna get all upset.”
Before Laurie could respond, she heard Tommy yelling at her to come look at something. “Annie, I gotta go. But you better believe we will be discussing this further later.” With that, she hung up and went to see what all of Tommy’s fuss was about.
“Laurie! Laurie, there’s something outside, look!” The child yelled, frantically pointing to the window. Laurie peered through the blinds. “There’s nothing out there, buddy.” She said. Tommy insisted that he saw something. As the two sat down on the couch, and the nervous Tommy crawled into his babysitter’s lap, Laurie decided to play along. “Ok, Tommy. What’d it look like?”
“It…it was big, and tall. Taller than you, I think. It had a long tail, and-“He paused, before scooting off of Laurie’s lap to grab the dinosaur book they were reading earlier. Laurie watched as he quickly flipped through pages, before thrusting the book into Laurie’s hands and pointing to a picture.
“Velociraptor…” Laurie slowly pronounced the name. “Tommy, there’s no such thing.”
“There used to be! They were real thousands of years ago!” The boy protested.
“But that’s the thing, Tommy. They’re not around anymore.” Laurie argued, handing the book back to Tommy. He shook his head, “You don’t know that! Scientists find animals that were supposed to be extinct sometimes!”
“Well, that’s true I guess…but, Tommy, I’m confident you didn’t see a dinosaur. But even if you did, I’ll protect you.”
“Promise?” Tommy asked.
“I promise.”
Meanwhile, at the Wallace house, Annie was in the kitchen making popcorn while Lindsey watched TV. As the brunette went to stir the pan, a dollop of melted butter sloshed out of the pan and onto her shirt. “Ugh! Crap! Popcorn butter on my perfect outfit. Just my luck.” Annie grumbled as she stripped to her underwear in the kitchen, calling out to Lindsey to get her a robe. Little Lindsey was so engrossed in her movie that she didn’t even hear Annie’s pleas. Frustrated, Annie found an oversized white shirt in the hall closet and slipped it on before taking the now slightly burnt popcorn off the stove and making her way out the front door to the laundry house.
She walked along a concrete path that led to a small white building in the backyard of the Wallace house. Annie pushed through the glass door; her arms full with her buttered clothes. With the door still ajar behind her, she dumped the clothes into the washer and poured a generous amount of laundry detergent in with them. With a tired huff, she slammed the lid shut. As she fidgeted with the buttons, Annie didn’t see the movement behind her back. Outside the little white shack, a large shadow came slinking around the back of the house and down that little concrete path. With Annie’s back turned, a reptilian snout nudged the door shut. When Annie heard the door slam, she whipped around, but by the time she’d turned, the culprit was out of sight. “Just great.” Annie grumbled as she went to open the door. She jiggled the nob, and pressed her weight against the door, but it didn’t open. It was locked.
“Oh no…Lindsey! Come help me, the door won’t open!” She became even more desperate when the phone began to ring inside. “Oh Lindsey, get the phone! It’s probably Paul! Lindsey!!” Annie cried out to Lindsey, but the girl couldn’t hear her over the movie that she was still engrossed in. She did, however, eventually answer the phone. Annie had been right; it was Paul, and he was asking for Annie. Lindsey laid the phone down and ran outside. “Annie! Paul called!” She yelled into the darkness. The only response she received was a tearful and frustrated yell from Annie. Lindsey tilted her head in confusion before rushing to see what was going on. Lindsey managed to pull the door open and closed it again behind her as she made her way into the laundry house. When she looked up, Annie was hanging halfway out the window, struggling as her foot was caught in a shelf.
“Help me, I’m stuck!” Annie whined. Lindsey carefully pulled Annie’s foot loose from the shelf, allowing her to flop onto the concrete floor on her butt. As Annie wiped away tears of frustration from her blushing cheeks, Lindsey asked “How’d you get stuck in the window?”
Annie let out an exasperated sigh. “The door got stuck, and I figured I could fit through the window. Guess I was wrong.” The babysitter replied. Taking note of Lindey’s giggle, Annie grabbed the girl’s shoulder’s and begged, “Please don’t tell anyone about this.” Without another word, the two made their way back to the house, Lindsey taking off running to answer the ringing phone and Annie on her heels. The little girl beat Annie to the phone and, picking it up, promptly ratted Annie out to Paul. “She got stuck in the window; she’ll be right there.” Annie shot her an annoyed look as her cheeks reddened all over again, and she took the phone.
“Hi, Paul.” She greeted her boyfriend. “Stuck, huh?” Paul asked, a smirk on his face. “Yeah, very funny. It can happen to anyone.” Annie defended herself, fidgeting with her dark curls. “My parents are gone. They left about a half hour ago. Which means I can come over.” Annie’s smile immediately returned. “Oh, that’s fantastic! Why don’t you walk on over.”
“Can you come pick me up?” Paul asked. “I can’t, my clothes are in the wash.”
“You won’t need ‘em.” Paul flirted. Annie scoffed. “Oh, shut up! Gosh, can’t you be serious for two minutes?” Paul laughed into the phone. “I can’t help it that you’re pretty.”
“Flattery won’t work, Paul. Ugh, fine. I’ll be right over.”
With that, Annie trotted off to the living room to get Lindsey. “C’mon Lindsey, we’ve gotta go pick up Paul.” she said, wrapping a jacket around Lindey’s shoulders. The girl shrugged the jacket off. “No, I don’t want to. I wanna finish this movie.” She argued. With her hands on her hips, Annie sighed. “Well, what would you say if I told you I could arrange for you to finish watching it with Tommy Doyle?” At that, Lindsey perked up. “Ok!”
The girl jumped up and followed Annie out the door and across the street, bowl of popcorn in hand. As the two crossed the street, in the darkness, a pair of reptilian eyes watched their every move from being some shrubs. Annie paused only for a moment as she reached the front porch of the Doyle house, a yellow glint reflecting off the porch light catching her attention. When she saw nothing upon turning for a better look, though, she brushed it off, and knocked on the door. Little Tommy let them in, and as Lindsey went to the couch to resume her movie watching, Annie took a handful of popcorn from the bowl that the girl carried. She walked to the kitchen, where Laurie stood at the counter. Wearing an apron and up to her elbows in pumpkin guts. When she saw her disheveled best friend, dressed in nothing but a long shirt and a blanket around her shoulders, she smirked. “Oh, fancy.” she teased. Annie leaned against the doorframe and rolled her eyes. “This has not been a good night for me. I spilled butter on my clothes, got stuck in the laundry room window, hurt my stupid tailbone and Lindsey just had to tell Paul about it!” She vented, as Laurie wiped off her hands with a towel and stood facing her, leaning against the other side of the doorframe. “Oh Annie…relax, it’ll get better.”
“Yes, it sure will, because Paul found a way to sneak out. I’m on my way to go pick him up.” Annie beamed. “Oh, that’s great- wait a minute, who’s going to be watching Lindsey?” Laurie asked, crossing her arms. “Well, Laurie…best friend ever who I love…I was thinking maybe you would watch her.”
Laurie gave a deep sigh. “Alright, fine. But only because I love you.” Annie gave her friend a tight hug, thanking her. “You’re the best, Laurie.” she said, popping a piece of popcorn into Laurie’s mouth. And with one final hug, Annie departed, saying goodbye to Lindsey and Tommy, and back out into the darkness she went.
Annie walked briskly across the street, humming to the tune of “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton. She trotted up the porch steps and back into the house, where she fixed up her hair in the hallway mirror before putting her hair pick back in her purse and heading to the garage. Annie flung the car door open and plopped down into the passenger seat. No sooner had she pulled the door shut behind her, did her humming abruptly stop. Her hand had brushed against something odd on the leather seat; she looked down, to find three huge, deep claw marks in the leather. “What on earth?” she wondered aloud, running her finger along one of the claw marks. As Annie examined the marks, a huge, tall shape lunged from the darkness of the backseat. Annie screamed as she was pinned against the seat, and a set of razor-like teeth sunk into her throat. She tried to scream, but no sound would come out except for muted whines and sobs. The teenager clawed at the scaly muzzle that clamped around her neck. Blood dripped down onto her white shirt as she desperately struggled to get out of the creature’s grasp. She kicked, clawed, punched…but the more she struggled, the more it hurt. The teeth, which were hooked backwards like that of a snake, only did more damage as she tried to pull away. Even then, though, Annie refused to go down without a fight. The snarling raptor knew this. Unfortunately for Annie, when you’re a starving predator who hasn’t eaten properly in weeks, you’re in no mood to tolerate protesting prey. The raptor’s tail lashed in the car, smashing the back seat windows as she tried to crawl into the front, to get a better hold on Annie. Readjusting her grip, she began to shake her head like a pit-bull with a squeaky toy, bashing Annie’s head against the steering wheel in the process. Immediately, she was out cold, slumped against the car horn as it blared, and her expression frozen in a silent scream.
The raptor took a moment to admire her work, before deciding she’d rather take her meal somewhere more…private. Instinctually, she knew it was wise to eat away from the kill sight, as a struggle could attract unwanted attention from other predators. So, she lumbered out of the car, before taking Annie’s shirt collar in her mouth and flinging her over her back like a bag of flour. She slinked out of the garage, across the moonlit front lawn, up the porch steps, and, using her versatile, fingered hands, opened the door, letting herself inside. Up the stairs she went, Annie limp on her back. Her claws tapped on the hardwood floor as she sauntered into the bedroom, where she flopped her prize down on the bed. She was moments from digging in, when the sound of a car door caught her attention.
Bob and Lynda had just pulled up outside. Slightly drunk, the young couple stumbled out of the car as beer cans clattered on the pavement. Bob hoisted his girlfriend up into a bridal carry, walking with her as she laughed and giggled, kicking her feet as a playful attempt to escape. The two were quickly sobered, however, upon discovering the front door ajar, and the eerie silence of the dark house. In the back of their minds, they knew something wasn’t right, but alcohol and the promise of an evening to themselves overshadowed any red flags. Lynda tossed her jacket onto the couch and sat her bag on the floor as Bob followed her and sat down on the couch. Lynda assumed her position on his lap, and they kissed. What was meant to be a sweet moment, though, was interrupted by Bob breaking away and glancing toward the kitchen. “What’s wrong?” Lynda questioned; her tone annoyed. “Thought I heard something.” He answered, his grip on Lynda tightening in a gesture of protectiveness. This made Lynda nervous. “What was it?” she asked, her gaze following his to the dark kitchen. “I dunno.” Bob chuckled, and seeing how he was scaring Lynda, and not wanting to upset her further, he said, “Probably Annie. Trying to scare us.”
Lynda seemed satisfied with that explanation, and she relaxed, reclining back against her boyfriend’s chest with a sigh. Just as the two settled in on the couch, the phone rang. Lynda leaned over to pick it up, and she answered it.
“Hello? Oh, hey, Laurie. Have you seen Annie? She’s not here.”
Laurie paused. “That’s odd…she dropped Lindsey off with me and went to pick up Paul. I thought she’d be back by now.” The two stayed quiet for a moment, before Laurie continued. “But when she gets back, can you have her call me? I need to know what time to put Lindsey to bed.”
“Totally, yeah. Talk to ya later.” Lynda replied, and the two hung up. Lynda relayed the call’s information to Bob, and, although slightly concerned about Annie’s unknown whereabouts, he was happy to hear that, with Lindsey with Laurie, they had the house to themselves. So, upstairs they went, and headed for the bedroom. Blissfully unaware of what had just transpired in this room, overlooking the small blood drops on the carpet, they settled into the bed. The young couple cuddled close in each other’s arms, as the orange, flickering light of a jack-o-lantern on the nightstand illuminated their features in the dark bedroom. Bob ran his fingers through Lynda’s luxurious blonde waves, planting soft kisses to her forehead and cheeks. The cheerleader smiled, her cheeks lit up in a pink blush, as she snuggled into the haven that was his arms. Her hair, teased by her lover’s hands, shimmered in the soft light of the jack-o-lantern, along with a bit of moonlight that peeked through the curtain lace. The young couple nestled themselves deeper under the quilted comforter, feeling as warm and safe as two people could feel. That’s how they fell asleep; huddled in each other’s embrace, feeling as if nothing could possibly go wrong tonight.
It was a couple of hours before the two of them began to stir; Lynda being the first to open her big brown eyes. She found herself still in Bob’s arms, but a tickle in the back of her throat ruined the moment and sent her coughing. “Stupid lingering cough…” she grumbled, as she gently shook Bob awake. He opened his eyes, his expression one of concern when he registered Lynda’s coughing. “You alright, Lyn?” he asked, giving her a pat on the back. Lynda shook her head, a pouting look on her face as she begged, “Get me some water, please?”
“Of course, yeah. Be right back, don’t move.” Bob said, immediately untangling himself from their cuddle position and disappearing out the bedroom door. He could still hear her coughing, so he tried to be quick about getting her some water. He muttered to himself about how “that cough is getting worse” and “why hasn’t that useless doctor actually done anything for her?”.
Just as he reached for the refrigerator door, he heard a sound coming from the pantry. Turning around, he smirked. “Nice try, Annie. I knew you were trying to scare us”, he said as he reached for the doorknob. But what burst from behind the door, was not Annie. Bob was pinned against the kitchen wall before he could even register what was happening. Too stunned to yell for help, he simply tried to fight, kicking at the raptor as she sunk her claws into him. He felt himself being lifted off the ground, and he was momentarily shocked at the strength and size of this thing. He was six feet tall, and she was easily several inches taller than he was. And to be able to lift something almost as big as yourself without so much as being winded…it was at this moment that Bob knew he had no chance. Then his mind flashed back to Lynda. The thought of her being torn apart by this monster was scarier to him than suffering the same fate himself. So, he stopped fighting. He stopped kicking, he stopped punching, he stopped struggling, and he closed his eyes. He knew he was a goner; he knew this as he felt the sickle claw pierce into his abdomen. “But that’s ok…” he thought, as his mind became fuzzy, and the room spun. “If she’s got me…maybe she’ll leave Lynda alone.”
In the midst of her coughing, it took Lynda a few minutes to realize that Bob had been gone for a while. She’d managed to get it under control, but, still, that water would be much appreciated right about now. She stood up out of bed, about to go downstairs and see what was taking so long, when she heard footsteps coming back up the stairs. “Finally.” She mumbled with a soft smile. Turning her back to the door, she reached for the phone. She intended to call Laurie and see if she knew where Annie and Paul had gotten to. They still hadn’t shown up. As she waited for Laurie to pick up the phone, footsteps came down the hall, and finally she felt a presence behind her in the bedroom. “Hey babe. What took so long?” she asked. No response. “Well? What’s wrong? Where’s that water?” she asked, her tone becoming somewhat agitated as she cleared her itchy throat again. Still no response, but footsteps continued to approach slowly from behind. At that moment, she heard Laurie’s voice from the other end of the phone. “Hello?”
Lynda opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get a word out, the raptor made her move. Lynda gasped as a long tail wrapped tightly around her neck, and, still clutching the phone, she tried desperately to call for help. All that came out, however, were coughs and strangled whines. “Lynda? Are you having a coughing spell again? I told you to get that checked.”
The muscular tail wrapped tighter around the cheerleader’s throat, reptilian eyes staring at her horrified expression. Lynda kept trying to call out, but she was running out of air, and she was getting weak, fast. She stared right back into those amber eyes, taking note of the sharp teeth that were on full display as the raptor snarled. “Lynda? Are you alright?” Laurie asked, becoming concerned now. No response from Lynda except for more gagging and gasping. Laurie’s eyes widened. “She must be choking.” She thought. “Lyn…I’ll be right there!” and with that the line went dead. Filled with a vague sense of hope at Laurie’s promise, Lynda let herself fall to the floor, face pale, lungs burning, and then the world went black.
Across the street, Laurie was ordering the kids to stay put, that she’d be right back as she dashed out the door. The raptor heard the door slam shut across the street and, seeing Laurie out the bedroom window, her insanely intelligent mind quickly whipped up an idea for a trap. With the help of two other raptors, she dragged Annie and Bob back into the bedroom, laying the three teenagers out like some kind of twisted bait. Annie lay on the bed, Lynda on the floor where she’d fallen, phone still clutched in her hand, and Bob propped up in the closet. As soon as Laurie reached the front door, the three raptors dispersed, hiding, awaiting their opportunity to ambush.
Laurie entered the house and called out for Lynda. When she heard no response, she called for Bob next. Still nothing. Finally, she called for Annie. Once again, silence. The house was dark, and eerily silent as Laurie made her way up the stairs. The lack of response, and no sound of Lynda’s coughing made Laurie begin to wonder if this was all some elaborate prank. She thought back to what Tommy had claimed to see outside, Annie’s disappearance, Lynda supposedly choking on the phone, and now this seemingly deserted house. “They’re trying to scare me.” She thought. And why wouldn’t they be? It was Halloween after all, and Laurie was the most skittish of the group. But, on the other hand…it was odd that those cows had been killed, and that lab had burned on the same day. Some coincidence? Maybe. Were these events the inspiration for this joke? Seems logical. But even still, the further Laurie went up the stairs, the more she felt that something was wrong. As she came to the top of the stairs, Laurie saw a light coming from underneath the bedroom door. She slowly approached the door, expecting to jump scared by one of her friends, and she cautiously pushed it open.
It took Laurie’s young mind a moment to process what she was seeing, but once she did, a blood curdling scream escaped her throat. The first thing she noticed was Annie. Her best friend, lying on the bed, blood on her clothes. Laurie sprinted to Annie’s side, practically throwing herself onto the bed beside her as she frantically checked for a pulse. In her concentration, she nearly fell off the bed when Annie opened her eyes. “Annie! Oh, Annie, can you hear me?! What happened?!”
Annie’s entire body trembled as she struggled for air. “L-Laurie?” she gasped. Laurie cupped Annie’s pale face in her hands, stroking her cheek with her thumb. “Yes, it’s me. It’s Laurie.” she responded, her voice cracking with emotion. Annie reached up, clutching Laurie’s shirt with a weak grip as she repeated, over and over, “don’t leave me…”
Laurie reassured her constantly that she wasn’t going anywhere. Laurie moved into a sitting position next to her friend and scooped her up to cradle her in her lap. She rocked back and forth, tears dripping from her eyes and into Annie’s hair as she clutched her. Annie’s trembling slowed slightly as Laurie held her, but she still struggled to breathe; each inhale caused her entire body to tense with the effort, as Laurie tilted her head back to try to help her. Laurie stroked Annie’s tear-dampened hair while kissing her forehead, telling her over and over how much she loved her. A weak smile painted Annie’s pale lips, and with another struggling breath, she whispered, “I love you too…”
Laurie’s mind went back to when they were little; taking horseback riding lessons together, the many sleepovers, how many times they’d stayed home from school to care for each other when sick, and how many times she’d rocked Annie to sleep. Just like always, she rocked slowly back and forth, her arms cradling Annie, and their eyes locked. The girls stared into each other’s eyes, until Annie’s drifted closed.
Laurie sobbed as she felt her best friend go limp in her arms, and it wasn’t until she came to her senses, and looked for the phone to call for help, that she even noticed poor Lynda and Bob. Devastated, and feeling like a horrible friend, Laurie gingerly laid Annie back down on the bed, and sank to the floor next to Lynda. She notices an ugly bruise painting Lynda’s throat, like a necklace. Laurie gently took the phone from Lynda’s hand, but before she could use it, she noticed Bob, too. Laurie dropped the phone, and, burying her face in her hands, she screamed and cried. She crawled over to Bob, running her finger over the wound in his stomach. She half-heartedly called each of her friends’ names, praying that just one of them would respond. But the only sound in the room was Laurie’s own sobbing. She dragged herself back up on the bed, curling up in a ball next to Annie, her shoulders shaking with silent cries.
Minutes later, Laurie’s tearful gaze shifted to the window as she heard sirens pulling up outside the house. Apparently, Tommy and Lindsey had heard her screaming and called the police. It was only a few seconds before Laurie heard footsteps running up the stairs. Terrified, she backed up against the headboard, clutching Annie to her chest, and shielding her from whoever was about to come through the door.
Through the bedroom door came Leigh Brackett; the sheriff’s gun was drawn, but he lowered his weapon upon seeing Laurie, holding onto…something, for dear life. It looked like a blanket. His eyes widened as he saw the carnage in the room, Bob and Lynda laid out on the floor. He approached a trembling Laurie, and as he got closer, it became clear that what was wrapped in Laurie’s arms was no bloodstained blanket…it was Annie.
Laurie moved her arms and Leigh got a good look at his daughter, and her bleeding throat. The sheriff fell to his knees next to the bed, tears streaming down his cheeks as Laurie mumbled apologies over and over. Annie lay against Laurie’s chest, her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted; she looked as if she were merely asleep. He watched as Laurie stroked Annie’s shoulder and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. Leigh gently took Annie’s hand, kissing it as he stared at her peaceful face, nestled against Laurie’s chest. Laurie glanced down at him, and he up at her. “I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have let her leave…” Laurie whispered, her breath hitching between words. Leigh’s gaze softened, as he cupped Laurie’s cheek. “Oh kiddo…it’s not your fault…”
Laurie leaned into his touch, closing her eyes, as if that would somehow make all of this go away.
From the hallway, a deafening screech sounded. Leigh immediately stood up, gun drawn and facing the door. Laurie laid Annie back down and stood behind him. The sheriff glanced to the door that led to the next bedroom over. “Laurie…run. Out that door. As fast as you can. And don’t look back.”
The teenager didn’t hesitate. She made a mad dash for the door and into the other bedroom. She got out into the hallway, but from the shadows pounced one of the raptors, blocking her path to the stairs. She turned around to run the other way, and another of the beasts came from that way, too. She was trapped. In a desperate attempt to escape, she tried to push past the raptor next to the stairs, but the animal was too strong. Sinking a claw into Laurie’s upper arm, and her jaws clamping down on her hand. Laurie screamed, rivers of hot tears pouring down her cheeks as she tried to get away. In her peripheral vision, she could see the second raptor moving in for the kill. So, with all her strength, Laurie kneed the already attacking raptor in the chest, knocking the breath out of her long enough for her to let go. But now what? She was still trapped between these two monsters, and clearly fighting was not an option. The raptors were closing in, and Laurie was certain she was a goner. But then she glanced at the stair rail beside her. How long of a fall was that, exactly? She wondered, her mind racing as she hesitated, glancing down at the hard landing around thirty feet down. But when she saw those teeth getting closer, Laurie decided that it was worth the risk. So, in one swift motion, Laurie flung herself over the banister.
She landed hard, and right on her ankle. She screamed in pain, and tried to get up, but she just fell right back down on her belly. She knew she’d made a terrible mistake; now she was immobilized, perfect for prey. One raptor barreled down the stairs while the other jumped down the same way Laurie had. The raptor landed gracefully on her feet, right next to Laurie. The impact shook the floor, prompting Laurie to cover her face in fear. Fully prepared to meet Annie, Lynda and Bob, she curled into the fetal position.
But suddenly…a gunshot, and the raptor squealed and fell over beside her. The other suffered the same fate seconds later. That was the last thing Laurie saw, before she blacked out.
