Runaway Halloween

Chapter 2

Melanie entered the home and felt a chill overtake her as she walked through the kitchen and into the living room.

As she stood by the door which separated the kitchen from the living room, she searched the living room with her eyes and had an uneasy feeling things were different. Everything was where it should have been, but the feeling remained, as she felt herself grow cold.

Sitting on a chair by the electric fire, she turned it to maximum, trying to get herself warm. As she placed her hands in front of it, she continued to scan the room from the chair. Her gaze passed the window and she thought she saw a shadow move across it. Snapping her head back expecting to see something, there was nothing.

Without Brian for six months, she was always comforted by the feeling of his presence when she had arrived home from work and was able to sense him watching over her. She didn't need to explain the reasons to herself because she was happy.

Tonight was the first time she had entered the house feeling cold, frightened and scared.

She called for Brian.

No answer.

That was another thing which had always convinced her she was being watched over. Whenever she had called his name before tonight, she imagined hearing a response which left her with a feeling of comfort that Brian had remained after his death.

With her hands warm, Melanie pushed herself back into the chair, secretly liking her imagination for providing her with the thoughts that Brian had remained after his death, but why had they disappeared so quick?

Looking at the window, the curtains opened.

She rushed from her chair to close them.

As her fingertips touched the curtains, a shock coursed through her fingers and down her body.

"Let him go," she heard someone whisper.

"Whose there?" she stammered as she turned to look around the room incase someone had followed her inside.

She had been to a friend's house for a Halloween Party with their children, and liked children come knocking the door to try to frighten her with their ghostly masks.

In contrast, Brian had never liked the evening, which was why he never wanted to go to their friend's home to celebrate.

No one answered.

She pulled the curtains closed. As the edges touched to cover the window, a bolt of lightening pulsed from the joining curtains to light the room. Her gaze searched the room to see if she had imagined it.

Nothing.

She returned to the chair, holding onto the arms.

Melanie pulled a jumper Brian used to always wear from an arm of the chair to enable herself to feel close to him.

Rubbing it against her cheek, she heard that voice again, "You've got to let him go."

She dropped the jumper into her lap as she looked around the room.

The curtains snapped open.

Melanie jumped up from the chair to close the curtains as the jumper fell to the floor. She was getting frightened and wanted to run from the house, but saw something in the garden look back at her.

Running into the kitchen, she grabbed a knife from the cutlery drawer and showed it to the visitor. "If you don't go, I will bring this out to use it on you," she said, menacingly.

The visitor raised it's bony fingers to point them towards the window, as it said low and drawn out, "You have to let Brian go. He has been trying to cheat his destiny for too long causing us to come and get him." As the figure said the second part of the sentence, other figures like it appeared beside. "He has spent too long trying to remain with you, and forced us to do what we try to avoid."

One of the recent appearances took over with the speech, "He has tried to run from us too long to remain with you. We understand why he did, but he has to make room for others like him. We allow them to remain for a short period of time, but they have to come to us eventually. If they don't join us of their own free will, we have to come and collect them. Show the others it's no use running forever. In our world, forever does not exist."

She remained watching as the one speaking floated towards the window.

By it, he continued, "Now he has tried to run from us for this period of time, we may have to make it more difficult for him to see any of his loved ones when they eventually join him." It tapped it's bony finger on the window five times.

© 2016 Tony Lawrence. All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer- The pictures are NOT mine