Halloween Essay

Chapter Four

I woke with a dry taste in my mouth with my face pressed up against the gritty concrete. My arm was twisted at an unnatural angle. Above me, the faces of my neighbors peered down on me.

"Are they dead?"

"No, Johnathon! They just had a bad fall is all."

"Call Bob and Lilly, John."

"How about I call 911 first?"

"Hey I think they're waking up!"

"Let's give 'em some room!"

I tried to sit up, but couldn't even try to because of the splitting pain in my arm. The world was spinning around me like one of those carnival rides where you twirl fast, sticking to the wall with G-force, and the floor drops out. The sound of sirens met my ears as the ambulance arrived.

"Make room, make room..."

"Easy there. Don't touch the arm. It looks fractured."

"Ma'am, did you see what happened?"

"This is Z, our neighbor, and they were walking along an' tripped on something. Next thing I know, they're lyin' on the ground!"

The paramedics gently helped me to my feet. I stifled a groan and held my arm awkwardly to my body as we drove to the hospital.

That night, I layed in my bed, tracing the new green cast on my arm. I felt along the bumpy, cool texture and thought about what I had seen today. I was knocked out of my thoughts when I heard a tapping sound at my window. When I saw what it was, I had to stop myself from screaming. It was The Shape. It formed a mouth with its oily black surface and the eerie semblance of eyes. It reached out and touched the glass with its bony, oily hand. Each of the six clawed fingers tapped my window in rapid succession. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, thunk went the last finger, ending the chain.

It held up the other arm, which I could see now was missing and made a sound like a cry of mourning. I suddenly knew why it had shown itself to me today. I knew what I had to do.