Satan's Gift

Chapter one: Halloween

It was a dark night yet a very eventful one. Kids, teens, and adults of all ages were outside celebrating Halloween.

"Ticker treat!" Shouted, my young brother. He was only eight years old. He had light-brown hair, loosely curled downwards and bright blue eyes. It was around eleven-thirty in the evening, and I was getting tired and sleepy.

My brother, on the other hand, loved Halloween nights. He could stay up the whole night and collect candies. "Enough already! Let's go home," I said to him in a very low tone voice. It was cold, and I was shivering.

"Please, Ian. Can't we collect some more a little longer?" My brother asked in a cute manner, showing me his bright, puppy eyes. Darren was a little brat at times, but I loved him a lot, everyone did actually. "Okay, just ten more minutes before we go home," I replied with a sigh.

Just as we were walking towards Mr and Mrs. Griffin's house, someone grabbed my left arm from behind and pulled me aggressively. "Ian! Well, look at you! Looking all handsome and everything in this suit," it was Xenette. My best friend and apparently, we were in the same class. She's a pretty fun-loving and energetic person. "Hi! Damn! You almost gave me a heart attack, pulling me from behind like that all of a sudden. And thank you, by the way. You look lovely also,"

"Hehehe! Sorry. Actually, we were just returning early. Though I still want to have some fun," Xenette said with a grin. "We?"I asked in a confused tone. "Yeah... I came with my sisters, they're over there talking to their friend. I saw you and came here," replied Xenette, excitedly.
I was glad that she came along. I was getting bored with my younger brother.

"Why are you guys returning early?"I asked Xenette. "Urggh! It's my sisters. Their phones are dead, and now they can't text their boyfriend without it. That's why they're eager to go home."she replied in a very disappointed manner.

"I was just about to go home also. Darren and I were about to call it a night after visiting the Griffin's," I told Xenette.
"Aw! Too bad. All my other friends are no fun, and now you're going also," she said sadly. I also wanted to stay out for a little longer, but I wasn't with a fun company, and mom told me to get Darren home on time.
"Hey, I'd love to stay, but mom told me to get Darren home on time," I told Xenette.
"Hey, that's not a problem. My sisters will go past your house, and they can drop Darren at your place," Xenette said, hoping to get a favorable reply.
"I thought you were going with them?"I questioned with a furrow.

"I change my mind! C'mon, we will have fun roaming around and finding more friends!", Xenette replied with a wide smile.
"

Well, I could go, but... ah! Let's go. I don't have anything better to do at home anyway," I also replied with a smile, not a very wide one, though.

Xenette was persuasive as always. She was kind of a wild card, and I loved that about her. Though that's a very opposite trait of her compared to me, yet we were best friends because we also shared some similar qualities; both of us loved reading books. She was one of those kids in school who knows how to do almost everything, whether it's looking cool or being brilliant in academic work. She's 5'67ft tall, just an inch shorter than me. She has beautifully long hair, black, and hazel eyes. She was one of the most prettiest girls in school.

I, on the other hand, was a nerd. But pretty tall and built for a nerd. I didn't look like a nerd, but I was. I was the smartest guy in the entire school, I suppose. I didn't talk much in school. No one knew me better than Xenette did. I didn't have any girlfriend in school either. Some people in school thought that I'm gay and some couldn't make anything out of my mysterious personality. Mysterious! Yes, I think that's what I am. Mysterious.
As we walked on, Xenette stopped suddenly and said,
"Hey, you know what? Let's go and explore that abandoned house on sixty-seven James street!".
I didn't like the idea. I wasn't scared, but I didn't like getting into trouble. My mom never supports the idea of me and Xenette hanging out; she thinks that Xenette is a bad influence on me.
"Come on, let's go," she added deliriously.
"I'm not so sure," I replied with a grin.
"Come on, scaredy cat!"said Xenette in a mocking manner.
"I'm not a scaredy cat, Xenette! You know what? Let's go. I'll prove it to you," I replied to Xenette with determination.

Xenette and I got into my car, and I started driving to sixty-seven James street. Back on my mind, I knew that I was already in trouble for not showing up with Darren. My phone suddenly started ringing. Windows of my car were open, and my long, black hair was getting into my eyes. Every now and then, I moved my hair away from the eyes, which usually falls on my forehead, and one or two of them covers my eyes. My hair was pretty long at the front.
"Ian, your phone is ringing," Xenette said with a sigh.
"I know, it's mom. Let it go to voicemail," I replied with a shrug.

We reached the abandoned house in five minutes. We looked for a way to get in, but it was well concealed.
"Let's go and find a way from the back," Xenette said eagerly.
There was a large forest at the back of the house. While we were looking for a way to get in, I heard some weird noises from the jungle. As if someone was screaming in agony.
"Did you hear that, Xen?"I asked Xenette dreadfully.
"Hear what?" She questioned.
Just as I was about to tell her, another series of that awful scream came from the woods. It was ungodly...
"Um... Ian, call me crazy but let's go and check it out," she suggested with a curious look on her face.
"It could be dangerous, Xenette," I replied reluctantly.
"Come on, Ian. It's Halloween. It's probably people out there who are just playing pranks," she said in a very confident manner.

She did have a point, though. It was Halloween and it isn't unusual for these things to occur. But yet, we proceeded with caution.
It was really quiet in the woods. We could hear our footsteps crushing dried leaves that were on the ground.
We could hear the wind blowing swiftly and the trees creating creepy noises in the process. We had nothing but our phones flash as torch. We covered quite some distance, and that's when I thought that it was all a waste of time and that we should go back.
"Nothing is here, Xen. Let's go back," I told Xenette in a very low tone voice.
"Maybe you're right. Let's go. It's getting late, and my parents are gonna ground me if I get even more late," she replied in disappointment.

Just as we were going, we heard that scream again, but this time, it was really loud and felt as if it was really near. The scream was certainly ungodly and beyond human capabilities. I looked at Xenette, and she just froze in terror. I could see her breathing heavily and sweat shining on her face. She wasn't one of those girls who got terrified that easily.
"You okay?" I asked her, a little terrified myself.
"I'm okay, let's go outta here!"she replied to my question in a very frightened tone. We made a U-turn and were walking faster. We felt as if something was following us. Xenette looked back and saw nothing. She started to run, and I followed.
"Hey, what happened?"I asked Xenette in a panting manner.

"Something is following us!"she shouted in terror. Hearing that made my heart rate increase dramatically. I just grabbed her hand and ran, didn't even care to look back. We could see the house and my car parked near it, fifty metres away. Just as we were about to reach the car, I blacked out. It felt as if something had hit me from the back.