11/13
Vernon noticed as he was walking the bike to Chan's house that the sun was still laughing. Even while it was setting, the sun was still laughing. Normally, when the sun sets, it's lazy and half asleep. Vernon couldn't help but feel suspicious; the sun just kept laughing, and he felt like it was laughing at him. Vernon kept looking over his shoulder every time the laughing got to him. He thought that maybe the sun was laughing at something right behind him, but there was no one and nothing behind him.
The sky was slowly getting darker, but the sun was still setting. Vernon found himself standing in front of Chan's house as soon as the sun was starting to fall asleep. He sighed in relief and knocked on the door, the bike resting at his side. The door opened, and instead of seeing Chan, Vernon saw Chan's mother. He blinked and then bowed, Chan's mother looking worried.
"Vernon, have you seen Chan?" she asked quietly.
Vernon looked at her. She looked as if she had been crying all night, and her clothes and hair were dirty. He shook his head, and she continued.
"Chan didn't come back last night," she sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was hoping he showed up at school today, at least. I was hoping he was just being rebellious."
"I can look for him, if you want," Vernon couldn't believe what he was saying. He wanted to look for Chan, but it was getting darker by the second and Vernon was getting scared.
"No, that's okay," Chan's mother shook her head. "The police are already on the lookout for him. Make sure to tell the rest of your friends so they can look for him too, please."
Vernon nodded and bowed again, Chan's mother closing the door after he turned around. He considered leaving the bike at Chan's house just in case, but he needed the bike if he was supposed to look for Chan. Vernon took the bike with him as he set off to look for his missing friend. It was the least he could do for Chan and his mother.
It was dark outside when Vernon set off from Chan's house. The sun was gone, and the moon was looking down at the town, at Vernon. Vernon just kept eyeing the moon as he biked along the dirt path towards the school. It was starting to get windy and chillier, and Vernon wished he brought a jacket. He kept his steady biking pace as he passed familiar landmarks on his way to school. He thought maybe, just maybe, Chan might have taken the forest path to get to school because it was shorter. The forest path may have been shorter, but it was confusing to get through, especially in the middle of the night. Vernon took a right once he got to the forest instead of going straight like he normally did. He didn't know, however, that just up ahead, there was a stray flashlight, the flashlight Chan dropped, along the regular, open path, the path Chan took the night before.
All of a sudden, the moon started laughing as soon as Vernon entered the forest. It wasn't the type of laughter the sun was letting out during the day, but a more sinister, evil laugh that chilled Vernon to his very bone. He shivered, causing him to lose control of the steering for a split second. During that split second, the tire hit a rock, and Vernon was sent flying forward off the seat of the bike, the bike tumbling onto him as he fell. Something passed by him quickly as he pushed himself off the ground, and Vernon didn't have to see it to know to run away from it. He felt it earlier when he was riding back home from school earlier that day, and he knew it was dangerous, scary. Although he knew it was scary, Vernon stood up, brushed himself off, and peered into the darkness as he picked up the bike. His eyes narrowed and the moon paused. It giggled, paused again, and then laughed loudly, and that's when Vernon saw it. He realized how incredibly dumb he was to stop and stare into the darkness as he hopped onto his bike and rode as fast as the wind was moving through the forest.
Vernon biked until his knees and calves burned. He biked as fast as he could because he thought he would be able to escape the phantom. He thought he could, but he couldn't. The bike fell off the edge of the path as the phantom caught up and swallowed Vernon and his final scream into the darkness of the forest, of the night. The moon bled, and the birds flew into the air as Vernon's scream echoed in the empty night.
