Sarah Benadine is Dead

Chapter VI, Part III

In some ways, Shannon Malone's youth protected her. Saved her her sanity, perhaps. It is easier for most children to believe in the boogeyman than it is for most adults. There is, of course, no way of knowing for sure how Adult Shannon Malone would have reacted to all the things Child Shannon Malone learned in those wild months of late 1955 and early 1956, but it is not an outrageous guess to say Child Shannon Malone adjusted better than Adult Shannon Malone ever could have. It is much like a child can learn a new language faster and better than an adult can; a child's worldview can be altered easier.

That could do nothing for the fear, though, or the queer sort of anger that filled her whenever she thought of that great, cruel creature she'd met in the night.

She'd never think of it or remember it afterwards—too quick a glimpse—but there was another creature she met in the night. Halloween night, as it was. A creature very different from the one she saw in Dyer's Park.

She'd gone out trick-or-treating with her siblings like she did every year. Connor toddled along at Faye's side—they were dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and at every house without fail someone would gush over them—while Aiden ran ahead with his best friend from school, Hank Stepper. Toni Guaraldi and Robbie Edwards showed up every year as well, and that year Robbie came with his little brother Herbert, who was the same age as Connor and had a habit of constantly talking to himself. The streets were bustling with all the children of the town, dressed in a menagerie of costumes and outfits. Some were so well done that Shannon Malone, who thought she knew nearly all the children in town, could not identify them.

Quarry Street was widely accepted as one of the best streets to hit on Halloween. There were an earth-shattering three houses that gave out full-sized candy bars, and it was worth it to trek to Mr. Potter's house on the corner just for the corny jokes he had a never-ending supply of (that was Aiden Malone's favorite, and he usually recited whatever joke Mr. Potter told for about three weeks post-Halloween). Quarry Street was even more popular that year, and, though it would never be said by anyone out loud, Shannon Malone figured it was morbid curiosity. The brave kids in town wanted to trek across the yards of Sarah Benadine and Mrs. Johnson—where Rocky the German shepherd had been found—on perhaps the most sinister night of the year. They wanted to see if any specters would dance through the night.

Shannon Malone's party would be the only group to see one that night, though they did not know it at the time.

They'd just made it past Mr. Potter's. Aiden was repeating dutifully the awful pun he'd given them at the door while Hank Stepper laughed wildly, and little Herbert Edwards babbled something quietly that only he understood. The street had become very suddenly dark, making Shannon wonder until she noticed one of the streetlights had gone out. A little boy wrapped in toilet paper—the universal trappings of a homemade mummy—went rushing past, his father yelling after him. A little ways farther down the sidewalk a whole gaggle of girls dressed as witches and ghosts were huddled together, comparing the treats they'd received. A few more clusters—friends out together, parents keeping an eye on their young ones—walked on either side of Shannon's group. A young woman in her early twenties perhaps ran by, knocking shoulders with Shannon as she went.

"Oh, sorry, sweetie," she said, slowing for a moment and looking back. She was very lovely; she had short brown hair and eyes that matched. She grinned, carefree, pretty, and something else—

Predatory.

She met Shannon's eyes, and then turned away and ran off, disappearing past a family of six.

"Wonder what she's up to," Toni said. "Chasing after some kid, maybe."

Shannon shrugged and put it out of her mind, not to think of it, not to remember it ever again.

Later that night, Mrs. Levi's Pomeranian disappeared from her backyard.

***Just a little something tonight before I bawl my eyes out over editing tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who voted and commented, of course :)***