A Nightmare before Halloween

Chapter 1:

Chapter 1
A 17 year old, Alex Wilde and his dog, Rocky, went for a walk in the forest behind his backyard. In the late afternoon the trees looked bright orange in the light of the sun, the forest was exquisite in the autumn season.  What seemed like hours of trekking through the forest, he stumbled upon an abandoned mansion; the building looked at least a hundred years old. It was three stories tall, vines grew all over the front porch, the wood looked old and plain, and time must’ve had quite the effect on this place. As he walked up to the mansion, Rocky in tow, several black crows fled away as he neared them. He stepped tentatively up the stairs, each step made the wood creak as though it were in pain. He had only made it to the fourth step when the rotten wood broke under Alex’s weight; he reached out for the old railing for support in getting out. Minutes later he made it to the porch; and immediately caught sight of the massive antique door. The door was the color of a rather faded grey, the weathered and beaten door, splintered on the edges but it clearly endured a long time. The intricate design on the door was so captivating; he ran his fingers over it, while Rocky barked at the door. He looked around his surroundings before pushing the slightly ajar door so he and Rocky could enter.
The door opened slowly with a loud creaking noise, as he stepped in dust began to fill the room causing Alex to sneeze various times. After the dust had settled, he took hold of Rocky's leash and carefully surveyed the foyer of the mansion. He walked through the foyer, looking at the portraits hanging from the walls, few must’ve fallen and got damaged for there were many scattered on the floor. Slowly and carefully he walked up to a particular painting, recognition opened his eyes, a gasp escaped his mouth as he stared at the painting, it was the Mona Lisa. Alex continued looking around, while Rocky sniffed around, curios smells reached rocky and that made him bark several times. Hours past by while Alex explored the abandoned mansion, cobwebs and fallen pillars were everywhere in sight. As he kept looking around he came upon this large glass window that overlooked the forest, as he gazed through he realized that night had fallen. He made a low whistle to call Rocky's attention, as they walked through the rubble of the dilapidated mansion, taking their leave through the massive front door.
Alex cautiously made his way down the steps, he looked up at the starry night sky just in time to see the clouds part, revealing the full moon. He stood there for a few minutes, closing his eyes, feeling a wave of peacefulness; he slowly reopened his eyes only to find Rocky staring at  him wagging his tail excitedly. Alex stooped down and scratched behind Rocky’s ear, the dog barked with satisfaction, Alex stood up abruptly and motioned to his dog to start walking back. A chilling breeze passed by giving him Goosebumps, he walked through the front lawn, the sound of dry leaves crushing beneath his feet. Alex had only just made it halfway through the huge front lawn when the dog sniffed the air and began barking at his surroundings. Alex wondered what had gotten his dog barking like a maniac when at that very moment a horrific shriek was heard in the dead of night. Before Alex could even react to what was occurring, Rocky sprang onto him, the weight of the large dog bringing him tumbling to the ground. As Alex hit the ground, Rocky began barking again, this time Alex saw something; something not human, he watched in horror as that thing snatched his dog in its claws.
That…thing…it took Rocky up into the sky where it delivered its final blow, as that thing dug its claws deeper into the poor dog, all that was heard were the whimpers of the dying dog. As that thing drained the life out of the dog, Alex watched from the ground where he still laid sprawled. As that thing…that monster finished off the dog, it tore it in half with its massive claws; half of Rocky’s corpse came crashing to the ground from above. Alex stared at the lifeless corpse from his dog, his only family, his best friend…dead! All of a sudden he was snapped back into the real world as that thing…that monster let out another horrifying shriek, it looked into Alex’s direction, which made him scramble to his feet and raced across the lawn. Without hesitation that monster let out once more another deafening shriek as it charged for Alex, its massive claws outstretched, ready to claim its next victim. Alex kept running without a backwards glance, running up the steps, fortunately luck played its card well as he made it up the steps and through the massive door, with immense strength he shut the door and locked it. Surprised with his sudden strength, adrenaline pumping through his veins and his heart racing he collapsed on the floor, tears streaked down his cheek. Just when he thought he was safe that monster started pounding on the door with immense strength, it shook not only the door but also the entire mansion, Alex thought to himself, feeling as though the house could come down at any minute. To his relief the house withstands the attacks of the monster raging outside the door.
A wave of exhaustion suddenly hit Alex as he crumbled to floor, there he hugged his knees tight as he let everything that had just happened wash over him. His mind raced as tears streaked down his face, for a moment he blocked all that was happening around him. Closing his eyes thinking, remembering all the good memories he had with Rocky, by the time he reopened his eyes, it was impossible for him to hold back the tears. With each tear that fell, a memory of his dog, his family and his best friend went along with it. The pain of losing his dog hurt more than he could’ve imagined, Rocky was all he had, he was Alex’s only family. The moments they went through together made him cry even more. He remembered the day he took Rocky home; he was young pup all alone straying about the streets, he took him in and watched him grow. Whenever he was sick Rocky never left his side, they took care of each other, and the love they shared was strong. Alex remembered every day, every moment spent with Rocky, as he did so more tears streamed down.
A horrific shriek broke him out of his thoughts, he scrambled to his feet and nervously walked to the window overlooking the front lawn, he cautiously peeked out the window. Just as he did so another dreadful shriek broke the silence of the night, Alex stood abruptly looking out the window ensuring that the monster didn’t see him. Noticed that the monster wasn’t staying in one place, but rather circling the perimeter of mansion. He slumped back against the wall, at that moment Alex felt really terrified, his palms sweating, he had never been so scared in his life. It was then that he decided that he had to find a way to escape; he knew it was going to be difficult with that monster circling the house.