Blame

Halloween-George's Night

Everytime George was invited to Lenny's crazy Halloween parties, he'd always go on top of the house roof and just lie their for the majority of the occasion. This action would proceed for as long as the party lasted, which of course was when George's parents suddenly got pissed at some idiot who decided to bring were to the event.
Yes, his parents were at a highschooler's Halloween party, and so was some adults who were awfully boring for George's interest. The fact that adults came to what was supposed to be a fun rollercoaster ride filled with games, drinking, conversations, and friends didn't bother him though, unlike others who were geniuely annoyed at some of the invited people over the age of 35.
This was one of various reasons why he loved going on top of the roof: there was not a single soul to accompany him except Lenny, the only guy aware of his presence high up the building. Luckily, the host didn't mind at all, understanding his pleaure of being alone at parties and agreeing to the fact that parties always ended up as fuck-ups. That begged the question of why Lenny decided to host another Halloween party this year. Like, nobody asked for one, but at the same time...
"Hey, did you hear about Lenny's Halloween party coming this Saturday?"
"Yeah,why?"
"You comin'?"
"I dunno, I guess I'll go."
It was either you went and enjoyed the party or stayed at home passing out candy to young trick-or-treaters. Obviously, George chose the only good option left, spending the entire time of Halloween night all to himself.
He took another large inhale of fresh outdoor air, admiring the flaming breeze of Hallows Eve and the blinking stars that lit up the dark sky up above. There was a full moon out, the gigantic spherical space rock shiny a grayish white. He always called the moon Earth's nightlight as a kid. He pictured every trick-or-treater out there. Not only in his neighborhood, but in American cities and other suburban areas in the U.S., those who were embracing this event.
He was in the middle of closing his eyes in drowsiness until his loneliness was banished by the sound of someone opening backyard door right below him. Then, it was followed by footsteps and a fierce doorslam.
Ignore it, George
His curiosity conquered his actions anyways. He peered his head over the flat edge, cautious about falling off. There was probably a number of 7 guests in the backyard having fun, but what stuck out was the stranger in a yellow raincoat, green rain boots, and black pants underneath. His hoodie was covering his head, so George couldn't tell who it was. Or, at least caught a glance at his or her face...or its.
Fighting the urges to stay, he headed for the ladder he used to climb up here, which was to the right side of the house where nobody hung out. He knew Zackary and Sarah went there to smoke but other than them, no one dared to come to this place. George landed on his feet as he skipped the last two bars, running in the directions of the person in a Georgie-from-It costume. As ironic as it sounds, he didn't catch the joke.
Why am I doing this?
Around the shed was the last place he saw the stranger went, an area covered in tangled nature, overgrown bushes, earthy mud, and darkness shrouding the it all. He went ahead without hesitation, greeted by leaves and twigs and rocks that tried to make him stay. Nothing too much for him though, his backyard was much worse, like rainforest worse. In a matter of seconds he made it through, and the first thing that caught his eye was the hole drilled into the fence in front of him. The wood that used to be there still remained lying on the grass.
"They must've torn it off right now," he whispered as he managed to maneuver his skinny body through the opening.
The sounds of people partying were slowly but surely fading away now. The sounds of people talking, soda cans opening, beer bottles popping open, and lighters sparking fire for lively cigarettes had disappeared under George's realization. His mind was focused on more things that that.
Where am I?
He appeared to be standing in a backyard, as expected with traditional backyards. A shed painted lime green was located in the lower right hand corner of the yard. There was a homemade garden on the opposite end. It was way too dark see anything else in detail. Only basic shapes portrayed the different objects inside the backyard. Each one depicted a unique shape only the human imagination can describe.
The unknown was in fact a terrifying thing feared by most people, like George. His whole body held by bones suddenly shivered in freight when he noticed darkened object...
It was floating in mid air below the patio...
Well not exactly, as he discovered some sort of line holding (or hanging) the said floating object.
Like rope?
He approached it slowly, ready to make a run for it if things suddenly go bad. His brain raced for any answers to make up for his confusion. Questions followed in an instant to rise the suspense appearing in the setting.
No, that's not...no it's not...!
George was standing at the edge of the patio now, and in front of him was a table, which was accompanied by a wooden, homemade chair just below the floating object. His lungs gave out in immense anxiety when he touched something foreign on the tabletop. It felt awfully like-
It's a flashlight!
Amazed by his luck, he grabbed the handle of the the light stick. Then in desperation for some answers, he shined a bright stream of light onto the floating object hovering above the chair.
Holy fu-!
He gasped...and exhaled a relived breath as he smiled at the shirt drying in the nightly breeze. The clothing was held up by a hanger that was tied with a thin piece of rope extending from the patio roof. He laughed, uneasily at his humility. If it wasn't for the flashlight he grasped tightly in his hand, he would've gone back to the party this instant.
That's when he started to look around more calmly and curious.
Wouldn't hurt to look around for a bit more,right?
It was Halloween, there was bound to be a couple of teens who go troublemaker for the night. If that's the case, George allowed himself to become one of them. Besides, he wasn't gonna steal or vandalize anything, not like there was something super worth while to discover behind the house of a stranger. George was raised a child of slight innocence, taught to have a conscience good enough to get himself through school without getting himself into crime. He tried smoking once but...you get the idea.
So with consequences aside from it all he walked towards the other end of the patio. With the flashlight in hand, he could now see only boring backyard of few contents. There were dying, unkempt flowers barely standing in the garden he noticed earlier, gardening tools stuffed inside a rusty wheelbarrow besides said garden, the shed-
Hang on, the shed door was ajar, as if someone had opened it. There was a set of footprints (boot marks to be exact) that were imprinted into the dirt near the entrance to the shed.
In hesitation, he stepped forth, pushing the door out of his way. A menacing screech and groan responded. It was like a million souls put together as one just screamed, cried for help, anyone helpful.
With that followed a gist of warmth from the shed, making him feel stuffy and uncomfortable in his jacket. Luckily, the cool October nightly wind fought the hot air, providing a temperature suitable to his liking.
Bzzzt!
"Shit!,"he swore out loud as he tried to fix the flickering of his flashlight.
He figured the damn thing was running out of battery.
Better make this search quick, don't want to get lost in the dark.
Admittingly, George was sort of a coward...well, not a coward. He was scared when it came to pitch black darkness, you know, the kind that you call "advanced darkness" like limbo. Now, being in limbo, or just the idea of being inside of limbo, scared the living shit out of him.
After a few smacks on the flashlight he gave in and decided to ignore the-
Huh? What's this?
His fingers played around a little across the surface of a dusty, wooden shelf built against the shelf wall. First, he felt a framed photo, placed flat on its face, hiding it's picture from the world. Then he let his fingers dance a slight bit more and felt a paper. He grabbed the piece of paper, realizing it was crumpled up when he shown the dim light upon its features.
The note read:
To whom is reading this, I adore you and everything you have done with your life. You are special, a lovely person that I would love to meet and befriend if I were still here. Sadly, I have to go, it's for the best anyway. But don't cry, please don't. This is a time to be happy, for this is my letter of gratitude and thanks for all the wonderful wonders you have given me in life. Music, love, stories, entertainment, education...Oh, love it!!
So here it is, the final goodbye before I leave HarmoniGate. Just one thing before I go...please don't worry about me.

-Thank you,Daniel Josens-
:)

George stared at the note, or in this case the "letter of gratitude", wondering who the hell was Daniel Josens. Best case scenario, he was probably a stranger who left town in a hurry. Assuming this was how he normally spoke, this guy was probably a softie, but George didn't see much worth in thinking about the person.
"C'mon, don't die on me now!" he begged forcefully, cursing under his breath when his commands weren't fulfilled.
Instead, the flashlight left him in the dark, murdering the only source of life left in his world.
Shit...I gotta get out.
That's when something caught his eye, something sticking out of the dark void he was in. Somehow, without the light, he could see it perfectly...mesmerizing to just look at...hypnotizing...and the strange artifact continued to lure him closer and closer...almost as if it wanted him to approach the object.
That's when his flashlight sparked back to life, and as he pointed at the figure, he screamed out loud, jerked his whole body back away from the putrid face of a lifeless,pale-white boy. His eyeballs looked as if they were bleached, only to reveal the ghostly whites than the alive pupils of black or brown. His body itself was slumped over...and rising of the ground.
What the fuck?!?!
George looked in terror, still shining the flashlight, at the rope tied tightly around the poor boy's broken, collasped neck, constricting his ability to breath, choking him to death as he croaked the final notes to his own song of life. He ran out of the shed as fast as he could, tripping over a chair or two along the way. When he got out he sharply turned right, avoiding a figure in the distance shouting at him from the patio, and jumped the fence of the backyard. He was then standing on the neighborhood street, crowds of families and friends embracing the Halloween spirit, and he started sprinting past them, pushing them out of the way. An old man holding the hand of a little girl was knocked into the road, so was another bystander, but tonight he only wanted to escape. He was running...running...
"Hey kid, watch out-!!"
He wasn't able to hear the yeller, only the screeching, screaming noise of a car colliding into his fragile-boned body, the impact plummeting George into the street, and before he could open his eyes again, he took one last breath, leaving HarmoniGates as what Daniel Josens had successfully done.