Halloween One Shots

NOT SO ALONE

Contest Profile: JustWriteIt

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" my mum asked. "All your friends will be there."

"Not all," I said. Not my best friend - my twin brother.

Mum went silent at that. She gave me one more look of concern, kissed my cheek and left me last minute home alone instructions before joining dad and my sister in the car. I shut the door and sluggishly walked to the living room and switched the TV on. Halloween used to be our favourite party holiday. These days, parties were just exhausting. There was one thing that I found fun, but...

Thump!

That came from the attic. I switched off the TV and listened, my heart pounding.

Thump! Thump!

I got up from the sofa and slowly made my way upstairs, grabbing a poker from the fireplace, just in case. The stairs creaked with each step. I stopped at the top to calm my heart and wipe the sweat from my palms. If I was going to catch whoever was up there, I'd have to be fast.

Taking one last deep breath, I raced to the end of the hallway, yanked the cord that released the ladder and flew up the rungs, poker still in one hand.

"Oh! It's just you," I said, dropping the poker and catching my breath.

"You should see your face! It's like you just saw a ghost!" said my twin brother's ghost, tumbling around in the air, chuckling.

"Ha ha. Very funny," I replied to the overused joke. "Why didn't you just come downstairs, as usual?"

"It's Halloween!" he said, grinning. "Got to scare my little brother."

"I'm like four minutes younger than you," I said, setting up the chess board. His favourite game. "Actually, technically, I'm now older by one year."

"Whatever," came the droll reply. He floated to the space across from my lawn chair. "Pawn to E4."

I smiled and moved his piece before moving mine. "Pawn to E5."

"Pawn to D4."

"I saw your work on the News," I said. "E captures on D5."

"Pawn to C3," he replied. "I saw yours."

"How was your last possession?" I asked. "D captures on C3."

"I'm getting better at it," he replied. "Bishop to C4."

I moved his piece then stopped to think of how to ask the next question.

"Do you think they'll ever find us?" I asked, looking up from the board, afraid.

"Two bodies, killed in the exact same way, at the exact same time, always by two different, unrelated people in opposite sides of the same town," he said. "No, I don't think so."

"And we never leave any sign of ourselves behind," I said, feeling a little better. "C captures on B2."

"Maybe I should leave my possessed one's DNA every time," he said, laughing. "It'll drive them insane trying to figure it out. Bishop captures on B2."

I laughed too. It was an interesting proposal. Everything about killing alongside my brother's ghost for the last eight months had been.