Halloween, by Stannley

The figure stumbled and slouched along the uneven surface of the gravel driveway, the stones crunching and 
scraping with every step.  

The bright evening moon lit up the driveway adequately enough to see the puddles that the figure now 
splashed it's way through, though it didn't seem to mind.  

In fact it actually giggled when the water ran down it's mottled legs.  Shadows danced and weaved in front it 
as it passed under a great willow tree that temporarily obscured the moon's cold light.

The slumped figure reached the doorway and it reached out with it's cruelly misshapen hand and knocked on 
the wooden surface; three short, light knocks.  

It could hear footsteps from within and quietly chuckled to itself.  Hidden in the shadows of the doorway, 
the figure got ready for when the door opened.

The door handle began to turn slowly and the figure chuckled again.  Bright, warm light suddenly flooded 
out of the doorway as it was cast open by the owners, bathing the figure for the first time in its glare.

"TRICK OR TREAT" it yelled, then laughed.

"How can he enjoy this so much?", wondered Steve to himself.  The figure was Steve's eight year old 
brother, Bud.  

This was the sixth house they had visted and Bud hadn't tired of the game yet; always in character right till 
the point that he got his 'Treat'.

Steve had protested when their mum had agreed to Bud going 'Trick-or-Treating', but only if Steve had gone 
along to chaperone him.  

Steve was 24 years old and would much rather be spending Halloween with his girlfriend, Cassandra, instead 
of traipsing around in the shadows watching his younger brother fleecing the folks along this stretch of New 
Hampton's quietest suburb.  

But his mum had insisted and Steve could never refuse a 'request' from his mother, so here he was getting 
cold standing under the arms of a great oak tree.

Bud appeared around the mailbox at the end of the gravel driveway.  'Peterson' it read.  He was giggling and 
chewing on his latest acquisition.  Steve had to concede that the costume that Bud was wearing was a true 
masterpiece.  

He was dressed as a leper, complete with peeling skin and missing limbs (his left arm was concealed within 
the costume).  With Bud doing his stumbling walk, he really did look like a leper approaching, albeit a small 
one.

"Are you tired yet?", Steve asked.  "Nope!", Bud grinned, showing three blacked out teeth, "let's finish this 
street first" "One more house, and thats it, ok?", said Steve.  

Bud looked back reproachfully, "Awww, come on Steve!  I wanna go to some more!"  "One more, and then 
we go home", Steve insisted.

Bud pouted and slouched to the next driveway.  It was a modern detached house with ivy crawling up to the 
roof on one side.  Its green strands seemed to be draining the house's very soul.  

A light shone out of the lower front window, the curtains within looked like they had fallen from the wall.  

With the light showing the way, Bud stumbled towards the door.  He grinned involuntarily as he neared the 
porchway that sheltered the entry to this house from the elements.  

Steve ducked into the shadows of the oak tree again to watch his brother perform the same ritual again.

Buds hand stretched up and pressed the button next to the door.  A tune could be heard from somewhere 
down the hall.  Steve grinned, "Star Spangled Banner", what a nerd!  

It was then that something inside the window caught his eye.  Footsteps were approaching the door that Bud 
was now standing in front of.  Quick footsteps with a sharp clickling sound accompanying each one.

The wallpaper inside the room appeared to be two toned.  Beige on top with red underneath, except, except 
the red portion wasn't very clean and precisely done. In fact it looked sprayed on.

The footsteps had stopped, and now Bud could hear a deep slow panting as the door handle slowly began to 
turn.  His grin wavered a little, but then he remembered the 'Treat' he was about to get, and he giggled 
nervously.

"DAMN!!!", Steve bolted from his shadow under the tree and ran at Bud, "BUD!!!!  COME HERE 
NOW!!!!!! RUN!!!!!!" Bud turned to see what the fuss was about, just as the door opened behind him.

Tears ran down Steve's cheeks as he realised he was too late.  Whatever it was that was in the house was 
now behind Bud.  "RUN BUD!!!!!!!!!"

Bud started to walk towards Steve, a puzzled look on his face.  Was Steve crying?  And what was it that 
Steve was looking at with such a look of horror?  Bud turned to look at what had disturbed Steve so much.

"NOOOO BUD!!!!! RUN!!!!", Steve slumped to the ground.  He had seen what lay behind Bud and it had 
caused his legs to give way.

As Bud turned he suddenly realised why Steve was so upset.  Adrenalin pumped and raced around his body 
but it was too late.  An involuntary action caused his muscles to loosen and he soiled himself.

To Steve, suddenly everything went into slow motion.  He saw the ocupant of the house move towards Bud 
at a lightening speed, even in this slowed frame rate.

"STEVE!!!!!", Bud cried, and tried to back away.

The ocupant of the house was enormous.  It looked like some kind of dog, but no dog that Steve had ever 
seen.  It stood 4 feet tall to its haunches, and was around 7 feet long.  

Thick matted hair hung down its flanks and legs, hiding the obvious muscle that the creature possessed.  Its 
huge paws, larger than a mans hand, ended with long wicked looking claws, each one 2 inches long and 
stained with the blood of its previous victim.  

It snarled and in Steves adrenalin saturated mind he turned to look at the creatures head.  

Its head was the size of a coal box, its mouth was so full of razor sharp looking teeth that Steve had 
difficulty in believing the thing could close its huge jaws.  

It snapped those teeth now, and bloody spittle flew from its mouth to land in the blood soaked hair on the 
beasts wall-like chest.  An evil light shone from its malevolent eyes as it looked first from the Steve to the 
boy.

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!", Steve cried as the beast let loose its tensed muscles and flew at Bud.  Its enormous front 
paws hit Bud square on the chest, its talons digging into his flesh by an inch.  

Bud fell backwards, the hideous creature on top of him.  

There was a sickening crack as Buds head hit the Brickweave driveway, and luckily Bud was dead before 
the creatures huge mouth closed over his tiny head, and ripped it from his shoulders.

Steve wept, got to his feet and ran as fast as he could away from this horrific scene.  He kept looking over 
his shoulder but the beast was too intersted in its latest meal to follow him.  

He turned the corner at the end of the street and continued running.  He had never run so fast in all his life, 
nor had he run so far at such speed, but he dare not stop.  

All the time he ran his head was full of Bud, not on the good time they had together but the sickening thud 
as his head hit the driveway, and the way that the beast decapitated him so easily.  

He sobbed openly and continued running.

He turned the next corner, still at full speed and then stopped in his tracks.  His scream pierced the night air 
as he realised that the beast he was so much trying to run from, had tracked him, overtaken him, and now 
finally stood in his path.

The beast slavered and bloody globlets dripped from its mouth on the cold pavement.  Steam rose from its 
quivering flanks.  The creature panted, its enormous sides moving in and out as it gulped in huge quantities 
of the night air.  

It seemed to grin as it slowly stalked towards Steve.  

Steve started backing away without taking his eyes of this evil creature.

The beast matched Steves backpedaling and started to speed up a little.  It was now gaining on Steve 
imperceptably.  It wrinkled its muzzle and snarled, a deep throaty sound that gargled at the back of its 
throat.

Steve screamed once more as the beast sprang at him.  It huge paws splayed out in front with its claws 
digging at air, its hideous head weaving side to side as it snapped those razor sharp teeth at phantoms in the 
night air.



"Did you hear anything, Darling?", Steves mum asked as she sat in their apartment just 300 yards from 
where her son lay dying.

"probably just Trick-or-Treaters, dear.", his dad replied.



The End

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