Halloween Night

Halloween Night

By: Jake Jollimore

         It was October 24th, exactly one week until Halloween, and Keith Albert was busy with thoughts of what would set this Halloween apart from all the others, what would make it a Halloween no one would soon forget. The teacher at the front of the room and all his words were just an unwatched movie at the back of Keith’s mind as he continued to ponder his plan.

         Suddenly, as if struck by some incredible revelation, he raised his head, flicking his chin-length black hair off of his face with a quick twitch of his head. His dark brown eyes brightened and his cheeks pulled his pale lips into an almost evil smirk He turned his head very quickly and nudged his friend, Alex, with his elbow, the zipper on his sweater clicking against the metal table leg as he did so.

         Alex dropped his black pen and looked up from his scrambled drawings of upside-down crosses and 666s. “What?” he said very dryly.

         “I have an idea for Halloween,” Keith replied excitedly, a tone he was far from familiar with.

         “Oh?” Alex was intrigued now, and picked up his pen. He tapped it anxiously on the paper in front of him, planting faint sprouts of black ink with each percussive click. Keith nodded. “Well what is it?!” Alex was becoming impatient, as the bitterness in his voice let on.

         At eighteen, Keith had been two years Alex’s senior, he had been held back twice. This being so, he was the leader of the two, and Alex would follow him in almost any endeavor, as long as it involved wreaking havoc.

         “I can’t tell you right now, but it’s going to be huge,” he answered.

         And it was going to be huge, not even on the same scale as pulling the fire alarm or flooding the bathrooms. Keith had always wanted to rattle the people around him in a way they wouldn’t forget. He realized that all of his other pranks and vandalism had been overrated and stupid when compared to this one. This would be a disturbance to truly be proud of, it had never been done, unlike everything else he’d ever conceived which had all been done to death. “Ha!” he released a quiet laugh at the thought of ‘done to death’, an irony that only he understood at that moment.

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         A few hours had passed and Keith and Alex were walking home together. The deliciously cold air was saturated with the smell of Halloween, and it sharpened the taste of the cigarette smoke as it flooded their lungs.

         “Follow me,” Keith requested, the smoke clinging to the cold of the air in a different shape for each syllable that exited his mouth. He vaulted over the black metal railing with the help of his right hand, the roughness of the bar tickling his palm as he did so.

         Without question, Alex honored Keith’s request and entered the graveyard in a manner very similar to his friend’s. He looked out of place amongst the dead leaves and tombstones, not to mention the tall, black-clad ‘freak’ who he accompanied. His face had an innocence about it, and his thick freckles made him look much younger than he was. He looked up at Keith, his blonde mushroom cut shifting as he did, so each strand of hair remained perpendicular to the ground, “Are you going to tell me the plan or what?”

         Keith was silent for another few seconds, until he came to the largest monument to death on the grounds. It was in the likeness of an angel, atop a huge block engraved with a name and two dates. She was crying on her hands and knees, looking through the ground at the buried casket. He plopped himself down on the grass and leaned against the statue, looking toward the sky which was partially hidden by the brown-leaved vertigo of the outstretched arm of a tree.

         “This is what we’re going to do,” Keith began to explain. “We’re coming back here around tenish, and we’re gonna dig up ol’…” he paused and read the name on the grave, “Maggie Brown here.”

         “Why would we do that?” Alex seemed let down by this, it didn’t seem very ‘huge’ to him.
         “You didn’t let me finish.” Keith smiled again, thinking about the rest of his plan. “After we have the hag out of her box, we’re gonna take her to the school and then we’re gonna hang her upside down from the flagpole.” He waited for a response.

         “Pah!” Alex’s eyebrows raised and he smiled in disbelief. “You’re joking right? We’re not really going to dig up a body.” He waited for Keith to clear up his confusion about the seriousness of the plan.

         “Why not? Everyone will remember this! We’ll be the center of attention, but anonymously!” His excitement increased, as he realized once again just how big this would be.

         Alex stared at the ground for a couple of minutes, deciding whether this was too risky for him, or just risky enough. “How are we gonna get her to the school?”

         “I’ll worry about that, I’ll worry about everything, all I need you to do is come with me, help me. You’ll never get another chance to disturb people like this again. What do you say?”

         “You know we’re crazy right?” Alex shook his head and watched Keith.

         “Haha! I knew you’d be up for it!” He jumped to his feet and grabbed Alex’s hand. “It’s a deal then!”

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         It was Halloween night, and it was nearing nine o’clock, Alex slid his wolf mask over his head and walked out his front door. The sidewalks were crowded with all kinds of creatures: skeletons, witches, vampires, and the occasional fairy or princess. He was only walking for five minutes when he met up with Keith, who was oddly giddy with excitement, just like a child on Christmas Eve.

         “You ready?” Keith lifted his oversized skull mask and spoke with that same devilish grin.

         Alex nodded and they continued to walk.

         “Its still early yet, let’s go trick and treat.” He took off into a slow jog up the first driveway. “Hold my mask for a second, I want to show you something funny.” He passed his mask to Alex and continued toward the door, dressed now in only plain black pants and a plain black shirt. “Wait here.” He covered the last four feet with a hop and knocked on the door.

         An elderly man answered and gave Keith the once-over with his eyes. “You’re a little old to be trick or treating aren’t you?” The man had a slight frown of disapproval on his wrinkled face.

         “Not really, I mean I’m dressed up and everything.” Keith was setting himself up for his first trick of the night.

         “You are? As what?” The old man seemed about ready to close the door in Keith’s face.

         “I’m an asshole, give me your candy!” Keith snapped as he snagged the bag of chocolate from the man’s hand. He took off running again and spun Alex around with a well placed shove on his left shoulder.

         “You get back here you little bugger!” The voice shrank as the two covered more ground, laughing the entire way.

         “Hahaha. Oh, that’s rich.” Alex sighed, wiping a tear from his eye.

         They were at a steady walking pace again, and Keith was tearing into a full-sized ‘Oh-Henry” bar.

         Some of the costumes were so funny, people their ages dressed as teenage mutant ninja turtles, a sheet ghost, and the one that made them laugh the hardest: a mentally challenged kid dressed as a robot. Keith stared at him, turning his head to watch him when he walked past.

         The duo had gotten enough candy to satisfy themselves, and it was nearing ten. They made their way to the cemetery, masks hiding their identities. The graveyard was much different at night, there were no chirping birds, and the green grass now seemed black, part of the night. The only sound was the rustling of the leaves and the constant drum of their hearts in their chests, so loud as they neared their demented task.

         They walked around to the rear of the statue and grabbed the shovels Keith had placed there earlier that day.

         “Here goes,” Alex looked at Keith and smiled, this was it.

         They stuck their shovels into the surprisingly soft soil and began to dig vigorously, each scoop marked by the ‘chk’ of the rusty metal entering the dirt.

         “Ugh. How much long…” Alex’s complaining question was cut short by a loud THUD! Their eyes met upon the shared realization that they had reached the coffin. They swept the remaining dirt from the top of the casket, and stood upright, on top of the coffin.

         “Hand me that crowbar over there.” Keith instructed Alex, and he listened. He climbed out of the hole and patted the ground until his hand found the crowbar. He handed it to Keith and stood by while he pried the lid open. There was an eerily loud creak and then a putrid odor stung the inside of their nostrils at almost the same time.

         Keith looked up at Alex and motioned for him to come into the hole. The sight of the rotten moonlit face stunned him for a second, then he gathered himself and bent down, only a foot from the corpse. “Grab her with me,” Keith said as he placed his gloved hands under the right arm of the body.

         Without hesitation Alex did the same, disgusted to feel movement through the fabric of his own gloves. He was not fazed however, and with a mighty hoist, they lifted the cadaver out of the hole and laid it on the ground.

         There was a crack that emanated from the direction of the fence and both Alex’s and Keith’s masked heads snapped towards the sound. Someone was watching them. Keith jumped out of the hole and began to run towards the sound, “Get him!” he shouted with the utmost urgency.

         They ran towards the limping silhouette and the horrified, “eeeeeee!” that came from it.

         Alex threw himself on top of the peeper and looked to identify him. It was a robot.

         “Damn it!” Alex wondered why it had to be him that saw them and said, “We can let him go, he never seen our faces.” At that very moment Keith grabbed the ears of the wolf and pulled, revealing Alex to the robot.

         “What are you doing?!” Alex was furious and jumped at Keith, knocking him to the ground.

         “Looks like we can’t let him go now, eh?” Keith ripped off his mask and showed off his smile, which was no longer almost evil, it was pure evil.

         Alex stood up, shocked and confused about what was going on. He knew Keith was sick, but he wouldn’t kill this boy. Would he?

         Keith picked himself up and walked towards the horrified boy in a manner that was much too calm. “Get up!” Keith grabbed the boy and demanded his cooperation. Now that the boy was standing, Keith grabbed the back of his neck and squeezed, forcing whimpers of pain and fear out of him. He led the boy towards Maggie, pushing him forward every couple of steps to keep the fear inside him. Alex followed close behind, his mind racing, conceiving all of the horrible things that might be close at hand.

         When they reached the corpse, Keith kicked the back of the boy’s left knee, making him crumple on the ground. He grabbed the back of the silver box which made up the robot’s torso with one hand and lifted the boy on top of the rotten woman. “Kiss her!” Keith forced the boy’s face into the woman’s.

         “Cut it out Keith! Let him go!” Alex’s voice cracked, and a wave of panic and fear washed over him. He realized that this awesome prank was quickly turning into a nightmare he couldn't wake up from.

         “Shut it! I’m just having a little fun with him.” Keith was laughing now, pushing the boy’s face very forcefully into the woman’s.

         Rotten goop and disgusting bugs coated the boy’s face and he cried out, “Hep! Hep me!”

         With the boy’s cries there came a sudden panic inside Keith, he had to shut him up. The shine of a blade broke through the darkness and a gurgle filled the air. The boy was lying on the ground, throat slashed, covered in his own blood and writhing in pain, like a worm impaled on a hook. Alex looked into his eyes and could almost feel his fear enter him through his gaze. He pushed Keith with all his might, “Are you crazy!” he shrieked.

         Keith’s head cracked off the corner of the statue and he fell.
Keith didn’t rise again, he just laid there and moaned, then fell silent. Alex rolled him over and saw blood flowing out of his ears, forming a red halo around his head, and he began to panic. The last thing he could remember was the horrible sound of Keith’s moans merging with the dying robot’s own gurgles, and everything faded to green, then black.

         He awoke later in a white padded room with a thick green door, his head was pulsing with agony. When he tried to stand his legs gave out from underneath him, no doubt from the sedatives the orderlies gave him.

         “UUUHH. What did I do? How long have I been in here?” He reflected on the previous night, and thought to himself ‘they think I killed them, they think I exhumed that body on my own. No wonder they think I’m crazy’. Then his heart sank, and he knew he was stuck in this place.

         It had been years since that night, and, as the orderly explained to Alex’s mother, “The trauma and guilt of that night causes him to replay it in his head again and again. He relives it almost every moment of every day, unless he’s heavily medicated.”

         There was definitely no way he would ever forget that Halloween night.

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