My parents returned from their business trip on the morning of the 30th of October. My sister and I were at school at the time so we didn’t get to greet them immediately. We didn’t even know that they came home so early since they told us that they’ll return in the evening. After I got home, I saw Darkness sitting on the grass in the front yard. I got angry at Lucy since I thought Darkness just escaped outside when she opened the door. I unlocked the front door and got into the house.
“Lucy,” I said dropping my backpack on the floor. “Why is Darkness outside?”
I turned around, walked up to Darkness, picked her up, and brought her back inside. After closing the door, I saw my mom running up to me and she hugged me.
“I missed you girls so much,” she said.
“What are you doing here so early?” I asked her. “You told me that you’ll return in the evening.”
“We lied,” she chuckled while still hugging me tightly.
“You can let go now, mom,” I told her. “You’ll suffocate me.”
She moved away but kept her arms on my shoulders. She was always like that. When I left for my first sleepover at the age of 12, she didn’t want to let me go and cried even though I was only 5 minutes of walking away. She was always overly attached. Maybe she was overprotective because of what happened to my little brother.
“Hey, Taylor,” my dad said peeking from the kitchen.
“Hi, how was the trip?” I asked both of them.
“It was good,” my mom answered.
“It was just a few meetings a day and then free time,” my dad continued. “A lot of free time.”
I sat down at the kitchen table. My parents ordered pizza, and all four of us had lunch when it arrived. I wanted to ask them if I could go to the party the day later, but I was anxious about it. I didn’t think that they’d allow me since I was underage. My parents were also very tired so I didn’t want to harass them with my questions. Lucy was literally devouring her pizza with a big smile on her face. She was probably talking to that boy Thomas and wanted to get back to him. She has been constantly speaking to him over her phone. She would just lay in her bed and giggle constantly. I started closing the doors to my room because I started to hear her even if her doors were closed. When she was done, she put her plate in the dishwasher and run back to her room. At that moment, I was alone with my parents and decided to ask my dad a question… a different one.
“Hey, dad,” I said. “Do you still have that old camera?”
“Yes, it’s in the bedroom,” he told me. “Why do you ask?”
“I want to take the picture of the creek. I’ll try drawing it off of the picture.”
I was scared to go back so soon. I tried going the day before and even though I didn’t feel that presence, I was still terrified. My heart was pumping so fast, that I thought I was going to die. I ran back to my house, but I didn’t cry this time nor did I mention anything to Lucy.
“Okay, I’ll try to find it after lunch,” he smiled.
“Thank you,” I replied.
I was in my room when he brought me the camera. It was an old polaroid camera, but a high-quality one. It was my grandma’s and that meant I needed to return it in perfect condition. Only 10 minutes later, I left to go take a picture of the creek. I stopped in front of the forest and my fear started to grow. I didn’t feel like anything was watching me and like I would be completely safe, but the fear from the last time was just making me question if I wanted to do it. In the end, I decided to do it as fast as I can. I walked fast and fought my way through the piles upon piles of leaves covering the entire forest floor. A smile appeared on my face when I reached the creek. However, it disappeared a second later.
I remembered why I was hesitant to go and fear overtook me once more. I barely managed to climb onto the rock and I took a picture of the creek. Apart from the murmuring of water, the forest was silent and I saw no animals. Well… the fish were still there, but no birds, deer, or foxes. It wasn’t an unusual thing, but it was still a bit creepy. The longer I sat there, the fear slowly got better and better. I wished that I took my notebook and the pencil case. I sat there for another 10 minutes and took a few more pictures. I walked slowly back home. The fear wasn’t there anymore and I was sure that the next time, I would have no problem sitting there for a few hours while drawing.
When I got back to the street, the first thing I noticed was the posters on a light pole next to me. They were all pictures of cats. One of those was Mrs. Gerard’s old cat, Milton. The one below it was a cat that disappeared 5 days before I saw the poster while the one above depicted one that disappeared 2 days before I saw the poster. Was there a fox that caught a cat and liked the taste of it so it wanted more? Or maybe a coyote? Or maybe there was even a person who hated the neighborhood for disliking dogs and started killing cats because of it. I’ve talked to dog lovers who were lunatics before. Something like this being the case wouldn’t surprise me too much.
After returning home, I chose the best picture and started drawing. My parents took a nap since they were tired from the trip. While drawing, I noticed something in the picture. In the creek, there was a small grey object that was clearly not a rock. It was floating in the middle of the creek and I didn’t know how I didn’t notice it when I was sitting on the rock. I tried to identify what it was and lifted the picture closer to my eyes. I couldn’t see what it was no matter how hard I tried to look. I checked the other pictures and it looked like it was carried away by the creek. It was only barely visible in two other pictures. I couldn’t see what it was and just brushed it off as a branch or something. What else would it be?
Later that day, I went downstairs to get some water since I was thirsty and I noticed my dad sitting on the couch and watching TV. This was the perfect time to ask.
“Hey, dad,” I called after him.
“What is it, sweety?” he said still keeping his look at the TV.
“Candice invited me to this party tomorrow,” I told him. “Can I go?”
He turned his head towards me with a bit confused expression on his face.
“Don’t you have school tomorrow and on Friday?” he asked.
“I do, but…”
“You’re not going,” he replied.
“Why?”
“You have school on Friday and you are underage.”
“But I won’t drink,” I protested. “And I’ll be home before…”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he said strictly. “You’re not going.”
I just stood there disappointed with his answer. I was so angry and he noticed it.
“Look, kid, I’m sorry that it has to be this way but I just want the best for you. You can have a sleepover on Friday if you want.”
“No,” I replied. “I don’t want to.”
I returned to my room after that. I heard Lucy speak to Thomas while passing next to her room and I got an idea. I opened the door to her room and shut them behind me.
“What the hell are you doing?” Lucy asked jumping from her bed.
“I need you to help me,” I told her.
“I’m talking with someone,” she replied angrily.
“He can wait for a bit. I just have to ask you something.”
She stared at me for a second before picking up her phone and unmuting herself.
“I’ll be back soon, Thomas.”
“Okay,” I heard him say from the other side.
She hung up and crossed her arms.
“So, what’s so important?” she asked me.
“I need you to cover for me tonight. Dad doesn’t want me to go to a party, but I really want to.”
A confused smile appeared on her face since I was never the person to sneak out or disobey my parents. I was the golden child if you could say so.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Please, Lucy, help me. Only this one time…”
“I’ll help you,” she chuckled. “It’s just a surprise that you want to sneak out.”
“Okay…” I stopped for a second. “How the hell do I sneak out?
“Well, you know mom and dad. Each Halloween they get tired from talking to so many kids. The kids are incredibly irritating and tiring. Every single one wants to take so much more candy than they’re allowed. That means mom and dad will go to bed at around 10 PM. After that, you can just leave through your window. Maybe try to ignore dad a bit and put pillows under your blankets so that he thinks you’re just angry that he didn’t allow you to go to the party.”
“How did I not think of that?” I asked not expecting an answer. “Ah, what would I do without you, little sis? I owe you.”
“You sure as hell do…” she smiled. “Now, get out. I want to talk to Thomas.”
The next morning, I tried avoiding my dad. I’d answer only the most basic questions like when does my school end? The breakfast like that was a bit of a weird experience for me, but I still went on with it. When he offered to take me to school, I agreed but I haven’t spoken a word to him while in the car. I just put on my headphones. While in school, I told Jessica that I’ll go to the party to which she replied that the location changed. The party was going to be in a house near the woods. It was owned by her parents. After hearing that, I got chills. It was near the forest… It was nowhere near the rock, but it’s not hard for someone to just patrol the forest and since there will be loud music, it will even make it easier for the person to find us. However, I still decided to go since nothing happened while I was at the rock the day before.
The rain was falling that morning and listening to the rain made classes a bit more bearable. I liked both the smell and the sound of the rain, but how the streets looked after it was terrible. Like every other day, the street was depressing. Puddles covered with trash, weird smell, full of little broken branches. When I got home, mom opened the doors for me and Luna ran up to me immediately. After lunch, I closed myself into my room and stayed there the rest of the day.
“Hey, I know you’re angry at me for not letting you go to that party,” my dad said standing in the doorway. “But I think it would be the best if you didn’t go.”
I didn’t reply.
“You’ll understand when you have kids. Goodnight,” he said before leaving and closing the door behind him.
10 PM just passed and he was dressed in pajamas earlier so he was going to sleep. I would just need a few minutes to wait for them to fall asleep. I started to get ready. I almost got a heart attack when the door to my room opened, but it was just Lucy.
“When will you be back home?” she asked me.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
“Then how should I know when to open the window for you?”
“Just leave it unlocked. I’ll get in myself.”
“Are you insane? Someone could get in.”
“No one will get in, Lucy,” I said annoyed.
“I’m not so sure…”
“Come on,” I cut her off. “Don’t be a pussy.”
“Fuck you,” she got angry. “I’m helping you and you’re insulting me.”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” I apologized softly. “Please, don’t worry. No one will come through the window.”
“I guess…” she said clearly showing that she was contemplating if it was a good idea. “Can I go to sleep then?”
“Sure,” I smiled. “But I don’t mind if you continue talking to Thomas.”
She exhaled and smiled. After she left the room, I finished dressing up and stepped out through the window. I put my leg onto the garage roof and gently pulled myself out. After gently and quietly closing the window, I got down by grabbing a branch of a tree that was near the garage. I planned on climbing back up using the drain pipe. I tried climbing it before and while it was hard, I was able to do it.
The street was even worse during the night. The street was still covered in puddles filled with cigarettes and other trash. Small broken branches laid all over the floor and even some chestnuts that crows tried to break during the day. However, I could only see parts of the street. The moonlight wasn’t strong enough to allow me to see the entire street and I needed to rely on the street lights. There was enough space between them to leave some unlit area and honestly, I found it super scary. Just imagine someone walking towards you, then disappearing in the dark area and when they get to the next lit-up area, they are already running. Thoughts like that made me shiver.
The fastest way to get to Jessica’s house would be over the street next to the forest, but I didn’t have enough courage to take it. I wasn’t afraid of walking down the street because I can scream, and even then, someone is much less likely to attack you in a populated area instead of a forest. I didn’t believe that whoever was in the forest that day stalked me. It was just a coincidence that I and whoever that person was found each other in the same place. They probably just go around the forest and maybe like to look at people. I remember feeling that presence before I even got home that day so they were probably just passing by through the forest, saw me, and thought that I could be their next victim or something. I don’t think that they’re stalking me because I would have felt their presence again and I would have seen them for sure.
When I got to the street which ended in Jessica’s house, it was decorated with Halloween symbols. I was surprised that I didn’t see any trick-or-treaters while walking for those 15 minutes. It was 10 PM but it was a really safe neighborhood and I remember trying to sleep the previous years while constantly hearing trick-or-treat songs through the closed window of my room. Maybe this year was just so ugly that no one actually had the will to take their kids out or to wait for their older children to get home. There’s a possibility that everyone decided just to let their kids go trick-or-treating the day later. That way, they could stay out for longer.
As I was getting closer to Jessica’s house, the music coming from it got louder and louder. Fortunately, the street that led to it was empty. The only house on it was Jessica’s house while it was surrounded by meadows from both sides. Those meadows were the line between the woods and the line of houses. The street didn’t have any lights so I had to rely on the moonlight which helped a bit. I stopped for a second to look at the grass swinging in the cold autumn wind as their smooth surfaces reflected the white glow of the moon. There was peace in that sight and it made me smile.
Jessica opened the doors when I got to the house. She squealed with happiness and hugged me. She was wearing one of those slutty cat costumes. I wasn’t surprised by that. The two of us go way back. We were friends from the age of 5. As we got older, Jessica started to become more and more popular while my friend group kept shrinking. She didn’t care about it and I loved her for that. I didn’t know why she still hung out with me sometimes. I noticed her new friends criticizing and not liking me but I didn’t know if Jessica was a good person or… well… just not the smartest. There’s a possibility that she didn’t understand the social structure of our high school.
“Hey, old friend!” she shouted after letting go of me. “Come in!”
Even before coming in, I could hear the people shouting and I saw the plastic cups set up in a triangle on a table. “Great,” I thought to myself unsarcastically. I wanted to try alcohol for a long time but haven’t had the opportunity to do so. I didn’t go to many parties and my parents never allowed me to try. In my eyes, this was the perfect moment to try it.
For the first few minutes, Jessica just dragged me around and introduced me to her friends. Most of them seemed nice but I was sure it was a façade for some of them… or most of them. After about half an hour later, I managed to get away from Jessica and gathered the courage to try some alcohol. I decided to start with punch and gradually got to other alcohols. I didn’t like most of it and since it was my first time drinking, I got drunk pretty fast. It made me much more outgoing and relaxed. I found it much easier to talk to people, but it came with a cost. I got really sick. I didn’t drink much, but again, it was my first time.
I needed to throw up. The glass door in the kitchen led to the backyard and I ran out after opening them. Somehow, I remembered to run up to the fence and throw up over it since I didn’t want to give Jessica any trouble. The wooden fence that separated the backyard and the forest was only 3 and a half feet tall so leaning over it wasn’t a problem. The problem appeared when I stopped throwing up. This weird terrible smell started to creep up my nose and it took me a few seconds to realize what it was. The scent of rotting flesh made me look around for its source and I found it. Jessica had a 7-year-old cat named Denim. Denim’s carcass was laying down next to a tree. Its guts were spilled out and its front left leg was completely missing. There were bite marks all over its body and it was completely covered in blood. There was a puddle of blood below it as well.
Suddenly, while I was leaning onto the fence, I felt that fear, that ancient dread. There was someone there, in the woods, just outside my eyesight and they were looking at me. Their intentions felt evil and just imagining what they looked like terrified me. At first, due to being drunk, I thought I was just feeling something wrong, but when the branch cracked just beyond the wall of the forest darkness, I knew someone was really there. I immediately started stumbling backward. After almost falling after a few steps, I turned around and almost immediately ran into someone. As soon as my body collided with theirs, I thought it was all over.
So many thoughts ran through my head. The snapping of the branch could have come from behind me but because I was drunk, I didn’t realize it. Or the person from the woods was fast enough to run out, jump over the fence and stop behind me. I believed that the last thing I’d see would be the cloudy night sky and the stars behind it. I closed my eyes awaiting the unavoidable death the terrible figure that stood before me was going to make me experience.
“Are you okay?” someone asked uncertainly.
I took another look at the figure I ran into and realized it was a guy my age. He was leaning over and was looking at me with a concerned expression.
“Uh… you aren’t going… to kill me?” I asked surprised that I am still alive.
“Why would I do that? I just saw you puking and thought that you might need help. I stopped right here when I saw you stumbling away from the fence. Do you need any help?”
“N… no,” I barely managed to stand up. “I’m okay. I just got scared of the darkness,” I said looking back at the forest.
The feeling was still there and I knew that the person from the forest was looking at me. But it could also be an animal. A wolf or a bear maybe? They sometimes appear in those woods. I’ve heard that horses have that feeling as well. They can almost always when the predators are trying to make them their dinner and I’ve heard stories of people losing control over their horse only to later find out that a wolf or a cougar was following them. Maybe we humans have the same ‘ability’ but much weaker than that of horses
“It’s…” the guy stopped for a second. “It’s just an animal probably.”
I quickly turned around towards him and felt the eyes from the forest piercing through the back of my skull.
“You feel it too?” I asked him.
He nodded up and down. I took another quick glance at the woods and started walking back to the house.
“Let’s go inside,” I told the guy. “I don’t feel safe out here.”
“I think that that would be the best idea,” he smiled and followed me.
After I closed the glass door, I felt like the feeling got weaker, but it didn’t disappear. I noticed that some other people felt very uneasy. One girl was sitting on a couch and was biting her nails. Some guy was sitting on a chair by a table, but instead of being focused on the conversation the other people by the table had, he was looking through a window that looked towards the backyard. He was shaking his leg and sweating badly. He felt whoever or whatever that was in the forest. What I also noticed is that only the people who were not drunk noticed the presence. I believe that the only reason I felt it was because I sobered up a bit after puking and I was really close to the forest. Everyone else, including Jessica, was completely oblivious to the possible danger from the woods.
The guy I ran into while I was outside and I spent a bit of time together. We tried talking to other people so that we would forget the terror we felt outside and the one running through our veins. I told him about Jessica’s cat Denim. We decided not to mention it to her since we didn’t know how much Denim meant to Jessica and we didn’t want to ruin her party. After about half an hour, the fear of the presence disappeared. I and many others immediately got calmer and continued enjoying the party. I decided to not drink anymore since I threw up but I still had a good time. I had so much fun I forgot to watch the time so when I suddenly remembered to check the time and realized it was 4 AM, I started panicking.
“Shit, shit, shit…” I said standing up from the house.
“What’s wrong?” the guy from the backyard asked me.
“I need to go home,” I said. “My parents don’t even know that I’m here.”
“I can drive you,” he replied.
“Ooh, someone likes you,” Jessica commented.
I just ignored her.
“You don’t need to,” I told him. “I don’t live far away.”
“But it’s late and you said you needed to be back as soon as possible.”
By his tone, I realized that he just wanted to find an excuse to leave the party, and driving me was a perfect one. I agreed for him to drive me and we left after saying goodbye to our friends. Well… he said goodbye to his friends. I only waved at Jessica and waited for the guy. He told me which car was his and I waited for him there. Since I wasn’t right next to the forest, I felt a bit safer. The moon was now blocked by the clouds and the lit-up lively meadows were now dark and eerie. The air was cold and the wind made it even worse. I had my hands in the pockets of my jacket and lifted my shoulders to keep my head and neck warm. I don’t know how Jessica managed to stay in that cat outfit. It was warm outside, but she was still the one who opened the doors for new arrivals.
Suddenly, I felt it again. Someone was watching me. But, no matter how terrible the feeling was before, this one was so much worse. Unlike before, when everyone could see me and react quickly enough, I was completely isolated in front of the house. The curtains were pulled down on the front windows and made it impossible to see the front yard and the street unless you’re looking through the peephole. I was alone in this. While franticly looking around, I took a few steps backward. The guy from earlier was still inside the house and I could only hope that he’ll come outside soon.
Wherever I looked, I could not find the person or the animal looking at me. There was nowhere to hide. The front yard didn’t have a fence and there was nowhere to hide in the meadows. I thought that maybe the presence was hiding behind a tree even though the forest was further away. I looked around and checked everywhere and nothing was there. The dreadful feeling was getting worse and worse and I started to panic and hyperventilate. Then I remembered a single place I didn’t check.
When we were younger, Jessica and I had a group of friends. After starting high school only Jessica and I stayed in contact while everyone else stopped hanging out with each other. We would usually go to play at the house I was standing in front of and our favorite game used to be hide and seek. Going into the woods was forbidden but we could hide inside and outside. The yard and the meadows didn’t really have many hiding places so no one tried to hide outside unless they didn’t have time to hide somewhere else. However, this one time, we were playing in the late evening.
The sun set down, but there was still enough light for us to see perfectly. Jessica was trying to find us and it took her about 10 minutes to find all of us, except one boy. The rest of us helped her to find him, but we were unsuccessful. After 15 minutes of all of us collectively trying to find him, Jessica shouted that we were done since it was getting dark and that he won. We heard him scream out of joy. The scream came from the outside and the rest of us ran into the front yard.
“Where are you?” Jessica asked.
“Follow my voice,” he answered.
As soon as we heard him say that, we looked up towards the house and we saw him standing and leaning on the chimney of the house. He was barely visible to us because of how dark it was, but after he got down, we all admitted that it was a good hiding place.
It really was a good hiding place, both in my childhood and on that Halloween. Immediately after I pointed my eyes at the chimney. A dark figure was peaking from behind it. I could only see its head and its right shoulder before it quickly hid behind the chimney. It was a human. Do you know how in the movies when someone sees something terrifying, they scream or have a mental breakdown? I didn’t. I could just stand there in shock because I could not believe what I saw. Someone was standing on that roof and probably had terrible intentions. My brain wanted me to scream and run, but all my body could do is stand there in shock.
The guy from earlier leaving the house broke me out of the trans. He looked at me and a concerned expression appeared on his face. He slowly walked up to me.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said quickly glancing at the roof.
“Okay…” he replied before unlocking his car.
I sat down in the front passenger seat and noticed that the guy took a look at the roof. He stood there for a few seconds and sat down in the driver’s seat. He had a confused expression on his face.
“What the hell was that feeling?” he asked me.
“What feeling?” I played stupid.
“The fear we felt in the backyard? What the hell was it?”
“Instinct,” I replied.
He looked at me and started the car. He asked me for my name when he got me home.
“Taylor,” I told him.
“Terrence,” he replied. “I hope we see each other again.”
I smiled and he left. As I turned around, I remembered that I had to climb the garage drainage pipes to get back to my room. After a deep sigh, I tried climbing. I managed to do it after about 5 attempts. After opening the window, I slowly and quietly took off my jacket and got dressed in my pajamas. I locked the window and jumped onto the bed. I didn’t sleep that night at all. Instead, I kept staring through the window. It was perfectly placed for me to be able to see the chimney on the house opposite to mine.