Happy Halloween!

 

The first thing which Paul noticed on the street was the shadow. 

Yes, a long, black shadow, which remained there, not moving much.

Paul began to move to the parking area. As it is it was very late in the night. The watch ticked away half-past eleven in the night. Although Paul would usually get out at nine o’ clock, for some days due to business, he was working late night. After all, it was October. It was that time of the year.

It was Halloween.

And as a result, the sales were pretty high…

Paul Saunders worked at a local Walmart – situated two lanes away from where he lived. He didn’t want to work over there though. His wish was to be a scientist – a chemist working away in a laboratory. He loved science, and loved to rattle away at some theorem or formula…but due to his father’s intervention (who was a successful hotel manager) and partly because there was some cash crunch occurring now and then, he was forced to take up a job at the nearby supermarket (although he was allowed to research his subject of interest).

Today was the 30^th of October. The crowd was denser than the everyday one. Thus, when Paul came out of the store, he was even more tired than a police dog…

…and that was when he saw the shadow.

The streets were empty at this time of the night. The sodium lamps casted off some pretty scary shadows on the road. So, Paul wasn’t that much scared. He was not a believer in the paranormal, and after all, it was Halloween the next day…

But as Paul began to walk towards the parking area, he noticed that the shadow was following him.

Yes, the shadow walked beside his one.

Paul continued walking. He could feel his forehead sweating up a bit. There had been news about a serial killer recently, who had killed off ten people, and all of them were supermarket workers…

But over here? In this lonely, depressing town of Derry? Pfft, Paul thought. An imaginary scary clown can be thought of lurking over here, but…

Paul slowly began to feel uneasy. The shadow was still following him.

At that moment, Paul turned around for a bit. He saw the owner of the shadow – a silhouette of a man, just standing a few feet away from where he was. Above him, the sodium lamps dimly lit the road. He couldn’t see him (probably it was a man) properly. Perhaps it was just another person walking back to his home, to be awakened by the wild chattering and happy noises of children the next day…

Paul turned around and began to walk again. The shadow still followed…

It kept following…

Following…

And following…

Suddenly, a thought came into Paul’s mind.

He probably knew that man.

Was it then, Harry? He was a friend of Paul’s. From school to the present, he too had faced the same fate as Paul. He, too, now had to work retail. One thing Paul and the others knew, that Harry was a horror enthusiast. He loved watching thrillers, reading scary books at midnight, and tricking people – by following them, making them scared, and then pulling off a jump scare. That menace, Paul thought. The man thinks he can scare me, but I have the upper hand over here, freak!

The parking lot was now nearer, but Paul now slowed his pace a bit. He was feeling a bit light – he knew who it was (after all, who else could it be, other than his fellow worker Harry) and he was now determined to give a starter before the big day…

He slowly pulled out his phone, and dialed his friend’s number. Oh, what a surprise would it be, Paul gave an inaudible chuckle. The shadow still followed him.

‘Hello?’ the person on the other side spoke.

Paul was a bit confused. His voice seemed to be very far away as compared to his present location. But he didn’t care that. He knew what a trickster he was (he had been scared, according to Harry, fifteen times till date)

‘Damn Harry, you really have pulled this one off good!’

‘I’m sorry, what do you mean?’

‘Come on, man, I know everything. Jeez, you took off a day for this scare? Do you know how much I had to handle-’

‘Paul, but-’

Paul didn’t hear him. He continued,

‘-how many sales today? Gosh, I couldn’t check the bill, but I could tell ya it was much more than last year…’

‘Paul, what do you mean? I still don’t understand…’

Paul now said it straight.

‘Well, then get out of that silhouette and come up, spookster! I know you are right behind me, eh?’

Silence. Paul laughed. He was so gonna get that-

The other side spoke again.

‘Paul, I am lying on my bed now watching TV. I had a hand injury last day, and I have severe diarrhea. How could I possibly come to work. I’ve been lying on the bed and going to the toilet. Hey man, are you-’

The phone cut off suddenly. Paul’s face had now turned into an expression of fear and panic. His sixth sense told him that he was wrong. He turned behind, and froze. A low moan escaped his mouth.

The silhouette was standing there, but this time in the faint light, he saw a knife gleaming in his hand, and a smile lingering on the face.

Paul now ran down the road. This wasn’t his friend, it wasn’t his friend….it couldn’t be…

He could hear footsteps behind him growing louder. Paul just ran blindly through the road of the lonely town. The sodium lamp cast the shadows of two men, running at a furious pace...

As he got to the parking lot and to his car, he opened up his car, and flunged himself in. Oh, terrible! How terrible!

Paul rapidly breathed in short gasps. He was feeling a weight upon his face.

He started the car.

But to his horror, the damn thing wouldn’t start! He revved up the engine a few more times, but the red machine lay static….

And that was when Paul remembered.

The gasoline had gone off a few feet away from the lot, and he had to push it in. He had to push the car in, and also thought off siphoning when he got a break…

But there wasn’t a break today...just work.

As Paul stared into the front pane in horror, he heard his watch, signaling midnight. It was 31^st of October.

It was Halloween.

And just then, he heard someone say,

‘HAPPY HALLOWEEN!’

***

M.Macabre

11.06.2021

Writer's Notes:

'This sketch is written in a style similar to American composer, Charles Ives' piece, "Halloween". Here is it if you like to hear...

https://youtu.be/NVnU4t5hMI4

:)