Blow Out the Candles

This is a story I wrote in my creative writing class. It's about a little girl who has a birthday party that turns out to be a little more... treacherous then she would have imagined. Enjoy!

 

            The hot sweat of June clung to Anna as she ran through the house. She passed the arch window in her living room. Anna could only give up a smile as she watched the bumblebees buzz around the blooming flowers. The grass was a rich green and the sunshine bursted through the leaves in the trees. The sound of the ringing doorbell caught up to her. Anna excitedly rushed to answer it, almost knocking over a precious vase her mother kept on display. She swung the door open, “Hey Hayley!”

            Hayley looked so bright, it almost blinded Anna with sweetness. Her white teeth flashed through her tiny smile. Her glossy set of red hair reflected the sun and made it shine a candy apple red, and her light blue eyes could pierce through a steel wall. Anna was still shocked every time she saw her. They looked like twins! Anna greeted Hayley’s parents also, they just smiled and said happy birthday. Anna and Hayley ran through the house and into the backyard.

            “Hayley, look what Claire gave me.” She whipped it out from behind her back. What she held up was the most exotic stuffed animal Hayley had ever seen. It was perfection, each hair on its fur glistened with craftsmanship. Its googly glass eyes a ripe green, and the pattern of red and black stripes were majestic. “His name is Durga.”

            “Duhgra?” Hayley questioned, “How did you come up with that?”

            “I didn’t, Claire said that’s what his name is. I like it.”

            “I wish I had an older sister.” She gave a little frown.

            Anna countered with a smile. “It’s okay, you have me!”

            “You will only be older than me for a few days. Soon will be the same age again.’ Hayley stuck out her tongue. Anna gave her a little shove, "Come on. Let's go check out the presents." She held up Durga like a toy airplane and made a whooshing noise as she and Hayley ran back into the house. The chatter of children echoed into the kitchen.

Colorful balloons from red to navy blue, circled under the ceiling. Anna and Hayley laughed with their friends. Anna’s favorite part of her birthday was only just beginning. Her parents had promised her a magic show from a real magician.

“Come on everyone, we have a surprise outback.” Anna’s mom shouted from the backyard. The kids filtered through. Anna was in the very front, bouncing excitedly. The magician was there, spinning his hat with his magic wand. The black cloak he wore was so impressive, Anna was a little intimidated. His grin showed enthusiasm, but his scruffy beard made him seem like he was just some guy dressed up as a magician.

            “Welcome, to the show!” The magician threw his hat up in the air and made it land on his head. Anna was already gasping. The magician wasted no time, he slipped off his hat again. He sprung an egg out from behind his ear, held it above his hat, and dropped it in. Immediately he flipped the hat over and Anna was shocked. Out of the hat came a little, baby chick. It squeaked a little cry and crawled around on the wooden table. Anna felt bad for it, going through a magic hat must be intense.

            His next trick was already in play. He carefully cusped the chick in his hands, leaned in close, and whispered into it. It was dead silent in the audience. Then suddenly he threw it into the air. It was the most remarkable thing Anna has ever seen. It was a full grown chicken!

            Hayley was just as shocked as her. “Did you see that? Wow!”

            “That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

            The chicken clucked and clucked as it flapped through the air and floated to the ground. It hustled around for a bit, probably as mystified as Anna and Hayley were.

            A few more tricks were shown, but they seemed to lack the magic of the first one, and as the show ended, the kids went back inside. Anna had a few minutes before they ate cake and opened presents, and all the excitement really made her have to go to the bathroom. The hallways outside the main party room felt completely empty and dull. She tip-toed down the hall, she didn't want to disturb the peace. It was nice to have super quiet moment after an extremely loud one. When she passed the window, she noticed her parents. It was hard to make out what they were saying but it looked like they were arguing about something. Anna put her ear up to the glass.

         "...Yeah, and that doesn't make it okay."

         "Listen Jenna, you don't think he has, but he's changed. He found what he really likes, he's not like he used to be. Give him a chance."

        ”I gave him a chance months ago, and then that waste of space tried to screw you over."

         "We've come to an agreement. I've known Dave for 12 years, he wouldn't stab us in our backs."

         "Well let's not give him the chance, I want him out of our lives, forever."

         "You can't just do that to him, he still needs our help. If you..."

          Who the heck is Dave? Anna had no clue what her parents were arguing about. She asked Durga, but he didn't know either. Then there were footsteps behind her. The black cloak wisped around the magician, who gave Anna that same stupid grin he did while he was performing.

          "Happy Birthday Anna. Wish I could stay longer, but I got somewhere I need to be."

          "Wait," Anna stopped him, "Can you show me another magic trick before you go?"

          "Umm, well..." He scratched at his beard, "Sure, I got one special trick, just for you." He crouched over her and lowered his voice. "Give me your ear." The magician commanded. Anna moved her head closer. The words he whispered sounded like he was hissing in her ear. The language he spoke must have been foreign, because it certainly was not English. It made Anna feel enchanted.

         He quickly rose up. "There. Now whatever birthday wish you make, it will come true. I guarantee." He winked at the last part.

          Anna squealed, "Wow thanks! Can you come to my next birthday?"

         The magician just chuckled. "Probably not. Well, I'm off! Oh, and Happy Birthday Anna. Make it a good one." His eyes flashed, then he left down the hall and out the door. Anna pet Durga and sprinted to the bathroom.

        * * *

Her sister, Claire, brought out the cake. Her dark hair almost matched the icing! Anna's favorite flavor was chocolate, and she made sure her mom knew. Anna looked around, realizing that her mom wasn't there. She let out a noticeable sigh. Her mom was too busy for her own good. Anna hoped that her mom cared as much as her Dad, who was jumping around with a camera and zooming in on people's faces while they waited to start.

          Hayley whispered next to her, "What's taking so long? I'm starving."

          "I thought you didn't like chocolate?"

          "I'm so hungry, I could eat anything!" Hayley poked at Anna's stuffed animal. "I'm so hungry, I could eat him."

          "Durga would eat you."

          "Nuh-uh!"

          Her Dad interrupted the conversation by singing the birthday song. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you..." Anna shuttered. It was only her seventh birthday, but it felt like it would be special. As the song came to an end, she got ready to make her wish. She looked at Durga, he looked so cute. She wondered what he would be like if he was life size. Maybe I could ride him! We could go all around the block, all the way to somewhere amazing, like New York City! She leaned up to the cake, "I wish you were real Durga!" Then blew out the candles.

          No noise came from anywhere. Everything was mute. Durga slipped off of Anna's lap and fell under the table. The smoke wisped off the candles. Her Dad began chopping up the cake, and Anna reached under the table to pick up Durga.

         Fur ran between her fingers and a cold breath washed her hand. She gazed under the table, and then quickly snapped her head back up. The green eyes that stared back at her made her cringe. They were not the innocent balls of glass that Durga once had. She didn't know if she should scream or cry or run or hide. The table exploded, sending splinters and cake everywhere. A massive heap of striped fur shattered the birthday party scene. All the noise happened at once, children screaming, balloons popping, chairs breaking, and death passing. One kid was torn like paper in a shredder; his bloody pulp sprayed on the floor. Durga even sliced open one of her presents!

          Hayley cried next to her. Anna wasn't sure what she was trying to say because her tears flooded her mouth. Anna was then tugged out of her seat, still unable to move.

           "Let's go! We have to leave!" Her sister, Claire, was shouting in her face. Anna was dragged into the other room. The last thing she saw before the door closed was the fridge falling over, spilling food into a corpse. She regained her senses, the only people around her were Claire and Hayley. Hayley was still crying, Claire couldn't blink.

          Anna got to her feet, "We need to go outside." Claire only nodded. The girls ran to the front door, the piercing sound of pain in the background. Anna's Dad almost ran into them.

         "Anna! Claire! There you are. Hurry, let's go." He touched their hair. "Have you girls seen Mommy around? I couldn't find her at the pa-" his words were replaced by broken glass. Durga had tackled him through the window. Anna finally let out a scream.

The beast began to devour her Dad's shoulder. The crunch of his bones made Anna crunch her teeth.

          "Daddy!" Claire ran out the door, leaving Anna and Hayley behind. Anna knew she couldn't follow her. She took off in the other direction, up the stairs to her room. Hayley was barely behind her. Anna ran straight to her room, not looking back, not even looking. She was in a blind panic. Anna almost closed the door on Hayley. Hayley ran in with her face almost as red as her hair. Then they locked the door and cowered under the bed.

           They waited in silence. Every once in a while one of them would suck the snot back up into their noses. They only listened. Through their silent breathing they could hear it all. The still cries of people trying to escape, the honking of a car horn as it crashed into something, and the destruction of her home. Anna couldn't stop shaking her leg.

          Hayley finally broke the silence with a swiveling voice... "Why would he do that? Why does Duhgra want to kill everyone? I thought he was nice!"

         "It really worked." Anna whispered.

         "What?"

          Anna said nothing more. The scent of smoke got caught in her nose. Why would there be smoke? Unless there was a fire. Fire? Anna swallowed a lump of something.

           "Is that a fire?" Hayley asked next to her. She hit an elbow on a bed post. "I don't want to die!" Hayley bolted out from under the bed and ran out of the room.

         "Wait!" Soon Anna followed, and found Hayley standing out in the hall. Their way was blocked by a pillar of flame. A conflagration had spread over the walls, burning pictures and portraits, and something had knocked over her mom's precious vase. The girls were terrified. They looked at each other as the heat wave swept through them.

         It had gotten dark out, and the only light came from the layers of flame. Anna and Hayley's shadows extended as they slowly backed to the other end of the hall. Then a voice reached through the fire, “Did you enjoy that trick?”

            Anna was sweating like a dog, and her only response was to bite her lip. A black cloak materialized before her and a magician’s wand slipped through the inferno. The magician was there, his face enveloped in shadow, but his beard still hung clear.

            “Sorry you had to be involved in all this Anna. It’s your parents fault, not yours.”

            Anna was dazed. “What do you mean? Did my parents make Durga mad?”

            He chuckled and made his usual grin that stretched across his face, “No. Your parents made me mad. Sorry Anna, I don’t have time to explain, I need to wrap up this show. And for the finale, I’ll make you, disappear!” A shadowy hand extended from the cloak. Its snake like movements headed straight for them. Anna never felt more terror in her life. Then suddenly, the ghostly hand grabbed Hayley by her crimson red hair and dragged her away. She was lifted up off the ground and the shadowy magician’s cloak fluttered impatiently.

            “Tell your parents they should have believed in magic!” Hayley’s body was tossed into the fire. Her screams only fueled the blaze as it flashed from red to yellow to orange. A puff of smoke fumed its way to Anna, who was shaking more violently than ever. She shut her eyes and covered her mouth with her hands. The crackling of the fire

was the only thing other than her coughs. Then everything was dark.

When Anna opened her eyes again she was outside. A blanket cradled her as she sat in on the side of a fire engine. A spray of water shot above her, trying to extinguish her smoldering house. Anna tried to let out a tear, but it just wouldn’t happen. She was too frightened and confused to cry. Then she realized she was still alive. The magician had wanted to kill her, but he had taken Hayley instead. Did he think Hayley was me? Anna still wasn’t sure what just happened, her young mind couldn’t think of an answer. She sat and watched as the fire was smothered, and then she finally started to cry.

Author's Note

Sorry if there is red underlines. I put it through spellcheck already but it's being difficult. Apologies!

Reviews

[Rachel]

This was very well done! There were a few grammatical issues ("shuttered rather thank shuddered") but otherwise I thought this was inventive and creepy! If you have a chance, please can you review my new story "The Sitter" and any other's you feel like checking out?

[Pratik Mishra]

This is horror at its best! Loved it!