I Hate Halloween

I didn't want to do this. I would much rather be trick-or-treating. Why am I such a pushover? How did I get sucked into sneaking into a deserted, creepy cemetery?

 "Jason...maybe we shouldn't do this," I whispered worriedly.

"Relax, Danny," Jason whispered from the other side of the fence. "It'll only take a little while."

"Don't worry, Daniella," Karen patted my shoulder. "This is so much better than trick-or-treating!"

On the contrary, I was tempted to say. I would much rather be begging for candy door to door.

I placed my foot in Karen's hands, lifting myself up. I swung one leg over to the other side.

"You're going to catch me, right, Jason?" I asked, eyeing the six foot drop fearfully.

"Yes," He rolled his eyes, "Now please, jump."

"That sounds so suicidal..." Karen giggled. Jason shot her a glare that said "You're not helping!"

"Come on, Danny," He said encouragingly, "I'm gonna catch you! Jump!"

Karen giggled again. I could only imagine the glare Jason gave her.

I took a deep breath and complied. I hated the feel of free falling, the wind rushing through you, not knowing when you'd reach the ground safely -- or even if you'd get back up in one piece.

But sure enough, I felt Jason's strong arms wrap around my waist. "See, I told you I wouldn't drop you!" He grinned cheekily. I blushed.

"Hey! Enough flirting! It's my turn," Karen hissed, "Leah and the others are probably already there!"

Jason rolled his eyes, holding his arms out expectantly. Karen nimbly climbed to the top of the fence, flipping back her blonde hair out of her eyes, muttering a few obscenities regarding it.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Obviously."

"Hmph," She scowled, dropping herself.

Jason faked a grunt. "Jesus Christ, you sure are heavy, Karen!"

"Hey!" She exclaimed, lowering herself. "I'll kill you!"

"You can't kill me yet, 'cause then you two won't be able to get to the other side of the fence later, now would you?" He smirked knowingly as she reddened quickly.

"Let's just go," I interrupted, hoping Karen wouldn't start another brawl -- again.

The both of them merely shrugged, and we set off towards the gravesite we were supposed to meet at.

Everyone was there, as expected. Leah, in all her pink, cheery glory, was surprisingly wearing dark clothes -- a deep red long sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans. Andrea was wearing cargo pants and a regular tank top under a jacket, slouching against her boyfriend, Marcus. I could see Mia in her hippie costume (she was probably the only one who bothered to buy a costume she wouldn't use), talking to my cousin, Linden. Even the silent Andrew was there, conversing quietly to Jeremy, who, out of character, was responding equally as quietly.

"Hey, guys! Sorry we're late!" Karen greeted. "Where's Xavier and Lucas? And Lee, too."

"Lee is with his brother...celebrating the youthfulness of Halloween," My cousin's eye twitched.

"Lucas was grounded," Temari shrugged, "He can't keep his hands off reading that hentai of his. And Xavier would rather spend his Halloween trick-or-treating."

So would I, I thought absentmindedly.

"Right," Mia stated, "Can we start now? Maybe there'll be some time to go get some candy. You know, to celebrate Halloween's youthfulness!"

The group laughed, though I could hear Linden groaning quietly.

"Yeah, come on," Leah agreed, giggling.

"...Which one are we going to do?" Jeremy asked, looking around the decrepit area.

Silence.

"What? No one bothered to pick one?" Marcus inquired, lazily raising an eyebrow.

"Apparently not," I said.

"Well...let's just pick a random gravestone, then." Andrew suggested.

We looked around, searching for old, weathered gravestones.

Ronald McKay...Parker Masters...Janet Emery...more names of dead people. I should just say one at random, just to get it over with.

"HEY! I FOUND A GOOD ONE!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Jeremy! Shut up!" Leah's voice rang out, annoyed.

"Sorry, Le-- ow!"

"I don't think this is the time to start something, Leah," Linden muttered, walking towards the gravestone his blonde friend was pointing at.

It was old, as any other gravestone in this section was. There was a cobweb covering half of the name, ironically enough.

"James..." Karen breathed. "Jeremy, take out the spider webs."

"What? Me?!"

"I'm not ruining my new manicure," She huffed, showing off her orange and black colored nails.

"I'll do it," Jason offered, "Jeremy's obviously not man enough to accomplish this task."

"YES I AM!" He replied heatedly, "And I'll prove it to you!"

The brunette smirked as his blonde friend proceeded to swipe the silky web away. "This is how far reverse psychology gets you with an idiot like him," He stated smugly, nodding towards Jeremy. Most of us stared in wonder.

Marcus leaned down, shining his flashlight onto the slab of stone

"James Summers," He stated, mildly surprised. "Interesting."

Summers...how familiar...and odd.

"A Summers?!" Leah breathed. "Whoa!"

Summers...Summers...

"The Summers Massacre...now I remember." I whispered quietly, almost to myself.

I was about to protest. After all, we don't need a cranky murder victim getting mad at us. Especially a dead guy in a deserted graveyard.

"Uh, maybe we shouldn't --"

"Let's do him!" Jeremy exclaimed. "He's perfect!"

...So much for that plan...

"Does he understand how wrong that sounds?" Mia whispered. The crowd laughed while he fumed.

"Someone get out the video camera," Andrew said. Linden wordlessly took out said object out of Mia's backpack.

"Video camera?" I asked, confused.

"We want to capture evidence, Danny," Leah explained, turning the camera on. Her slightly tanned face was illuminated with a blue hue. "Let's see if we can get him on video."

"I have the thermometer, as well," Marcus held up a bulky little box. "This better work, too, I went through hell to swipe it from my dad's shop."

"It'll work," Karen retorted, swiping the thermometer from his grasp.

"I have the tape recorder, too," Andrea held up the slim rectangle. "It was hard to get an old one that won't filter anything out, but we're in luck. Lucas had one in his closet."

...Something tells me I really don't want to know.

"Okay, we're supposed to relax," Mia stated, taking out a small, clear bottle of liquid.

"What's with the pure water?" Jason asked.

"It's holy water," She corrected, "We have to bless it before summoning the ghost."

"...Bless what?" I asked.

"That, my dear friend, is a very good question," She murmured. "Perhaps on the gravestone..."

"Get around the tombstone, guys," Leah ordered, "Mia, get behind it so you can bless it easily."

We did as told. I was handed the camera.

"You're right in front of it," Jason shrugged in reply, "You've got the best angle."

By now, I was a bit nervous. I tried breathing calmly. This wasn't going to work. It was a lost cause. Summoning a ghost wouldn't work. That was enough to calm me down slightly, stopping my trembling hands.

"Relax; breath deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth," Mia instructed, "It helps your senses get more attuned. I would tell you to join hands, too, but most of us are a bit occupied. So whoever's holding something can just link arms with someone instead."

"Where did you learn all this, anyway?" Andrea asked.

"The Internet does wonders, Andrea," She grinned.

"Did you turn on the camera, Danielle?" Leah asked.

"Yes..." I nodded.

"Good," She replied, "Karen, keep your eyes on the thermometer. If it gets colder, there might be a prescence here. Andrea, turn the tape recorder on, we might get some EVP."

EVP...EVP...what the hell was that?

We quieted down, signaling for Mia to start.

"I summon you, James Summers," She began, pouring a drop or two of the holy water on the tomb below her, "I ask thy Lord to allow us to speak to one James Summers. Allow us the honor to contact this departed spirit."

Mia repeated this a few more times, in this slightly odd, fixated voice. I absently wondered where exactly was this information she had found. HowToSummonGhosts.com?

A shiver ran up my spine. I looked out of the corner of my eyes, beyond Jason and Linden, hoping there wasn't an unwanted -- by my standards, at least -- presence.

"James Summers," Mia finally spoke normally, "Are you there?" She paused before asking another question. "Can you give us proof you're here?"

Nothing.

Leah bit her lip. "Please show yourself to us," She said gently, "We don't bite."

"I know that," A voice retorted. The group jumped, including the quiet men.

"W-what was...that?" I stammered, looking around fearfully.

"I didn't say that..." Mia said.

"Neither did I," Linden added.

"Nor I," Andrew nodded.

"It wasn't any of us..." Marcus looked around, over his shoulders, side to side. "I...I think that was his proof, Mia."

"A smart man you are," The voice said again. It was smooth and amused. But there was an annoyed undercurrent to his tone.

"Could...could you please show yourself to us?" Karen asked, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Alright," It said nonchalantly. A figure, almost transparent, appeared sitting on the gravestone with a slouched posture. He was directly in front of Mia.

I gasped, along with the others.

"Beautiful..." Leah breathed.

I must agree. He was pale -- whether from the fact the man he was dead or not, I will not know -- with locks of inky black bangs framing his face, silky hair down to his chin. I couldn't quite see his eyes, but his pink lips were set in a slight smirk, his arms folded across his chest. He had a quaint black dress shirt and black trousers.

"Now, I do think it's necessary to tell me why exactly you've summoned me here," He stated, "Dead people are extremely busy."

"Really?" Jeremy asked, amazed. Linden, Jason, Karen and Leah groaned.

"He's not exactly the sharpest crayon in the box, huh?" The ghost said, jerking his chin to Jeremy.

"HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!"

The ghost looked at him, amused.

"He's like that," Andrew explained.

"Whatever," He shrugged, "Back on topic, please. Why am I here?"

"We wanted to ask a few questions, Mr. Summers," Andrea stated. "If you let us, that is."

"Depends on the questions."

"I'll go first!" Jeremy exclaimed. "How did you die?"

A slight frown tugged at the dead man's lips. "Murder," He stated simply.

"Who killed you?"

The frown deepened. The wind breezed by, showing the coal black eyes. And right now, they were irritated.

"Jeremy!" Karen scolded, eyeing the irritated man nervously. "Sorry, really. That was out of line!"

"Next question," He demanded, glaring. I gulped. I quietly hoped I wouldn't die tonight.

Silence. I looked around. Everyone looked thoughtful, as if thinking of a worthy question that wouldn't upset the ghost.

"Um..." I stammered, "H-how...how old are you?"

There were no telltale signs of his displeasure. I felt reassured I wouldn't upset him and make him go demon boy on us.

"If I were still alive...I'd be ninety-seven." He shrugged, "And you?"

"I-I'm sixteen." I blushed, looking down. This beautiful man was that old...oh my...

"Hn," He grunted. "Anything else? I swear, from what I hear, humans like you are supposed to ask much more interesting questions."

"From what you...hear?" Mia asked confusedly.

"You didn't think I was actually kidding about the ghosts being busy thing, did you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I KNEW IT!"

He ignored Jeremy, turning to me. "What's with the camera?"

"U-uh..."

"Come on, I don't have all night here," He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah he does," Jason whispered, "He's dead..."

"Uh...we wanted to capture...evidence..." I stammered. Please don't let that make him mad...please...let us live...

"Why don't you ask us a question," Leah suggested hastily, getting nervous

"Whatever," The ghost shrugged, "How old are the rest of you?"

"We're all sixteen. Except Linden, Andrea, and Mia," She pointed at each corresponding person, "They're seventeen. How old were you when you died?"

"Twenty-one, I think."

We were quiet for a few more minutes.

"What day is it today, anyway?" He asked disinterestedly, "Don't you have school or something?"

"It's Halloween," Marcus replied. "And no, tomorrow's Saturday."

"Halloween? Shouldn't you be begging for candy right about now?"

"This was more fun," Mia shrugged.

"Not for me," He muttered.

Or me.

"Um...sir..." I said quietly.

"James. 'Sir' makes me sound old."

"You are old," Jason muttered. The ghost shot him a glare.

"Right, then, uh, James," I stammered, "Why did you let us see you?"

"I have nothing else to do," He shrugged. "Don't feel special. I've done this a few other times."

"So..." Leah said awkwardly. There was nothing else to talk about.

"Um..." I stammered, "W-who killed you?"

Why did I say that? I was curious. I thought he'd warmed up a little. I was wrong. Dead. Wrong.

His eyes narrowed as he gazed at me with a scary intensity. I shivered.

"I told you not to ask that," His...'teeth' ground together.

"Uh...I-I..."

"Um, Mr. Summers," Karen wrung her hands together, "We're --"

"Get out," He snarled. "Leave!"

 

I was trembling, truly scared. His teeth were barred, arms at his side with his fists tightly wound together..

 

"Mr. Summers --" I tried to say.

 

 

Snap!

 

"...What...was that?" Jason looked around anxiously.

"It was a twig snapping, idiot," The ghost sneered visciously.

"Uh oh..." Andrea said, "That means..."

My eyes widened; I dropped the camera, which on reflex Linden caught them.

"RUN!" Jeremy yelled, turning back and quickly disappearing.

I could see a flashlight in the distance.

"Guys, run!" Mia hissed.

It took me a second to register what was happening. By that time, the light was only meters away.

"Hey! You there!" A gruff, male voice called out to me. "What are you doing here?!"

"Uh, um..I-I..." I was frozen. I couldn't move. I searched for the rest of the group; they were gone. Even the ghost boy was nowhere in sight. It was just me and what now appeared to be a cop.

Oh, no. No, no, no! You have got to be kidding me! The only time cops are actually doing their jobs and patroling around here and I have to be caught!

I could have run. I was more agile than the thick cop. I just couldn't make my legs work. Frozen in shock.

 

And sadly, that is how I ended up in the police department.

 

...I hate Halloween...

Author's Note

My little own short story for Halloween. I hope it was amusing, since that was what I was trying to do.

Reviews

[Mysteral - Night Prowle..]

Necromancy--summoning spirits of the deceased with the intention of seeking knowledge and obtaining information...Yes great story this. Makes a change to read a more light-hearted approach to Halloween. Good piece of writing, but if I could make a suggestion to be careful on over-use of adverbs ending in 'ly.'

[Claudia]

lol XD hahahah how fun ^^