Book Of Short Stories

The Night Before Halloween

One night, sixteen year old Hannah Springs was home alone on the night before halloween.

After studying for a while, she decides to relax a little- after all, she finally had the house to herself. She makes some popcorn, gets a nice warm, fuzzy blanket, and snuggles under it to watch one of her favorite movies.

In their lounge room, the television is positioned a few feet in front of the glass sliding door that leads to the patio and backyard. It was already midnight and she was scared that her parents weren't coming home for a while.

Suddenly, her eye catches a glint of light from behind the TV, and right there, just outside the glass door, was a crazy-eyed man, grinning maliciously at her, and holding a long, narrow blade in his left hand.

Terrified, the girl panics, pulls the blanket up over her head and grabs the cordless phone by her side. Hannah calls the police, and as luck would have it, there was a patrol car less than a block from her house. In a matter of seconds, two officers are on the scene and Hannah tells them about the armed man staring through the glass. The first officer opens the sliding door and looks around the area. After a few moments, she turns and explains to Hannah that there couldn't have been anyone standing out there, as there would have been footprints in the mud. The second officer tells her that she is probably just tired and her imagination was playing tricks on her.

He beckoned at the TV where the horror movie she had been watching was still playing. "Stuff like that didn't help matters, either,'' he said smiling. Hannah smiled too, more at her own immaturity than the officer's remark, still a little shaken. As the police are about to leave, the male officer stops and looks behind the sofa that Hannah had been sitting on. His jaw drops and eyes widen in shock. Hannah and the other officer notice his reaction and follow his gaze; they both gasp. There, now crouched behind the couch, was the man Hannah had seen. Hannah hadn't seen the man outside the door, she saw his reflection.

The man lept out and attacked the officers to the ground slicing their throats open and leaving them in disgust. He stands up from his last pray and looks at Hannah, "You're next."