Ghost Flowers

All Hallows Eve

There was a cold chill in the air this Halloween night. Bone chilling screams echoed throughout the small town as the gang tramped through the streets. Bodies littered the ground, viscera littering the floor like candy from a piñata at a kid’s birthday party. The leader looked up at the sky, her brown hair whipping around her face as the wind blew. She heard laughing coming from nearby and immediately lead her gang towards it, continuing the massacre.
~
“Oh my god, Logan!” Justeena laughed. “You’re such an idiot!”
We laughed at the soaking wet boy standing beneath the streetlamp. Someone had set up a booby trap…by someone, I mean me. His shoulder length black hair dripped onto his shoulders. His pale face had a mask of surprise and anger on it.
“Dude, seriously,” I snickered. “How did you not see that coming?”
We all started walking again; I laughed as Logan tackled Justeena, thinking that she was the one who set up the trap. I watched them mock fight, snacking on my Halloween candy that I had stolen from a group of little kids. A shrill scream pierced the air, startling all three of us. I looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound, but saw nothing. It was suddenly cut off; this made us more than a little anxious.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
We looked around nervously as scream after terrified scream pierced the air, each one closer than the last. The screams never stopped, growing louder and shriller by the minute.
“Umm, isn’t it a bit late for trick-or-treaters?” Logan asked.
I thought about it, and realized that he was right.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I mean, think about it. It’s almost midnight. Tomorrow’s a school night, and most kids would be asleep by now anyway.”
We walked faster, anxious to get home and away from the screams. A new sound joined the chaos, the chuckling of a young woman. We all flinched as another scream was abruptly cut off, this one less than a quarter mile away. The chuckling grew into a cackle as it grew closer and closer to us, growing in volume until it sounded like many voices. I heard rustling in the bushes and froze as I saw who it was. I swore as they all laughed. It took all of my willpower to not let them see my fear. Justeena whirled around when she noticed that I wasn’t with her.
“Sarina!” she screamed. “Sari, we have to go. Come on.”
She grabbed me and dragged me along behind her. I couldn’t stop thinking about when I left them. It was about a year ago. I had been part of “All Hallows Eve,” a gang of people who only met up once a year, on Halloween. They did all sorts of horrible things, rape, murder, torture, kidnapping, and I was part of it for quite a while, maybe 5 or 6 years. But when I met Justeena, that all changed. She managed to turn me into a normal human being with human feelings. I loved her, and I knew that All Hallows Eve would use that against me. So, last year, when we were saying our goodbyes, I made an announcement that I would not be returning next year. Our leader came up to me and told me that I would regret leaving them come next year. And now, she’s making good on that promise. I felt my heart shatter as I heard Justeena’s scream as the crowd surrounded us. They all wore Halloween masks; there were a few werewolves, a pumpkin, a few Freddy Krueger’s, a few Michael Meyers’, Scream, and Jason Voorhees.  They all held a variety of weapons, mainly knives or swords. Justeena screamed louder as the leader thrust her sword into her chest. A gurgle was heard from Justeena as the sword sliced down her abdomen; her intestines spilled out of her body. I choked back a sob as her lifeless body fell to the ground. I lost my resolve, my desire to live. I slumped to the ground, ready to die.
“Aww,” the woman whined. “Now that’s no fun at all! No fight?”
I shook my head. “I don’t care…just kill me and get it done with.”
“What happened to you, Sari? You chose this girl over us, and now you won’t even beg to rejoin us? You’ve grown soft,” she spat.
She raised her sword, the razor sharp edge glinting in the moonlight. Logan’s screams filled my ears as she thrust her arm forward and ripped open my torso. My blood blossomed around my body like a red lotus flower. I smiled. It was just beautiful. The last thing I saw was the gang walking away from me and my friends, laughing and cheering at their success this Halloween.