Halloween Night: A Short Story
By M.J. Fontana
Published by M.J. Fontana
© 2014 M.J. Fontana
All rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental
Cover Image © by Patrizio Martorana. Visit www.martoranaphoto.it for more of his images
One cool and misty Halloween night James sat staring out his living room window watching as the trick-or-treaters with their outrageous costumes and bags full of treats walked by his unlit house. His parents were out for the evening attending an adult themed Halloween party. His mom left for the party dressed as a black cat, and a little too sexy in his opinion. His dad went as a doctor. James’s parents hadn’t asked if he had any plans for the night, because they already knew the answer. He watched a younger couple bypass his house with their daughter close by dressed up as a princess. He noticed the wife giggle at something her husband told her, while their hands swung clasped together. He wished he had that, but he knew he never would. Some people thought he didn’t like other people or enjoy their company. In a way they were right, except he hated being alone even more.
James heads to the refrigerator in the kitchen, past the clock on the stove oven reading 7:05pm. From the freezer he takes out a pack of chicken patties, places two on a plate and sets it in the microwave for a minute and a half. When the timer buzzes, letting him know that his dinner for the evening was ready, he takes it out of the microwave and walks into the living room with it. He turns on the television, flicks the channels, and finally settles on a channel playing a typical Halloween slasher movie. He sits watching it, eating his two pieces of chicken topped with honey barbecue sauce. He’s bored, he has no life and he was well aware of it. He hated himself more than other people hated him he thought to himself. His parents were probably ashamed to admit he was their son. When he finishes his dinner, he lifts himself off the couch, picking up his empty plate and places it into the sink in the kitchen; he’ll wash it later he promises himself. He passes the stove oven clock displaying the current time of 7:17pm as he heads back into his living room. He slouches back down on the couch and continues watching the television screen though he has no interest in it.
James opens his eyes. The room is dark and the television is playing another typical Halloween slasher movie. He reaches for his cell phone in his pocket. It reads 11:06pm. He picks up the remote control lying on the coffee table and shuts the television off. He now stands in complete darkness in the silent house; the sound of the wind chimes on the outside patio the only background noise that could be heard. Using the light from his cell phone, he navigates his way through the darkness, up a flight of stairs that leads into his bedroom. Lying on his back in the comfort of his bed, he slowly begins to fall asleep.
“Hey cutie,” a voice says. Startled, James opens his eyes quickly, to eyes staring back at him in the darkness. “Mom,” he asks confused. “No silly, does your mom have tits like this,” the voice of a girl in the darkness grabs his hand and caresses it over her boobs. “Who are you,” James asks. “Let’s fuck James, let’s not talk, let’s fuck our brains out tonight,” she reaches into the sheet to grab below his waist. “Does that feel good honey, you like that,” the girl in the dark asks, her hand inside his pants. James sighs along with this new sensation he has never felt despite being in his third year of high school. He fights the sensation the girl provides him and runs from the bed to the light switch near the door. Quickly, he turns it on. He stands in awe at the girl standing at the foot of his bed. His heart beats faster against his chest as the girl standing completely naked before him is unlike any girl he had ever seen before. How could he resist the irresistible? At this moment he did not care how this naked girl got in his house and who she was. All he could imagine is everything he wanted do to her. “You could do anything you want with me,” she tells him, reading his mind. She pushes a few loose strands of her blond hair near her perfectly round breasts behind her shoulder. With her hands she begins playing with her breasts. “C’mon handsome, let’s have some fun.” James in a trance like state walks toward her to do something he never thought he would ever do, especially with a girl like this. He wasn’t denying himself this opportunity.
The next morning, James opens his eyes to a naturally brightly lit room. He turns to his side, the girl from last night no longer present. He gets out of bed with a smile making a rare appearance, as he remembers the fun he had with the hottest girl he ever seen. In the hallway he notices his parents’ bedroom door still open. He peaks in on his way toward the flight of stairs. The bed is made, “Mom…Dad,” he calls. No answer. He looks in the kitchen, no sign of his parents. He glances outside the living room window, doesn’t see his parents car in the driveway. He checks the garage to see if they decided to park in there, but they hadn’t. His parents didn’t come home last night. He checks his cell phone, no voicemail from his parents telling him when they’ll be home. He calls both of their phones. No answer.
Saturday morning turns into Saturday afternoon, the afternoon turns to dusk. James had called his parents consistently throughout the day. Now that the sky was getting darker and darker, he fears the worst for his parents. Tears slide fast and furious down his face, and he cries out loud hysterically.
James opens his eyes lying near the bottom of the stairs. He must have fell asleep, something that is common for him after he is upset. He checks the stove oven clock. It reads 11:04pm. He scans the driveway and garage for his parent’s car. Unsurprisingly for him their car is not there. He calls his parents again. No answer.
He walks up the flight of stairs. He knows he has to call the police, tell them what happened, but he doesn’t want to. Despite falling asleep downstairs, he is exhausted, so he walks into his bedroom and as soon as his body touches his warm bed, he goes out like a light. James wakes up. It is still dark outside, he checks he cell phone for the time. It’s 2:47 am. The house feels bigger and scarier without his parents. “Mom.. Dad.. please come home.. please,” James says out loud to himself. Talking to himself was not unusual for him. Never when anybody was around, he knew if someone heard him having a conversation with himself, they would think he’s weird. After coming home from school, it was normal for him to have a conversation with himself about how school went, but if his parents asked him the same question, he would be short on words. He was more comfortable and normal conversing with himself than with anybody else, including his parents. “Something bad happened to my parents, I know it, I know it. I’m not going to have parents anymore,” he continues talking out loud.
James picks up his cell phone, he doesn’t want to do it, dials 9, so nervous, dials 1, maybe he thinks, he doesn’t have to do it, dials 1 again. “911, what’s your emergency.” “Hello. My parents haven’t come home since last night.”
He was already outside when a police vehicle pulled into the driveway. “James,” a male officer asks. “Y—yy-ee-ss.” “I’m Detective Brown; this is my partner, Detective Lee.” Both detectives look suspiciously at James, he is there, but doesn’t seem like his mind is. Understandable, since he’s worried about his parents. “How old are you James?” “16,” James says softly. Both detectives look at each other. “We’re going to find your parents, we just need you to take a ride with us to the station, answer a few questions.” “Okay,” James get
s into the backseat of their car.
“So tell us everything leading up to you calling us,” Detective Brown advises James, whom sits across from him behind his desk. “On Halloween night, I made a chicken patty, watched some TV, and..and went to bed, then I woke up and..,” James stops in his tracks as his thoughts shift to the girl that had been in his bedroom that night. He couldn’t tell them that part, they would judge him; they didn’t know what he felt like. He was never going to get that chance; he didn’t care at that moment how she got in the house, and who she was. What if she murdered your parents, his mind spoke back to him. “And what,” asks Detective Brown. “Then I woke up.” “Okay, let’s focus on your parents; do you know where they went?” “Yes, to a Halloween party.” “Do you know where it was,” Brown asks. “No, but I think the invitation is in my parents room.” “I’ll drive,” Detective Lee says.
James checks his cell phone to see if his parents had called. 3:39 am, and still no call from his parents. The detectives follow James as they enter his dark house, up the flight of stairs. He walks to the dresser beside his parents’ bed. No invitation. “My parents must have thrown it away,” James tells them. “James? Hello,” a voice from downstairs shouts.
The detectives walk fast and cautiously to the platform of the stairs, looking down. “Is everything alright, I live across the street,” the lady shouts. “Mam, I’m gonna ask you to please leave.” “My parents, they didn’t come home from a Halloween party,” James says softly to his neighbor, a tear sliding down his face. “Detective, could I talk you in private,” the neighbor asks. “I’ll go,” Detective Lee turns and says to Brown. Lee makes his way down the flight of stairs and leads the lady outside to the front patio. “I was at that party; they left around 8:30, so they could be home with their son. I remember because they left so early and I thought how it was so sweet of them to want to be with their son. See James is kind of a loner; they felt bad for him being alone while all the other kids his age were going to parties.” “How far was the party from here,” Detective Lee asks. “Around a half-hour.” “Thank you for the information, I’ll pass it along,” Lee turns to head back upstairs with the fresh information. “Wait,” the neighbor shouts back. “Let James stay with me for now, let him go to school like normal, my son is the same age as him, I think it would be easier on him for now.” “I can’t make that decision,” Lee turns around for good.
2 Days after Halloween Night
“Mom, he’s weird, he doesn’t talk to anybody at school.” “Mike, his parents are missing,” Mrs. Davis stands behind the kitchen sink washing dishes, staring out the little window in front of it. “Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t know that’s why he was here, I thought.. I thought you were forcing me to be friends with him or something. I’m sorry.” “Where are you going,” his mom turns and smiles at her son. “I was going meet up with some friends at the mall, see a movie. I’ll bring James along with me. It’ll be fun.” “That’s a good idea sweet heart.” James walks awkwardly into the kitchen. “Hello, Mrs. Davis, Mike.” “Good morning honey, you sleep okay?” “Yes. Thank you.” “Here I made some pancakes,” Mrs. Davis points to the table.
Mike sits across from James at the kitchen table asking him to hang out with him and his friends.
“It’ll be okay, everything will be okay. We’re just hanging out at the mall. It’s going to be okay,” James whispers to himself sitting on the bathroom toilet even though he didn’t have to go. He gets up from the toilet seat, flushes nothing, then near the sink looks at himself in the mirror and whispers to himself again how everything will be okay.
At the mall they meet up with three girls and one other guy. “What’s up, everybody this is James, he lives across from me, goes to school with us,” Mike tells them. “What’s up bro, I think I’ve seen you around,” the guy named David extends his hand. James shakes it, “Nice to meet you,” he says in a barely audible volume. David laughs slightly then turns to look at Mike. The girls all say hi and James says hi back, at least they think he did as he is so nervous that they barely hear what he had said. On the walk through the mall toward the movie theatre James walks behind them as the rest of the group walks together, laughing and having a good time. He hates that he can’t be like them in the group. He is surrounded with a group of people, but he feels like he’s invisible to the world. His first impression was of nervousness and anxiety, he knew how they felt. They didn’t want to bother him and make him feel uncomfortable, or maybe it was because they weren’t interested in talking to him after his first impression. Mike stops and falls back from the group until James catches up. “Hey, I’m sorry if it seems like you’re the third wheel, it’s just we all knew each other for a long time, don’t feel like we’re avoiding you,” Mike tells him. “It’s okay.” They arrive at the ticket box office and they all go up to the window to buy their tickets for the space comedy Space Commander 2, a sequel to the very successful comedy movie that came out two years prior.
“We’re going to get some snacks, you ladies want anything.” “Yea, lets share a large popcorn,” one of the girls recommends. “Okay, we’ll get some stuff.” Mike and David squeeze their way through the theatre seats toward the concession stand in the main lobby.
“Why did you bring that kid along, I never seen you hang out with him before,” David asks Mike while they wait in line at the concession stand. “His parents apparently never came back from a Halloween party Friday night, so my mom thought because of school that it would be a good idea if he stayed. I’m worried for him.” “Dam that is bad, is that why he’s.. you know.” “No, he’s always been a loner; he’s probably not use to hanging out and doing stuff with other people.” “I hope his parents are alright.” Mike looks at David, “Yeah, me too.”
That evening, James sits and eats in silence with Mike and the rest of his family.
2 years Prior to Halloween Night
“How many girlfriends have you had,” a kid mocking James across the cafeteria table asks. James fidgets, pushes the corn on his plastic plate around with his plastic fork. “Umm 3,” he finally responds. The kid laughs, “Only 3, what a loser.” It was actually zero, he thought 3 sounded like a not too high of a number but not too low, he was a realistic liar. “You ever kiss a girl yet,” the kid questions him again. James’s face goes red; he doesn’t think he could say yes without the kid across from him seeing right through him.