The Beast

THE BEAST

“Did you hear that, Jimmy?”

“Yeah. It sounded close -- up there in those hills. Probably some neighbor’s cat.”

“I’m scared. We shouldn’t have come here tonight alone .”

“You are too superstitious, Samantha. Halloween night is no different than any other night.”

“But last year, on Halloween, George came up here and his body was never found.”

“Just coincidence, Sammy. You worry too much.”

“Let’s go back. I'm too scared. My legs are shaking like jelly.”

“We're already over half way to the cabin. We can’t go back now. Here, hold my hand.”

“I was crazy to accept the dare. We won’t see anything at the cabin. No one will be there.”

“We have to move faster. Come on and stop griping. You're making me nervous.”

“There’s that noise again – to the left now -- ahead of us. It isn’t something small. I can tell. Whatever it is is breathing heavily.”

“My uncle told me about a beast that walks the hills at night. Maybe it’s him.”

“Your uncle? Is he here?”

“No, silly. The beast.”

“I would be happier if it was your uncle.”

“Figures.”

“What does the beast do?”

“Eats things, I guess, and wanders around.”

“What kind of things?”

“You don’t really want to know, Sammy. So shut up.”

“But I have to know. What if it eats little girls? What about that?”

“I'm here to protect you. Don’t worry.”

“You aren’t so big. And you're only twelve. What can you do to protect me?”

“If you don’t shut up, I'll feed you to the beast myself.”

“You wouldn’t dare. I would tell on you.”

“Not if you were eaten, you wouldn’t.”

“I hear footsteps coming towards us now.”

“We are getting closer to the cabin. When I tell you to run, you must run as fast as you can, and when you reach the cabin, get inside and lock the door quickly.”

“Where will you be? Aren’t you coming too?”

“Don’t worry about me. Just do what I say. I'm older than you and I know more.”

“But…”

“Get ready to run. Go.”

“I am running, Jimmy. Come on.”

……………………….

“This door seems to be locked. I can’t open it. No, here is the latch. Jimmy, are you coming? ……. It's so dark in here. Where's the light switch? …….. Oh, here's something. I'll turn it on.”

“SURPRISE!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, she fainted. Peter, would you take that beast mask off for a moment and help me with her?”

432 words