Oct 30, 2013

Once Upon a Halloween...

As part of the WEP Blogfest, I'm sharing a Halloween-themed short story today. This story features Zane, Kev and Elise from MY ZOMBIE DOG in an all new tale:

Once Upon a Halloween

I lean in, the torch illuminating my solemn expression. Outside the wind howls and our tent rustles. It’s the perfect backdrop for my Halloween story. 'Once upon a time—'
   Elise exhales a dramatic sigh and makes a show of dropping her shoulders.
   'Something wrong Elise?'
   'S-boring Zane. Don like 'pon time stories.'
   'Yeahsh,' Kev agrees through cheekfulls of marshmallow. 
   My turn to sigh. 'Fine. A long time ago, in a faraway town—'
  'Uhhhghhh.' They complain in unison. A marshmallow bounces off my forehead.
   I point the torch at my little sister. 'Do you want to tell the story?'
   Elise shrugs. 'Spose to be scary.'
   Kev scrambles up from his sleeping bag. 'Zanie boy here doesn’t like scary stories—do you Zane?'
   Elise giggles.
   'He gets so scared he needs to leave all the lights in the house on when he sleeps.'
   This is totally unfair of my so-called buddy. It was one sleepless night, I’m really not that easily scared. The torch light dims and we are thrust into a moment of darkness. I shake the torch until finally the light flickers back on. Phew.
   'Wan a story with a sseep.'
   'A scary story with a sheep?' I ask.
   'Yeah, and a turtle.' Thanks Kev.
   'How is a sheep and a turtle scary?'
   'Zaaane.' Elise’s bottom lip pokes out.
   'Okay… One dark and stormy night a sheep and a turtle set out to cross through forbidden tunnel—'
   'Why would a sheep and turtle want to go through a tunnel?' Kev asks.
   'Because… they were meeting with a duck at the fountain in town. So anyway, they set toward the forbidden tunnel and the turtle says—'
   'Why’s it forbidden?'
   'Because there were rumours that a scary monster lived under it.' Pretty proud of that one, made it up on the spot.
   'Eh, that’s alright, but it’d be better if one year ago to the day a horrible, horrible murder took place right in the middle of that very tunnel.' Kev snatches the light and flashes it on his face. His ginger eyebrows are casting fuzzy shadows on his forehead and it’s creeping me out.
   I cough and nod my head toward Elise.
   'Wan’ scary hobbible murder story!' She squeals. 
   Great. She’ll probably have nightmares.
   'Ohh, I don’t know Elise,' Kev says, 'Zane might get too scared!' 
   Elise giggles.
   'Will not! I’m fine!'
  'You sure Dude? Remember what happened last time we went camping?'
   'That was ages ago, and besides, I told you, I just had too much orange juice.'
   'All right then… so the sheep and turtle approach the tunnel and the turtle’s saying how it was exactly midnight that the last animals were slaughtered in this very tunnel one year ago. The sheep looks at his watch—'
   'Hey!' I protest, but Elise shushes me and turns attentively back to Kev’s illuminated face. I try not to look at his dancing eyebrows. 
   'The sheep looks at his watch and says, Hey it’s almost midnight now. Well sheep are pretty stupid because they continue on into the tunnel, which is very, very dark. Halfway through they stop and the sheep asks: did you hear that? They listen and there’s a scraping noise along the wall. It sounds just like a sharp knife being dragged along the stones. Scrape… scraaaape… scraaaape…'
   I grab Elise’s arm. You know, just to make sure she’s okay. We both lean in close.
   'They try to run to reach the exit of the tunnel where they can see a slither of moonlight, but ahead of them comes that same scraaaape…. scraaaape… and they see…' Kev’s voice trails off into a whisper.
   I bite my lip and lean in closer.
   'What? What do they see?'
   Kev leans in too, so we’re all really close and he whispers, 'They see a shadow, it becomes clearer in the moonlight … and that’s when they notice its face…'
   Friday the 13th stabbing music blasts from Kev’s phone.
   'Eeeek!' I squeal, I mean, I think it was Elise who squealed.
   'Zane scared!' Elise giggles.
   Kev speaks into the phone, 'Yep … no probs … I’ll ask.'
   'Dude,' he nods to me, 'it’s your mum, she wants to know if we want hot chocolate?'
   I look out the flap of the tent and see mum waving from the kitchen window. Sure. Hot chocolate would be good, may as well have it inside, no point in making her bring it all the way out here. I very calmly agree and slowly make my way up to the house.
   'Hey!' Kev calls after me, 'You don’t need to run!'

Find more spooky stories, or join the blogfest at:

24 comments:

  1. LOL! Oh my goodness, this was so cute! So much personality... (I especially loved the flying marshmallow.)

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  2. This was a cute story! Crystal beat me to it! I was going to say that I loved the flying marshmallow to the forehead too. lol And the hot chocolate. ;)

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  3. Absoolutely adorable, and just what I would expect from you. Loved this.

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  4. Cute, very cute! I could imagine all those images. Well done!

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  5. So adorable, reminds me of all the night spent in a tent in the back yard and the scary stories that went along with the fun! Although the best times were spend in the woods on Grandma's farm. We never slept on those nights - the stories were too scary! Loved it!

    Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween!

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  6. I *love* what you do with the marshmallows and the orange juice! Very realistic. :D

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  7. Thanks for all the sweet comments. I look forward to reading some spooky stories, poems and seeing some hauntingly good pics on blogs today. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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  8. So we have an excerpt from Undead Kev do we, or was this just using the characters? Anyway, it is adorable. Loved that they were in the backyard. Very realistic and lotsa giggles. Loved this especially: "I grab Elise’s arm. You know, just to make sure she’s okay. We both lean in close." Ha ha. And 'cheekfulls', not 'cheakfulls' (sorry, can't help meself...)

    Thanks for taking part this month buddy. Great entry.

    Denise

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  9. What can I say that hasn't already been so well said? It's a terrific story. Would make a lovely book with illustrations. There's not a kid on the block who wouldn't relate (and a few big kids too).

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  10. Jenny - Thanks, I did have fun with these characters!

    Denise - I don't know what you're talking about, it says 'cheekfulls'. (*Whistles innocently and quickly hits the edit button) ;) Not from Undead Kev (but folks, that book will be out just in time for Christmas, wink wink, nudge nudge). Just a short using the characters. Thanks for hosting a blogfest to give it a home!

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  11. LOL; that was a cool story. And I want to know what they saw in the light at the end of the tunnel!

    .........dhole

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  12. That was cute and funny. Poor little guy, so scared. Very endearing character.

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse

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  13. Cute story! My favorite character was Elise - you did a great job with her. Happy Halloween!

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  14. What did they see in the light at the end of the tunnel?
    Very cute story!
    Writer In Transit

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  15. That was a cute story. Liked the ending. : )

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  16. That was cute scary and happy scary. I see fun quirky characters and want to imagine illustrations to go with that story. Nice touch.

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  17. LOL Sheep! I've always found sheep irresistibly funny. Love the dialogue between the kids. Really enjoyed this!

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  18. I love the way they spook themselves but have the safety and security of mum in the house with hot chocolate. Great fun.

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  19. Saturday November 2nd, 2013
    Dear Charmaine,
    What a cute and fun story about children telling each other spooky stories in a tent. But then they decide to go in and drink hot chocolate in the kitchen. They don't even finish telling the story!
    Well done.
    Best wishes,
    Anna
    Anna's WEP-Challenge for October: Haunting

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  20. This brought back childhood memories. So much fun and well written too.
    Nancy

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  21. Children telling ghost stories - wonderful idea.

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  22. 'Twas a treat. A trick or treat. :) The header looks nice! Love it.You're grooving along and it's a wonderful thing to watch.

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