When Axel Marks opened his eyes a realization hit him so hard that he
nearly lost his breath; he'd been caught, again.
The walls of the wooden carriage and the ache in his head all pointed to
that conclusion.
He sighed, leaned his head against the wall and let the rhythmic sound of
hooves clip-clopping lull him into a state of nostalgia.
His mind took him back seven years to the streets.
It was Halloween Night and two weeks before he and his friend Toby had run
from the boy's home.
Three days later, after the desperate search for the two runaways, everyone
gave up on Toby Collins and Axel Marks; Axel caused trouble, and Toby
appeared to be a lost cause.
The next day they met up with a friend from school; Sterling Daniels.
He lived nice and snug at home but mostly hung out on his own.
Sterling teamed up with Toby and Axel and for two weeks the boys spent
their time on the streets stealing food and causing all sorts of trouble.
But Halloween Night changed their lives forever.
The sound of Toby's voice echoed in Axle's head as he sat with his eyes
shut in the carriage.
It still sounded small, timid and almost frightened.
He remembered the words so clearly and distinctly that it sounded as if
twelve-year-old Toby sat next to him in the cart.
He felt biting wind cut into his face and he heard Toby speak:
"I hate Halloween."
"Awe you're such a wimp Toby," Axel teased.
"Yeah, don't be such a baby Collins," Sterling's cocky voiced echoed in the
alley. "Are you afraid the Boogie Man's gonna get you? Huh? You scared?"
For a moment Axel saw Toby's face so clearly that he nearly jerked up in
surprise.
His head cocked to one side and for a moment he looked like a little
schnauzer puppy.
His uncanny green eyes stared at the ground for a moment and the moved up
to his friends.
He said nothing, but he didn't have to, they knew his answer, and knew it
was best to drop it.
Axel changed the subject. "Let's go do something, I'm gettin' cold sittin'
here."
"Sure, but what?" Toby asked.
"I don't know, let's just start walking and maybe we'll find it," Axel
said.
"On Halloween Night?" Sterling asked. "I'm sure it's real safe for three
kids like us wondering the streets of New York alone, at night...Halloween
Night for that matter. Real bright man."
Axel cocked an eyebrow. "Now look who's scared."
"Hey man, I'm not scared," Sterling said, his eyes changing colors as they
always did. "I'm just not dumb."
Toby laughed. "He's scared."
In the end, Axel convinced Sterling to walk to a local neighborhood and
steal candy from little kids.
On the way there the wind howled and the moon cast eerie shadows all
around, causing the streets of New York to look like a scene from an old
horror film.
Every once in a while Axel thought he heard Toby shiver but he could never
be sure. Toby's own shadow made him wet his pants.
When they were about a block from the neighborhood Sterling started
looking over his shoulder. Halfway down the street, lights splashed across
the pavement; a large black van creped around the corner; like a wolf on
the prowl. Axel and Toby took no notice of it but Sterling continued
glancing back as it neared them. As it drew up right behind them he turned
and whispered to his two friends, "Run in opposite directions as fast as
you can-that car's bad news."
Toby took the warning almost before the words had left Sterling's mouth and
he disappeared around a corner. Sterling started back the way he came when
he realized that Axel was still walking towards the neighborhood.
"Axel run!" He yelled. "I'm not joking!"
"Why should I run?" He asked. But as the words escaped his lips the van
slowed to a halt and the back door slid open. A man, the size Axel
imagined Goliath must have been, stepped out onto the pavement. His face
almost glowed in the ghostly moonlight and his eyes looked like two endless
black holes. For a moment Axel felt the flame of rebellion spark inside of
him and paused to face the monster-but suddenly, as the giant hand reached
down to grab him, he found himself running. He jumped on the hood of the
car and used the momentum to propel himself off towards town. It seemed
like hours that he ran. His legs grew numb from the cold, the wind cut his
lungs with shards of ice, and his eyes burned. But he never stopped; when
he slowed down the sound of pounding feet grew loud behind him and he sped
up. /Why is this happening? / He wondered. /Why do they want to...what do
they want to do? /
Axel turned a corner and, just like in horror movies, the ghostly man stood
in his way. He saw him but could not stop his speed. Running into him was
like running into a brick wall, only harder. The last thing he saw before
the all-consuming darkness took him was the man leaning over him with
something in his hand.
