Disclaimer: Though I am in love with everything about this movie, I do not own anything from it. Blah!
Author's note: Hello, peoples! Sorry this one took a really long time to get up. It's not like I've been having writer's block lately, I just haven't had the urge to write. It's quite sad and I feel very empty inside. Anyway, I finally posted up the first chapter for A Walk in the Dark! YAY! I'm not sure how quickly these chapters will come up. I've tweaked the beginning of the story around a little bit so I need to rethink my previous plans. All I can say is I can't make any promises. Alrighty then, please read and maybe, hopefully review the first chapter. Enjoy!
Ch.1 – Plans for Fear
Coleen brushed her long curly orange hair away from her face as she heard the familiar click of the library doors locking for the night. The twenty-three year old removed the key and tugged on the doors, making sure they were secure. Nodding in approval, she turned and began the descent down the small stone staircase that led to the sidewalk.
Though it was only six o' clock, the night sky was pitch black. A cool wind swept through the darkness, sending chills down Coleen's spine. She reached into her purse. When she felt the familiar form of her small container of pepper spray, she began her walk home.
Not being able to afford a car, Coleen had to resort to walking to work. Although it wasn't all bad, for she only lived a couple blocks away from the library.
As she walked the familiar path down Evans Street towards her house, strange sounds penetrated the silence of the night air. An owl's faint call, screeching tires in the distance, a stray cat rustling the branches of nearby bushes. On top of the sounds, shadows appeared to dance around in the moonlight, beckoning other shadows to join in.
All of these things were so familiar to Coleen, yet she felt more shivers crawling slowly down her spine. Every beat of her now racing heart sounded like a drum in her head.
"Why does the night seem worse when Halloween comes around?" Coleen spoke aloud, trying to distract her nervous thoughts from the frights of the night. She hated getting scared and her boyfriend was of no help in that category, especially around Halloween.
Halloween was in three days and she decided to shake off her nerves by thinking about what prank he was going to pull off this year. Though he was a master of terror, he acted like a little kid at Christmas on Halloween, and that brought a smile to her face.
After what seemed like hours, Coleen could finally see her house. Her small white ranch house with the large window jutting out of the front. The porch light shone above the light blue front door, leading into the comfort of… Light?
"I don't remember turning that light on before I left," Coleen glanced around nervously. No one was out; at least, not that she knew of or saw. She slowly climbed her porch steps, looking every which way for a possible intruder.
Her fears began to subside as her gaze rested on the many warm lights that emanated from her neighborhoods' windows. Everyone was inside, all warm and protected from the bitter fall night outside.
Coleen smiled as she pulled her house key out of her purse and pushed it into the front door bolt. "It'll be nice to curl up under a warm blanket and just watch a good movie."
As she went to turn the key, a sudden loud cracking sound pierced the air, echoing into the night. Coleen froze, the key stopping in mid-turn. She turned around slowly, not even daring to breathe, and peered into the darkness. The light that emanated from her porch showed nothing out there.
It's just an animal… Coleen shakily tried to reassure herself. It's just an animal… But then, another crack like the braking of bones was heard, and this sound was even closer to her than the first.
"Hello?" Coleen croaked as her voice came out as a mere whisper. Hands trembling, she reached into her purse once again. Her fingers wrapped tightly around her pepper spray as she brought it out, ready to protect herself from this unseen force.
Hesitantly, she stepped towards the edge of the house porch, peering into the night. Mustering up the little courage she had left, she spoke the one word she could say a little bit louder. "Hello?"
As her voice carried on into the night, a loud sound was heard as something came crashing down from the roof right in front of Coleen. She let out an ear-piercing scream as she saw that a body lay on the ground. A very bloody body with disproportioned body parts.
Not wanting to see if she even recognized who the dead person was, Coleen quickly ran for the front door. Before she could grab the doorknob, a rough hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. She screamed again as a man with dirty blonde hair and an axe going right through his skull stared at her with wide frightened eyes.
"You can't stop… him…" The man gasped as he sunk to the ground. "You… can't…"
Wanting to escape the nightmare taking place right before her eyes, Coleen reached for the doorknob once again. She yanked and pulled, but it wouldn't open. Having forgotten she hadn't unlocked it, she went to turn the key, but all she grabbed was air. The key that had been sticking out of the door not even two seconds ago was not gone.
"Looking for this?" A raspy voice called out from behind.
Desperately not wanting to turn around, Coleen forced herself to. She slowly moved her body around until she faced the new figure. The thin figure was very tall, well over six feet, dressed from head to toe in black. Splotches of a dark red substance could be seen covering his body, probably the blood from his victims. A white mask hid his true identity and within his gloved hand, a small key floated before Coleen's eyes. She stood frozen in place as she saw her safety, her protection, glittering at her in the hands of this killer.
Having dropped her pepper spray, Coleen began to back up towards the door. Her pale green eyes were wide with fear as the figure began to inch closer to her. Her back hit wood, the killer now hovering over her small form.
He leaned in close so his masked face was now just inches away from hers. His gloved hand came up and began to stroke her delicate chin. Coleen could feel his hot breath coming through his mask and going down her neck, sending chills down her spine for the hundredth time that night. She couldn't say anything; she didn't have the courage to. Closing her eyes was all she could think of as she waited for that fatal blow to fall.
"Got you," the figure whispered into Coleen's ear.
That voice. Coleen's eyes flew open as she recognized the now soothing voice coming from behind the mask. Suddenly, snickering could be heard coming from the two "dead" men nearby. Anger welled up inside her as Coleen finally realized what was really going on. She reached for the figure's mask and tore it off, revealing an all too familiar pale face with sapphire blue eyes and spiky jet black hair smiling at her.
"Jack!"
"Come on, Coleen," Jack Shelton followed his fuming girlfriend around her small house. "It was just a joke."
Coleen's pace came to an abrupt halt as she turned; arms crossed, and faced Jack. "Listen, Jack. I know Halloween is your favorite holiday, but what you did right now was cruel, to me!" Her voice trembled with anger, the fear that had flooded inside her now gone.
"But you believed it to be true!"
"Because it all looked so real!" Coleen turned her gaze away from Jack. A long sigh escaped as she pinched the bridge of her nose, attempting to calm down. "You know I get scared easily," she whispered. "You know."
Believing a prank to be true was all the more fun of getting scared, but Jack did know that his girlfriend was rather touchy about it. He knew she didn't like to be scared, he was just having some fun. Wasn't everybody?
He let out a sight as he stepped closer to her. He gently wrapped his arms around Coleen and held her close to his chest. "I'm sorry. I promise I won't do any more tricks on you. And if I break my promise, you have permission to slug me."
Coleen pulled away from Jack's embrace and gazed into his deep blue eyes. He had the ability to sweet-talk anyone with his voice of honey. She had always known that about him, yet she fell for it every time. A small smile threatened to escape as she attempted to remain serious. "Promise?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die."
"Leave the 'die' part out, and I'll forgive you," the smile broke through as she stood on her toes and planted a small kiss upon Jack's lips. "How was I ever able to meet someone like you?"
"I don't know," Jack picked Coleen up and held her in the air. "Maybe it was my good looks. My charm, perhaps."
"Or maybe it's that ever-growing ego that makes your head seem bigger."
"Hey!" Jack smiled, planting a kiss on her cheek then setting her feet back on the ground.
Coleen winked at Jack, then turned and headed for the kitchen. As she gazed upon the contents that lined the inside of her refrigerator, she spoke over her shoulder. "I guess I have to admit, that was a pretty good prank. Best one you've come up with so far."
"I wouldn't say the best, but that was just a warm-up," Jack bounced into the kitchen after her, becoming excited as he talked like an over-eager child at Christmas. "Come Halloween, we're going all out and not holding back. So listen. Sam, Adin, and I were going to do the same prank we did on you, but a hundred times better and a hundred times scarier. We need your house to…"
"No!" Coleen abruptly turned from the fridge, a plate of pizza slices in her hand. "You're not going to scare the children that live here!" And just because she wasn't mad at Jack anymore, didn't mean she wasn't furious with his childhood scaring partners.
"But your house is the perfect place to pull this prank off!" Jack pouted.
After sticking the pizza in the microwave, Coleen turned and faced Jack again. "Look, this neighborhood is filled with kids from the ages of two to twelve. They come to my house every year expecting candy. If they witness what I just say, they will never sleep again. And I really don't want to hear the earful I'll get from their parents."
Hanging his head in defeat, Jack nodded. "All right, we'll just find another place."
"Thank you," Coleen smiled as she gave Jack another kiss. As she turned to the beeping sound of the microwave, she got a great idea of how to life her boyfriend's spirits. "Say, why settle for scaring in a small Indiana town like this, when you could scare double the amount of people in Chicago?"
Jack lifted his head, his eyes growing wide with interest. "I'm listening…"
"Why not try your parent's house? They have plenty of preteens for you to scare in their neighborhood. You can take Adin and Sam with you. Plus, I think Monique would be very happy to see her big brother again."
The more Jack thought about Coleen's idea, the more he loved it. Why settle for the little town of Portage when you could go to a city?! Also, seeing his kid sister would really be the icing on the cake. This Halloween is going to be the best one yet!