The Fic Lab Prompt 20: Halloween.
The exercise this past week was to create a Halloween story using 3 to 5 prompts from a list of 21 options. I broke up this story in three sections based on each of the prompts I used.
Prompt: High School
Jasper turns from his locker and watches Alice walk down the hallway of the high school. He's almost hypnotized by the sway of her hips. This afternoon break between classes is Jasper's favorite part of the day. Every day, without fail, Jasper runs to his locker just so he can have the perfect view of Alice passing by on her way to her next class.
Alice arrived at their small town of Rosebud, TX last year right before Thanksgiving and Jasper has been obsessed with her ever since. She's a modern day version of Snow White, with pale skin, black hair and full red lips, and he wants to be her Prince Charming. But he hasn't really talked to her much besides a few passing comments or that one time she was part of his group assignment in history last year.
Jasper knows it's ridiculous, but he finds Alice very intimidating. She's such a little thing, but she exudes so much confidence. He heard she's lived all over…Paris, London, New York. He's sure that's part of it…she much more worldly than the rest of the kids in this school.
Jasper has never lacked female companionship before Alice arrived. He's aware he is considered good looking, he's tall and he's the captain of the football team. Football is practically a religion in Texas. There's no way you can be the star of the high school team and not have girls fawning all over you.
But Alice is different. She isn't impressed by the same things the rest of the high school girls are impressed by. She doesn't seem impressed by any of the boys at this school. She's turned down the few who have been adventurous enough to ask her out.
Jasper knows she's a challenge and he doesn't usually back down from challenges. Alice has been here almost a year and this is their last year in high school. His time is running out to make his move. He's been avoiding it for far too long. Saturday night is their annual Halloween party down at the river on the edge of the woods. Jasper makes up his mind to ask Alice to the party before the school day is done. He's not going to wait any longer.
At just that moment, Jasper's eyes still watching Alice, she turns her head back to him and winks.
Prompt: Ghosts (stories)
As Jasper pulls up to Alice's house, he sees her sitting on the porch waiting for him. She jumps up and walks over to his car as he's gets out and walks over to the passenger side to open the door for her. She's dressed in jeans and a sweater, perfect for the cool night air. She gives him a quick kiss on his check before she slides into the passenger seat. Jasper feels like he's floating as he walks back to the driver's side, his cheek still tingling where Alice kissed him.
"I wasn't sure you were ever going to ask me out," Alice says as Jasper starts the car back up and heads towards the river.
"Really?" he asks, surprised by her comment. "I wasn't sure you were interested in anyone in this town. You've turned down any other invitations, from what I hear." Jasper takes a quick look at Alice in the passenger seat before he looks back onto the road.
"I was just waiting for the right invitation."
The rest of the ride is quiet, Jasper unsure of what to say next. He doesn't understand why Alice intimidates him so much. She said yes to him, which is more than she's done for anyone else in this town. He knows Alice wouldn't be out with him if she didn't truly want to be. He needs to accept that and enjoy the night.
They arrive at the party spot by the river and all heads turn as Jasper walks up with Alice. Jasper can see the surprised faces, but he just smiles at everyone.
"Hey guys, you all know Alice," he says to everyone. Alice smiles and waves at the group.
"Sure, hi Alice, not used to seeing you at these things," Peter says.
"We're glad you could join us, Alice," Charlotte chimes in.
"We were just about to start telling ghost stories, Grab a drink and take a seat around the fire," Maria says.
Jasper grabs a couple bottles of beer while Alice finds a seat for the two of them on the logs around the campfire. Jasper sits down next to Alice, hands her a beer, and listens as group take turns telling scary stories.
Alistair tells the story of the ghost of Rosebud, TX. They've heard this story every year since they were kids so no one finds it that scary.
Peter tells a new story about the so called Halloween Killer that strikes each year at different small town Halloween party just like this one. Charlotte jumps when she hears a noise in the woods behind them. Peter pulls her closer, gives her a kiss and laughs as he says, "Don't worry, baby, I'll protect you if the Halloween Killer shows up anywhere around here."
Alice says she has a story to tell. All eyes turn towards Alice as she begins to tell the story of the Halloween Vampire. "Just as there are different breeds of animals, there are different breeds of vampires," she tells them. "Some vampires can only go out at night because the sun will burn them up. These vampires can only be killed by a stake to the heart. Some vampires can go out at any time, but the sun makes their skin sparkle. These vampire can only be killed by fire."
"Sparkly vampires? Doesn't sound too scary," Maria laughs.
Alice ignores her and continues on with her story. "And the third type of vampire is the scariest of all. No one knows they are vampires until it's too late. The sun doesn't effect them at all. They only need to eat one night a year…Halloween night. And then all hell breaks loose. No one within hearing range is safe. These vampires are faster than anything else on earth. The only way to kill these vampires is to prevent them from eating any time on Halloween day, October 31st."
"Hey, maybe the Halloween Killer is a Halloween Vampire," Peter offers.
"Freaky," Charlotte groans.
"Come on, guys, it's almost midnight. Let's toast to Halloween," Jasper says as he stands up, grabs some more beer and brings them to the campfire.
Everyone raises a bottle as the clock strikes midnight. "To our last high school Halloween party," Jasper toasts. "Happy Halloween," everyone replies.
Jasper turns towards Alice who is smiling up at him. "Thanks for joining me tonight, Alice. You've made this the best Halloween party yet."
"My pleasure," Alice tells him as she reaches up and gives him a kiss…on his lips this time.
Prompt: Lost in the Woods
Jasper wakes up with a pounding headache. He looks around and finds that it is still night and he's lying on the forest floor.
What the hell happened, he wonders to himself. Suddenly, he remembers Alice was with him. The last thing he remembers is kissing Alice. How did he end up in the woods?
"Alice!" he calls out hoping she is somewhere near. "Alice!" he calls out again when he doesn't hear anything the first time.
"Jasper, is that you?" Jasper almost cries with relief when he hears Alice's small voice crying out from several feet away. "Where are you? What happened?"
Jasper jumps up and runs over to where Alice is sitting slumped over against a tree. "Thank god you're okay, Alice. I don't know what happened. Last thing I remember is kissing you after our Halloween toast."
"No, no, don't you remember the screams? There was a noise coming from the woods and everyone started screaming. But I don't know how we ended up here."
Jasper doesn't remember any screaming at all. One minute he was kissing Alice and the next minute he was waking up in the woods. He tries to think of any possible explanation. Maybe someone spiked the beer. But how could they do that? The bottles were sealed. Were there any drugs? They didn't usually do that as a group, but sometimes Maria and Alistair brought along some weed. Could they have gotten a bad batch…laced with something harder? None of this makes sense.
"Alice, we need to find our way back to the group…to the campfire." Alice looks scared, but she nods to him, takes his offered hand and stands up. Jasper maintains a hold of her hand once she's up. He's going to keep her close so that nothing bad happens to her.
"Do you know which way to go?" she asks.
Jasper looks around. It's dark, but the glow of the moonlight allows him to see some of the area around them. "I can hear the river that way," Jasper points with his free hand. "That's the way we should go."
"Jasper, I'm scared. I don't think I want to go back there." Alice's eyes are big as she looks up at Jasper.
Jasper has never felt this protective of anyone before. "It's okay, Alice, I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise. But we have to make sure everyone else is okay, too. And then we can go home. I will keep you safe."
Alice smiles, a chilling smile that Jasper feels down to his bones. He wants to scream…he wants to run, but Alice's hold on his hand is too strong.
"No, Jasper, you won't be going home. Not tonight and not ever again."
"Th..thi..this isn't funny, Alice," Jasper sputters out.
"I know, Jasper, and I'm sorry. But Peter was right…the Halloween Killer is a Halloween Vampire. It's all true. And it's all me. Your friends are not alive anymore, unfortunately."
Jasper can't believe this is real, that this is how his life ends. In the middle of the woods, killed by a vampire. But he can now see that that is what Alice really is.
Alice's smile turns almost sweet, "No, I won't kill you, Jasper. But you won't be the same you anymore. You belong to me now. Forever."
