Bones for the Magpie

Part One : Chapter Two

  Laurie stood at the end of her street holding a large pumpkin, waiting for Annie to pick her up and take her to Tommy Doyle's house. She saw Annie's car drive to her house—it was a tomato red vehicle with dark red interior. Laurie watched the road for other cars before crossing the street to meet with Annie.

"Get in." Annie said.

Laurie walked around the car to the passenger's side and lowered herself into the car. Annie chuckled as she struggled to get the pumpkin inside the car as well.

"Shut up and drive." Laurie teased.

"Is that all for us?" Annie looked bored.

"It's mostly for Tommy, and I suppose Lindsey too, you're in charge of the ghost stories, remember?"

That made Annie smile, "And I have just the story for those kids."

Laurie looked out of her window before replying, "It better not scar them for life."

"No way, they're old enough to hear a good one, anyway."

Annie drove Laurie to a different part of the neighborhood—Tommy and Lindsey's part of town, and parked on the side of the road. The two stepped out of their vehicle and Annie parted with Laurie to gather Lindsey. Laurie met up with Tommy at his front door, he was dressed as an astronaut and had just returned from Trick or Treating. As he saw Laurie, he ran up to her and hugged her waist.

"Laurie!" He cried, "Laurie I saw the Boogeyman on my way home!"

Laurie dismissed him—she was used to his skittish antics, "Tommy I'm sure it was just some neighborhood kid playing a prank."

"No but it was the Boogeyman! It let out a rattling sound as it breathed and I could see its face watching me from the bushes."

"What did it look like?" She asked, attempting to disprove him.

"I-I couldn't see it very well, it was covered by some leaves. But it's face was wrong!"

"Tommy let's go inside, c'mon I've got stuff for you."

The two headed inside Tommy's house and Laurie showed off the pumpkin she bought for him. She watched as Tommy kept looking at the windows, trying to see if he could see the Boogeyman again. Annie and Lindsey made their way to his house—their knocking at the door made him jump. Laurie answered the door but stepped aside to let Lindsey run in and greet Tommy.

"Hey," Laurie waited until Lindsey joined with Tommy away from them to talk to Annie, "make sure that story tonight isn't too scary, Tommy's already spooked by something."

Annie laughed and walked past her, "Don't worry it's not. Let's get this pumpkin carved."

Laurie helped the children carve into the pumpkin. She was in charge of the knives but they directed what they wanted it to look like. Annie stood back and kept the kitchen clean while also making a little conversation.

"Lynda won't be back until eleven thirty tonight, Laurie, make sure to call her before then and ask if she needs a ride home."

Laurie nodded, too busy cutting the gourd in front of her to respond with her voice. Tommy kept peeking around Laurie to watch the windows. As he looked a third time, there was something in the window—It was knelt down, its face barely visible above the sill in the living room. All Tommy saw was an eyeless white face that was splattered with dark red and grime. It looked distressed.

"Laurie, look!" Tommy screamed before tucking himself behind Laurie.

"What?" She turned to where he pointed, "There's nothing there, Tommy."

Laurie ruffled Tommy's hair and continued to carve the pumpkin, assuming he'd just seen a cat or perhaps a late night Trick or Treater. It was about to be dark out, so it'd make sense that some kids would want the last bit of candy before going home.

Once the pumpkin was carved, they placed a candle inside it and went into the living room to set it on the coffee table. They turned the lights off and watched it glow—a simple face was carved in it, but they were all happy with how it looked.

"Alright kids, go sit on the couch, Annie wants to tell a ghost story." Laurie motioned her hands to get the children to move.

Lindsey and Tommy sat next to each other on the couch, Laurie sat on the floor, and Annie took up residence on the only armchair in the room. They let the Jack-o'-lantern do its work as it created an eerie atmosphere in the living room. It was quiet outside, all the children had retired to their homes to watch movies. Annie settled down, getting ready for what she wanted to tell.

"Okay so," she began, "there once was this little kid—this kid was weird, right? He had an empty face, he never wore a smile, never spoke, and he unnerved his whole neighborhood. He would go outside to look for dead animals and collect them. No one knows what he did with the dead animals, they just know he hid them somewhere—probably to watch them rot or to play with them. He was deemed as a disturbed child, no one played with him—there was just something...off about him. Then one day, their neighbor's dog turned up dead. His parents didn't say anything, but they knew their son was behind it, locals said the dog had consumed poison, but it was impossible for the dog to get a hold of it. They knew this little boy wasn't right, but his parents refused to send him away somewhere. Then, on one fateful night—Halloween, 1963, this boy crept upstairs with a knife and massacred his sister. People said he stabbed her thirty-seven times. That despite her screams and pleas for him to stop, he just kept going and going. When the police found her body, all of her teeth were missing. They weren't sure if she died due to the wounds or choked on her own blood-"

"Annie." Laurie nudged Annie's leg.

Tommy looked pale and Lindsey had her ears covered.

"What..." Tommy squeaked, "What happened to her teeth?"

"Nobody knows. They couldn't find them anywhere, and the little boy wouldn't tell—not even a whisper came out of his mouth. Rumor has it that he ate the bones and the teeth." Annie ended with an evil chuckle.

"That's enough." Laurie looked at her friend.

Annie seemed unable to stop telling the story.

"They detained the boy, confined him to a hospital. He's actually in Smith's Grove, that little sanitarium not too far from here. His name plagued the town..Michael Myers."

Tommy let out a cry, "Wait from the Myers house!?"

Unbeknownst to Annie, Tommy and Laurie had visited the Myers house earlier in the day, Tommy hadn't known about the Myers Murder though.

Annie kept going, "Yeah—that's not too far from your house, Laurie, isn't it? Anyway, his sister's toothless cry can be heard sometimes if you listen closely, near the house. And her mangled body might be seen from the window when the moon is out late at night. Should someone enter the property-"

"Annie!" Laurie stood up, seeing the terror on the children's faces, "Shouldn't Lynda be here soon?"

Annie paused her story, "I haven't heard from her. She's probably drunk with Bob." She turned her attention back to the kids, "The locals called him the Magpie Child since it was popular opinion that he scavenged for dead carcasses, ate baby animals and did who knows what with their bones. Not a trace was found. Kids would watch him take baby birds from nests and suffocate them, then disappear with their bodies."

"What's a magpie?" Lindsey asked, uncovering her ears.

"It's a black and white bird—like a crow. A scavenger." Annie replied.

"Black and white?" Tommy shuddered, remembering the discolored face he'd seen earlier in the day.