The Lonely Bones

Chapter 2

Miss Harley turns around and stares at me in silence while I walk into her garden, her long black hair is rippling with the wind and for a second, I think that I can see a creepy smile showing up under her mask...

"You are the Herring girl!" she says all of a sudden, pointing her long hand at me.

"Yeah, we are neighbors... remember, Miss Harley?"

"All the kids in town have loved my House, wanna give it a try?"

"Whatever..."

I walk into the Spooks House without another word, Miss Harley walks in after me and the door is closed after us. It's so dark in here, I can see nothing and then, a few seconds later, I hear that she is pressing keys or something. These orange and purple lights are flashing and dancing all around me with beautiful effects, tiny cardboard witches flying everywhere.

Where is Miss Harley? She just vanished, maybe there is a hidden door or something. The lights change to blue and gray, Halloween music is coming from somewhere and then I see a fake skeleton hanging from the wall. I am starting to wonder... What is really spooky about this stupid House with lights?

"Yeah, the lights are nice... anything else?"

"What, are you not creeped out yet?"

I have never liked her voice, to be honest. It's a high, cold and creepy voice that gives me shivers, I have always thought that she is a nutcase and right now I can tell that she sounds particularly excited for some reason...

"No, that was lame."

"Well then... How about this, stupid girl?"

I turn around and there she is, this tall, creepy and black-hooded Grim Reaper holding a scythe... and hey, that's not the cardboard scythe that she had before, is it? No, this one looks shinier and more... realistic, way too real to be part of a Halloween costume.

"You know what?" Miss Harley whispers, slowly walking towards me- "This one is sharp and all..."

"Sure, that looks sharp..." I say with alarm, staring at an authentic steel scythe.

Miss Harley keeps drawing closer to me, now taking off her mask to reveal a twisted smile, a rapid breathing and a light of excitement gleaming in her ghastly gray eyes. This must be a sick joke, a trick to scare the hell out of me, this cannot be for real, but what if...?

"Miss Harley, I want to go home!"

"Laurie, I do not want you to leave..."

I am fast enough to duck and evade the first blow of her scythe, another blow is coming and the next thing I know is that I am running from one wall to another, screaming while Miss Harley tries to kill me.

"Mom! Dad!" I scream, hitting the walls when I can- "Get me out of here!"

"What?" my mother calls back, clearly too drunk to realize what is happening to me- "Come on, that's just a Spooks House!"

"I have to get out!"

"Chill out, all the other kids were laughing!"

"This is different!"

Miss Harley is running after me, leaving deep slashes on the walls as her scythe keeps missing its target. However she is merely playing with me like an eagle with a mouse, I know that she can hit me any moment that she wants...

"Laurie, whatever that you see in there is... not... real!"

"It looks pretty real to me!"