The bonfire was lit, and yellow and orange flames whooshed into the air with a loud roar. The teens had splashed gasoline on the pile of branches, brush and old furniture they scavenged from the surrounding area. People were always throwing trash out in the desert outside of town.
A guy and two girls stood around the fire staring at the flickering flames while they guzzled down cans of beer and smoked packs of cigarettes.
One of the girls was tall and dressed in all black—black jeans, black t-shirt, black jacket, black chunky boots. Her lipstick was dark orange, and she had neatly braided her dark hair into one long strand that hung down her shoulder. She tugged on the braid and laughed. "Anyone know any good ghost stories?"
The guy was dark, tall and muscular. He wore a football jersey and had spiky black hair. He took a long drag on his cigarette and then blew out a cloud of smoke. "Not me."
He turned to the petite blonde next to him. She was the new girl in town. "How about you, Skyler? Know any scary stories?"
Skyler was dressed all in black like the other girl; only she didn't wear a jacket. Her black t-shirt was artfully shredded from the chest down. On her arms were elbow high black and white knit gloves, and on her feet, a pair of black vans. Skyler took a sip of her beer and then looked up into the dark sky. "I know one, but it's pretty scary."
The dark-haired girl gave a nervous laugh. "Tell it."
The guy gaffed. "Ooh, spooky stories. Someone hold me I'm scared."
The dark-haired girl socked the guy in the arm. "You gotta tell scary stories on Halloween."
The guy rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and tell the damn story, Skyler. Cause she's not going to shut up about it until you do."
Skyler finished her beer and threw the can into the fire. "Okay, but if you get freaked out afterward, not my fault." Skyler watched the flames in silence for a few moments and then she started telling the story...
***
Author Note 10/4/22: I normally don't write short stories. Actually I find them very hard to write! HA! I would rather write a 90K plus story which for me is easier. But I did a couple short stories for some contests in the past so thought I would repost the other one on here since it is spooky season again!
YOU ARE READING
The Darkness Within
ParanormalSkyler and her new classmates have gathered together around a bonfire in the desert, and someone begs Skyler to tell a scary story. Skyler's story is about a group of teens that stumble onto an old mining shaft, and when they go into the mine shaft...
