Scary Stories to Chill Your Bones

Another Shadow

Mark Goldberg breathed in a deep breath of air. He couldn't help smiling. It was a cool Friday night in the middle of January in Sacremento, California and he was riding on a bus back to his house. He had just gotten back from a party at his friend James' house. Cindy Mallord, the coolest and prettiest girl in the 8th grade had given him one of her million dollar smiles and said, "Hi, Mark. I really like your shirt. Do you want to come to a Valentine's Day party at my house in 2 months?" Mark had forgotten how to breathe. He had forgotten his own name. In fact, if someone had asked him, "What's 1+1?" , Mark probably wouldn't have been able to answer correctly. Because girls hardly ever noticed him. Being the skinny, nerdy kid that he was, with large glasses and braces, 95% of the time, he was completely overlooked by girls. But not tonight. As he stared into Cindy's 1,000% perfect face, her luminous blue eyes gleaming with admiration, Mark had said something goofy like, "Googa?" He had a sheepish smile on his face. Cindy didn't make fun of him, which was another reason Mark was crazy about her. "Okay, I'll tell my friends that you're coming. Thanks so much! I'll see you at school on Monday! Bye!"

Mark smiled as he stared wistfully out the window of the bus. He couldn't wait for Cindy's party. It was about 9:30, and the moon shone boldly in the inky black night sky. Owls had just started to Whoo! and trees had started taking the shape of monsters, their branches reaching out like arms, and that really creeped Mark out. He would never tell a soul on the face of planet Earth in a million years because he was 14 years old, but he was afraid of the dark. Well, not afraid exactly. But let's just say Mark didn't enjoy the darkness. He shivered. But that wasn't all about Mark's trip to James' house. Mark hadn't told his parents that he was going to the party. He had lied and said he was going to the library to study for a history report because he knew that his parents would say no to the party. Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg were very protective parents, and they didn't approve of parties with no adult supervision. But Mark was dying to go to the party because he had been having a rough week at school and wanted to have some time to just unwind with his friends. So he had lied. But now, with the fear really getting to him. He wished he was in his car, with his mom blasting music through the speakers. That would have made this otherwise very creepy night seem not so creepy. But Mark had lied, and he was facing the consequences for it. And then suddenly, he felt very, very tired. It was completely out of the blue, but now Mark felt like he wanted to go to sleep. If only he could just take a nap...

Mark woke up to the feeling of someone tapping on his shoulder. "Hey, kid," said a voice from above him. He looked up. It was the bus driver. But that wasn't the weirdest thing. As he looked around the bus, Mark saw he and the bus driver were the only people on board. "What the heck?" Mark said groggily. The bus driver sighed impatiently. "Look, kid, this is the last stop. Everybody off." Mark's eyes grew as wide as oranges. "But... I was supposed to get off at Miller Lane. Where are we, anyway?" The bus driver chuckled. "Well, first of all, kid, if you needed to get off on Miller Street, you should have gotten of 30 minutes ago, not take a snooze. And second, well, we're in the woods of rural Sacremento. Not many folks live around these parts, but I drive my bus around here just because... well, um, some people enjoy it around here. Except tonight, nobody stayed on long enough to go here except you and another fellow. But as soon as my tires screeched to a halt, that young man high-tailed it out of here. I don't really know why." The drive paused for a moment to scratch his beard. "But anyway, kid, it's time for you to get off." Mark nodded nervously and said, "Okay. Um, thanks," Then he slipped out the doors of the bus and disappeared into the ebony night.

At first, Mark was totally in panic. He kept on hearing noises and whirling around, his breath getting shorter and sharper each time. When he was about to faint from all his wheezing and total breakdowns, he told himself, Man up, Mark! It's just a little darkness! It's not going to kill you! Although Mom probably will because you didn't tell her you were going to the party. So stop acting like a 1st grader and call Mom. Mark took a deep breath and slowly reached into his pocket for his cell pone. He almost had a heart attack when he found his pocket empty. Now he was really scared. He looked around for a shop so he could go inside and use the phone, but he saw none. He only saw trees, trees that started to look more and more like monsters as the moon crept higher into the night sky. Mark couldn't think of a better plan than start hiking into the woods and hope for the best, so he started walking.

30 minutes later, Mark had tramped around in darkness until his feet felt like they were going to fall off. He was out of breath and slumped against the tree when a beam of light fell on his chest. "I see you!" A voice shouted. Mark's heart leapt into his throat, and he did the one thing that came to his brain as an impulse: Run! Before, Mark had thought he was out of breath. But that feeling was nothing compared to this. He was literally having an asthma attack. He wheezed and panted, all the while feeling like someone was behind him, trying to hunt him down like a lion hunts and elephant. Suddenly, he was on the ground. A pain shot up his back, but that wasn't the worst of it. He was lying on his back staring up at a man's gruesome face. He cringed, and the man said, "Scared. What does it mean to you? I mean, what purpose do you have in the world? You're just another shadow in the night." In horror, Mark watched as the man unsheathed a huge butcher knife. The man gave him a sinister smile. "And you're going to just be another trophy on my wall."