The sirens were yelling to the children that the fun was over. Trick-or-treating had come to an end. I passed the kids in costumes with frowning faces; unhappy superheroes, witches, and princesses. I saw the sorrow in their eyes. It was like their dreams had been crushed into a million pieces. I understood because I was one of them, except I was in a Tigger costume. Knowing you have to wait a whole year to do it all over was heart-breaking.

I watched the families that had given out treats go inside and shut their doors. Some people handed out candy until it was all gone, even if it wasn’t allowed. The kids that had been once dancing around with bags immensely filled with stuff that created cavities, were now slouching with desolation. My friends and I were already split up, two and two. The actor from the haunted house on fourth street chased Julia and me down the street. I was screaming bloody murder. I wasn’t worried about my other friends at the time. I ran faster than the cars were moving. It wasn’t until the guy dressed as Freddy Krueger tripped on the sidewalk that I knew I had lost him. The night was filled with spooky events, including the time I ran into teenagers dressed as the purge. Even knowing they were only fake knives, I couldn’t help but turn into the little kid who runs behind their mom when they’re too shy to speak.

When my friend texted me to meet up with them at the park, we quickly found North Street and started walking. We didn’t realize until then, that we were completely alone. Everybody had left town so fast, we hadn’t notice. The only sign of people were the ones pumping gas at Leflers. As we kept strolling along through the dark and frigid night, we started to hear strange noises; an owl hooting, the wind howling, and bats that swooped down near the top of our heads. Then, we perceived something abnormal. Someone yelled.

“Rawr!”

When we turned around, we saw a man in a creepy unknown costume. I immediately panicked; my heart started palpitating. Julia and I didn’t want to make it obvious that we were terrified, but our legs quickly gained speed. It was like our legs were more scared than us, sprinting away from danger. Suddenly, I turned around to see the man running! I was petrified. I screamed at the top of my lungs. Julia and I ran for dear life, in desperation to elude. Our legs were moving so fast, we could have qualified for the Olympics. We rapidly made a sharp turn on the street that led to the park. My body was quivering with fear. The street felt much longer than I had remembered. I was hoping it was a nightmare, but when I looked over my shoulder, he was still running! I looked to my right to see Julia shaking like a leaf. I felt sick to my stomach, I wanted it to be over. The darkness made it hard to see, but when I rescanned, I couldn’t make out anyone. We both kept running until we reached the park. We were both coughing and gasping for air. The coldness made it hard on our lungs. It felt like someone had knocked the breath out of me.

The park usually has lights on, but that night was different. It was as dark as a cave. My friends said they would be there, but there was no sign of anyone. When I looked at my phone to text them for their location, I realized I had no service. Julia suggested we walk to the school, so I agreed. On the way there, we heard something peculiar. Right away we thought it was the creepy man. By now I was so scared I thought I was going to pee myself. Then, a black cat jumped out of the bushes and ran passed us. Even though it frightened the life out of us, it was also a huge relief.

When we finally reached some light, I glanced over to see Julia, who looked as white as a ghost. It was a horrifying night that we wanted to be over. Thankfully, we found Grace and Leslie sitting in the car waiting for us in the high school parking lot. When we got in the car, we saw the man walking down the street laughing. I never knew if he was joking or not when he chased us, but I knew one thing, I was certainly not laughing.