A Freaky Halloween

 A Harrowing Halloween Night by Mel Dawn

“Trick or treating is for kids,” said my best friend, Tony.

“That’s me,” I replied. “Besides, we get free candy. And it’s fun.”

“Well, I’ll go with you, but I’m not dressing up. And I’m not going to the doors.” 

My teen friend was a jerk sometimes but I just ran with it.

This year I was going as a witch. Kind of a boring Halloween costume, but on the other hand, I enjoyed doing traditional Halloween rather than being a princess or super hero.

“Let’s go!” he said, heading to the door.

I just shook my head. For someone not inspired by Halloween, he was eager to head out.

We headed out, near the end of the kids’ trick or treating time. This was the time that the young adults headed out for fun, before they went to their parties.

I felt kind of silly standing at strangers’ doors, asking for candy. It was just like being a kid!

I’d done the last house on the block and walked back to where Tony was standing, eating some of the candy I had collected.

And that’s when I heard screaming from the middle of the road.

We turned and watched as a group of people dressed up as werewolves chased after some random humans. But then they were tripped and fell to the ground. The zombies soon swooped in and started chowing down.

“We need to get out of here,” said my friend.

We ran down the street, past a vampire drinking the blood of a princess, except she seemed to be enjoying it.

“It’s as if people are being changed into their costume characters,” I called out to him.

“You’re right,” he said. “I’m glad I don’t go for that costume nonsense. I knew that nothing good would ever come of it.”

We hid behind some bushes and watched the chaos on the street.

A dragon breathed real fire. It ran down the street, setting every car on fire. At least not people.

We saw a little girl run around meowing like a cat. It sure sounded real.

Super heroes were running around, trying to help. 

It wasn’t long before the streets cleared of normal humans. The smart ones had headed indoors. The ones who had been wearing costumes were now unwillingly acting out their roles.

There was a snake rolling down the street. A man was trying to fight it off. 

A small fairy was floating through the air, causing mischief. It giggled as some pumpkins barrelled through the bushes where the teenagers were hiding.

“I think we need to go home,” I said.

Tony laughed. “Aww, but this is the most fun I’ve ever had.”

But we never made it back home. It was a mess outside. As if nothing could get worse than that quarantine we’d had, or that crazy election, or all those forest fires. And then no power or utilities for months. 

I felt bad for the kids. All they wanted was to finally get out and have some fun this month.

“At least it’s our common creatures. It’s a fair fight,” I said to Tony, as we had moved ten feet and huddled behind a laurel bush.

“I hear sirens, so help is coming.”

And then we saw it. It was coming down the street. What could possibly be the worst thing from horror movies?

This creature was ten feet tall and from any of several science fiction movies. It was black all over and had ten arms and legs. It hissed at a bird in a tree, opening its mouth wide. And inside its mouth was another mouth, that opened wide and displayed some extremely sharp teeth. 

Venom dripped out of its mouth. It trickled down to the ground. 

The ground sizzled, and a big hole opened up.

“What did you say again?” Tony said to me.

“What can we do?” I whispered to him.

“We need to just get out of here, go home. Let the cops handle it,” he whispered back.

We crawled past the bushes and over to the next house. 

I cautiously peered out. The alien was walking in the opposite direction to us. But then, a big gap in its backside opened up. Suddenly, about ten more little aliens dropped down to the ground. They scattered every which way,

I heard screaming as they gobbled up their victims.

And then there was rustling coming from under the bushes.

One of the creatures ran out.

I held my magic wand in my hand. Somehow I felt that hitting it would not do much.

But I tried away. “From creature to cat,” I proclaimed in a smug voice. Might as well try a magic spell while I was here.

And the alien baby turned immediately into a cat.

“Wow!” said Tony. “Can you restore things back to normal?”

I stood up and walked confidently out into the middle of the street.

“Every creature, be restored back to human!” I commanded. “Every dead human, come back to life.”

And then a bright neon green flash flew through the air.

What was chaos got restored back to normal.

Tony came out, amazed. “Super!”

I laughed. “Let’s go home. The police will be here soon, but I have no intention of talking to them.”

“Yah, don’t want to be questioned. I’m getting kind of tired. And my stomach is upset from eating all that candy.”

The streets were a mess as we carefully walked down the sidewalk. The former vampire was tending to his girlfriend, stopping the blood from oozing, while they waited for the ambulance. 

The former fairy lay in the street, her leg broken.

The former dragon was using a fire extinguisher, trying to put out the flames of their own car.

I nodded. Things were going back to normal.

Well, except for the zombies. There were still zombies. The people who had been killed or eaten by the creatures. I guess my magic could only go so far.

The End.

Navis Salubris – Chapter Six – One War Over, Another Begun

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Navis Salubris Serialized Short Stories

by Mel Dawn

This is the continuation of my Navis Salubris serialized zombie short stories. You have now been introduced to all five characters. Please scroll to the bottom if you wish to catch up on the story. 

We now get back to Abdul, who has been fighting for the wrong side in Iraq. His fellow officers have all been killed, and the camp has filled with zombies. 

At the last possible moment, he finds a ticket on the ground and has a good chuckle over his one way ticket to nowhere. Let’s find out what happens next.

A Recap:

He dropped his gun, and it fell down into the dirt. He pitched forward onto the ground and started crying. He wished he’d never left London to join this terrorist cell. What a mistake that had been. He’d been expecting active combat, but instead got sent to a prisoner interment camp. What kind of war was it when the enemy didn’t even have the honour of fighting?

He heard a scuffling noise in front of him. He calmed his sobs and looked up. Surely he would have been bit by now? The zombies were milling around him, but looking confused. On the ground in front of him he saw a black envelope. 

Abdul picked up the envelope, and tore it open. His face switched to a bewildered expression as he saw that it was a ticket. 

Abdul started laughing. 

“A ticket to nowhere,” he muttered to himself in between guffaws.  

Now onto Chapter Six.

Chapter Six—One War Over, Another Begun

Abdul tucked the ticket into his pocket, and punched his way past the zombies. The prisoners were chained against a wall. He was glad he’d held onto the key. He unlocked their chains while they watched, too frightened to move.

“Run!” he encouraged them. “The war is over! We now have a new war!” Abdul ran for the cover of a truck, while behind him, the prisoners scattered. Some were smart enough to find weapons.

Abdul had just hopped in the cab of the truck when three zombies came for him. He grabbed the door handle and pulled. It was enough. Two zombie hands were amputated, but he was safe as he pushed the lock down. He held onto the handle and made a silent prayer.

When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the truck. Astonished, he glanced around him. He was in what appeared to be a ship’s cabin. It was small, but very clean. He felt the floor gently move beneath him.

“Hello,” said a voice behind him. He jumped, then reached for his pistol, before realizing that it was gone. He patted himself down, but even the knives were gone.

At first he thought someone was in the room with him, and then he realized that the television was on. He moved closer. He hadn’t seen a television since he had left London many months ago.

Blasphemy! It was a woman who was not covered. He averted his eyes.

“Hello, and welcome to Navis Salubris. I’m Sonya, the ship’s cruise director. We understand that you’re confused. Don’t worry, it will all be explained to you. But for now, we invite you to wash up, and join us in the ship’s canteen at noon.” The television went dark. 

Abdul walked up to the TV to turn it back on, but all the channels were fuzzy. He saw clothing on the bed, but it was infidel’s clothing. He would not wear it. 

But then he looked down at his long black robes. They were encrusted with the blood and guts of zombies. It soaked right down to his skin. Shrugging, his removed his clothes and found a small bathroom with a hot shower. It had been a long time since he had experienced hot water.

Later, he looked down at the clothes on the bed. Perhaps they weren’t so bad. The jeans were a dark blue, the shirt was long-sleeved, and there was a hoodie. He could do something with this. 

After dressing, he glanced at the clock and noticed it was nearly noon. Now it was time to find out if he was dead, or not. Either way, it did not matter to him as God had a purpose for him.

Next... Chapter Seven – Nell Onboard. 

***~***

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You may be interested in these other chapters:

Navis Salubris – Chapter One – Nell
Navis Salubris – Chapter Two – Abdul
Navis Salubris – Chapter Three – Wei

Navis Salubris—Chapter Four—Ritta
Navis Salubris—Chapter Five—Sam

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