The small town of Oakhaven always took Halloween seriously, but this year felt different. There was a chill in the air that wasn't just the autumn breeze, and the silence between bursts of children's laughter was unnerving.
Elara was trick-or-treating with her friends, bundled up as a classic witch, complete with a floppy hat and plastic broom. As they approached the edge of town, where the houses were older and spaced further apart, they dared each other to visit the last house on Hemlock Laneβthe one everyone called the "Hollow House."
It was dilapidated, surrounded by overgrown hedges, and hadn't handed out candy in years. Still, on a dare, they crept up the cracked walkway. The porch light was surprisingly on, casting a sickly yellow glow on the peeling paint.
Elara's friend, Finn, gave the door a timid rap.
It opened a crack, slowly, revealing an old man in the shadows. He didn't look like a typical Halloween enthusiast. He was gaunt, his eyes were wide and strangely glossy, and he wore a simple, white, featureless mask that covered his entire face. It was completely blank, unnervingly smooth.
"Trick or treat," Elara whispered, her voice barely a squeak.
The man didn't move or speak for a long moment. Then, with a slow, mechanical movement, he lifted a bowl. It wasn't filled with colorful candies, but with smooth, dark river stones.
"Take one," a low, gravelly voice instructed from behind the mask.
Her friends recoiled, but Elara felt a strange compulsion. She reached in and pulled out a single, cold, black stone.
As she did, the old man in the mask let out a soundβnot a laugh, but a hollow, rasping intake of breath. He gently closed the door.
Elara's friends immediately fled, dropping their bags of candy in their panic. Elara followed, clutching the heavy stone in her hand.
When they finally collapsed, breathless, under a streetlamp, Finn managed to gasp, "What was that? What did you take?"
Elara opened her hand and held out the black stone. As the streetlamp's light hit it, a faint, metallic glint shone from its surface.
Then, they all saw it.
Engraved deeply into the stone was a single word:
"WAIT."
That night, Elara couldn't shake the fear. The stone felt like a weight in her pocket. She eventually placed it on her nightstand and tried to sleep.
Around 2:00 AM, she was woken by a faint, rhythmic sound, a gentle tap-tap-tap, coming from outside her window. She sat up, her heart pounding.
She looked at her nightstand. The stone was gone.
Instead, a new stone lay in its place. It was the same size and color, but this one was still damp, as if just pulled from the ground.
And engraved on it was a new, cold word:
"CLOSE."
The tapping sound outside her window stopped. She listened, paralyzed with fear, her eyes wide on the windowpane.
Tap.
It was a soft sound, but it wasn't outside. It was coming from her closet.
Tap-tap.
Elara could hear the low, gravelly breathing, closer now, on the other side of the door. And then, a sound that made her blood turn to iceβthe distinct, heavy thud of a river stone dropping onto her carpet, right next to the closet door.
She knew she didn't need to look. She knew the stone was there, and she knew the word that was etched into it.
Stake id : rakib017600