The Unforgettable Halloween

THE UNFORGETTABLE HALLOWEEN
Copyright 1997 by Mike Cunningham

The blood-curdling scream was carried away by the howling wind, away from the direction in which the children were playing at the backyard Halloween party. He was unnoticed in the eerie darkness as he tripped over the tombstone and fell head first into the fresh dug grave. The only injury he sustained was to his pride. Here he was, a prominent community leader lying at the bottom of a cold damp grave, and all because some fool had neglected to put up one of those stripped sawhorses with the flashing orange light. "I’ll have that guy’s job," he vowed to himself. He had no patience with folks like this.

Thoughts of an unemployed gravedigger were not very comforting at the moment however. "I’ve got to get out of here fast," he thought, "or I’m going to look pretty foolish. It’s just as well no one heard me holler for help." The man got to his feet and faced the left side of the grave. With both his arms stretched over his head, he quickly leaped up and clutched at the ground above him, but the dirt gave way and he fell back down. Four times he tried and four times he failed. Standing again, he positioned himself so that his back was braced against the right wall of the grave. Next he placed one foot, followed by the other on the opposite side. He then tried to wiggle his way slowly up and out. Half way up was as far as he could get before dropping down again. Two more tries, same results.

Frustration gave way to anger followed by rage. "Oh how I would like to get my hands on that idiot grave digger" he thought. But that was a luxury he knew he could not afford. Finally he crouched down at one end of the grave and assumed the position of a sprinter about to begin a race. He would run towards the other end, and at just the right moment leap as high as he could and hopefully get both hands on firm ground, and climb out. After three unsuccessful attempts, a very winded, somewhat chunky, 56 year old man lay at the bottom of the grave wondering what to do next. He decided to pray. "God, I know you can do all things. Please get me out of here."

The man’s prayer was followed by an eerie silence. The wind stopped and not a single leaf fell to he ground. "The children must have gone inside" he said to himself. Then he heard it, very faint at first, but unmistakable. Someone was walking slowly and very cautiously in the cemetery. Listening intently to the approaching footsteps, he hoped they would not get too close to him.

The evening sky displayed a huge, orange, full harvest moon, which illuminated the entire cemetery. It was a clear night except for a few widely scattered clouds. The trees cast sinister looking dark shadows that resembled grotesque creatures of varying sizes and shapes. The footsteps grew louder and were headed in the man’s direction. He broke out into a cold sweat. He could hear his own heart beat as the footsteps came closer.

Fear gripped him as he saw a huge, dark cloud that appeared to come from nowhere and streak towards the bright moon. "God, don’t let it black out the moon", he prayed. But it did. At the exact moment it eclipsed the moon, the footsteps stopped. "God, please make this person turn around and go back in the other direction," he pleaded. The footsteps gave way to a slow shuffle and came closer and closer to the unprotected, open grave. The howling wind picked up again. Crisp leaves seemed to dance, swirl and fly around whatever object they encountered. The man considered shouting a warning, but quickly changed his mind.

"Whatever people might think of me, no one will be able to say I scared someone into cardiac arrest," he reasoned. He wondered about the owner of the footsteps. "What a looser" he thought. The shuffling grew louder and louder as they came closer and closer to the open grave. Suddenly, the shuffling was interrupted by a soft thump that was quickly followed by a terrifying scream. The second person that memorable night tripped over the tombstone and fell into the same grave.

At that exact moment and seemingly on cue, the massive cloud lost itself and vanished into a soon to be unforgettable Halloween night. Once again the moon softly illuminated the darkness and seemed to spotlight the second victim, an ashen-faced 11-year-old boy. He was dressed in a Mr. Bones costume, minus the mask that was knocked off in the fall. The terrified look on the boy’s face caused the man to question the wisdom of remaining silent. The man sat motionless in the dark shadow at the other end of the grave.

His eyes were riveted on the boys. All kinds of thoughts raced through his mind. "Hey, you stupid clumsy kid, what are you waiting for? You’re a lot younger than I am. It should be a piece of cake for you to get out of here," he said to himself. It was almost as if the boy heard his thoughts because he quickly stood up, stretched both his arms above his head and jumped as high as he could. He managed to clutch the top of the grave but the soft dirt gave way and he dropped back down. After four more attempts he gave up.

The man prayed again, "God, help this kid get out of here before he notices me." The man silently watched as the boy braced his back against one side and pressed one foot followed by the other against the opposite side. Slowly he wiggled up. He was almost at the top, but the weight of his body was too much and he fell back down. Five times he tried and five times he failed.

The boy started to cry. Horrible thoughts flooded his mind. He prayed out loud, "Father, help me!" he pleaded between sobs. "I’m sorry I disobeyed my parents and broke my promise to stay out of the cemetery. I was just trying to have some fun. All I wanted to do was to sneak up on those little kids and surprise them by coming to the backyard Halloween party through the cemetery," he sobbed. The man sneered to himself and thought, "Kid, you’re getting what you deserve. You could have done a number on those little kids. It serves you right." The boy continued to pray, "Father, I don’t know what to do. Please help me get out of here."

"Stop wasting time" the man thought to himself. "You’ve got yourself into this mess, now get yourself out." He felt like telling this to the boy but he prayed, "God, please help this kid. I know he’s getting what he deserves, but I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t deserve this. I’ll be the laughing stock of the whole town. Why is this happening to me God? Why me?"

The boy’s sobbing suddenly stopped. He became very calm. The man noticed what appeared to be a grin on the boy’s face. "Good," the man thought. "He finally figured a way to get himself out of here."

The widening grin on the boy’s face confirmed what the man felt deep within himself. The boy also believed God had shown him the way out. "Go for it," the man thought to himself. His optimism quickly turned to shock as the boy, with all the assurance of a pro, assumed the familiar position of a sprinter about to start a race. The boy, grinning from ear to ear, was about to run right into him.

He had to do something quickly, but what could he do without scaring the life out of this dumb kid? Once again the man broke into a cold sweat. "I could sure use another good stiff drink right now," the man thought. All kinds of thoughts raced through his mind. The boy started to take a deep breath. Finally the man figured out how he could gently stop the boy. He quickly cupped his hands to his mouth and, in a soft, calm, monotone voice slowly whispered, "You’ll never make it." And man was wrong.

With adrenalin flowing faster than a speeding bullet, the boy leaped out of the grave in a single bound blurting out a series of horrific shrieks capable of startling the cemetery residents as he boogied on home.

Two police officers going off duty spotted the shadow of a screaming figure bolt out of the cemetery. One officer followed in quick pursuit while the other raced into the cemetery with his gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other. With the boy’s screams still echoing in his ears, the policeman cautiously headed in the direction of a man’s voice that kept repeating a single word, "Why?"