The Deal

It’s amazing really. Halloween that is, just the idea of it. Humans, we’re are “intelligent” creatures for the most part. But, during this certain time of the year we seem to lose said intelligence, we crave the need to be scared, spooked, and terrified. I myself use to be one of these people, until Halloween 3 years ago.

Now growing up, I searched for anything and everything that would scare me. The feeling of being scared intrigued me, that rush of blood from your heart to your head, the sound of blood pounding in my ears.

My family seemed to travel a lot now that I think back on it. One town to the other, State to state. I still don’t know why we did, we weren't militarily involved, my dad wasn’t a traveling salesmen, and he wasn’t a performer. I guess my parents just didn’t like to be in one place for to long, they were “Free spirits”, or so I thought.

Halloween was a weird time for us, my father was just like me. He loved being terrified, even more than me, he even tried being a “DareDevil” for a short amount of time. But my mom, now understand my mom was one of the happiest people I have ever come to know, she was so nice and gentle. But, for one night out of the year, she changes to this pale, ghostly image of a woman, drained of all color and life. She always looked scared, constantly looking over her shoulder, like something was following her. God I miss her.

It feels like an eternity since that fateful night. It started out like most Halloweens, my dad informing me of all the haunted houses we would be visiting, and my mother was her usual pale self. As the day progressed though my Mom began to look increasingly worse, like the life was sinking out of her. Her cheek bones were sunk in like a holocaust victim, as if her skeleton was trying to rip free of the skin that holds it. But, I just shrugged it off as usual, that was my first mistake.

As me and my dad stepped into the cool autumn air, I felt the wind bite into my cheeks and turn them red. As we walked to the car I saw my dad fall to his knees, I quickly ran to his side. His face was that of my mother’s, pale and boney, he was grasping at his chest, and looking around, swiveling his head violently. I asked him if he was ok, This seem to snap him back to normal, he hastily replied that he was ok and we needed to get going so we didn't have to wait in a long line. To bad we never made it to that damned haunted house.

As we drove the color in my dad’s face returned, but he still looked scared. I asked what had happened, he just replied that he had heart burn. But, I again be my carefree self, shrugged it off. As we turned off the main highway onto a side road, that I suppose was meant to take us to the haunted house, I felt a sudden chill creep over me. We hadn’t been on the road for 5 minutes before I saw headlights, It was an 18-wheeler for some local supermarket whose name is lost to me. Now at this point a lot of things happen at once, something or someone runs out in front of the truck, the truck swerves into our lane, my dad swerves, but we clip the truck and going spiraling into the woods that surround the road.

Pain, pain, pain, and pain. Thats all that came to mind after these events happen, the loud rumble of an explosion, from what I suppose was the truck that almost killed us. My leg was caught under the caved in dashboard, I was able to squeeze it out but this only intensified the pain. I assumed I had a break in my leg, or at the very least a major fracture. I observed my surroundings, The car was slammed up against a tree, the front end was basically non-existent. There was smoke cascading up in the distance, with the faint glow of what most likely was the truck on fire. But, in the midst of this silent chaos, my dad was to no where to be seen.

As I dragged myself out the car, I noticed something. I couldn't see the road, it wasn’t there, I mean it was if the road had never even existed in the first place. I don’t even remember how I reasoned it out in my head, but again like I did everything, I shrugged it off. As I hobbled over to my dad’s side, I saw that the door was ripped off and thrown at least 15 yards to the side of the car. There was a clear path though outlined in the weeds by blood and ripped pieces of clothing. Had someone dragged my dad to safety? I remember thinking this, it was the only logical thing, unless he dragged himself, but why would he do that?

I followed the trail for what seemed like forever, almost losing it a few times, like he tried to walk at some point, but gave up. After what felt like forever the woods gave way to an opening. There before me lay a cemetery, but, there was something different about this cemetery was different from any I had ever seen. I felt a rumbling underneath my feet like the dead were resisting the holds of their earthly prison, the tombstones had no names, but were wrapped in chains. Standing in the middle was a figure, it was dressed in black, beside him lay my father.

I called out to it then, it turned its head towards me. what I saw I cannot describe, because its appearance did not stay the same for long, one minute it was a skeleton, next it was my my friends, then my relatives, then a snarling beast whose name I know not. Then he spoke, his voice was hollow yet commanding, it gave me a feeling that I can only describe as hopelessness. He told me that my parents had committed great crimes. When I asked him what my father had done, he said that he had made a deal, that helped him cheat death, and that he had been running from it since then.

I stood there, still pondering on whether or not this was a dream. I heard an anguished cry gurgle up from my father. Silence. My father was no where to be seen, the dark figure sank into the ground, and with him went my sanity and consciousness. Darkness overtook me.

I awoke on the sidewalk next to my house. My mother was gone, the house was cleared out and nobody even remembers me or my parents.

Now here I am in this hospital with the only person in the world I love, My darling wife Rose. Please take heed of my story, and know you cannot cheat death.

“There honey, it is done” I said to Rose soothingly. “Thank you baby”, (*Knock *knock). That must be the doctor, I walk over to the door and there stands the doctor in his freshly cleaned bone white jacket, looking very similar to a ghost. “I have bad news Tom, It seems the cancer is terminal”. That word, Terminal, it echoed throughout my mind, it resonated through it like the sound of glass shattering. “I understand” I said back. “I understand this is hard, i’ll give you guys a bit to discuss.” I turn back into the room, and start to walk to her bed ,when I hear another knock. I backtrack to the door, and open it. I saw a man of average height, gray pin-striped suit and a black fedora, his eyes were icy blue and chilled me to the bone. He looked me in the eyes with a piercing stare and said “Wanna make a deal?”