"Are the woods really haunted, Mom?" Melody asked, her hand looping around Anne's arm as the two walked through the forest, leaves crunching under their feet. Halloween had technically already passed, at least, the trick or treating part. Melody had gotten all her favorite candies and sweets. But Anne had started a tradition of them walking through the woods at midnight on Halloween night, just to get spooked. It was something Anne had always done with her friends as a kid. And she could tell Melody enjoyed it.
"You ask me this every year, Melody," Anne replied, laughing as she mussed her daughter's hair. "I think they are. I mean, maybe some of the stuff I heard was just the wind, but it was spooky, that much I can tell you."
Melody laughed. "It's hard to picture you being scared. You're brave all the time."
Anne smiled. "Well, just because someone is brave doesn't mean they're scared," she said. "Acting brave is standing up for yourself in the face of danger, after all."
Melody nodded, leaning her head against Anne's arm. Anne smiled at her. Even though it had been 12 years since Melody had been born, she still felt a surge of pride at seeing how far her little girl had come. She was so strong, so happy. It had been tough raising a kid, but it was definitely worth it.
"Mom? What's that light?"
Melody's question brought Anne out of her thoughts. She looked up. She could see it, off in the distance: a faint, green glow.
"Is it the ghosts?" Melody asked, her voice fearful and excited at the same time.
"I don't know," Anne replied, looking at the light with puzzlement. "Maybe it's just some kids messing around with glow sticks."
Of course, Anne and Melody would soon find out what was the source of the glow. Right then, hundreds of tiny, glowing-green bats sailed over their heads, traveling in a massive herd. Or pack. Whatever it was that bats traveled in. Melody gasped and clutched tighter onto her mother's arm.
"Mom, what are those things?"
"It's just...some prank," Anne replied, trying to sound sure of herself. "Let's get out of here. This is no place for kids."
She started to pull Melody backwards. But right at that moment, two of the bats swooped down, squeaking like little mice. Melody gave a cry. Anne backed away, but ended up tripping over her own feet and falling onto the ground, her coat getting caught on a branch.
"Mom!"
Anne tugged on her coat stubbornly, trying to get it unstuck. But the bats were headed towards them fast.
"Melody, get out of here! Go!"
But there was no time left for any action, any movement at all. One bat sank its fangs into Anne's arm, making her hiss in a breath. Melody gave another cry as another bat did the same thing. That sound made fury spark in Anne's eyes.
"You leave her alone!" She pulled on her coat, ripping a hole in it to get it free from the branches. But even as she rose to her feet, she felt herself getting woozy and dizzy. Everything seemed to be swaying to and fro like a merry-go-round. Anne fell to her knees, feeling like her heart was about to beat out of her chest.
"Mom...I feel...funny..."
Anne looked up. Melody was curled up into a ball, her breathing just as erratic as her mother's. Anne reached over and managed to grab her hand.
"It's okay baby, I'm here," she said, hoping to sooth her. "Mommy's right here. I gotcha."
She squeezed Melody's hand, her grip tightening. But right then, as fast as the dizziness had come, it stopped. Everything seemed to halt, go back to its proper place. Anne and Melody looked up. The glowing bats were gone.
"What were those things?" Melody asked as Anne helped her to her feet.
"I'm not sure," Anne replied, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. "But we need to head home. This place is giving me the willies."
Suddenly, Melody screamed, her eyes going wide. Anne whipped around, and gasped. A humanoid shape was heading right for them. It seemed like it was shaped by a woman, but she was pale, almost transparent. The air seemed colder around her. And her face was totally mangled and torn apart, as if someone had stuck it in a blander. Pieces of skin hung off her face like loose threads on a scarf. Her whole top lip was gone. And instead of eyes, she had two black, empty holes.
Anne was frozen for a moment. She could only stare helplessly as the...thing, the woman, continued to move towards them. Suddenly, it opened it's mouth and gave an ear-splitting shriek, the sound echoing off the trees. That seemed to snap Anne out of her paralysis.
"Melody, run!" She grabbed her daughter's hand and took off at a sprint, pulling Melody along with her. But it seemed like everywhere they turned, more horrible and tragic creatures and appeared: a young girl sobbing for help, her cries almost bringing a tear to Anne's eye. A skeleton who's bones were coal black and had flames dancing in its eye sockets. A man who's skin barely clung to him, and gave a smile that sent shivers up Anne's spine. It couldn't be possible, but these were the kinds of things that Anne saw in horror stories, tales about ghosts and things that lived in haunted places like houses and woods. Could she and Melody really see ghosts now? How did it happen? What was going on? She didn't know the answer to any of these things, only that she had to get Melody away from here. That was the only thing that kept her running.
