Happy Hallow's Eve

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" -
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more."

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never - nevermore'."

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore:
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting -
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Have You Seen My Zombie? Part Four

I had a temporary problem with paralysis. I think the gravity of this situation finally hit me. Not only was I in a fight for my life..but there were ZOMBIES coming after me. What the heck!? The things that horror movies are made of were real!? When did that happen? How? Why am I just standing here when I should be running? Why am I trying to run when I have a weapon in my hands? Too many questions...not enough lead flying.

I stepped around the other end of the porch and slid to the ground through the space in the hand rails. I needed to get a bit more distance between the army of the dead and myself. Time to take a deep breath and gather my thoughts. Jesus, my chest hurt! Concentrate, Auntie! My ADHD was giving me hell.

The plan was simple. I was going to run around the opposite end of the house into the back yard where the car was parked. Once I saw that everything was clear..I would get into the car and be home free! Right? Well, obviously I am telling this story for a reason..and as every good story does...it needs action..so I can't end it that easy.

I positioned myself at the corner of the house and peeked around to see what I would have to deal with. I could hear the herd in the back part of my mind. ..or I had hoped it was my mind. I scanned the back yard and couldn't see anything. It was still dark and my vision was distorted from the fear and pain. I blinked a few times and squinted. I scanned every inch of the back yard one more time then I slowly stepped into the tree line.

Keeping my back to the tree line was the best idea I had at the moment. All of the 'problems' would be coming around the corner of the house in seconds. I scanned once more and then decided to sprint to the car. It was only about twenty yards...so I could make that without a problem. I could see the tail lights of the car and my heart began to pound. I started sprinting. About the fourth step, I realized that this rib and hip problem was a bit more of a hindrance than I had expected. I didn't calculate the pain that would erupt once my body was gunning for the car. A small gasp left my lungs and the sound that came from my lips reminded me of a kitten looking for its mother. I started to feel dizzy and I staggered for a moment before I completely fell to the ground. I caught myself on my hands and knees..my shotgun fell to the right of me. There was so much saliva in my mouth I could make a small fish pond. The tightness in my throat began and the cold sweat beaded on my forehead..something told me that this wasn't the best time to get sick...I just had no control. Maybe I should have let the wine rest just for tonight??.. I hurled so violently that I swear I heard another rib crack..and the sharp pain in my chest almost tore a shrill cry from my lips. Then I heard it.

The deep growl and the echo of several more with it. It was NOT in the back of my mind. It was in my back yard. And it was coming for me. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and reached for the gun with one quick motion. The sound of a limb cracking behind my left ear told me that I had waited too long to get myself up and out of there. I spun around and rested my weight on my back. They were here. My mind raced with my heart and my adrenaline kicked into overdrive. I rolled over and once my foot hit the ground, I was running. But what was I doing? I have guns..why just let them live?

I reached my right hand behind my back and in one swift motion, I clicked the safety and swung my pistol in front of my chest in the COOLEST Angelina motion you've ever seen! POP! POP! POP! I hit one zombie. He fell... and I realized that it's not so easy to shoot with one hand while under pressure. Those kind of things never cross your mind when you're just out practicing.. Also... my ears were ringing like an alarm clock. At that moment, I realized that I would have a better chance with the shotgun...I just didn't have enough ammo to clear out the whole herd. Safety latched, pistol holstered in the hem of my jeans...enter Mr. Mossberg! I stepped to the left and planted my feet. I counted 5 zombies. They were all in a group..so maybe they were close enough that I could spray amongst them all and get lucky. BANG! ... OBSCENITIES!!!!... Holy CHRIST!.. the pain in my chest just magnified one thousand times. But a zombie fell. I pumped another shell into the barrel and took aim again. Scared as hell..I hesitated to pull the trigger. One more step closer and BANG! Another one fell. Pumped the shotgun, took aim and felt the pressure of a cannon ball hit me from behind. Falling forward, I felt as though I was in a dream. What had happened?

The Mossberg flew from my hands landing about 10 feet in front of me, and I hit the ground with the weight of a 200 pound flesh eating machine on my back.

Have You Seen My Zombie? Part Three

My mind was racing through every zombie movie and horror story I could think of. There was no other way to describe it, right? Those two things in my front yard were zombies....weren't they? Well, I certainly wasn't going to stop and ask one to properly identify itself. I'm not as stupid as I may appear. In the movies, the dumb ones always die first...and in this case..I was the only one. So, I had to play it smart.

I stopped right outside of the bedroom door. I steadied my breathing so I could listen for any sign of movement in the house. At this point, my chest was burning. I knew I had cracked a rib. It felt like I had inhaled glass. And, my left hip was agonizingly painful. I couldn't really remember what I had done other than land on it...but there's no telling what I landed on..and I didn't have time to deal with that right now.

After a minute of convincing myself that all was clear, I took a deep breath and looked around the corner. Nothing but empty hallway. I took the first few steps and stopped. Listened. Started walking again. I wish someone could have seen me. It was awesome. I was sooo Angelina Jolie-ing this whole situation. I picked up the pace and thought to myself...where are my keys? That may be something that I need to figure out before I get too close to the door.

In my mind I was trying to replay the last time I had them. Kitchen table..right? Let's hope so. Maybe I was making this into too much of a big deal. If the retard outside couldn't figure out how to get out of an electric fence..then maybe I didn't really have anything to worry about. I was just being myself. I was playing the situation up way too much.

I walked across the living room to the kitchen. No keys. Where had I put those dang things!? Looking back around to the kitchen, I searched the counter and the big bowl on top of the bar with my eyes. My mind was going crazy. Maybe I put them in my purse? But it was in the car. I wouldn't do that. My poor glass of wine looked so alone. Not even touched really. It needed comfort...I took a good sip. ahhhhh... While I'm taking a break, I might as well look and see where the zombies were. That may be of great use to me when I start out of the door to my car (that I had no way to start). I walked over to the door. Slowly, I peeked my head out of the diamond shaped window..as if I would be any less obvious.

Scanning the field and front porch...I could no longer see anything. Not even a lump. And come to think of it..I haven't heard a ZAP! in a while. Where did they go? ....My mind started spinning. Ok.. It was time to stop playing super girl. It was time for Auntie to get the hell outta the house and find a phone. I turned and started walking through the kitchen to the back door when it hit me!.. My baby girl was playing "take mommy to the store" yesterday in her room. She had my keys to start her car! I spun around and headed back down the hallway to her room. I walked in the door and clicked the light on. Once again...I heard the hallelujah chorus..there they were.

I grabbed the keys and spun around to leave. I felt like I had won the lottery! Obviously the hallelujah chorus was singing loudly enough that I didn't hear the door open. My heart stopped the moment I heard the TV cut on. How in the world did I pause the movie at THAT moment? *Note to self: Don't watch any more Saw movies while alone. And if you do, do NOT pause it right before the girl gets cut in half by the giant skill saw. The screaming was not the most inspirational thing to hear at this moment.

I immediately backed myself against the wall...which, by the way... Why do people do that? Is it really going to matter? I'm still going to have to deal with this thing..back against the wall or not. But... Angelina does it a lot..so it's gotta work, right?

I could hear the grumbling and the slurping of saliva. I could smell the pungent barrel of decay mixed with the almost sweet stench of acid. It made me want to throw up. It would take me weeks to get that smell out of my house! This thing was going down. I really wanted to lead him outside, though. It was gonna be hard enough getting the smell out of the furniture..but once I loaded him with buckshot...it was going to get messy, too. See? I think about things like this. The wheels are always turning.

I inched around the door frame, making sure to keep my back to the wall. I peeked my head around the edge of the living room wall and there he was. Lighting really did NOT help the situation. There he stood, staring at the TV, his foot on the TV remote...looking like an idiot. The front door was to my immediate left and that was a good thing. I could get to it before he did. But that meant that I would have to run all the way around the house to get to the car. No problem..I can do it. I have weapons!!



Good thing I had a pocket full of ammo for the pistol. The group of zombies rounding the end of the house was not a pleasant surprise. This was not in the plan. Not one bit.

Have You Seen My Zombie? Part Two

I could not, for the life of me, complete a thought. It was if my brain was trying to process the meaning and existence of some of the world's greatest mysteries (The Bermuda Triangle, Intelligent life from other planets, Intelligent life from THIS planet, Michael Moore). Some things we may never have the answer to.

Once my brain reconnected with the rest of my body, the only reflex I could understand was RUN. Thank God I had recently started a routine running regimen, I had a feeling cardio was going to be of great use to me.

All of a sudden, I heard it again..ZAP! With all of my previous horror movie nights...I knew that this would not be a good time to stop and be inquisitive; however, I just could not make myself take another step. I had to see what the deal was. After a brief moment of stillness, I saw the body raise up again and make an attempt to stand, but when it got to the point of bending at the waist, the rear stuck out just far enough to touch the fence, and ZAP! right back down it went. I found it disturbing that I wanted to laugh. But at the same time, I was confused as Hell. A few minutes later, the same thing. I watched this go on for a few minutes before I started feeling like a sadist. However amusingly disturbing this picture was, it definitely qualified as Grade A entertainment. I watched long enough to realize two things. One..this thing obviously has the mental capacity of a banana..and Two..I have time to finish my glass of wine before the cops get here. Yay me!

I figured the thing was in the best place for containment. It was doing a darn good job with the fence. So, as I turned back towards the house, I pulled my phone up and proceeded to finish my phone call. At that moment, had I noticed the massive, growling zombie-looking thing on my front porch...then I would have made an effort to divert to another point of entry. This, my friends, is what you get for laughing at those less fortunate than you.

As my foot touched the first step of the front porch, not only did the stench of decomposing flesh attack me...but this extremely unattractive mold of grey matter and bloody tissue lunged for me with a disturbing "gurgle" sound. My breath came barreling out of my throat with a "ugh" sound. I felt as if I was flying through the air at the speed of light. I had no clue where my phone went. It left my hand as soon as 'Mr. Clean' pulled his acrobatic stunt.

I landed on my side, one arm pinned underneath my hip and the other arm was wedged between me and my attacker. I felt my lungs collapse due to the vice grip around me and maybe a rib or two snapped. I don't really remember a whole lot of details about our struggle. I do remember the idea that I was losing. I can't recall at what point my sense of pride kicked in...but I was NOT going to die by the hand of something with the brain capacity of a piece of fruit. I managed to get my foot and leg unwrapped from the monster and did the only thing I could think of in this situation. I could tell that whatever it was, had to be male..so I pulled my knee up to my chest with as much force as I could muster. At the same time…I gathered all the strength I could find and used it to push up and roll to my back, taking the gravy train with me.

Whatever choreography that I somehow managed to execute…it worked! I had enough room to maneuver myself away from the attacker and scramble to my feet. I scanned the ground within seconds in hopes that I would catch a glimpse of where my phone had landed, but it was too dark for me to focus fast enough. In less than a second, I was running towards the front porch with only one thing on my mind. I had to get to my spare bedroom.

Now..at this point…I have realized that the spare bedroom is not the smartest place to keep your firearms. Especially when the spare bedroom is located at the dead end of the hallway. *Note to self: find a different place to keep your self defense weapons. I was running through the front door when I realized that I was in a ridiculous amount of pain. At that point I had to concentrate on other things..so I pushed it out of my head. I could be a wimp later, and at this point..I just wanted to survive long enough to enjoy “later.” I immediately ran to the back bedroom and pulled the closet door open, took a deep breath and cussed to myself. *Note: when faced with a life or death situation, it is not easy to remember, nor key in the stupid combination to the gun safe. I am realizing exactly how easy I have made it for someone or something to kill me in my own home.

After the second attempt and many colorful expletives, the door to the safe opened and I swear I heard the hallelujah chorus. At this point, all of the Angelina Jolie movies I had seen came to mind. I grabbed my 9mm Beretta checked the clip, loaded the barrel and shoved it in the back of my jeans. Opened a box of hollow points and threw what I could into my front pocket, realizing that this would be a great time to have an extra clip to hold another set of rounds. I picked up a box of buckshot and immediately cussed. Four shells? Really? UGH!.. I yanked the 12 Ga Mossberg Pump out of the safe and started loading my four pitiful shells into the beast of a gun. This should be fun.

Now…all I had to do was make it to the car. No problem! So, why did I feel like GI Jane on her first mission?

Have You Seen My Zombie? Part One

Darkness falls across the land

The midnight hour is close at hand

Creatures crawl in search of blood

To terrorize y'alls neighborhood

The foulest stench is in the air

The funk of forty thousand years

And grizzly ghouls from every tomb

Are closing in to seal your doom

And though you fight to stay alive

Your body starts to shiver

For no mere mortal can resist

The evil of the thriller

So, I need to tell you about the time that I almost died. I tell this story so that people may learn from my mistakes…and may, indeed, be prepared for situations in life similar to this. I hope and pray that you are never faced with a similar situation..but if you find yourself in a dark room filled with a cold chill running over your skin and the sounds of death pounding in your head…just remember one thing.

“Every dead body that is not exterminated becomes one of them. It gets up and kills. The people it kills get up and kill.”


It was a great day..beautiful sunny weather, with a hint of a spring breeze. Humidity was not as strong as it usually would be. I had spent the whole day outside. I felt recharged from the vitamins the sun and my surroundings had given me. As I sat down with my favorite glass of Merlot, I pressed play on the DVD player. It was already getting late…but I had nothing to do the next day..so I thought I would enjoy some “me” time.

Recent events in the news had given me a headache. The state crime lab had received an anonymous package three days ago. What they had believed was an important lead for a case, in fact turned out to be some new biological compound. No big deal, right? Only now…they were showing up in other states at random. One in Oklahoma, one in Iowa, one in Colorado and just today, Arizona. Nothing interesting to the idea (that they were reporting) other than the packages had been untraceable and the contents were being sent to Washington for further investigation. Frankly, I had been sick of hearing about it. So, I tried to avoid the news and radio at all costs.

Just as I sat my cup down from my last swallow of liquid bliss, I heard something outside. Dad had recently put up an electric fence around the small garden to keep the deer from eating our crops. On a nightly basis, there would be odd sounds at random moments from animals attempting to test the wire. As I got up from the couch to refill my glass, another sound permeated from outside. Obviously whatever was out there, was determined to get into that garden. After the fourth wail, I thought I should take a look. I needed some good entertainment. I put the movie on pause and walked over to the front door. Peering out of the diamond shaped window, my eyes began to scan the field. I couldn’t see anything. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I focused on one end of the fence then followed it inch by inch to the other side. Nothing there. At one point, I thought my peripheral had caught some movement on the west end of the tree line. But, after a second glance, all clear!..Whatever it was must have finally gotten the clue.

I walked to the kitchen and refilled my glass. It was going to be a great night. I had needed a relaxing evening for a while now. Life had gotten super crazy for me. As I rounded the side of the couch, another ZAP! sounded from outside. This was going to get so annoying!!... I raced to the front door, unlocked the deadbolt, twisted the knob and in one motion pulled the door open and flew out of the screen door. I swear I looked like Kramer off of Seinfeld. Standing on the front porch, I expected to catch whatever it was this time, but nothing! I scanned the field one more time, allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then I saw it. A lump of something was laying on the far end of the field right under the fence line. Now, I’m not the brightest light bulb in the box..but I know that electric fence is NOT hot enough to kill anything. But there was definitely something laying motionless over there.

I walked inside and grabbed my Maglite, took another good sip of my wine and headed outside. This girl was gonna have a relaxing night. Walking across the field, I noticed an awful wretched smell, and it was getting stronger as I narrowed the distance between myself and the questionable lump. I’ve worked in the medical field long enough to notice certain smells. This one was untouchable! It was like a mix between ammonia, vomit and the local paper mill. It had a nasty brute odor that left a sting in my nostrils. Decomposition would be a walk in the park after this.

I pointed my light at the lump. Was that plaid? Red plaid? My brain was trying to decipher what I was actually looking at. I squinted my eyes and moved closer to inspect the puzzle. At this point, I had to concentrate every effort to not vomit. The smell had completely engulfed me to the point my eyes were burning. Blinking through tears from the burning, I leaned within just a few feet of the lump…the lump in my throat felt like it was the size of a grapefruit. It was a red plaid shirt. It was covering a mutilated and completely unrecognizable corpse. The only thing I could actually make out was the round shape of what may have been a head and the extremities, though contorted and disfigured were somewhat distinguishable.

My mind was going crazy..my heart was pounding and racing to the point of near failure. I stood up and almost lost my balance due to the extreme situation and the fact that my right foot had fallen asleep. I felt in my pocket for my cell phone. All I could think was to call 9-1-1. It took three tries before my trembling fingers could pound the correct keys. Just as my thumb hovered over the send button, something caught my eye. The amount of fear that coursed through my body cannot be described. The flush of blood through my body was close to what I would assume would be the feeling of getting an IV full of Clorox! My whole body froze. I was paralyzed.

The red plaid shirt and heap of human decomposition…. Just sat up.

They: A short story

They say it’s only in my mind. They say if I just take these pills and talk to this bald guy with an obvious sinus obstruction that I will be alright. His overstuffed couch isn’t comfortable at all. I feel like Alice in Wonderland when she ate the magical, shrinking mushroom.

They say I have to stop “pretending” that I am a victim. They say it will get better, that one day I will live a normal life.

They.

Maybe you can help me. Maybe I can tell you my story and you can tell me that it IS all in my mind. Maybe “they” are right.

I can feel a sharp, annoying pinch on the right side of my head, right below the hairline, behind my ear. I didn’t go to sleep with that. I can’t concentrate on anything! It’s like my mind is a constantly changing channels. They say it helps to identify thought process.

I had a very odd dream. Strange dreams are the only real constant in my life. Well, dreams and tapioca pudding. What is that noise!? Did you hear that!? Please tell me you heard that.

I used to be normal. I used to have a job. I had a car, a house. Now I have a metal framed, single bed in an 8 x 8 cell with poor lighting and cold tile. I honestly can’t remember any details about my life; I can only tell you the big things. I don’t know where or when it changed. I only know that it did.

The world around me changed. Things have gotten so dark. The sun went away. Trees disappeared (I’m not sure if they died or if they were removed). Animals no longer exist. Buildings in the city have become shells; like temporary housing units. That’s actually a good description of my head- a temporary housing unit. That’s exactly how I feel.

Oh, it burns! It’s burning my entire head and inching around to the front of my face. I can feel it tingling. What tha- .. ? I knew I had an odd acidic taste in my throat. My nose is bleeding. What is happening to me? Can anyone hear me? I need some tissue please! Some water!?

I can’t see clearly. My vision is blurring. My head feels like I’ve been on a Merry-Go-Round for a day and a half. They said I would be taken care of. They said I am important. I feel so cold, only to be washed over with a sickening warmth. They told me to relax. They said I would only be here until they were finished.

Are those footsteps? I am finally going to be taken care of. I can hear a low mumble but I can’t make out detailed words. The only way I can maneuver is to crawl. The floor is so cold. My hands are sticky with dried blood. My feet feel so heavy. It’s like they are completely dead.

I hear the footsteps pause right outside the door. This ringing in my head is getting louder. I can’t even open my eyes from the pain. They say it doesn’t hurt for long. They say it helps if I stay calm; but it’s so hard to be calm when all of these things are happening to me and I don’t know why.

The door opens. My feet stand me up at the speed of light. They’re here.

Happy Halloween Time!!

Ok. I have to break from the blog challenge. There's a serious situation here. Halloween. I should have been blogging about nothing but Halloween all week, but I haven't. So, I have to make up for it in the next few days.

This is my absolute favorite Holiday. And no, it's not because I'm a dark, sinister devil worshiper. It's because I just like entertainment; and to me, the element of surprise is the best form of that. I love scary movies. I love the weather this time of year. I love candy. I love dressing up. I love spending good times with family and friends. I just really enjoy it.

So, with that introduction, I will be posting random tid-bits of Halloween goodies over the next few days. I hope you enjoy. I am currently working on a short story that should be an entertaining read for you.

I actually have another short story that I created on another website that I am going to share. It's in parts... so make sure you check back frequently.

For those of you who are on my Facebook page, you will see my link when I post it. And, if you are reading this; please like me on Facebook and also create you a blogger ID so you can follow me and leave comments. I am really enjoying this blogging thing.

By the way.. 

Remember when mom told you not to take candy from a stranger? I think this is who she was talking about.