“Be home by ten so you aren’t out when it gets dark,” said my mom as I asked if I could go to my boyfriend, Hunter’s house. It was our one year anniversary and I was so excited to give him a beautiful watch that I bought for him. I had never been to his house before because my parents were very strict and never let me go to his house because his parents were rarely home, but since it was our anniversary, she was willing to make an exception.
I decided to walk to his house. As I finally made it to his street, a cool breeze flew by and made my skin crawl. As I walked a bit further, I saw one house different from the rest. It was a huge black mansion, and it looked as if the top of it was in the clouds because it was so tall. I looked at the number on a naked willow tree with dead leaves surrounding it. “26,” I whispered. This was his house. I walked up the driveway and lightly touched the knocker, and the door flew open. Clasping his watch tightly in my hand, I slowly walked in. “Hunter?” I said quietly. No answer. My heart sank, and I looked at my phone to check the time. It was already 8:00, and we were supposed to meet at six. Suddenly, I felt a cool breeze on my neck and turned around. “Agh!” I shrieked. He was standing right behind me. It was as if he came out of nowhere. “Hunter you almost gave me a heart attack, why are you so late!” I screamed at him. He immediately apologized, and I sighed, and let it go. The rest of the night went perfectly. He loved the watch I gave him, and we had a lovely candlelit dinner. Suddenly, I looked at my phone and it was 10:01. “Crap, my mom is going to kill me I have to go.” Hunter pulled me close and begged me not to leave. “Don’t go,” he whispered. “I have to,” I said sadly. “No don’t,” he said firmer this time, not releasing his grip of me. “Hunter!” I screamed, “What are you doing let me go!” Finally, I escaped from his grip, terrified and looked at his face. His eye started twitching, as they rolled back in his head. “I…said…don’t…go,” he said. Instantly I felt like I couldn’t breathe and sprinted out of his house as fast as I possibly could. I ran to the front of his house, tried to open the door and this time it felt so heavy. I ran down his driveway and down his street as fast as I could without looking back. The pitch black night devoured everything in its past and I could feel the cold air consuming me as every breath I took was visible. Once I got near my house, I heard heard quiet thumps behind me. I tried to sprint even faster, but the thumping footsteps became louder and louder every step I took. Finally, I saw my house, but I instantly noticed something. The door was open. I sprinted inside and locked the door as fast as possible. “Mom!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face, drowning me in my fear. She was not there, and the only sound I could hear was the loud pounding of my heart making my head throb. Suddenly, I heard loud thump outside. I quickly grabbed my safety flashlight that we keep in case of emergencies. Slowly, I walked outside in the complete blackness of the night. As I pointed the flashlight to the ground, I saw a trail of a sticky red substance. My hands started shaking and the sound of my breathing was blasting in my ear as I realized that this was blood. I tried to sprint back into my house, but as I was running, I tripped over something large and hard. Bright red started seeping into my shoe and I realized that it was blood. I gasped and moved the flashlight up a little, but my shaky, sweaty hands made me felt like the flashlight was about to slip out of my hands. I saw a pale hand with a gold watch tightly clasped around the wrist. The gross already rotting head in the light of the flashlight made my legs collapse and I my knees touched the ground. “Mom!” I screamed, “No… you are ok, you are ok,” I tried to convince myself. Suddenly, I heard loud thumping of footsteps behind me…