Scared to Death by Tulah Dixie

Cecily had never believed any of the silly superstitions that passed through her small town year after year. Not that Old. Mrs.Cliffton was a witch, not that if you drove over the Snell Creek bridge after midnight that your dog would die, and especially not that the woods behind the Patterson house were haunted. These stories had been passed around for as long as she could remember, and Cecily found them all ridiculous.

Halloween afternoon Cecily and her boyfriend Jeremy sat in her living room, deciding what they would do that night. “I want to get scared,” Cecily said. “I've never been absolutely scared to death.”

“I think I can scare you,” Jeremy said with a smile.

After all the trick-or-treaters were tucked safely in bed, Cecily and Jeremy sneaked out of their houses and met at the Patterson house. No one had lived there for at least fifty years; the bricks were crumbling to dust.

“Are you ready to be sacred to death?” Jeremy asked, taking Cecily's hand as they started walking into the forest. Cecily laughed, skipping ahead of him, disappearing for a moment in to the darkness. “Boo!” She cried, jumping out from behind a tree. Jeremy laughed, and they once again they walked.

“What's the scardest you've ever been?” Cecily asked. Jeremy looked thoughtful for a moment. “I've never been scared, Cecily.”

“Oh, yes you have. Everyone gets scared, just a little at least.”Jeremy just shrugged and smiled at her.

After a few minutes walk they came to a clearing. The moon was almost full, and the light cast eerie shadows. Cecily walked to the middle of the clearing and spun around, her arms outstretched. It was a beautiful night, cool but not cold. Suddenly a bat swooped out of a tree, fluttering around Cecily's head, screeching. She waved her arms about, and finally it flew back into the trees.

“Is that the best you can do?” she asked, laughing. Jeremy just smiled.

After walking another few minutes, the couple came to a small stream. Cecily crouched down next to it and dipped her fingers in it. It was freezing, and she pulled her hand out and stuffed it in her pocket.

“It's sure peaceful here,” Cecily said. “It seems so silly that people think these woods are haunted.”

“They're not haunted,” Jeremy agreed.

All of a sudden a black cat jumped across the stream, landing on Cecily and clawing at her hair and face. Cecily brushed it off of herself, and it scurried away into the forest.

“You're getting better,” Cecily said, her laughter a bit shaky. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and dabbed at the blood trickling from a scratch on her cheek. “But I'm still not that scared.”

Jeremy smiled at her and took her hand. “Let's keep going.”

They walked for five minutes, then ten, then twenty. Cecily was starting to get tired. “Should we turn back? We've been walking a long time.”

“Let's just go a little bit further,” Jeremy said. They walked in silence, their hands clasped. The further they walked, the faster Cecily's heart beat. She was getting nervous, and she didn't know why. Jeremy was always quiet, and the dark had never scared her before.

“We're almost there,” Jeremy said suddenly. Cecily stopped. Almost where? Jeremy pulled her so she started walking again. Her heart hammered in her ears.

Then Cecily stopped. In front of her was a tree. Hanging from a branch was a rope, and hanging from the rope was a man, strangled and bloody. Cecily's hand flew to her mouth to stifle a scream.

“Are you scared yet?” Jeremy whispered in her ear. She whipped around, and her breath stopped. He stood with a rope in one hand and an ax in the other. Just before her world ended, Cecily heard Jeremy ask,

“Did I scare you to death?”