A Murder on Halloween

Prologue:

One summer afternoon, Lillian and her twin brother Bryan were playing outside with their friends Jake and Rachel. Well actually, they were sitting in the grass thinking about what they should play. Rachel suddenly spoke up. “I know! Why don’t we play hide and go seek,” she said excitedly.

They all agreed that hide and go seek was a game they could all enjoy. “Okay, whoever says ‘not it’ last is it. One, two, three...not it!” she said.

“Not it,” said Lillian. “Not it,” said Jake.

Everyone looked at Bryan and he sighed. “Fine…I’m it then, but be careful, I know all the good spots around here,” he grinned mischievously.

They all laughed and then Bryan closed his eyes. Rachel, Lillian, and Jake ran around trying to find places to hide. Rachel hid in the shadows between the house and the fence, Jake hid in the tool shed, and Lillian hid in the tall grass beside the tool shed.

She giggled and said, “He’ll never find me!”

She jumped when she heard a deep chuckle behind her. She whipped around and saw a man standing there. The man had chestnut-coloured hair and stubble on his face. His eyes were bright blue. He chuckled again, this time at Lillian’s expression.

“You’re a little cutie, aren’t you?” he said softly. Lillian looked at the man, confused. She had never seen this man before, but she assumed that he was new to the neighbourhood.
“A little cutie like you deserves some candy. Do you want some candy?” he asked. Suddenly all of her confusion melted away and she nodded. The man lifted her over the fence and put her down on the pavement; he took her hand and started walking.

“My name is Ryan Smith. I’m an old friend of your father. The last time I saw you, you were only a baby. Tell me, what is your favourite type of candy bar?” he asked. She thought about that for a minute, and then she said, “I like Crispy Crunches.” Ryan Smith nodded and they finally got to his car. He told Lillian to stand there while he got her some candy.
Lillian turned back around toward her house.

I’m so lucky to be here getting candy while Jake, Rachel, and Bryan are still back at the house, she thought. Suddenly, she heard the cock of a gun behind her. She was about to turn around, but Ryan Smith’s arm came from behind her, blocking her airway. He pressed the barrel of the gun to her temple and whispered, “Now, listen very carefully, Lillian. I am going to kill you. Little girls like you don’t deserve to live. You are going to stand still so I won’t make a mess. I’m warning you now, if you scream or get away from me, I will find you again and make sure you die. It will be very quick, you won’t feel a thing.”

Lillian gasped for air, but she wasn’t weak yet. She bit down hard on his arm and heard him gasp in pain and suddenly she was free of his arm. Still gasping for air, she bolted away from him. Behind her, she heard a gunshot and Ryan Smith yelled after her, “You made a bad decision, Lillian! I will find you again and kill you!” She didn’t turn around; she just kept on running until she got to her house. While she was running, she started crying. She smashed into Bryan, and before she could fall, he caught her. Bryan saw she was crying and he hugged her.

“Lillian, what’s wrong?” he asked anxiously. Lillian hugged him back tightly and whispered, “He’s going to come back and kill me!” Bryan was confused. “Who is?” Lillian took a deep, shuddering breath. “Ryan Smith,” she choked out.

Chapter One:

It was a crisp autumn afternoon. Lillian and her brother, Bryan, were on their way home from school. They chatted excitedly together because it was the last day of the week and Halloween was only two days away. Lillian skipped down the trail while Bryan looked up and down the trail, embarrassed that his sister was acting like a third grader instead of a sixth grader.

“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe Halloween is only a couple of days away! I’m so happy, I could scream,” she exclaimed. She wasn’t watching where she was going and she stumbled over a big rock in the ground and landed flat on her stomach. Bryan laughed at his sisters’ clumsiness while she leaped up and brushed the dirt and bracken off her white TNA pants.

“I’m okay,” she exclaimed. “Anyways, we’d better go to Value Village soon to get our costumes and props,” she continued. Bryan nodded, “Yeah, maybe mom could drive us there tomorrow afternoon. Rachel and Jake should come, too. What are you and Jake being for Halloween?” he asked curiously. Lillian’s pale blue eyes were thoughtful and her curly blonde hair rippled in the autumn wind. “I’m not sure yet,” she finally admitted. “Either an evil sorceress or a gothic devil fairy. Jake is going to be the opposite of whatever I choose.”

Bryan nodded thoughtfully. “So if you’re an evil sorceress then he’ll be an evil sorcerer, right?” he asked. Lillian nodded. “So what about you and Rachel?” she asked. He shrugged. “We don’t know what to be yet,” he said quietly. His face was embarrassed and his auburn hair was losing some of its spikes. Lillian realized how uncomfortable he was talking about his girlfriend, so she changed the subject.

“Hey, Bryan,” she said. He looked up curiously. “Race you home. Last one there is a rotten egg,” she added over her shoulder. She heard Bryan thundering after her. She realized he was gaining up on her and ran faster.

Finally they got to their house and both were panting heavily. Lillian unlocked the door and walked in. Their puppy Lila, a Golden Retriever, jumped up and started yipping excitedly. Lillian went up to her room and dropped her bag onto her bed, and then she went back downstairs. Bryan was kneeling beside Lila, petting her. Lillian went into the kitchen to get a drink of water. She turned on the little TV in the kitchen to watch the news.

“Last night, a prisoner escaped from the Stony brook prison. His name is Ryan Smith. He’s the most dangerous prisoner ever,” the news reporter explained. Lillian froze at the name. She recognized the picture immediately and she dropped her glass. Both Bryan and Lila looked up at the sound. Then suddenly she started screaming at the top of her lungs. Lila ran into their parents’ room, tail between her legs, and Bryan ran over to Lillian, almost stepping in the pile of glass. He stepped over the glass, grabbed Lillian’s shoulders and pushed her onto a kitchen chair. “Lillian, what’s wrong?” he asked her urgently. She started sobbing.

“Ryan... Smith... back,” was all she managed to choke out.

Chapter Two:

Bryan looked at her confused and she pointed at the TV. He looked at it and heard the reporter say: “Smith has been killing little kids for almost a year now. This time, though, he’s only searching for one young girl, but I’m not pointing any fingers. Nobody has to panic though; the police are already searching for him. On a happier note...” Bryan glanced at Lillian who had her face in her hands and was now trembling and sobbing.

“He’s after me again. He’s going to kill me since he didn’t succeed four years ago. This time he might succeed,” she sobbed. Bryan started to get angry. Smith was terrifying Lillian. He wouldn’t allow it. It made him angry to see Lillian in so much pain. “No, he isn’t going to kill you! Not if I can help it,” he said fiercely. Lillian had a confused look underneath the tears still streaming down her face, “Bryan, you’re only 12 years old. You can’t stop a full-grown man from killing me. He isn’t going to stop searching for me. I-I don’t know what to do!” she started sobbing again.

Bryan put a comforting arm around her and squeezed her shoulders, “First of all, you have to calm down. You should probably tell Jake, too, but the most important people to tell are Mom and Dad. They don’t even know what happened to you four years ago. We should’ve told them long ago. Call Jake first, then you can tell Mom and Dad during dinner, OK,” he said gently. She nodded. “You’re right. Crying doesn’t help me, does it?” she asked. Bryan shook his head and Lillian continued, “But what am I supposed to say to Mom and Dad? You know what they’ll do.”
She mimicked her Moms’ voice, “Oh my poor baby! Why didn’t you tell me as soon as that happened? I feel like such a bad mother.” Then she returned to her regular voice, “I mean... I can’t have her blame herself. This is my fault not hers,” she said. Bryan shrugged. “I don’t know, but you have to tell them,” he said. Lillian sniffled and she nodded. “Bryan, I’m scared,” she said in a shaky voice. Bryan hugged her, “Don’t be. I’ll help you and I’m sure Rachel and Jake will, too. We’ll protect you. Ryan Smith is not going to touch you,” he said fiercely.

Chapter Three:

An hour later after Bryan and Lillian found out about Ryan Smith, their parents came home. Lillian tried to go upstairs when they came home, but Bryan stopped her by asking for help to set the table for dinner. Her mom told her to help, so she couldn’t refuse. During dinner, her father, James, started talking about Ryan Smith. Lillian, so chatty before, was dead silent. “The girl who he’s looking for must be terrified,” said James, concerned. Bryan looked at Lillian, then back at James, “Yeah, she probably is. I mean, who would want a murderer to come after only her,” he said. Lillian looked up, “May I be excused please?” she asked quietly. Her mom, Heather, looked at her, confused. “Yes you may Lillian,” she said slowly.

Lillian got up slowly and dragged her feet across the floor into the front hall. When she walked past the cordless phone, it rang. “I’ll get it,” she called. She picked it up and went in her room.

“Hello?” she said. The voice on the other line was a male voice. “Hello, Lillian,” said the voice.

Lillian froze, “Hi... who is this?” she asked, scared and confused. “That doesn’t matter. Where are you right now?” asked the voice smoothly. Lillian didn’t answer. “Why aren’t you answering? You should be answering. Because I see you,” continued the voice.
Lillian started trembling. “What do you mean?” she whispered. The man chuckled, but didn’t answer her question. All he said was: “I see you. Come out and play. Move your curtain and look out. By the trees. I’m waiting.”

Lillian crossed her room and turned off her light, and then she went over to her window and peeked out. At first, her yard seemed empty, but she suddenly saw a shadow move and she realized someone was out there. A figure stood half-hidden behind the arms of an evergreen. Beneath her, the shape of a male, tall, well-muscled, with hair pale in the moonlight, stepped out from the shadows. Staring down, she saw the one face she never wanted to see again.

In her backyard, right under her window, stood Ryan Smith.

Lillian dropped the phone in fright. After a few more seconds of staring at Ryan Smith, she started to scream.

Chapter Four:

Heather rushed into Lillian’s room, her caramel-coloured hair flying behind her. Lillian was still standing by the window. Heather came up from behind and grabbed her shoulders.

“Lillian! Lillian, shhh, it’s OK. It’s me,” she said. Lillian turned around and threw her arms around her mother, sobbing. Heather led her daughter to the bed and sat her down, “Lillian what’s wrong?” she asked warily. Lillian tried to calm down and looked up at her mother. Before she could speak, she had to take a couple of deep breaths. Even then, she couldn’t make her voice any louder than a whisper.

“Mom, there’s something I should have told you a long time ago,” she said nervously. Heather nodded, but when Lillian didn’t say anything else, she said, “Go on.” Lillian took another deep breath and continued. “You know four years ago when I came in the house crying, and Bryan told you I bumped my head?” she asked. Her mom nodded. “Well, he was lying,” Lillian said. Her mom looked confused. “What do you mean?” she asked. Lillian looked at the ground again. “I mean, I didn’t bump my head. The escaped prisoner, Ryan Smith, tried to kill me,” she sobbed. Her mom gasped. “What?!” she exclaimed.

“I went with him to his truck and while he was there he took out a gun. I couldn’t run away because he had me in a headlock and he was pressing the gun to my temple. I bit his wrist and he let me go. Then I ran,” she kept on sobbing. Heather put her arm around Lillian’s shoulders, “Lillian, honey, how come you didn’t tell me right away?” she asked anxiously. Lillian sobbed harder, “I don’t know,” she cried, “I guess I didn’t want you to worry about my safety and because I wanted to go out for Halloween.” Heather looked at her. “Why were you screaming just now?” she asked. Lillian started to tremble, “B-because I saw Ryan Smith outside my window,” she whispered. Heather closed her eyes while Lillian stared at the ground, with tears blurring her vision.

Her mom’s arms were suddenly around her, warm tears streaming down her face. “Oh, Lillian. You must be terrified! How could I let this happen? I’m such a bad mother! My poor baby,” she cried. Lillian sighed. This is exactly what she had predicted. “Mom it’s not your fault. It’s mine. I’m the one who went with him,” she said weakly. Her mom looked at her with a tear-streaked face. “You were only in second grade. You didn’t know better,” she said tearfully. It was quiet for a split second, and then Lillian said, “Mom, am I still allowed to go trick-or-treating?” Her mom looked at her. “I guess so. You know now not to go with anyone you don’t recognize, right?” she asked worriedly. Lillian nodded, “Yes mom, I swear on my life I’ll never do that again,” she said shakily. Her mom embraced her again and whispered in her ear, “Good girl.”

Chapter Five:

That night, Lillian called Jake and told him about Ryan Smith. Of course he freaked out. It took her three tries to tell him she was fine, but she was really scared. “Do you want to come to Value Village with me tomorrow? Rachel can come, too. We have to get our costumes,” said Lillian. Jake hesitated, “Sure. That sounds... fun. Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked warily. Lillian rolled her eyes, “I’m fine, Jake. Don’t worry about me. So I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. “I love you,” she added. She heard Jake sigh, “Love you too, Lillian,” he said worriedly, then he hung up.

The next day, when Lillian woke up, she was crying. She had a dream that when she went downstairs in the morning, she was lying on the kitchen floor, dead. Ryan Smith was over her holding a dagger covered with blood. That was when she woke up. She tried to erase the dream from her memory, but remembering the image of herself dead on the floor with Ryan Smith towering over her holding a blood-soaked knife made her sick and scared. She slowly got out of bed and got dressed. Her outfit for that day was white leggings, a short denim skirt, and a shirt that said, “Don’t give me your attitude. I already have one.”

She went downstairs and ate breakfast. When Bryan came downstairs, Lillian was watching cartoons. He sat beside her on the couch. “Hey Lillian. Are you okay? I woke up last night and heard you screaming, but when I went in there you were sleeping. What happened?” he asked anxiously. Lillian looked at him, confused, “I was screaming? I didn’t even realize it, I guess,” she said. Bryan was still looking at her, “But why would you even be screaming?” he asked slowly. Lillian pretended she didn’t hear him, “Lillian?” he said. Lillian sighed. “I just had a bad dream. It’s nothing,” she said quietly. Bryan looked thoughtful. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked calmly. Lillian shook her head, “No, I’m fine now,” she said. Bryan looked at the TV. “OK, but tell me when you want to,” he said, shrugging. It was quiet, only the sound of Bugs Bunny talking on the TV. Lillian broke the silence, “OK fine. I’ll tell you,” she said. She explained her dream to Bryan and, to her embarrassment, she started crying again. Bryan put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Shhh... Lillian, it’s OK. It’s only us here,” he said soothingly. She started trembling. “Oh Bryan! I’m so scared,” she sobbed. Bryan hugged her. “Lillian, it’s OK! Don’t cry. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said. Lillian looked at him and smiled a watery smile. “Thank you, Bryan,” she said quietly. He smiled back at her.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

Chapter Six:

It was past six o'clock when they got back home. There were no costumes that were the opposite of each other, so Jake got a werewolf costume and Lillian got a pirate princess costume. Rachel and Bryan got opposite costumes – Rachel was an ex-wife and Bryan was an ex-husband. They got lucky. Lillian went upstairs to try on her costume. It took her awhile, but she finally got it on. She went into Bryan’s room. Bryan was sitting on his bed reading a Spiderman comic.

“Arr... matey,” she said. Bryan jumped and Lillian started laughing. “Don’t do that, Lillian! You scared me,” he said angrily. Lillian sat at the edge of his bed, “Well you’re only scared now. Bryan, I’m scared everyday! I always worry about Smith finding me,” she said nervously. Bryan sighed, “Right... sorry Lillian. I forgot about that,” he said. Lillian smiled a sad smile, “That’s OK, Bryan. I forgot it all when we were at Value Village, but as soon as we got back home I remembered that time when I was in second grade and I got scared again,” she said sadly. Bryan swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat beside his sister. Even though they were the same age, he felt like her older brother.

“It’s alright, Lillian. Try to forget Smith OK?” he said soothingly. Lillian looked at him incredulously. “How can I forget him, Bryan? He’s like etched in my brain,” she said hotly. Bryan rolled his eyes. “OK, forget I said that then. I’ll put it this way... Lillian, you have a loving family who cares about you, and a best friend and a boyfriend who care about you! Lillian, you have to know that we would never let anything happen to you,” he said gently.

She looked at Bryan, “I know, but I can’t help being scared. I mean, you’d be scared if it happened to you,” she said tearfully. Bryan nodded, “True,” he said slowly, “Wait a second. Stay here for a minute OK?” he said suddenly.

He got off his bed and went to his closet. He took out a box and went back to his bed. Lillian was curious. “What’s that?” she asked. Bryan looked at her and smiled, “You’ll see,” he said. He opened the lid and Lillian peered in. Inside the box there were a bunch of things from when Bryan was in Scouts. A pocketknife, a first aid kit, a poncho and much more. Bryan dug to the bottom of the box. Lillian looked at him curiously. “Here it is,” he said after a while. He took out a small, silver whistle on a piece of yarn like a necklace. “What’s this?” Lillian asked curiously. Bryan stood up and put the whistle around her neck. “It’s a whistle,” he said. “When I was in Scouts, we each got a whistle and when we were hiking, if we got lost, then we were supposed to blow the whistle. I’m giving it to you so that when you’re trick-or-treating with Jake, if something happens to you, then you can blow the whistle. Make sure you blow it loud enough for me to hear,” he explained.

Lillian’s eyes swam with tears. “Thank you so much, Bryan,” she cried. She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Bryan hugged her back, then said gruffly, “You’re welcome, Lillian. Now let’s go to bed. We’re going to be out late tomorrow.” Lillian nodded and got up off Bryan’s bed, “Goodnight, Bryan,” she whispered then walked out of his room.

“Goodnight, Lillian,” he said a little too late. He got into his pyjamas, turned out the light and went to bed.

Chapter Seven:

The next day, Lillian didn’t wake up until 10:30 in the morning. She was shocked because she woke up so late on Halloween and because she didn’t have any nightmares the night before. She dragged her feet downstairs. Bryan sat on the couch watching Sleepy Hollow on TV. Lillian grinned evilly and snuck up behind him. She kneeled behind the couch and snickered, “This is going to be funny,” she said. She quietly cleared her throat and made her voice scary, “Bryan,” she moaned. She heard him whip around, “Lillian?” he asked uncertainly. She smiled, “Help me, Bryan,” she moaned again, “Help me. I’m in the attic and am watching you.”

At that same moment, the power went out and the wind blew the window open. Bryan gasped in fright. Lillian ran upstairs and in her room. She went to her closet and took out her white nightgown. She put black gloves on and black leotards, and then she painted her face white. She quietly went back downstairs. Bryan was looking toward the kitchen, scared, so Lillian went in front of the TV. “Bryan,” she moaned again. He whipped around toward the TV and gasped when he saw Lillian. She started walking slowly toward him making it look like she was limping. The next thing she knew, the lights came back on. Lillian groaned, “Dang it,” she said. Bryan glared at her, “Lillian,” he growled, “How could you do that to me? I was terrified!”

Lillian turned her head toward him slowly, smiling nervously. He started chasing her and she ran upstairs, but her nightgown was too long and she tripped. She was on the sixth step and she fell. Bryan gasped. “Lillian are you okay?” he exclaimed. Lillian’s eyes were watering in pain, “Ow, my head hurts so badly!” she cried. Bryan ran over to her and helped her up. Lillian put one arm around his shoulders and stumbled to the couch. She sat down, holding her head that was now pounding. Bryan went into the kitchen and got Lillian an ice pack. Lillian took it and turned to Bryan. “Bryan I’m so sorry for scaring you... I guess I was getting into Halloween Spirit, you know,” she said. Bryan shrugged, “It’s OK... is your head OK?” he asked. She nodded, “Yeah it’s fine now,” she said. Bryan looked at her. “I still think it’s cool that you turned off the light and then somehow turned it back on when you were right in front of me,” he said admiringly. Lillian laughed, “That wasn’t me,” she chortled. “The power went out when I was doing that.” Bryan looked at her, shocked. “But I heard footsteps in the kitchen,” he said confused. “Are Mom and Dad up?” Lillian looked scared. “N-no. They were still sleeping when I went upstairs to get this on,” she said gesturing to her outfit.

Bryan got up and went into the kitchen. “There’s no one in here,” he called from the kitchen. Lillian started to tremble and she heard Bryan gasp in horror, “Lillian, c-come here, quickly,” he choked out. She looked up and slowly walked into the kitchen. Bryan was pressed against the wall, his eyes widened in horror and staring at something a few feet in front of him. Lillian followed his gaze, then gasped. She stared at the horrific sight for some time, and then she screamed.

Chapter Eight:

Lillian kept on screaming until Bryan’s hand appeared on her mouth. When she stopped screaming, Bryan removed his hand. Lillian took a deep breath and looked in the glazed eyes of the dead dog in front of her. Lying on her side, in a pool of her own blood, was their puppy Lila. Lillian tried to hold back her tears, but was unsuccessful. She started to shake as her tears flowed down her face and she dropped to her knees beside Lila. “No, who would do this? Who the hell would do this to a poor innocent dog?” she sobbed. Bryan knelt down beside her. Lillian turned to face him and saw that Bryan also had tears in his eyes. This shocked Lillian, she never in her life saw Bryan cry before. He hugged her and she hugged him back. “I don’t know who’d do this, Lillian. Someone who hates yappy – hey, what’s that?” he asked suddenly.

He let go of Lillian and went over to the table. Lillian saw Bryan pick up a piece of paper, read it, and then his face turned pale. “L-Lillian,” he choked out. Lillian walked over to him, frightened and Bryan held out the paper to her. On the paper there were two words and those two words sent shivers down her spine. The piece of paper said, “You’re next.” Lillian sank to her knees and sobbed. Bryan went over to her and put his arm around her. “Ryan Smith did this as a warning. He’s telling me what will happen to me soon,” she choked out.

They suddenly heard a small gasp behind them and slowly turned around. Their mom stood in the doorway of the kitchen staring at the bloody mess that was Lila. Their father was upset, but brave. He went over to Lila, his eyes swimming with unshed tears, and took her fragile body into his arms and walked outside. Right away, Heather started scrubbing the blood off the floor. Lillian ran to the window and saw her father digging a hole in the backyard. He lowered Lila into the hole and put the dirt over her. Then he came back inside and washed his hands.

He turned to Lillian and Bryan, “Do you know who did this?” he asked seriously. Lillian nodded and picked up the note. “Bryan found this after we found Lila. It’s for me,” she whispered. James took the note. “You’re next? What does it mean?” he asked confused.
Lillian took a deep breath. “Ryan Smith did this, Daddy, and he wants to kill me since he didn’t do it four years ago,” she said shakily. James looked up, a stern look on his face. “What do you mean, Lillian? He didn’t do what four years ago?” he asked.

“Four years ago, when Bryan, Jake, Rachel, and I were playing in the backyard, Ryan Smith brought me to his truck and told me he would give me candy,” she whispered. Before continuing, she took another deep breath. “I turned around for a minute, when I heard the cock of a gun. When I heard it I was going to turn around, but Ryan Smith had me in a headlock before I could. He said he was going to kill me because little girls like me didn’t deserve to live. I couldn’t breathe, but I was strong enough to bite him on the wrist. I bit him so hard that I drew blood. He let me go then and I ran! He called after me saying that I made a bad choice and that he would find me again and make sure I die. What he said is coming true! He is back and he did find me again! Killing Lila was a warning to me. He was telling me what’s going to happen to me soon,” she started to cry again.

She suddenly found herself in the strong arms of James. She hugged him back and cried on his shoulder. She was terrified that Ryan Smith was plotting to kill her that night!