Halloween Screams

by M. L. Bullock

  “Oh, don’t worry, dear. We have a sash for you, but first, we have to pay homage to our previous winners.”

  “Oh, does that mean I’ve won?” She clapped her hands greedily, and the Dracula-man smiled.

  “I think it’s safe to say that you are a winner, Ginger.”

  “You know my name? Have we met?” she asked breathlessly as the blood rushed to her face. Something was wrong here. Very wrong indeed.

  “Yes, we know you. In fact, you’re here at our invitation. Please, ladies. Why don’t we give our new winner a proper welcome?”

  In unison, the women Ginger thought were her competitors lifted their masks and the woman in black raised her veil to show her face.

  Her dead, rotten face. In fact, they were all dead. Every last one of them.

  “Now ladies, don’t be catty. You can’t always be the loveliest. Remember, beauty fades. Let’s congratulate our new winner, Miss Most Beautiful 2017!”

  As Ginger screamed, the faces of the dead women drew closer. They smiled at her—some had no teeth, some had no skin, and one was just bones. She was still screaming when they wrapped the sash around her.

  Man’s Best Enemy

  Jim woke up to his phone buzzing on his nightstand. Reaching for it, he hit the ignore button and slid to the edge of his bed. It felt good to sleep in this morning. No nagging dog poked him awake. He didn’t wake up to a pair of staring brown eyes in his face or the weight of a collie on his chest. Joey was gone, and Jim was nothing short of ecstatic about it. Jim had never wanted a dog or a cat or kids. The only thing he’d ever wanted was Lily, and now that her previous boyfriend was dead, by happy accident, she was his—all his.

  Until they found Joey wandering the neighborhood begging for food. Jim tried to talk Lily out of adopting the animal, but there was no changing her mind. He’d worked hard to find the owner. “Come on, Lily. He’s got a tag,” he’d said. She’d agreed to search for Joey’s owner, but nobody came forward to claim the dog. Joey had no tracker device, and no local vet records offered any clues, so that had been the end of that. Joey would be theirs, Lily said. She insisted on taking the dog everywhere and put him in holiday photos. She’d even purchased the dang dog a Halloween costume. As if he was a child—their child.

  But from day one, Jim totally knew that dog hated him. Joey peed in his shoes, twice. Dug up his vegetables, tore up his sunflowers and regularly chewed up the cord on his laptop charger. Lily laughed it off while Jim quietly vowed to never forget.

  And to get his revenge.

  With Lily out of town for business, it was left up to Jim to take care of Joey, an arrangement neither he nor the dog was happy about. But he’d taken care of it all yesterday. He’d put the dog in his stupid cowboy costume, made him hold the candy bucket in his teeth and snapped a bunch of pictures. He wanted Lily to believe he’d taken the dog trick-or-treating tonight, as they originally planned. It might make it easier for Lily to deal with the loss if she believed Joey had some fun before “running away” during their walk to the dog park.

  As he stared at the phone and watched it vibrate for a few more seconds, Jim couldn’t help but feel guilty. He should feel guilty. Anyone who dropped a dog off in the middle of nowhere and left him behind was an A-number-one bastard. Jim had always believed that until he met Joey. And the strange thing was, it was like the dog knew what he planned to do. If he hadn’t sedated Joey before taking the dog on his last car ride, he would never have gotten him into the car. But he’d managed it.

  What the hell is wrong with you, dude? It’s not like you killed the dog. You left him in the desert, sure, but he’ll find somewhere to go.

  And that’s when Jim heard the clicking of toenails in the hallway outside his bedroom. He froze, unsure what to do. It was totally possible that some other critter had come in through the pet door. Another dog, a lost cat. A possum. Yes, that was totally possible, but he didn’t believe it. He got out of bed and tiptoed to the doorway. He heard more sounds, but he knew he wasn’t alone. Leaning out of the doorway, he could hardly believe it.

  Joey sat in the hallway, his cowboy costume missing and his hair filthy. The dog’s accusing eyes bored into him as Jim swore for a full minute.

  Now what do I do?

  The house phone rang, and he was happy to break the stare-off with Joey to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Hey, babe. You didn’t answer your cell. You didn’t lose it at the park, did you?”

  “Park?”

  “The dog park—you did take Joey to the park this morning, right?”

  “No. I mean, yes, I took him to the park. No, I didn’t lose my phone. I just got out of the shower.” He hated lying, but in for a penny, in for a pound. Toenails clicked down the hall after him now, but the dog never entered the kitchen. Feeling nervous, he filled Joey’s food and water dishes. The dog didn’t appear.

  “Okay. I’m sorry I’m going to miss tonight. Promise you’ll take lots of pictures. I have a late meeting, but I might be able to make it home late tonight if I leave right afterward.”

  “No! I mean, I don’t want you on the roads late. Just stay over and come back in the morning.”

  Lily’s voice purred at him through the phone. “Aw, that’s so sweet, Jimmy. You’re always thinking of me, aren’t you? I don’t know what I would do without you. You’ve been so great with everything. I mean, since…”

  Jim prayed she wouldn’t say Jason’s name again. He got tired of hearing about him, and he felt that old stab of jealousy pierce his heart. Imagine, being jealous of a dead man? “Hey, no problem. Listen, I better run. I’ve got to give Joey a bath, and I have a garage to clean, remember?”

  Jim could tell by the tone of her voice that she wanted to chat about something, but he couldn’t take his mind off the damn dog. How the heck did he get back here? He’d driven a full two miles out of town, and somehow, the dog had found his way back here? Yeah, that wasn’t cool.

  “Did you hear me, babe?”

  “Uh, I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

  “I said don’t make plans for Sunday. I really want to talk to you about something. It’s important.”

  He heard the toenails clicking again, and now he heard the doggie door flapping. The stupid dog had gone back outside! Now what was he up to? “Sure, that’s fine. Talk to you later.”

  Jim hung up the phone and leaned against the sink thinking about how he’d manage this. He looked out the window but didn’t see Joey anywhere. Maybe he really would run away. Jim had no intentions of washing the dog, but he needed a shower.

  Hey, Jimmy…

  The voice startled him. It was a man’s voice, a familiar voice he almost recognized but couldn’t quite place.

  “Hello?”

  Jim’s bare feet slapped the bare floor as he went to investigate who’d snuck in. Delivery guy? He wasn’t expecting a package. Both the back door and the front door were closed. And to make things crazier, the alarm hadn’t been tripped…but then again, he never set the alarm for the back door. He couldn’t because the stupid dog went in and out all hours of the night. He opened the back door to see if he could figure out where the voice had called from.

  There was no one there and no sign of Joey, except dirty pawprints all over the floor and patio. And he noticed his prized rose bushes were now torn to shreds, the dark earth beneath them exposed. How had the dang dog managed to wrestle with those thorns? He was probably off in a corner nursing his wounds. Fine! I hope you bleed to death, stupid mutt.

  Just one more thing he’d lost since Joey arrived. Well, he wasn’t losing anything else—and that included Lily. He’d have to do this right this time.

  Hey, Jimmy…

  Jim swung around and saw Joey sitting in the hallway. He looked like a demonic sphinx with his paws resting in front of him, his head square and his narrowed eyes watching Jim’s every move. Was it the dog talking to him?

  A truck backfired outside, and the
young man let out a yelp. The dog didn’t move. “I don’t have time for this crap! This isn’t over, dog.”

  Feeling more nervous than he cared to admit, Jim walked the dog and went back to his room. He’d think about this while he took his shower. He did plan on cleaning that garage today, but now he had to think about what to do with Joey. Would a vet put a healthy dog down? No, probably not. He’d just have to try it again. He’d take the dog out, farther this time. Much farther. And he’d do it this morning before he changed his mind.

  As he showered, Jim thought about Lily’s phone call. Exactly what did she want to talk about? Everything was going so perfectly. Well, except for Joey.

  He heard the toenails clicking on the tile floor and peeked around the curtain. Joey had returned and had his leash in his mouth. He wanted to go out, and the backyard apparently wasn’t good enough for him. With an exasperated sigh, Jim switched off the water, stepped out and dried off. Without a word, a semi-dry Jim took Joey for his morning walk at the nearby park. He saw a few familiar faces but did his best to avoid any chitchat. Joey behaved himself, did his business right where he always did and then led Jim out of the park. “Hey! Who’s doing the leading here?” Jim snatched on the leash, but not too roughly. Other pet owners were watching.

  For the next few hours, Jim busied himself with tidying up the garage, only to go back in the house and discover that Joey had gone on a rampage. All his clean laundry was on the floor. The garbage can had been dumped over, and Joey had shed all over his recliner.

  “Son of a—Joey! Get in here!” The dog walked in with his tongue hanging out, a casual expression on his face. “Why? Why would you do this?” Joey closed his mouth and sat down. Of course, he didn’t answer. “Why?”

  Jim led the dog out of the house, closed the back door and secured the doggie door so he couldn’t come back in. “Stupid dog!” He swore as he picked up the disgusting trash, mopped the floor, put his clothing in the washing machine and wiped the hair off his chair. A few hours later, Jim grabbed the leash and headed outside. Joey didn’t try to hide from him or run away as he sometimes liked to do. Jim clicked the leash on the collar and led the dog to the car. Fortunately, he’d thought ahead and parked in the empty garage. That way he could take the dog out and nobody would see Joey get in the car. That would be important if he was going to tell Lily that Joey ran away.

  Jim forced the dog to sit on the floorboard as they drove down the street. They headed out of town, five miles out this time. Jim pulled the car over behind a deserted gas station. He could see houses not far away. With any luck, the stupid mutt would find them without much trouble. As if Jim should care what happened to him. What a joke!

  “I’m leaving you here, and don’t come back home. Three’s a crowd, dude.” He unclipped the leash and opened the door, and Joey hopped out as if he agreed with Jim. The young man put his foot on the gas and sped off, stealing one last look in his rearview mirror. He liked to have died when he saw Jason standing beside Joey…or someone who looked like Jason. Jim slammed on the brakes and looked back. Nobody was there. No one at all. Not even Joey. Swearing all the way, Jim drove home and began rehearsing his story.

  “Lily, I’m so sorry. We were headed to the dog park when Joey saw something and took off! I’ve been looking for him all night, but I can’t find him.” He repeated his lies again and again until they felt natural. Or at least easier to say.

  Jim decided to order some pizza, watch a football game and hang out until trick-or-treaters arrived. There was a flurry of doorbell ringing for about an hour but then nothing. Jim decided to tidy up and get ready for bed. Lily would be home in the morning, and he couldn’t wait to see her, kiss her, make love to her.

  The doorbell rang again. He glanced at the clock—it was half-past eleven. Way too late for kids to be trick-or-treating. Clutching the nearly empty bowl of candy, Jim opened the door. He intended to give the latecomers some candy and a piece of his mind, but there was no one there.

  Except Joey.

  “What the hell, dog?” Without a response, not a whimper or a tilt of an ear, Joey ran inside the house. Jim could hear him lapping water from his dish. He’d forgotten to pick those up, but on second thought it would be better to leave them out. Better for Lily, better for him.

  Now what was he supposed to do? The dog was filthy, filthier than he’d ever been, and now he was back inside. He couldn’t stay in here. Jim wasn’t going to go for that. Storming into the kitchen, he reached for the leash and rounded the corner to retrieve Joey. The dog wasn’t there. He searched the house, every nook and cranny, but couldn’t find hide nor hair of Joey. It was as if he’d imagined the doorbell ringing and the dog sitting there. Maybe he had.

  Sometime after one, he hung up the leash and went to bed. The house was locked; even the doggie door was locked. Nothing could get in here. But just in case, Jim slid a chair under the doorknob. Better to be safe than sorry. He waited to hear those toenails but heard nothing. Nothing at all. Until he was almost asleep. And then he heard the voice again, the familiar one. He realized now that it sounded like Jason.

  Three’s a crowd, dude…

  ***

  “Jimmy? You up there?” Lily couldn’t believe he’d still be in bed at this hour, but his car was here. The doors were locked and the alarm was set. My big strong man, she thought with a smile. She wondered what he’d think about her news. What would he think about having a baby? She knew what he’d told her, that he never wanted to be a parent. He didn’t think he could do it, but she believed in him. She knew he loved her and would love the baby too. She’d barely made it in the house when Joey greeted her. Letting her purse and luggage fall on the floor, she hugged the collie.

  “Missed you, Joey. Are you glad to see me?” After a few seconds of dog love, she got up to find Jim. It wasn’t like him to leave her hanging. In fact, she’d half suspected he’d show up at the airport, just to surprise her. But he hadn’t. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Or was that the baby? With a protective hand, she rubbed her tummy.

  When she opened the bedroom door, she couldn’t believe what she saw. There was no sign of Jim, but a mound of black dirt was in the center of her bed. The dirt was topped with torn roses, dark green leaves and Halloween candy.

  Before she could steady herself, Lily fainted.

  Read more from M.L. Bullock

  The Seven Sisters Series

  Seven Sisters

  Moonlight Falls on Seven Sisters

  Shadows Stir at Seven Sisters

  The Stars that Fell

  The Stars We Walked Upon

  The Sun Rises Over Seven Sisters

  The Idlewood Series

  The Ghosts of Idlewood

  Dreams of Idlewood

  The Whispering Saint

  The Haunted Child

  Return to Seven Sisters

  (A Seven Sisters Sequel Series)

  The Roses of Mobile

  All the Summer Roses

  Blooms Torn Asunder

  A Garden of Thorns

  The Gulf Coast Paranormal Series

  The Ghosts of Kali Oka Road

  The Ghosts of the Crescent Theater

  A Haunting on Bloodgood Row

  The Legend of the Ghost Queen

  A Haunting at Dixie House

  The Ghost Lights at Forrest Field

  The Sugar Hill Series

  Wife of the Left Hand

  Fire on the Ramparts

  Blood by Candlelight

  The Starlight Ball

  His Lovely Garden

  The Desert Queen Series

  The Tale of Nefret

  The Falcon Rises

  The Kingdom of Nefertiti

  The Song of the Bee-Eater

  The Southern Gothic Series

  Being with Beau

  Standalone books

  Ghosts on a Plane

  Short Story Collections

  Chris
tmas at Seven Sisters

  Halloween Screams

  Connect with M.L Bullock on Facebook. To receive updates on her latest releases, visit her website at M.L. Bullock and subscribe to her mailing list.

  About the Author

  Author of the best-selling Seven Sisters series and the Desert Queen series, M.L. Bullock has been storytelling since she was a child. A student of archaeology, she loves weaving stories that feature her favorite historical characters—including Nefertiti. She currently lives on the Gulf Coast with her family but travels frequently to exotic locations around the globe.