"Draw closer to the camp fire,"declared Motu. "And listen to a ghostly tale."

"This is the story of the phantom's re-uniting."

Once upon a time....

A young girl named Kell, was at a mountain camping vacation with her close friends.

Kell: Hey, who wants to go on a tour of this spooky area.

Drew: I don't think that's a good idea Kell. We don't know what's lurking about. Someone could get lost and never be found. Or worse.

Gruq: Rigt. Let's all just stay here and chill. Please Kell.

Kell: You have to live your life with a thrill for adventure. Come on.

She convinced her buds to cover more grounds of the mountain. They packed a flashlight to light their way. And Kell carried her camping bag with her. She had some cookie treats for them to eat on the walk.

Drew and Gruq walked steadily behind Kell. She was moving like she knew her way.

They marched past a cat-shaped bush and Gruq freaked out- because of his ailurophobia. Kell calmed Gruq down by shining the flashlight towards the bush.

Drew placed his hand on Gruq's shoulder.

Drew~ Are you feeling much better Gruq?

Gruq~ Yeah. Thanks for asking pal.

Kell~ Gruq....Don't worry it was only a bush plant.

Gruq~ (sighs) I'm not worried now.

The friends went further on their path and came across a rock wall. There was a terrifying image of monsters of some sort on the rock wall.

Kell stepped closer to the rock wall, as if there was a mighty force pulling her towards it. She moved her hand across the stone. Drew and Gruq called Kell. They tried to pull her away from the rock wall. But Kell seemed to be in a trance.

The moon's light shone and beamed on the rock wall, & the eyes of the ghosts on the stone began to glow. Gruq and Drew shook in terror. Kell's entire body was now glowing too.

The ghosts sprung out of the rock. Drew and Gruq looked in horror at the ghostly sight. And where the ghosts had been locked in- there their friend Kell was in a stunned frightened state.

Gruq~ What have you done with our friend?

Drew~ Set her free you malevolent spirits.

Jarth, the most powerful spectre responded to their cries. He laughed at the two scaredy cats.

Jarth~ Silly mortals. Your friend is chained in the rock wall. She can only be released by another soul that loves to seek adventure. From what I can tell from your display of bravery, your pal will be stuck in the wall for a really long time.

The rest of the other ghosts hailed their ghostly master. Jarth blew a massive cold wind towards the two pals with his mouth. This separated their souls from their bodies.

All their efforts to get back in their bodies didn't work. Their bodies had new hosts. Jarth took over Drew's body. Gruq's body was filled with another evil spirit.

Soon the moon was covered by a cloud. The ghosts were gone with the moon's light. They left their victims in a lost state.

"That is this tale's end!"

(Laughter heard from a far distance)....

MWAHAHAH!

Alright, alright... I began, clearing my throat and stoking the fire...

Randolph was the name. We'd crossed paths once in 8th grade; and a couple times again at the end of 12th. We were of the same class, but I was just a kid and he was... grown up somehow. It was rumored that he always kept a flame alight.

"Somekind of Signal...?" Winnie whispered, and we all thought it must be something underhand. But what? We scanned his folk's house in the distance.

"Has anyone seen it?" asked Robin, flipping the lamp abruptly. I looked out the window, three doors down. It was getting late, and I closed the sash without a sound.

"Must be 'round back," peered Toni, as Frances spat, "Dammit, why don't we just go and find out?"

Now there was no bowing out. All of us thought the guy---dressed in black with tinted glasses and perpetual noon-day shadow--- had some kind of secret pact.

Did we really want to find out? Tonight? There were seven of us and no excuse, so we took ourselves to task, suddenly aware of every leaf and twig like a death trap. Dark sweats, hoodies, and sneakers; we took one large flash and put the dog in back. Just in case. For all we knew, the creep could be a werewolf or other blood-hungry body.

It wasn't far, but the patter of our hearts and stifled breathes crippled whatever gun-ho might be had. There seemed to be fresh tracks to the porch... not quite "on" the path...

We craned our necks---joints cracking----to scan the upper windows, having always been most suspicious of the pseudo-Victorian tower atop. We waited and watched; Clocked each passing bat and tried to settle our nerves while waving away the stabs of mosquitoes and gnats.

It was dark. We didn't dare shine the flash, but suddenly to our horror the protective cloud cover lifted. Instantaneously, we were terrified to see our full length figures and lengthy shadows intruding into the yard, so blatantly marching out. A dog barked. Some lights in the downstairs parts flickered in and around. We had an impending fear of being found---a charge of trespassing would forever haunt us no doubt.

We were ready to convince each other that it was still possible to back out; that our shivering was not cowardice, only caused by the autumn evening damp; but then... we saw what it was really about... that flame, dark and suddenly out.

At first its evidence was just barely visible, a broad flash of pale light in the window tower... The apparition in slow motion turned around, looked fully down, cascading tresses... making direct eye contact. Like a zap. I met the startled sight of my sister, deathly white... Two brief screams rang out. She fell back into the darkness ... and I  

...I died from fright.

Max pushed up some loose blinds on his venetian curtain to look out his bedroom window on the second floor.  He was wondering about the white 'Friendly Floral' van, with rust along the chassis, that had been parked directly across the street from his house for three days now.  Living in the suburbs, all the cars and lawns looked similar.  Every pristine inch was expensive and cut to perfection.  Max had been staying over with his aunt Ivy for many years now, and he had gotten use to the layout of her luxurious street.  He didn't think a rusty old thing like that would come from anyone that lived in such a dyed in the wool neighborhood.  It reminded him of something he would see on his old block in Michigan.  The van was huge, but there was no windows, except for the drivers side.   

The mystery of the van really intrigued Max.  He was the sort that had to investigate anything out of the ordinary.  He made a promise to himself to get a better view of the van at night, when he was sure there were no lights on in the other houses.  Letting the blinds fall, he bounded downstairs to brush his teeth, and get ready for the day.  He had planned to bleach his hair blonde today.  He was also supposed to go jogging with his friend Lisa, and take her down to Catskills Lake, because she had never gone before.

That night, at around 2:30 AM, Max slipped out the front door, crossing the street to get a better look at the white van.  Even from a closer distant it had a dreary aura to it.  On it's body, half bathed in shadow, was a picturesque bundle of various lilies, and roses, and orchids, and hyacinth, and tulips spilling out in a lush way along the side of van.  The picture, and the phrase 'Friendly Floral' was in elegant cursive, and seemed to be a sticker of some kind that had been plastered to the van long ago.  There were streaks of dirt, here and there, along the sticker edges that made the van look ancient.  Searching in front, and behind him at the dark houses, Max cautiously ducked behind the van, and yanked at the trunk handle as fast as he could.  Oddly, the trunk was unlocked.  As Max lifted it up slowly, he saw a mess of polka-dot clothes in the darkest left corner of the van.  He also saw a pair of floppy red shoes in the other farthest corner.  There was a bad smell coming somewhere, and Max could hear flies buzzing, although he couldn't see any of them flying in the half light.  At the center of the van there was a pile of smut magazines.  On top of the magazines sat an ash-tray that was full to the brim with cigarette butts.  One of the cigarettes was still smoldering, which meant it had just recently been smoked.  Immediately Max felt a chill up his back.  On impulse he stared back at the safety of his bedroom window and instantly froze with fright.  Staring back at him, with a menacing greasepaint smile, was a clown face.  There was blue makeup around the eyes, and exaggerated expressions drawn on the face.  Thinking immediately of his aunt, he bolted towards his house to warn her.  Unfortunately, right then a group of college guys sped past him on the road.  Max was forced to stand still for a moment.  They yelled some obscenity, and tossed a bottle out their window, that he could hear breaking somewhere in the distance.  Glancing back up at his window, Max noticed with horror that the clown had disappeared from the top window!  By the time Max had made it to the front door, and slipped his key in, he heard a blood-curdling scream that changed into a liquid gurgling...

The End

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2017

Bunny Villaire