Trick-Or-Treat

Halloween is a strange holiday, filled with costumes, crazy decorations, but tons of candy. Normally, I wouldn’t celebrate Halloween but that was a year ago before this happened to me. Exactly one year ago to this day, I’ve been like this. My body is distorted in several places, my eyes bloodshot and crazy, bald spots in my hair, everything about me is messed up. I look like a zombie. I’ve been in hiding for the whole time, not wanting anyone to find me, only going out at night to get scraps of food people have thrown away. How did this happen to me? One day I was a normal kid, living with my perfect family and the next, I’m burning in a fire, screams of horror reaching my ears. My screams.

I had gone to spend the summer with my grandparents in Florida when we had a head-on collision with a semi. Unfortunately, that truck was transporting gasoline, so upon impact, my world went up into flames. I don’t remember what happened after that but I do remember waking up in the woods, a glass sphere in my hands.

The sphere was a burning orange color with flames licking at the clear walls of its cage. At first, I didn’t know what to do with it but I kept it with me. My face was burned, my hair was singed. I was a mess. As I stumbled out of the woods, following the sound of sirens, I looked up. Police cars and ambulances surrounded the scene of the accident. Creeping along the edge of a police car, I caught sight of my reflection in one of the side mirrors. A scream escaped my mouth. I didn’t even look human. My normal brown eyes had been replaced with glowing orange spheres. Firery orange spheres.

“No, no, no, no,” I stumbled backward into the woods and tripped over a root.

When I hit the ground, flames sprung up in a circle around me, quickly spreading out and burning the woods around me. I lifted my hand towards the flames and they stood still as if they were waiting for my command.

“Stop.” the word had power. The flames quivered for a moment and then they went grew smaller and smaller until they sputtered out.

These thoughts filled my head as I climbed the steps to the first house, jack-o-lantern in hand. I knocked on the door and it swung open a second later.

“Hey, kiddo,” the man smiled and dumped a generous amount of candy into my bucket.

“Happy Halloween!”

“Thanks, you too,” I smiled back at him.

“Ooh, I like your eyes,” he pointed out.

“They’re special contacts I ordered off Amazon,” I lied as I walked back down the steps.

“They’re cool.” With that, he shut the door and I continued on to the next house.

Bang bang. I knocked on the door and waited.

“Go away, I don’t got no candy for you, brat,” a grouchy old man opened the door and growled at me.

“Trick or treat,” I said anyways.

“I already told you, I don’t got no candy!” he snapped.

“I guess it’s a trick then,” I smiled. “I like your hedges.”

“Ahh, yes,” his face softened at the mention of his pride and joy. “It took me several weeks

to get them looking that good.”

“It’d be a shame if anything was to happen to them,” I turned and extended my hand towards them.

“What are ya doin?” he was scared.

“Ignite,” I commanded. Flames sprung up at the base of the hedge, quickly spreading upwards, burning everything in a matter of second.

“Wha!?” he was confused, upset, and really scared. He raised his cane to wack me but I

stepped backward.

“You didn’t give me a treat, so I gave you a treat!” I laughed. I turned and jogged down the sidewalk to the next house. I could hear him yelling at someone to call the fire department.

“Hello, you want some candy?” a younger woman opened the door at the next house.

“Yes, please,” I smiled innocently.

“Here you go!” she gave me a big handful. “I love your costume by the way.”

“Thanks,” I answered.

If only they knew.