By Harlow Berny

Hello! Here is the 2nd-place winner of the Halloween Short Horror Story Competition written by Marianne Capetz! It was a tough choice, but ultimately the Masked Rabbit and his story “The Darkness” won 1st place, and Erik Bearman came in 3rd place with his story “Cobwebs.” Enjoy!

The Child

By Marianne Capetz

Miss Alice Wittlebee was a very normal woman; in fact, she was possibly the most normal person in her apartment complex. Everyday she got up at 5:30 on the dot and had a cup of tea with one sugar. She would then sit by her window and read until it was too dark to see the pages. Everyday without fail she followed her routine, until one afternoon she heard a sharp knock on the door. Miss Alice slowly got up and walked to the door. When she opened it, a small face was peering up at her
“I don’t want to buy anything,” Miss Alice snapped at the wide eyed child. The child continued to silently stare at her. Something about this child perturbed her; perhaps it was the odd way the child’s eyes seemed to dilate. Miss Alice quickly dismissed this absurd idea. This child was nothing but a small disruption in her day. She turned to ask the child if it was lost, but before she could say anything the child began to speak.
“Hello Alice. Did you miss me?” the child’s head tilted slightly and its eyes seemed to widen.

Rather taken back by the child’s words Miss Alice responded, “Miss you? Child, I’ve never seen you in my life.” She watched the child’s mesmerizing eyes continue to expand.
“Did you miss me?” The child asked again. Miss Alice rubbed her eyes as the child’s eyes had grown even more.
“Please leave, I have much to do today and cannot be bothered.” Miss Alice said with a slight waver in her voice. She went to leave, but stopped. Her feet suddenly felt very heavy and sat like cinder blocks on the ground. She turned once more to glance at the strange child. She quickly found that she could not move her eyes away from the child. Miss Alice was trapped by the unwavering gaze of the peculiar child.
Miss Alice had never had such a bizarre experience. Nor did she expect to be caught by the stare of this child. As the child’s eyes grew, the room began to change. The walls became white and plush and the floor began to soften. Her arms were encased by something warm and secure. Miss Alice slowly sank to the cushioned floor. She looked around the room and saw that the child had disappeared. She tried to free her ams from the strange item pinning them to her body, but found she was stuck. Her escape efforts began to become more and more frantic. She was so focused on her attempt to free her arms that she didn’t notice the woman enter the room. She didn’t even feel the needle prick her skin, until she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
The nurse carefully removed the needle from Patient #48 and set it on the metal tray that she had rolled in earlier. She picked up the large folder sitting on the table and quickly jotted down some notes. She looked at Alice and sighed; Patient #48 seemed to be getting better. She was so close to being released back into society. The nurse shook her head and walked out. All the patients on her floor had been complaining about an encounter with a strange child before they would relapse into insanity again. She told the other nurses about these complaints, but no one had believed her. Lost in thought she turned down the hall and was shocked to see a small child standing by the door.
“Hello Jane. Did you miss me?”

Editor: Luke Langlois