Robin’s Gruesome Giveaway

For the record, I don’t do Hallowe’en. We don’t celebrate Hallowe’en in our house, and never have. I don’t mind reading horror novels, and I have no problem with “scary” movies, though horror really isn’t my genre of choice for either. But when it comes to giving over a day to celebrate those things–no thanks. Yes, this is very much tied into my religious perspective which you can read all about on the About page. October 31 is about Reformation Day for us, not Hallwe’en.

That said, I’m a sucker for a writing challenge. Blog friend Robin Moran, who writes YA horror, participates in zombie runs, and probably quotes Stephen King in her sleep, is running a “Gruesome Giveaway” on her blog. Participants can choose one of four ways to enter, and she will select one from each entry type to win a book. One of the entry types is a 250 (or fewer) word piece of Hallowe’en-themed flash fiction. I love a writing challenge, and what could be more of a challenge than writing a story based on something I don’t celebrate? So, here’s my entry to Robin’s giveaway:

Trick or Treat

The long blade was not exactly appropriate for chopping fruit, but it was all Daniel could find. Besides, he was more interested in Andrea, listening intently to his story, than the mix of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries in front of him.

“So there we were, standing at the door—I can’t have been more than eight—in my Spiderman costume. Randy was Captain America, I think. Anyway, we hold up our baskets and shout, ‘Trick or treat!’ The door opens, and in front of us is this guy waving a knife, blood dripping off the blade—I swear, you couldn’t see us for dust. We screamed and ran.”

Andrea was wide-eyed. “Who was it?”

“I have no idea,” Daniel said, turning back to a particularly large and juicy strawberry. He couldn’t resist popping half of it in his mouth.

“Stop that,” said Andrea. “Those are for later!”

The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” said Daniel, stealing a blueberry.

“Hey!” Andrea reached for his hand, but he had already gone.

She heard the shout of “Trick or treat!” while she started cleaning up.

Then she heard the scream.

She dropped the cutting board and ran to the door.

“What’s going on?”

Daniel was frozen, staring into the night. He still had the knife in his hand, red drops of fruit juice running down the handle.

“Daniel?” Andrea tried again.

“Spiderman,” Daniel murmured. Then a little louder: “It was Spiderman. And Captain America.”

There you are, Robin–I hope you enjoyed that. If anyone wants to participate, visit Robin’s giveaway blog article, and add the link to your entry in the comments.