DEVIL MOON: A MYSTIC ROMANCE
Excerpt:
“Run, Maddie, run!”
Setting: Beaver Cove High School, Arkansas—Haunted Forest Carnival
Characters:
Maddie Harris: Assistant Principal is dressed as Morticia Adams
Wade Finn: local drug dealer is selling pot in the hill behind the school
Lucifer: Wade’s big, black lab
When she escaped out a side door, brisk evening air filled her lungs. A bright orange harvest moon cast a pumpkin glow in the All Hallow's Eve night sky. Grateful to be several yards away from the crowded Haunted Forest trail, she found herself near the wooded edge of the gym and looked about for somewhere to sit down and rest her weary feet. Thinking she'd surely find a fallen log or large boulder in the near vicinity, she minced her way up the hill into the trees. Holding onto her wig and cape was a trick, but she managed fairly well, despite the wind that rustled through the barren branches and made whipping sounds appropriate for Halloween.
Unfortunately, the crackling forest noises hid the hushed undertones of human voices. Keeping her concentration on the ground, Maddie didn't stop walking until she saw scuffed boots and jeans come into view. She pushed dangling black hair out of her eyes and looked up to see Wade and a couple of kids standing before her. A big, black dog with yellow eyes gazed at her.
Focused on plastic baggies in the kids' hands, Maddie immediately recognized a drug deal. Angry indignation sparked fearless confrontation. "Wade Finn, I don't care if you're related to every police officer between here and Bentonville, I am not going to allow you to come on this campus and do your dirty dealings."
The kids lit out in a flash. Wade took a moment to focus in on her. Then he smiled a big, predatory wolfish grin and began taking slow steps in her direction.
"Gosh, Miz Bailey, your timing couldn't be better. I was just ready to close up shop and come a callin' for you. I've been hankering for a real sweet piece of Halloween candy like you."
Good grief, what kind of mess had she gotten herself into this time? A rush of fear-and-flight adrenaline hit her blood stream. She turned on her heels and began running as fast as her tight dress would allow.
Wade barked, "Get her, Lucifer."
Maddie glanced over her shoulder to see the huge hound from hell rise out of the shadows and lope in her direction.
Love a duck, as Grammy would say.
Pure panic propelled her as she bent down and pulled up the imprisoning hem of her dress as high as it would go. Her screams rang in the air, mingled with the periodic taped screams pouring through the loud speakers. The dog seemed sure of the kill and kept a steady pace with her as she zig-zagged down the hill and then stumbled onto the blacktop of the parking lot. The entrance of the Haunted Forest loomed before her and she dashed for the safety of civilization.
"Help! It's going to get me!" she yelled.
People lined up to enter the outdoor maze moved out of her way and smiled as she entered the path.
"Isn't that the drama teacher's new wife? This must be part of the show."
"Oh, look," one lady said. "There's a trained dog pretending to track her down."
Maddie screamed and clawed her way through the trail. Lucifer growled and bared his teeth as he closed in on her. Following the man-made tunnel of prison-like walls, Maddie began destroying the displays, seeking any obstacle that might impede the murderous canine's pursuit. She pelted him with jack-o-lanterns, bleeding heads and a life-sized cardboard likeness of Freddie Kruger. At one point, Lucifer gripped the back of her dress with his teeth, eliciting a huge yelp from her throat and a round of applause from her growing audience. Her dress ripped, freeing her legs slightly. She grabbed the annoying wig from her head and threw it in the dog's face, temporarily blinding him.
She turned to the crowd and yelled, "What is wrong with you people? Won't any of you help me?'
But seeing the now bewigged dog shaking his head was so amusing that people just laughed and Maddie took off again. Lucifer grew more agitated and began a fierce barking that brought terror to her bones. The phony walls of the path offered her no protection from the demon close on her heels. Blindly, she rounded a corner straight into a massive, spider web display.
"Ahh!" She tore at the engulfing sticky strings.
That did it. Total panic. The dog barked and backed her into a corner. Phony, spider threads tangled across her face and arms. Her breath came in sharp gasps and her head started buzzing.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God," she muttered as the world spun.
A sharp whistle followed by a crisp command silenced the dog. "Down, boy."
Maddie felt wiry arms grab her. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was Wade Finn’s snarky grin.
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