The Shadow

by Mike Fontanini

        It was a dark, summer night. The moon was full. Tom and his friend Bill were headed to Tom's house after an evening of video games at Bill's house. The street was deserted, not a sound could be heard other than their quiet conversation. Their conversation was often interrupted as they heard sounds and felt chills run down their spines. They began to walk faster, pushed along by their unseen fear.
        Suddenly, they heard a crash to their right. They both screamed with fright as they gazed quickly to the right. They saw a black cat running across a yard, and the trash can at the end of that yard's driveway lay on the ground.
        "Stupid cat", muttered Bill.
        "Startled me good", added Tom.
        They continued walking towards Tom's house. They were now half way between their houses. They noticed the air seemed suddenly cold, and that a breeze had come up. In the distance they saw flashes of lightning. They heard faint, grumbling claps of thunder. They watched as the clouds covered the moon with their eerie silhouettes. Soon the moon was gone from view. All they could see was the approaching storm. They knew the storm must be coming up on them with great speed, and they couldn't make it to either of their houses in time. They were in the middle of town. They were at the road that led to the old, abandoned house that lay deserted atop its hill.
        "Should we go wait out the storm in the abandoned house?", Bill asked Tom.
        "I don't know," replied Tom, "we're supposed to stay away from that house anyway."
        "Well, we have to take shelter somewhere.", Bill said.
        They decided hesitantly to wait out the storm in the abandoned house. Slowly they walked up the path to the house, the wind whistling through the leafless branches of the trees along the path. They opened the door and went inside just as the sky opened up and released a deluge of rain.
        They looked around. They saw only cobwebs and old pieces of furniture left behind by the last people who had owned the old house. They explored the house, but always stayed close, bound together by a common fear. The old house groaned terribly in the storm's relentless winds. They looked out a window to see if the storm was about to let up, but unfortunately they could tell that it was only beginning. As they gazed into the endless darkness of the night, they watched as a bolt of lightning split the sky in two and was followed by the low growl of a mercilous clap of thunder.
        They continued to explore the old, dilapidated house. They found themselves in a room with no left over furniture. Tom wandered into a dark corner of the room. Bill looked up frantically as he heard Tom scream. Tom's scream seemed to have come from the dark shadow in the corner of the room. Bill went to the corner of the room, but found nothing. Upon closer examination of the area, Bill discovered a trap door in the floor. Strangely, he noted that the trap door opened upward rather than downward, therefore Tom could not have simply stepped on the door and fallen through. Bill also knew that Tom would not have opened the door without asking him first. This frightened Bill because it suggested that they weren't alone in the house.
        Bill slowly and carefully opened the dusty trap door. He looked into the hole, but saw nothing but black. He could hear faint yells from Tom. Bill wasn't going to go down the hole after Tom because it was too risky. He wasn't sure if Tom was hurt or not. Then Bill suddenly realized that the trap door probably led to the basement, so he left the room and found the stairs leading to the basement. As he descended the stairs, he could once again hear Tom's faint cries for help. As Bill looked around the basement, he noticed a strange shaft going through the room at approximately a 45 degree angle. The shaft seemed to meet the ceiling just below where the trap door was. Bill concluded that the shaft entrance was the trap door. He then noticed that where the shaft descended beneath the floor, there was a set of stairs. He slowly went down them.
        As he went down, he brushed cobwebs away. As Bill continued down the stairs, Tom's cries became louder. When Bill reached the bottom, he could see Tom across the room, but there was something odd. There was a strange shape in one of the shadows. Bill realized that he had a flashlight in his bag that he had put there in case they needed it on their way back to Tom's house. He took out the flashlight and pointed it toward Tom. Bill began to walk over to Tom.
        "Watch out!", Tom warned, his voice trembling.
        "For what?", Bill asked.
        Suddenly they heard a screech. They both turned and Bill pointed his flashlight at the place that the sound had seemed to have eminated from. They looked at each other, their eyes full of horror. There was a slimy creature with long, yellow teeth and long, gooey tentacles. It attempted to capture them with its tentacles. Bill pulled out his pocket knife and cut the tentacles. Tom and Bill then ran up the stairs and into the basement. From there, they continued to ascend up into the living room. There, they stopped to rest. Seconds later, a flash of lightning lit up the room and revealed that the monster was right behind them. Bill took the piece of cloth off of one of the chairs in the room and lit it on fire with a match. He let the flames engulf a good fifth of the cloth and then threw it at the monster. Bill's second attempt to stun the creature failed. The creature flung the cloth off with one of its two long, gooey tentacles. The cloth landed near the wall. Bill and Tom retreated into the next room. Tom looked out the window and noticed that the storm had let up. The burning cloth in the other room had started the wall on fire and the flames were spreading. Tom and Bill kicked the window out and ran down the path a good distance from the house. They stopped for a few seconds to catch their breath, and they glanced back at the house. Flames were slowly engulfing the old, creaking building. They could hear the creature's loud screeches as it burned to death, but they turned and ran.
        They got back to the street and continued on to Tom's house. They stayed there all night long trying to comprehend what had happened.
        The next morning as they were eating their breakfast, they watched the news. A story came on about the abandoned house. They said that it had burnt to the ground. They showed a picture of a tree near the house that had been struck by lightning. The cause of the fire was ruled to be a lightning strike. Tom and Bill looked at each other and smiled. They were the only ones who knew and would ever know that the house did not burn down as a result of a lightning strike. They were just glad to have survived. Tom thanked Bill for saving his life, and the experience made them better friends. They decided that they would tell no one of what had happened. It remained their secret.

Go Back to Writing Hompage

Home	Links	Games	Writing	Reviews	Authors
	The Shadow by Mike Fontanini
	It was a dark, summer night. The moon was full. Tom and his friend Bill were headed to Tom's house after an evening of video games at Bill's house. The street was deserted, not a sound could be heard other than their quiet conversation. Their conversation was often interrupted as they heard sounds and felt chills run down their spines. They began to walk faster, pushed along by their unseen fear. Suddenly, they heard a crash to their right. They both screamed with fright as they gazed quickly to the right. They saw a black cat running across a yard, and the trash can at the end of that yard's driveway lay on the ground. "Stupid cat", muttered Bill. "Startled me good", added Tom. They continued walking towards Tom's house. They were now half way between their houses. They noticed the air seemed suddenly cold, and that a breeze had come up. In the distance they saw flashes of lightning. They heard faint, grumbling claps of thunder. They watched as the clouds covered the moon with their eerie silhouettes. Soon the moon was gone from view. All they could see was the approaching storm. They knew the storm must be coming up on them with great speed, and they couldn't make it to either of their houses in time. They were in the middle of town. They were at the road that led to the old, abandoned house that lay deserted atop its hill. "Should we go wait out the storm in the abandoned house?", Bill asked Tom. "I don't know," replied Tom, "we're supposed to stay away from that house anyway." "Well, we have to take shelter somewhere.", Bill said. They decided hesitantly to wait out the storm in the abandoned house. Slowly they walked up the path to the house, the wind whistling through the leafless branches of the trees along the path. They opened the door and went inside just as the sky opened up and released a deluge of rain. They looked around. They saw only cobwebs and old pieces of furniture left behind by the last people who had owned the old house. They explored the house, but always stayed close, bound together by a common fear. The old house groaned terribly in the storm's relentless winds. They looked out a window to see if the storm was about to let up, but unfortunately they could tell that it was only beginning. As they gazed into the endless darkness of the night, they watched as a bolt of lightning split the sky in two and was followed by the low growl of a mercilous clap of thunder. They continued to explore the old, dilapidated house. They found themselves in a room with no left over furniture. Tom wandered into a dark corner of the room. Bill looked up frantically as he heard Tom scream. Tom's scream seemed to have come from the dark shadow in the corner of the room. Bill went to the corner of the room, but found nothing. Upon closer examination of the area, Bill discovered a trap door in the floor. Strangely, he noted that the trap door opened upward rather than downward, therefore Tom could not have simply stepped on the door and fallen through. Bill also knew that Tom would not have opened the door without asking him first. This frightened Bill because it suggested that they weren't alone in the house. Bill slowly and carefully opened the dusty trap door. He looked into the hole, but saw nothing but black. He could hear faint yells from Tom. Bill wasn't going to go down the hole after Tom because it was too risky. He wasn't sure if Tom was hurt or not. Then Bill suddenly realized that the trap door probably led to the basement, so he left the room and found the stairs leading to the basement. As he descended the stairs, he could once again hear Tom's faint cries for help. As Bill looked around the basement, he noticed a strange shaft going through the room at approximately a 45 degree angle. The shaft seemed to meet the ceiling just below where the trap door was. Bill concluded that the shaft entrance was the trap door. He then noticed that where the shaft descended beneath the floor, there was a set of stairs. He slowly went down them. As he went down, he brushed cobwebs away. As Bill continued down the stairs, Tom's cries became louder. When Bill reached the bottom, he could see Tom across the room, but there was something odd. There was a strange shape in one of the shadows. Bill realized that he had a flashlight in his bag that he had put there in case they needed it on their way back to Tom's house. He took out the flashlight and pointed it toward Tom. Bill began to walk over to Tom. "Watch out!", Tom warned, his voice trembling. "For what?", Bill asked. Suddenly they heard a screech. They both turned and Bill pointed his flashlight at the place that the sound had seemed to have eminated from. They looked at each other, their eyes full of horror. There was a slimy creature with long, yellow teeth and long, gooey tentacles. It attempted to capture them with its tentacles. Bill pulled out his pocket knife and cut the tentacles. Tom and Bill then ran up the stairs and into the basement. From there, they continued to ascend up into the living room. There, they stopped to rest. Seconds later, a flash of lightning lit up the room and revealed that the monster was right behind them. Bill took the piece of cloth off of one of the chairs in the room and lit it on fire with a match. He let the flames engulf a good fifth of the cloth and then threw it at the monster. Bill's second attempt to stun the creature failed. The creature flung the cloth off with one of its two long, gooey tentacles. The cloth landed near the wall. Bill and Tom retreated into the next room. Tom looked out the window and noticed that the storm had let up. The burning cloth in the other room had started the wall on fire and the flames were spreading. Tom and Bill kicked the window out and ran down the path a good distance from the house. They stopped for a few seconds to catch their breath, and they glanced back at the house. Flames were slowly engulfing the old, creaking building. They could hear the creature's loud screeches as it burned to death, but they turned and ran. They got back to the street and continued on to Tom's house. They stayed there all night long trying to comprehend what had happened. The next morning as they were eating their breakfast, they watched the news. A story came on about the abandoned house. They said that it had burnt to the ground. They showed a picture of a tree near the house that had been struck by lightning. The cause of the fire was ruled to be a lightning strike. Tom and Bill looked at each other and smiled. They were the only ones who knew and would ever know that the house did not burn down as a result of a lightning strike. They were just glad to have survived. Tom thanked Bill for saving his life, and the experience made them better friends. They decided that they would tell no one of what had happened. It remained their secret. Go Back to Writing Hompage