• tab The night was clear and cloudless, yet slightly on the chilly side, which was best for Halloween Daryl decided as he and his two buddies walked down the sidewalk. Tom and Brian were walking side by side ahead of him, laughing and joking about a girl that Brian had talked to at the Halloween party, but Daryl fell behind, thinking only of the night. A breeze blew, stirring the orange and red leaves still in the trees, making shadows dance in the loom of the streetlamps. Stray leaves ran and twisted about along the sidewalk, making rustling sounds as they went. Daryl looked up at the sky. It was completely dark. Most people say that the scariest thing that could happen on Halloween was the moon be full, but Daryl disagreed. In his opinion, the scariest thing that could happen on Halloween was a new moon, an invisible moon; its surface was masked with the shadow of the Earth. A new moon meant everything was darker than usual, the shadows took more control.
    tab “The way she dresses at school, you’d never know she was hot,” Brian was saying to Tom loudly. Daryl tuned back into the conversation.
    tab Tom laughed, “Yeah, I know, man. That skimpy witch’s outfit totally took everybody by surprised. She was watching you all night though. You should totally ask her out on Monday.”
    tab “I don’t know. I’ve liked Lea for years, man, but I’ve never had the nerve to ask her out. Especially after tonight! Every guy at school with a brain in his skull is going to be trying to hook up with her,” Brian was saying. “Right, Daryl?”
    tab “Probably,” Daryl said half-heartedly. He didn’t really care about the conversation.
    tab “You’ve been quiet, man. What’s up?” Tom asked, stopping and turning to him.
    tab “Nothing. Just enjoying the night,” Daryl said, motioning to the darkness that was chased away by the single streetlamp they stood under.
    tab “Yeah, right. I think you’re just trying to be a party pooper,” Brian laughed.
    tab “Umm.. No?” Daryl made the statement sound like a question. “Aren’t you supposed to look into the shadows and expect something to jump out at you on Halloween?”
    tab “You’re just being a party pooper. If you were really into darkness scene, I bet you’d do something more dangerous than walk down a lit street,” Tom grinned mischievously.
    tab “Like what?” Daryl asked, irritated by both of them.
    tab “Like go spend the night in a graveyard,” Tom grinned, nudging Brian, who was nodding in agreement.
    tab “Yeah, but we have to make sure he’s staying in the graveyard and not just walking through it and going home,” Brian said.
    tab “Who said I was agreeing to this?” Daryl asked, trying to interrupt the two, but they ignored him.
    tab “I have an idea,” Tom said. “You have to find the oldest gravestone in the cemetery and spend the night on it.” They both looked at Daryl.
    tab Daryl looked from one to the other of them, contemplating the situation. He did just want to enjoy the night, enjoy the suspense the holiday brought, but he couldn’t do it with these two knuckleheads. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? There’s no such thing as ghosts and werewolves, after all.
    tab “Fine. Give me your flash light,” Daryl said to Tom, who was wearing his dad’s policeman’s uniform as a costume for the night.
    tab “He doesn’t need a flashlight, man,” Brian said. “He’s supposed to be ‘enjoying the night’ or whatever, remember?”
    tab “How else is he going to see the dates on the gravestones, idiot?“ Tom took the flashlight from his belt and handed it to Daryl. “We’ll walk with you to the cemetery,” He said.
    tab The three boys walked in silence to the end of the block, then took a right. They followed the sidewalk until it ended at the last house, located on a cul de sac which was otherwise empty of buildings. Across the cul de sac from the house was a worn path that disappeared into the overgrown brush. This cemetery was the old one; no one was buried here anymore. There were two newer cemeteries across town that were currently in use.
    tab They walked single-file down the path, Daryl in front since he carried the flash light. The path winded along through the trees. The brush seemed to grow thicker the further into the woods they went. Finally, the path ended with an wrought iron gate, the fence stretching in either direction into the trees. Daryl swept the light though the bars of the gate, taking in a first glance of the cemetery before turning back to the other two.
    tab “Come to my house in the morning,” Tom said. “Sleep tight.” He grinned an evil little grin before he and Brian turned and headed back up the path and into the dark. Daryl wondered if they’d be able to find their way back without the flash light, but didn’t really care enough to ask.
    tab Daryl pushed on the gate. It swung open with a creak of rust and not being used. Daryl debated whether to close the gate back behind him, but decided to leave it open incase he did need to make a quick escape. He took a few steps into the ancient cemetery. He shone the beam of the flashlight around, taking in his surroundings. There were lines of tall headstones and monuments. Daryl decided just to find the oldest one and get it over with. He started with the ones in front of him and decided to work his way to the right, looking at the dates of death.
    tab 1884, 1897, 1900, 1899, 1843, 1865, 1903, 1870... He continued moving down the line quickly, glancing at the numbers on each stone. Numbers, they were just numbers. He didn’t want to think too hard about what he was doing, so it was easier to pretend it was something else he was looking for. He’s just looking for the lowest number on stones. No, he’s not walking over dead bodies, people who have been dead for over a century. Just numbers and stone and cold air.
    tab He continued his circle of the cemetery toward the right, and then toward the back. They were all 1800s. He hadn’t seen anything lower than that. The oldest headstone he’d seen was 1819, but nothing older than that. He decided to make a circle of the entire cemetery, then make his way back to that one if he failed to find one older.
    tab Then, he decided he wouldn’t need to. The back left corner seemed to be the oldest section of the graveyard. The dates stretched down into the 1770s, so old that the numbers were barely visible. The rain and wind had worn them down to barely inset from the rest of the stone.
    tab 1765. Daryl decided that was good enough, and plopped himself down on the cold ground in front of the stone. He leaned his back against it, moving the flashlight to get a feel for his surroundings. This gravestone was the last on the row, right next to the black fence. There were gravestones in front of and beside him.
    tab Daryl pulled his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around them, trying to keep himself warm. He huddled up, rested his head on his arms, the flashlight cold against his face, but reassuring because it was still on. Daryl was surprised by how quickly he fell asleep.
    tab Daryl awoke to the sound of footsteps in the leaves. It was still dark outside; he wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep. The footsteps seemed to be growing louder and closer, but Daryl swung the flashlight around him and could see nothing. He stood up, looking all around him with the beam of the light chasing off the darkness.
    tab He turned in a complete circle, looking all the way around him. Just as he turned to the way he was facing to begin with, a figure stepped out from behind the tall headstone in front of him.
    tab “Who are you?” Daryl’s voice was shaky with surprise.
    tab “I am sorry. I did not mean to startle you, boy. But I am asking the questions. What are you doing in my graveyard?” The figure said. He worse a long, brown cape that pinned at the chin of the hood and seemed to cover every visible inch of the man. Daryl couldn’t even see the man’s face clearly.
    tab “It was just a Halloween prank. My friends dared me to stay the night in the cemetery,” Daryl said, his voice still uneven and unsure. Maybe this was the groundskeeper who’d seen them come to the graveyard.
    tab “The dead simply want to rest, boy, and you disturb them,” The man said in the husky voice that only old men have. “You should not have come.”
    tab “I’m sorry, sir,” Daryl said. “I didn’t mean any harm. I’ll just leave now.” He tried to edge his way around the man so he could make a break for the gate.
    tab “No. It is too late for that,” The figure said. He turned slightly, and Daryl could see he was hiding something behind his back. The way the folds of the cloak fell, it was difficult to tell where the man’s hands were supposed to be, much less where they actually were. The man pulled his hand forward. He held a harvester.
    tab “You must stay here now, boy,” He said, shifting the weight of the harvester to hold it in both hands. The curved blade shown in the beam from the flashlight.
    tab “No, I should be getting home,” Daryl said, scared now.
    tab “That is not possible,” The man said, lifting the harvester high and swinging it downward at Daryl. Daryl instinctively covered his face with his arms in protection.

    tab Daryl awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. The sun was already high in the sky which let him guess it was late morning already. The cemetery was just that--a cemetery. No dark figure, no shadows. Just stones covered in red and yellow leaves.
    tab Daryl stood, his back killing him from sleeping in a curled up sitting position all night. He stretched, cracking his back, and started jogging toward the gate. He was glad to see it was still cracked open from the night before. He ran up the path to the road and back to the safety of the sidewalk.
    tab He walked briskly toward Tom’s house, his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans. He could feel the handle of the flashlight in his back pocket. He pulled his hood over his head to keep his ears warm from the autumn breeze that blew.
    tab Finally, Daryl got to Tom’s house and let himself in as he always did on Saturday mornings. He and Tom had been friends for years, so Tom’s mother new him well enough to tell him to just let himself in so she wouldn’t be bothered with having to answer the door.
    tab “Its just me, Mrs. Davis,” Daryl called into the house as he closed the front door behind him. He bounded up the stairs toward Tom’s room, but stopped when he got to the hallway. He heard Tom’s anxious voice talking quickly. It took Daryl a second to realize Tom was on the phone.
    tab “Yeah, I know, man, but its already one o’clock in the afternoon! I figured Daryl would be here by now,” Tom said. He paused, obviously listening to someone’s response, probably Brian’s.
    tab “I thought he was just screwing with us too, but I called his house and his mom said he isn’t home either, so where is he?” Tom sounded really scared.
    tab Daryl shrugged. He’d just slept in at the cemetery, no big deal. He walked into Tom’s room.
    tab “Here I am, man. I just slept in. I guess sleeping against a headstone is really restful or something,” Daryl grinned his sideways grin, but Tom didn’t respond. He just stood there with the phone to his ear.
    tab “I think we should go down to the cemetery and look for him, Brian. You can clean the garage any time. This is important,” Tom said.
    tab “Dude, I’m right here. Didn’t you hear me?” Daryl asked.
    tab “Ok, meet me at the corner in five,” Tom said, hanging up. He walked out his bedroom door, right past Daryl without even looking at him.
    tab Daryl paused, confused. He looked around, trying to figure out if Tom was just playing a trick on him or something. Or…
    tab He realized something just wasn’t right. Directly across from Tom’s bedroom door in the hallway was a mirror hanging on the wall. Daryl was standing in Tom’s doorway, looking at the mirror, but the reflection showed only an empty doorway.
    tab The cogs turned in Daryl’s head.
    tab “Oh, s**t,” He whispered.