The Hollow

The Hollow

" I'm scared, " Sarah says, looking around at the trees. Empty branches reach out of the darkness like skeletal hands. Those hands scratched and tore at our costumes as we ran here. I lost my warrior's shield, Sarah lost her cat ears, we lost our flashlights and most of our candy, and Jake's ghost costume is in tatters.

I'm just as terrified as Sarah. It's all I can do not to curl up and cover my face till morning, but I have to take care of Jake. “ There's nothing to be scared of, " I say. " It's just the Hollow. We walk by it every day. " " Every day, yes, but this is Halloween night, " Sarah whines. “ You know the Hollow is haunted. They say if you play in these woods, some kids will come play with you- and they never let you leave. You become a ghost like them. That's why you don't go in the Hollow. " " Stop it-you're scaring Jake, " I say.

" Are the ghosts going to get Odie?" Jake asks, looking up at me. He'd insisted on bringing his wiener dog trick-or-treating with us. As we walked by the Hollow, Odie heard something move in the forest and bolted into the darkness. Jake chased Odie, I chased Jake, and my friend Sarah chased me. " Are the ghosts going to get us?" " No way, little bro. There's no such thing as ghosts. " Jake doesn't look as if he believes me. " Let's just find Odie and go home. " We start walking, stopping every few minutes to untangle Jake's costume from the branches. Strange sounds follow us. The whispering of movement in the dead leaves on the ground. The creak of branches. A snapping twig. My nerves are just about to snap when we hear it: a faint barking. " It's Odie! " Jake starts to run. Sarah and I run after him, our hands up to protect our faces from the trees' claws. Suddenly, we burst into a clearing where nothing grows except for a gnarled thornbush.

The moon gives the place a cold glow. It's strangely quiet. Sarah's eyes are wide, and she's shaking. We wait in silence. Then, we hear the laughing, distant at first, but growing louder. Suddenly, a boy of about Jake's age appears from behind the bush, laughing and running. He wears pants bunched up just below his knees, long socks, and a large, stained white shirt. Sarah screams.

" Odie! " Jake takes off toward the bush. Odie jumps from behind it, sees Jake, and starts running toward him. The two meet in the middle of the clearing, and Jake hugs Odie so tightly that I think the dog might burst. " Thank you for finding our dog, " I say to the boy. The boy nods. Up close, I see that his skin is very pale, he has black circles around his eyes, and he looks very hungry.