Spectre: Halloween Special
~ I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven~
Luke 10:18
There was a time during the last century that the town was a stereotypical example of rural America. The town was filled with white picket fences block upon block. Everyone congregated to the local church and extended outside its halls into their houses. There was an aroma of apple pie in the wind and kids laughter scattered aloud randomly. For those that lived in Liberty Hills, Nevada, this was the American dream.
One day the sun had set in the town only for it not to rise again. It had become a fading memory to many. To some just a myth. Whatever happened to the town things were never the same again. No one had graced the town since that day. No one but the Spectre.
The Spectre walked into the dilapidated town, his green cloak dragging upon the streets that hosted many of parades and town festivals in its time. Disrepair and ruin lingered throughout as far as he could see. He came up onto a school playground where rot had eaten away at the seats of the swing set while rust had choked the metal chains that suspended it. He closed his eyes, ignoring the wretched noise of death when the wind blew upon the swings to only remember the laughter that once filled the seat.
"Hello," a voice uttered. "You want to play?"
The Spectre opened his eyes to see the apparition smile before him. She was a young girl with pig-tails, no more than seven, with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Her color in her cheeks solidified a deep red as if they had never left her. Others appeared on the playground laughing and screaming with immense joy on the playground, not knowing the fate that had consumed the town long ago.
"What is your name, little one?" Spectre asked.
"My name is Amanda," she replied quickly. "Amanda Johnson. My daddy is the mayor."
"It seems that you have plenty of friends to play with here, Amanda Johnson." The Spectre could see nothing but the innocence in the girl before him, which made what happened long ago a greater travesty. "How come you are not playing with the others?"
The young girl smiled. "My brother is in the nurses station. They said he was sick. I think he has a cold. He keeps coughing. I guess the others do no want to get sick, but I am healthy."
"How long has your brother been sick?"
Amanda shrugged. "He only got sick today. I thought it was my daddy that would get sick though."
"Why do you think your daddy would get sick and not your brother?"
"He hasn't been acting the same. Has not played with me in a couple of days."
"Does he play with you often?"
"All the time," she smiled.
"Can I ask you another question?" Spectre asked.
"Yes, sir," smiled Amanda.
"Have you noticed anything different in town?"
Amanda thought deeply, her face contorting to various different angles as she searched for an answer. "Nothing I can think of, sir. There was a new person that came into town though. She had these tattoos on her hand that looked like a flower."
"How long ago did this happen?"
"The same day my daddy stopped playing with me."
The Spectre smile vanished as he looked down the street deeper into town. It was as if the town itself was pleading for vindication. The school bell rang and as young Amanda Johnson ran back with her classmates, a piece of her broke off and fluttered away. Piece by piece would be blown away from them all as if they were made of dust until nothing remained of them but a memory within the Spectre. The children of the school all died from a strand of small pox. He could smell it the moment the apparition spoke to him. They had not caused the death of the town, but did succumb to its tragedy and the Spectre knew he would have to go deeper into the town to discover the origin of the calling.
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