Dead Kid's Hill

THE LEGEND: Young Danny Thompson was about nine when it happened. It was a many years ago, probably before even your parents were born. Nobody's certain when it happened, but we know it was before they put up the sign. Back then, the hill was called The Drew Kidman pass, because the guy who owned it was named Drew Kidman. No one is really sure why he bought. Some people say that he took the hill and turned it into a beautiful park attraction. Others say he was a serial killer and used the hill to bury the bodies. One thing we do know, was that he treasured that hill. He wouldn't allow anybody on it, fearing it might damage the grass, or someone would unearth one of the bodies, or for whatever reason. However, he couldn't always catch the kids playing on it, so part of the game would be to stay on as long as you could before Kidman caught you.

Anyway, that was on of the days after the blizzard. Piles and piles of snow as far as the eye could see. Adults were naturally upset, because it meant shoveling walks, scraping cars and slipping on ice and all that other stuff. However, to their kids, it meant nothing short of a perfect day. Legend has it that school was out for weeks, and all the kids were out, making snowmen and having snowball fights and all the usual snow day activities.

However, for Danny Thompson, the snow meant one thing. Sledding! Legend says that Danny was the greatest sledder to have ever gone down a hill. He could travel faster, go farther, and take off higher than any kid in the county. And for a day this amazing, Danny knew he needed to do a trick amazing enough to justify it. And the only place to do that was Kidman's Hill.

The hill was just steep enough and had just enough take off spots that Danny could pull off some truly amazing stunts. He waited until about midday, when Kidman finally decided to shovel his walk and take his eyes off the hill. Danny gathered a decent sized crowd of kids and grabbed his sled, which he called Zoom. He took Zoom to the top of the hill, laid on his stomach (which every good sledder knows is the only way to truly sled) and took off. He went from about 0 to 80 mph in the amount of time it takes the average person to say "GO". Danny focused and found a perfect ledge to take off from. He steered for it and flew of like an eagle that's found it's prey.

Danny's take off was perfect. He did two full backflips, a twister and a superman. However, in his haste, Danny had failed to notice the enormous rock at the base of the hill. Some say you could hear the screaming on the other side of the country, others say it was the other side of the world. Some say it took a tow truck and a squeegee to remove Danny from the rock. Nobody who was around that day will dare tell you what his body looked like. Frankly, I don't think you want to know.

The very next day, Kidman put up a sign that said "NO SLEDDING" in big, red letters. Kidman would even stand watch on snow days to make sure that no one was sledding. Or at least he WOULD have, except something happened. The very next snow day, he was there standing guard, just like he said. Except, nobody ever saw him after that. Soon, people began to notice other people went missing when near the newly labeled Dead Kid's Hill...

OUR STORIES: "...Some say it's just coincidence. Others say that Kidman is keeping his promise and killing anyone who come near the hill. Know what I say?" We all leaned in, enthralled. "I say it's the ghost of Danny Thompson, his ghost haunting that hill for all eternity, waiting for people to stop by. Know why?" Again we leaned in. "SO HE CAN EAT EM, HA HA HA HA!" Billy and Kenny jumped clear out of their skin. I kept my cool (kind of a predictable ending anyway). Jack was still laughing. We were in our tree house (a collectively owned and built tree house just outside of the park). We were telling ghost stories, all of which suck, especially that last one.
"C'mon," I said "You exspect us to believe that crap."
Billy and Kenny were a bit surprised to see I wasn't scared, and embarrassed that they had wet themselves from the story.
"You calling me a liar?" Jack asked.
"Please, everybody knows that there is no such thing as ghosts. If you want to scare us, make up some serial killer with a hook for a hand and a pumpkin on his head or something."
"I haven't seen you going near Dead Kid's Hill."
"What are you saying?" I didn't like what he was implying.
"I think your just trying to act tough and are actually terrified of little Danny Thompson." Jack responded.
"I am not scared."
"Wanna bet?" I saw a little glimmer in his eye.
"What did you have in mind?"
Jack pulled out his pocket knife.
"I bet you don't have the guts to walk up the Hill and stick this knife in the bark of the tree."
"I bet I would. How much?"
A smile creeped it's way across Jack's face.
"How about this? If you can't do it, you have to walk around school all day wearing nothing but a big diaper, just like the frightened little baby you are."
"Fine, and when I do it, you have to wear the diaper."
"Fine, you stick the knife into the tree, take a picture of it and I'll do it."
"Spit shake swear?"
He spat into the palm of his right hand and extended it towards me. I followed suit and we shook, knowing that no one goes back on a spit dare, especially in front of witnesses.
"Billy, you pick up the diapers tomorrow." Jack ordered. "This wednesday, one of us is going to wear it."

THE BET: The bet was to go down the next night. I had the knife in my pocket and the Polaroid camera around my neck. It was dark by the time I had rode my bike to the park. I stopped and looked across the park to the hill. It was really creepy, the grass was all brown and brittle, there were weeds all around, and at the top of the hill was an old, moldy tree with a big hole the front of it's trunk. I rode down to the base of the hill. I stopped, the hill was too steep to peddle up. I was about to climb up, when a pair of bright lights came straight at me. Behind was a horrible black figure, it was huge and coming fast. I didn't have time to react. I stood and waited for the thing to eat me when...
"Hey kid, get out of the way."
The car managed to stop right before it hit me. The driver, a 17 year old kid smoking a cigarette, had stuck his head out of the window to yell at me.
"You trying to get killed or what, you freak."
I saw a blonde girl in the passengers seat. She had streaks and tons of make-up on, but was still applying more lipstick.
"Dash, leave him alone and close the window already." She said to the driver.
He went back inside the car and rolled up the window. I began up the hill. I looked back out of curiosity. What were they doing? You can't drive on the park grass. However, the glass in the windows had fogged up and I couldn't see. I shrugged and continued up the hill.
It was steep and hard to climb. The glass made a crunching noise with each step, which made me a bit nervous. I could hear the wind howling though the hole in the tree's trunk. I finally made it to the top of the hill, and stood at the base of the tree. The roots went every which way. I pulled the knife from my pocket. I creeped up to the front of the tree and quickly jabbed it with the knife. I DID IT!
Now all I had to do was take the picture. I grabbed the camera, aimed at the tree and the knife. I had the perfect shot, when suddenly...a scream came from behind. I whirled around but didn't see anything, and when I whirled back I saw...
"DANNY THOMPSON!"
His head was poking out of the hole in the tree. It was all twisted and gross and I could see his skull showing through his face. His hair went every which way and he was stark white.
I dropped the camera, turned, and bolted down the hill. Actually it was more like tripping and rolling down the hill. I got on my bike and rode faster than I had ever rode before.

THE END: Jack couldn't stop laughing as he removed the rubber mask. He carefully stepped out of the tree, while holding his sides at the same time. He grabbed his knife from the trunk of the tree and managed to stifle his guffaws.
"It was worth the $5 for this mask. That face was priceless."
He decided to head home. He knew he would be laughing just as hard seeing him walk around in diapers the next day.
Had Jack been paying closer attention, he might have noticed the empty car at the base of the tree. He might have noticed the shoes left behind and the red splotches going out the open car door. And he might have noticed the transparent, pale boy who was dribbling more red goop from his mouth, as he crawled back into the tree, to await the next unfortunate loiterer to stop by Dead Kid's Hill.