The Long Walk Home

The Long Walk Home

500 words


Deep down inside Billy knew there was nothing to be afraid of. These were old pagan superstitions and nothing more - stories his grandmother told him when he was younger to scare him. "Hurry home from school tomorrow or Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta will get you," she'd say in her thick Welsh accent. Billy and his friends would sprint from the schoolyard until they were home safe. Now that he was 12, he was supposed to be stronger than fear. When he actually thought about it, the idea of a tailless pig chasing people through the countryside was almost as absurd as the headless bride that went along with it. It was a children's story that he wanted to leave behind with Santa Claus.

But he still couldn't shake the thoughts in the back of his head. If it had been any other day of the week he'd have walked tall next to his schoolmates to prove that he wasn't scared. But it just so happened that Halloween fell on a Wednesday and Billy always stayed late on Wednesdays to take trumpet lessons with Mr. Galligan. Now he would not only have to go home alone, but he'd have to lug the bulky trumpet too.

The journey began without much strife, save the chilly breeze. Winter was still a month off, but her breath was already close enough to smell. Billy hated this time of year because the trees were no longer beautiful. Only their dead droppings matted the streets and muddled the gutters. He looked up at the washed out sky and was disappointed to find nothing. Even when the sun wasn't covered by a blanket of gray, its light was cold and weak.

He reached the long wooden fence that marked the halfway point home before the real fear set in. A cat darted across the road in front of him and jarred his memory. He stopped and scanned the field for any signs of the demon pig. There was nothing there except a few birds and the jagged silhouettes of broken corn stalks along the horizon. Then he heard it.

The sound of a hideous machine burst out of the silence and began barreling towards him. Fear crawled up his spine like toothpaste being squeezed from a tube. There was something terrible approaching and Billy didn't want to stick around to find out what it was. He dropped his books and trumpet and took off running in the opposite direction of home.

Someone was standing on the road ahead of him. He slowed his gait to a light trot and approached the figure, hoping to find salvation. Billy realized the mistake instantly. It was the headless woman in white. He was hysterical and couldn't summon his limbs to move. The hideous sound became louder and the last thing he felt was the force of a locomotive hit him from behind.

They said it was a hit and run, though no one remembered seeing any cars that night.