The clink of a metal latch from the gate of the fence which was connected to green house brought the conversation to a halt. A little girl came out from the backyard. This girl looked unlike the others; she was normal. She had long straight brown hair and olive skin. She wore loose jeans and a purplish, long sleeved shirt which was loud compared to the rest of the children.Not looking both ways, she walked past Marcus’ Thunderbird and across the street. The girl stopped at the chain link fence directly in front of Marcus and his friends. She took a short look at them and finally spoke.“We are glad you came to visit. Were having a birthday party,” said the girl casually in a sing-song voice. “Do join us. There’s cake and ice cream and presents for everybody.”
“Whose birthday?” said Marcus.“The One,” she responded. “It’s the One’s birthday and he wants you all to be with him.”The friends simultaneously looked up across the street. They could see slightly into the back yard from the angle at which they stood. There were party decorations throughout the yard. A wooden picnic table could be seen. Presents in colorful wrapping paper sat on top if it piled high.But the oddest thing they saw was the white light that peeked out from behind the green house. It was about six feet high and pulsated. More disfigured children were in the yard and surrounded the glow. It shined as the children reveled in its presence.“The One wants you to be at the party. Come to him,” said the girl.Jose gazed deeply into the light, hypnotized by its brilliance. “Cake and ice cream. Presents for everybody” he said, fixated on the One. Compelled, Jose turned and walked toward the front exit of the field where the grotesque children stood. “Get back here, Jose!” shouted Marcus.Jose said nothing as if he had no ears.“Get your butt over here!” Shane added.Jose walked steadily toward the group of deformed children. Marcus and Shane dashed after him to prevent him from going across the street. They grabbed a hold of their large friend; Jose threw each of them to the ground easily.He continued to stroll as the little monsters parted like the red sea to make a path for him. He exited the softball field and out into the street. The little girl who spoke walked toward Jose, took his hand, and led him to the cursed birthday party.“Jose!” Lisa screamed.Marcus and Shane got to their feet and joined Lisa, calling out to their friend. Jose and the little girl entered the yard as the light grew brighter. The children surrounding the light again opened to path letting Jose through. He stood staring into the brightness, not blinded by the light.The light grew more intense and like a black hole that draws in matter, it pulled Jose into itself, ripping him apart. He let out a loud scream as his body was sucked in. First his arms were torn off and disappeared into the One’s existence. The head was then ripped from the body and followed. The torso and legs were next leaving a red stain on the ground.Lisa screamed, her voice breaking the stillness of the dead neighborhood. Marcus grabbed Lisa’s hand and pulled her away from the fence. The three walked in haste back toward the makeshift baseball diamond.“It killed him!” shouted Shane.“It’s not killing us! We’re getting the hell out of here!” Marcus replied angrily, gripping the handle of his baseball bat. Shane picked up another bat that lay on the ground.“Those freaks, they fed Jose to that thing!” Shane said, distraught.The sound of a car engine caught their attention. It was the Thunderbird. One of the children sat in the driver’s seat and somehow got it started. A deformed head with sandy blonde hair could be seen just above the door window.The car pulled out from in front of the house that wasn’t supposed to exist. It screeched as it moved toward the fence of the playground, the same spot from where they saw Jose being ripped to shreds.With the loud sound of chain linked fence tearing apart, the Thunderbird crashed through leaving a huge gaping hole and a mess of metal on the ground. The driver made a target of the trio and sped toward them. The three dispersed before the vehicle could mow them down. Shane went in one direction, Marcus and Lisa in the other.Raising the bat Shane ran toward the flood of repulsive children that came flowing into the newly torn hole. “You little bastards!” he shouted.The Thunderbird made a quick u-turn and raced directly toward Marcus and Lisa. The engine roared angrily in a second attempt at a kill. Marcus grabbed Lisa’s hand and like twin matadors the couple stepped quickly, evading the vehicle. As it passed, Marcus let Lisa go and reached out with his left hand and took hold of the door handle opening it. Swiftly with his right he gripped of tuft of messy blonde hair and yanked the child out, slamming him to the ground.Shane swung his bat left and right at the horrible faces. He hit one child directly in the side of the neck, snapping it. The child’s body fell to the ground as the other little monsters surrounded him. He smashed a skull here and shattered a spine there, swinging from side to side. Shane made his way through the gruesome brood. He swung his bat, knocking over little bodies to the ground.The vehicle still moving, Marcus leaped into the driver’s seat, one leg dragging on the earth. He managed to gain control of the car and his footing. He turned the car around to the direction of girlfriend who was being surrounded by little zombies. With inhuman groans, the children advanced toward Lisa, pulling and clawing at her.Marcus stepped on the gas and headed toward the crowd of sour faces. Running them over, he headed for Lisa. The Thunderbird stopped abruptly. Dirt flew into the air, a hazy smoke that dissipated quickly.Marcus leaned over and opened the passenger door. “Get in!” he shouted. Lisa broke free from the grip of little fingers and ran toward the open door. She jumped in the empty seat and slammed it. One child ran quickly toward Shane, mouth open and saliva dripping. Shane delivered a front kick to its chest as he looked deeply into the bright light at the back of Marcus’ ghost house. The One called to Shane. The light was different this time. It looked pleasant, peaceful. It summoned him, not verbally but psychically. Shane wanted to be one with the light. He dropped the bat. The children stopped the assault and opened the familiar path to let him through. He walked across the street and into the backyard.Marcus drove the Thunderbird through the already existing hole in the fence and onto the street, knocking a child on her back. The car pulled into the street and stopped.
“Shane!” cried Marcus through a half cracked window. Shane couldn’t hear him, his mind was somewhere else. He stepped in front of the pulsating light, in the same spot where Jose stood. Shane glared into the One and then screamed as it ripped him apart. One limb at a time, he was torn to pieces and sucked into a light, leaving more blood splattered on the ground.The children crowded around Marcus’ car. Boys and girls with disturbing faces climbed onto the hood. “Drive!” screamed Lisa. Marcus put his foot on the pedal. With a screech the vehicle sped as the children fell hard from hood onto the concrete.Marcus drove the only route he knew to get back. He looked into the rearview mirror and saw nothing. No deformed children, no green and white house; just an empty 15th street. He drove through the dead neighborhood. He steered through the twists and turns of lonely streets that belonged to a dimension that was not his. The decrepit viaduct came into view. Under the dark railway bridge, Marcus drove again, never minding the potholes. The Thunderbird came out of the other end. The yellow sun was back in its sky. The vibrant color of the world Marcus and Lisa knew came back. Life returned. The couple began to see people, dogs, and cars. Everything was the way it was supposed to be. Marcus and Lisa looked at one another, realizing that driving under the railway bridge took them to a parallel land.Moments later, Marcus pulled up in front of Lisa’s house. They sat quietly, numb, heartsick, wondering what the hell just happened, soaking in what just transpired. How would they explain what happened to their friends?VVVRRR VVVRRR. Marcus’ cell phone vibrated loudly. It was Josh.“Yeah.” “Marc, where have you guys been? It’s been over five hours. Jose’s mom is worried sick and called the police.” “Where are you now, Josh?”“I’m back at the playground. After an hour passed and you didn’t show up, we went looking for you. I decided to take a chance and come back to the softball field thinking you might have come here.” “The play ground at 15th and Ash?”“Yeah.”“What’s across the street from it?”“Just a bunch of old houses. Hey, I think I see your mom sweeping the porch of one of them.”
