Not edited
Prompt “It was a Halloween moon in June”
Across the Dakota prairie, daylight lasts until nearly nine or beyond every night on the cusps either side of the summer equinox. The wind blew in gusts that could easily uproot a huge old cottonwood tree in a brief moment. The sky took on a greenish tinge as Rob and Alyssa walked through one of the city parks. They smelled the death of the day; but were so lost in one another that they paid no attention to it.
They walked slowly, lost in each other’s company and their budding love. They watched the moon rise in a light blue sky on the eastern verge of the prairie. Soon the clouds became darker, more menacing and obscuring the sun with a few gossamer veils drifting lazily in front of the night guardian. It was a Halloween moon in the month of June. The young couple marveled at the sight of an amber moon as big as ever. They had hopes of a witch flying in unison of the wispy clouds.
The next thing they knew as they approached a thick copse of trees and bushes, the sky turned blacker than any moonless night. The ebony color was so invasive it was difficult to see the normally bright street lights in the not too distant parking lot.
Alyssa became nervous as they got closer to the trees. It seemed like she couldn’t see but five feet in front of herself. Rob hid his fear well. The wind seemed to stop suddenly, and became eerily still and very heavy. They heard a roar gallop toward them like a runaway freight train. Rob was abruptly brought to reality; Alyssa was no longer squeezing his arm tightly and he was being dragged into the bushes swallowing his screams.
As a fresh morning came with bight cloudless skies and flower perfumed air, the friends of Rob and Alyssa went to hunt for them. They had expected them back to the college dormitory by sunset and when the wind began to ravage the area, they did not get any phone call. Alyssa made it a habit to let someone know if she was not going to show up at the dorm. They walked in the parks along the river, a favorite area for Rob and Alyssa to spend their alone time. The storm from the previous night wreaked havoc on the trees, bushes and houses all over town.
In the near distance, their friends heard a scream that caused them to have involuntary shivers and the bile of fear rise in their throats. They ran to where they saw one of their friends who was also searching for Rob and Alyssa. She was as white a ghost. They found out why in the matter of less than a minute; and the storm had nothing to do with what they saw. The bodies of Rob and Alyssa were lying shoulder to shoulder with a bright red slit across their throats nearly from ear to ear. Each to a person vomited before someone was well enough to dial 911.
