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The deadline is here, and we won't need the poll. eek Know why? Only one elf entered! cheese_whine So, congratulations to xx-book_angel-xx for winning the contest! biggrin *applauds* She did a wonderfully spooky job, so she likely would've won even if she had competition! ninja Here is her story:

The doorbell chimed for the first time tonight. I was home alone like every other Halloween because my parents were out at a party.
“Trick-or-treat!” the brightly dressed children at the door chorused. I waved them away as soon as they had there sweets. A day for scares and candy, where exactly is the purpose in that? I never went out on Halloween. Not since when I was five I had a premonition like dream.
Running. Running away. The darkness. The cold. It was here. The heat that engulfed my veins. Under the full moon as I watched death splay out before me. October 31st.
And then I awoke screaming as the icy cold sweat beaded off my forehead and drenched my clothing. The only things I ever remembered from that reoccurring nightmare were those terrifying fragments.
Ding dong. There goes the bell again. Except this time when I opened the door James was standing there with those sweet brown eyes and golden looks.
He flashed me a grin, “Lela! How’s about you and me go out for a little stroll.”
I nodded plastering my sweetest grin on. The rational part of me kept flashing the images of my own pool of blood in front of me. But the love struck part always overshadowed the rational whenever James was involved.
“Wait, let me just get something,” I whispered when he pulled me in close to his body. I sprinted to the bookcase. The heavy pride and prejudice book landed in my lap and I immediately began flipping through the musty pages. Five one hundred dollar bills drifted to the floor. Shoving the money in my pocket I ran to meet my boyfriend at the door. Hey, you never know when money will be needed. He scooped me up into his arms and kissed me slowly, passionately, it was magical.
James blindfolded me.
“A surprise,” he purred in my ear.
I was curious, “What’s so surprising about the woods on a Halloween night?”
“Oh, you’ll see.” James inhaled deeply. I mimicked him taking in the fresh crisp scent of pine needles scattered around. The taste of him still lingered on my lips. I sighed in sweet satisfaction.
“And now your surprise my sweet Lela. You are so tantalizing.” James removed the blindfold. I turned in bliss to plant my lips upon his. Shock pulsed through my body. His normally warm brown eyes went flat black. No whites. No iris. All pupil. Maybe it was the lighting? But it couldn’t be, the full moon shined directly on us. He stepped towards me, I stepped back.
“Let me drink you. Let me kill you. Let me rip your soft flesh apart.” James snarled.
“What are you?” I screeched, hoping someone might hear.
Another step. “I am the very reason for your nightmare.”
I broke into a sprint away and into the black of the cloaking trees.
The sweet air turned bitter, freezing, uninviting. Farther into the black I went feeling his presence so close. A fist connected with my face. Crimson blood spurted from my nose and dripped down onto my white cardigan.
“No use. You will be my sustenance. You will be my salvation, just as I will be your doom.” maniacal strangled laughter.
Searing pain so intense filled my veins. It was soon replaced by a warm sensation of pleasure. I struggled against the haze overcoming my brain.
“Its mine!” a voice hissed.
“I claimed it.” That was James. James dropped his hold on me and I fell to the forest floor. I had just enough strength to open my eyes. At first all I saw was the pool of fresh blood I laid in face first. My eyes moved to James and the new creature. The same flat black eyes that James had were on this new thing. Both of their postures were primitive and animal like as they crouched and snarled. The new thing leapt first, tearing at James’s flesh. I watched in horror as it ripped chunks of flesh away from his body and tossed them aside like silly putty. The blood that was staining this creatures claws was black and thick. I let out a blood curdling scream. The thing glanced at me but went right back to digging through James’s skin. The bloody black nails produced a silver heart still beating as he ripped it from the chest. This thing shoved the heart into it’s mouth and swallowed.
The monster advanced on me. It would do the same thing now. I passed out.
A disembodied mist gathered around my hand and pulled me forward. I followed the white light at the end of the intense darkness. Just before I reached it, I heard the final beats of my heart and something seethe, “Death shall overcome all.”