What I Saw That Day

She peeked out from behind the door, her eyes sparkling. White rabbit ears were nestled in her hair, and she had made realistic looking paws. 

"I'm ready! Im ready! Lets go already!"

She was my little sister, all decked out for her first time trick of treating. Mom had to work late, so she had tasked me with the job.

"Poe, wear these!"

My face paled as my sister pulled out a matching pair of white ears. 

"Where did you get those? Does mom know?"

"She thought it would be cute!" She purses her lips, pressing the headband into my chest. "Please?"

My little sister always got what she wanted. She was a spoiled brat to the core.

Thats why I was wearing this stupid thing, I had told myself. 

Layla intertwined her hand in mine, her curly hair brushing the sides of her chubby cheeks and drooping across her forehead. She had gotten the good genes for sure. She was the princess and she knew it.

That didn't stop her from nervously squeezing tighter as a group of middle schoolers dressed as horror characters walked by. 

"Boo!" 

The laughed, pointing gleefully at my headband as they walked away.

Oh-she was trembling. 

"Seriously, what's wrong with you. We came out to have fun, don't get so scared over some middle school pranksters."

Frankly, I was annoyed. Not annoyed that I had been the laughing stock of an entire friend group. Annoyed that they had the audacity to scare my kid sister.

"C'mon, we're going."

"Huh-but I want candy!"

"Thats where we're going."

The first house wasn't anything to write home about, but the look on Layla's face when she got her first piece of candy was priceless. 

"I can really have this? Are you sure?" 

She questioned the lady at the entrance of her door, who was currently holding back a small pitbull from escaping past her foot into the yard. 

"Of course dear, that's what this holiday is about."

"T-thank you! Happy halloween!"

The dog lurched forward, its jaws unhinging and grasping onto Layla's pillow case-tearing it from her hands.

"Doggie! No! Come back !!"

 The women dashed out past us. 

 "Duchess! Get back here!"

 Layla was on the verge of tears, rubbing her swollen eyes. She was crying before, I hadn't even noticed. I didn't realize how scared she had been of the middle schoolers; and now it had gotten even worse.

 "Hey, I'll find it. So-stop crying. Mom will scold me."

 That wasn't a lie, but Poe wasn't about to admit that he cared that easily. 

 Layla nodded weakly, taking hold of his sleeve. Her hand was tiny and fragile. 

 He wanted to protect her. 

 "C'mon, hop on my back. We're getting that pillow-case."

 Layla's expression brightened, and she climbed up onto her brother's shoulders. 

"Hehe! We match!" She giggles, playing with the bigger white ears and nestling her chin into his hair. "Go Poe go!"

The dog had sprinted off, cars honked as it narrowly missed the wheel- leaping onto the sidewalk and entering the backyard of the only house that hadn't had lights on. 

The neighborhood was small, so most people knew eachother. Halloween was one of those times where the neighbors could meet the kids that lived around. But this house, nobody ever saw the person who lived there. Of course, rumors started to spread. 

Of course, he knew the rumors.

"I can smell meat!" Layla says cheerfully, tightening her fists onto locks of my hair causing me to wince.

"Who would be cooking meat at this time of night?" 

I opened my phone, turning on the flashlight. The woman from before had most likely already gone in after her dog. 

"Three heads are better than one."

"What do you mean? We have two heads!" 

"I didn't mean-nevermind."

He readjusted his sister on his back, letting her legs hang off around his neck. The fluffy fabric of the paws on her costume tickled his cheek. 

A loud cry of anguish was cut short. 

Swallowing, Poe started walking straight. The grass was up to his thighs, and he lamented having to check his clothes for ticks later. 

"Poe! I see something!"

He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the dark shadows lightly illuminated only by the light on his phone. 

"I see the doggie!" 

A low growl startled him, making him freeze in place. Out of the shadows, a lean; muscular light grey muzzle peeked out from behind the house. It's fur was mangy, and pearly white teeth stuck out from black lips as if it were smirking. 

On closer inspection, red liquid dripped from its fangs. 

In front of it, the pitbull lay; mangled and bloodied from the a deep gash in its neck. 

Layla covered her mouth, and the two of them stood mortified as the wolf licked its lips. 

Had the women-had she met the same fate?

Layla-He couldn't stop her. She screamed, with all her might. Screamed, blood curdling. The wolf turned to us, its red eyes glistening in the light.

We heard footsteps coming from behind us, and before we could turn around the sound of a gunshot whizzed past our ears.

"Are you kids alright?"

He fell to my knees, watching in horror as the wolf stumbled, its muzzle falling to the ground caked in blood. 

"What-was that." He chokes out, quickly holding his kid sister tight to stop her sobs. 

"Our neighbor." 

That was all he said, hoisting his hunting gun over his shoulder. "I've been tryin to catch him in the act all year. I finally got him, thanks to you."

He let out a long sigh, kicking the weakly twitching body of the wolf as it morphed into a slightly overweight human mass of flesh.

"He won't be bothering us anymore. Had I tried earlier, I would have been arrested for killin a man instead of a monster."

Poe hadn't looked away from the body, instead he had covered his sister's eyes with his hands pale and trembling. She had obliged without complaint. 

"Can we-go home?" 

"Yeah."

Poe held his sister's hand as she clung to him. They passed by the middle schoolers, who had paused in their banter to glance at the duo; bagless and exhausted. 

To this day, he doesn't believe what he saw was real. He'd been able to convince Layla, who took him at his word that it had just been "an elaborate prank to scare her". Still, he remembered that night. Remembered the fear it instilled in him. 

In his heart, he knew it was true. With that knowledge, Poe Escobar became one of the few who had witnessed and lived a fantasy.