The Tooth Collector (and Other Tales of Terror) (7 page)

Daniel watched his pal, pondering—as he often
did—what exactly made them best friends. Teachers, parents,
authority figures: they all pegged Daniel for a hooligan because of
the company he kept. He could save himself a lot of trouble and
accusations if he just stopped hanging around with Jimmy. The truth
was, deep down, Daniel didn't feel like a bad guy. He didn't want
to smash pumpkins or egg houses. He especially didn't want to steal
candy. Yet, those are the activities that had filled his evening,
because for some reason, Jimmy Hannigan was his pal.

"What time is it?" asked Jimmy, sucking the
chocolate from his fingers.

Daniel checked his watch. "It's 9:12.”

Jimmy jumped to his feet. "Shit, we're gonna
be late!" He dumped a handful of candy into the bag, stuffing the
empty wrappers into the pockets of his jeans. He stashed the stolen
candy in the bushes, where his parents would be none the wiser.

Daniel stood from the porch, his eyebrows
arched high. "Hold up.
We
are gonna be late?"

"Yeah, man. You didn't think I'd go without
my best friend, did ya?"

Daniel thought. "Well, what—what if they
don't let me in?"

"Hell man, I don't know. Let's go find
out!"

The abandoned mansion towered against a
backdrop of tiny stars as the boys groaned, rubbing their feet.
Daniel marveled at how far they'd come, loosening the laces of his
grass-stained tennis shoes. The road snaked its way downhill,
winding through the forest and back out again, until it met with
the heart of town. There had been an unspoken consensus to travel
it alone, without the cushy comforts of a car. He scarcely believed
they'd climbed the entire hill on foot as he stared down upon the
rooftops, breath forming clouds in the crisp October air.

One by one, they had gathered outside the
iron gate: Teddy Green, Dennis Halloway, Johnny Cougar, and Sally
Hendricks. A scraggly-haired tyrant of a girl, Sally's name struck
fear into the hearts of her classmates. She might as well be one of
the guys.

Daniel noted, with mild amusement, that the
amount of lunch money stolen between these kids might be enough to
jump start a small business. He snorted through his nose to keep
from laughing, catching a suspicious sideways glance from Teddy,
whose narrow eyes wiped the smirk from Daniel's face.

Dark windows stared down at the children,
like empty eye sockets in a moldering face. The once-glorious home
loomed over them, glowing gray in the moonlight. The rotting wood
exterior was riddled with tiny, black knots. Dead, brittle vines
weaved through the broken slats of the lattice, cobwebs visible in
every corner. The gauzy white webs accented the frame of the tall,
black door, which seemed to sit crooked in the face of the
house.

Pennington Hill had once been the subject of
envy around town. Built for the mayor and his prestigious family,
the three story, twenty-eight room manor had been the setting for
galas and elite social events. As decades passed, the wealthy class
developed a desire to blend in. A mansion atop a hill became a
thing of the past, an ostentatious display of riches. Following the
family's departure a near century after it was built, no one seemed
to know what to do with the old house. It sat, untouched, for so
many years that it fell into immense disrepair.

The children heard the squeaking of a shutter
as it hung from its hinge and thumped against the window frame. A
lone owl hooted in the distance, sounding too much like a horror
movie sound effect. Their warm breath formed white clouds in the
air as they waited.

Johnny Cougar's blue eyes darted from face to
face, as he rocked back and forth on his heels. "What should we do?
Climb the gate?"

Jimmy shook his head, pointing at the
invitation. "Patience, bonehead. It says right here: 10 o'clock.
Just wait a minute. Someone will let us in."

As if on cue, the wrought iron gates swung
open. Teddy and Dennis stepped forward, showing no fear at the
sight of the heavy gates moving on their own. Johnny and Sally
glanced back, at the road leading home, then forward to the gates,
which scraped along the gravel as they opened. "Pretty cool trick,"
said Johnny.

"Yeah, pretty cool."

Jimmy pulled Daniel aside. He patted the
pocket of his jacket where a walkie talkie was hidden. His freckled
cheeks puffed up as he beamed a crooked smile. "Remember, even if
you don't get in, you can listen." Jimmy's hazel eyes twinkled in
the plump roundness of his face. He raised his hands to Daniel's
shoulders, grinning like he'd given him the best gift in the world
by letting him tag along. Jimmy had insisted on bringing the walkie
talkies, just in case the two boys got separated. His best friend
was coming with him, no matter what. "You ready?" he said,
squeezing Daniel's shoulders with his palms.

Daniel nodded, "Yeah, let's go.

"Together they walked under an archway that
connected the pillars of each gate. Granite faces peered at them
from intricate carvings in the stone. The gray eyes seemed to
follow them as they passed. Both boys noticed, but neither one said
a word.

Trees lined the stone path leading to the
mansion's front door. Twisted limbs entangled from opposite sides
of the path, forming a tunnel of gnarled branches and leaves. A
canopy of twigs and fire-colored leaves entwined above their heads,
throwing the children into darkness. Moonbeams shined through the
gaps in the branches, casting thin patches of light across their
bodies as they crunched over the fallen leaves that littered the
pebbled ground.

Shadows moved in the foliage, weaving through
the tree trunks. At first Daniel thought it was dogs on the other
side of the branches, but the more he focused his eyes, he saw dark
splotches moving along the inside of the tunnel. The shadows looked
human in shape, as if cast by the group of kids, but there wasn't
enough moonlight for that. The black figures moved in a blur, so
quickly Daniel couldn't single one out.

The trunks were covered in a dark brown,
crumbling bark that seemed to move, like the puffing of a chest as
it breathes. Daniel knew it was foolish, but he felt as though the
trees were alive. He could hear them panting: a labored wheezing
sound over the whistling of the wind down the trail.

"Do you hear that?" Daniel clenched Jimmy's
arm, urging him to stand still and listen.

Jimmy cocked his head, waiting. "Hear
what?"

Daniel paused. He scanned the mossy trunks,
waiting for the vegetation to move. Waiting for the bark to ripple
as it had seconds earlier. Nothing happened. "Nevermind," he said,
biting his lip.

Jimmy chuckled. There was a nervous,
high-pitched lilt to his laugh. "C'mon, man. Let's keep going..."
They jogged to catch up with the others.

Dennis and Teddy reached the staircase first.
They glanced back, suddenly aware of how shadows crowded the porch,
dark and unmoving. They resembled human figures, huddled together
in the darkness of the covered patio.

The tough guys searched the faces of their
peers. Their eyes said it all: They were just as scared as Daniel.
They gripped the wooden railing that ascended the stairs to the
pillared wrap-around porch. The archway was fit for a cathedral,
aside from the mold that speckled the wood and the peelings of
paint that hung in large chunks, fluttering in the breeze. With a
gulp, Teddy and Dennis climbed the stairs. The other children
followed, close behind.

Daniel jumped when a wooden stair broke with
a loud crack, splitting under his foot. The others looked back with
smirks on their faces as if to say "Smooth move, dork." But no one
said a word as they reached the top step and the shadows retreated
to the far side of the porch.

The crickets stopped chirping on Pennington
Hill. Everything went silent, save for the nervous breathing of the
children and another noise, like the raspy wheezing of a thousand
creatures, so quiet you could barely make it out. And it was coming
from the shadows.

Sally grabbed the rusty door knocker. She
tried desperately to steady her hand as she thudded the metal ring
three times. She couldn't let the boys see how nervous she was. She
stifled a gasp when the door knocker blinked its beady eyes. She
glanced around. No one else had seen it aside from Sally and
Daniel, but the copper lion, green in its old age, had blinked its
eyes as she banged on the door.

The door creaked open without so much as a
push. The large marble foyer was covered in dust and dimly lit by
tall candelabras. Daniel's eyes adjusted, and he realized the
flames flickered atop piles of bones. Each candelabra was mounted
to a grotesque stack of skulls, layered together like bricks in a
pillar. While his friends admired the "special effects", Daniel was
pretty sure he spied a skull with some of the flesh still attached.
A rotted eyeball dangled from the socket by a wet, pink thread. It
all looked too real to be safe.

The man who had delivered the invitations
stood dead center, in a ring of candlelight. Flames danced in the
dark, sunken sockets above his jagged cheek bones, mirroring the
fire from the candles. He wasn't wearing his top hat, and his white
hair hung in thinning patches from his sickly, pale scalp. Blue
veins showed through his nearly translucent skin as he pressed a
hand to his abdomen and bowed.

The man stepped forward. His black suit
reminded Daniel of the shadow people.

He could see them, dark figures huddled
together in the inky blackness of the hallway. The man's voice was
a low growl as he spoke. "Sally," he said, nodding in her
direction. "Teddy, Danny..." His pale face studied the children,
thin lips pulled taut over his ghoulish, pointed teeth. "Johnny and
Jimmy..." His dark eyes settled on Daniel. "and... who do we have
here?" He clasped his spindly fingers together in a steeple-like
formation and slanted his thin eyebrows at Daniel.

The shadows deep within the house, past the
ring of candlelight and hiding in the darkness, seemed to pulsate
and stir. Their collective breathing rose higher in volume, yet it
was still barely audible, like a gust of wind whistling through the
old mansion. Human forms stirred in the hallways, writhed in the
nothingness of the staircase. Daniel was positive he saw a pair of
red eyes staring at him from the abyss.

"What's your name?" the strange white-haired
man asked.

"D-Daniel," he replied.

"I'm afraid, Daniel, you must go back the way
you came. This party is invitation only." He leaned over, and his
sour breath made Daniel's skin crawl. "No exceptions."

Blackness spilled from the halls, from the
vaulted archway of the staircase. Darkness crept into the light and
extinguished candle flames as it moved. A shadowy fog enveloped the
room. Red eyes opened inside the massive shadow that rolled in, an
ominous wave of contorted human figures. A thousand eyes stared at
Daniel, like rubies shining in the blackest of nights.

The shadows rushed at Daniel. Hundreds of
fingers and dozens of palms shot out from the hazy black mist,
pushing him. Their collective force caused him to sway and trip
over his own foot, toppling backwards onto the moonlit patio. He
felt a gust of air as the heavy door slammed, and a chorus of
screams erupted from his friends.

Daniel scrambled to his feet. He cleared the
stairs in five steps, avoiding the broken plank and leaping onto
the leafy stone path. He dashed into the tunnel of gnarled
branches. He didn't look around as he ran. If he did, he might see
more of those things lurking in the shadows. And he never wanted to
see one again. So he kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, focusing
on the beam of moonlight at the end of the tunnel.

He emerged from the canopy of twisted tree
limbs, falling to his knees in the grass. He could see the gravel
road leading into town. Small buildings in the distance, at the
foot of Pennington Hill, were beginning to turn out their lights.
The moonlight was dimming, swallowed by a layer of clouds.

Daniel dug around in his jacket. He pulled
the walkie talkie from his pocket. His shaky fingers fumbled,
almost dropping the device as he flipped the power switch to
"on".

A scream rattled through the speakers. One of
the boys was crying, hysterical, coughing and wheezing in fear. A
blood curdling yelp poured from the walkie talkie, closer than
before. Daniel thought it sounded like Sally.

Someone yelled, "Let me go!" It was a distant
echo on the staticy air waves.

Then another boy spoke. This one was closer,
louder. "Why are you doing this?" Jimmy pleaded.

The man's answer rumbled over the air waves
like a crack of thunder. His bassy growl shook the device. It
rattled in Daniel's hand, and he dropped it to the grass. "We are
the evil eaters. We feed on evil souls." The children all screamed
in unison. There was a loud thud. The walkie talkie squealed, then
fell silent.

The morning of November 1st dawned bright and
sunny. Daylight shined through the wispy clouds. Birds chirped as
they poked their beaks through the dirt, searching for food.

Daniel paced back and forth. He had arrived
at the bus stop fifteen minutes early, something he hadn't
accomplished in the history of his school days. But after a
sleepless night of watching the clock and waiting for morning to
arrive, he was up before his alarm clock that day.