Prompt 1 -
Word Limit: 2000 words.
Word Count: 1371 words.

👻🎃

★★★

The Doll

Samantha Robins was just like any other girl; desperate for adventure and to experience an abundance of good times with her friends. All sixteen year olds were keen to make memories that lasted a life time.

On the very night of October 30th was to be no different than all of the previous times.

Having been invited to a mysterious party in the woods, the redhead girl was determined to look her absolute best and to have a memorable experience beside her friends and maybe even get to talk to the coolest guy in school, Thatcher.

Dressed in her best spooky costume, a sexy zombie nurse, she arrived in high spirits.

"What'll it be?" Her best friend, Sadie, asked as she approached.

The brunette was gesturing at an opened esky full of alcoholic beverages and it was filled to the brim with ice.

"Beer, please," Samantha answered with a smile.

Sadie grabbed out one and promptly threw it at her friend who caught it with ease.

The music was playing rather loudly, spooking away all of the animals in a nearby radius. The sounds were of dark, alternative music to fit the special occasion.

"Hey, you're Samantha, right?" The blonde haired boy asked as he approached the two friends.

Sadie gave her a sneaky thumbs up and then wondered off.

"Yeah, you're Thatcher, right?"

The boy grinned back with a nod before sitting down on a stray log. He gestured for her to join him in front of the fire.

Nerves erupted in the pit of her stomach as she sat down beside him.

'It's finally happening.'

As all the teenagers began to gather around the fire, drinking and laughing, everything suddenly seemed so eerily still.

As if it were the calm before the storm.

Nearing as the clock struck midnight, suddenly darkness enveloped the party-goers, almost like their visions had all blurred at once.

The only thing that could be heard was the creepy voice from the tape playing and the sounds of ravens flying over head.

When the next day arrived, there was no evidence of the teenagers or their party having ever occurred.

It was like a page right out of a book - eerily still and silent.

The Robins, in their incredibly growing concern for their missing daughter, had arrived at the woods in search of her.

The night before, she'd left them a rather annoying note about a Halloween party in the woods. Having had their own plans the previous night, they hadn't seen it until they'd come home this morning.

Expecting her to be hungover and asleep upstairs, they had gone to wake their daughter but upon finding her bed made and no sign of her, panic had set in tenfold.

For all they knew, she was still passed out drunk in the woods.

"There's nothing here for miles, Hannah," commented Earl Robbins as worry plastered itself across his features.

"Are you sure? But her note said...," the brunette woman trailed off in concern as she looked down at the messily scrawled note in her hands.

Her daughter really had the worst handwriting she had ever seen. Hannah Robins had chastised her daughter for it on multiple occasions.

They were missing something - that much was evident.

As the parents looked around, not even seeing a single shred of proof that a party had happened the night before, they had begun to feel quite defeated.

Until something flickered in the distance near one of the many trees, catching the attention of Hannah's green eyes.

"Wait, what's that?" She asked her husband as she nudged his arm.

Still dressed in last night's heels, not quite fit for the scenery, she insisted silently for her husband to go investigate.

With a flicker of hope, Earl hurriedly walked over to the tree his wife had pointed out only moments before.

Underneath a tall oak tree sat a decrepit and scary doll that lay discarded on the bottom of the tree trunk.

Taken aback for a moment, the elderly man stepped back right into the mud.

It had clearly rained the night before, at least here in the woods. It was strange that even the tree was wet when outside of the woods, last night had been a clear sky.

It had not rained anywhere but right in this spot.

"This is so strange," he murmured quietly as he looked down at the lifelike doll.

The creepiest part of all was that the doll had long red curly hair and creepy, hollow green eyes. It was dressed in a short nurse outfit with white stockings and black heels.

Earl was sure this was the absolute weirdest outfit he had ever seen a doll dressed in.

There was just something about the doll that felt familiar yet terrifying all at once.

"What is it?" Hannah called from further away, not keen on getting her own heels all muddy.

"I'm not sure," he replied in a hushed voice as he finally reached out to grab the doll.

This was all they had found in the woods for miles; their only clue to the disappearance of Samantha.

The moment he touched it, he swore the eyes blinked back at him for a second. In fear, he suddenly dropped the doll right back into the mud.

'I must be going crazy,' Earl thought to himself, suddenly feeling as he really should not have touched the doll at all.

There was this air around it that seemed paralysing and quite frankly rather spooky.

"What?" Hannah shouted back towards her husband before getting fed up with the limited answers and chose to walk towards him.

She was careful not to step into the mud the way he had.

There was no need to ruin her outfit.

"What is it?" She finally asked again as she came to stand beside her husband.

Earl only pointed in terror back down at the creepy doll.

Hannah rolled her eyes when she caught a look at the doll.

"It's only a toy, it can't harm you," chuckled the elderly woman.

As her green eyes stared down at it, she noticed how similar it looked and that it resembled her daughter in more ways than one.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she reached down and picked it up.

"It's so lifelike," she added as she stared deep into its eyes.

"Doesn't it remind you of someone?" Earl asked, feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Yeah, it looks like Samantha. Don't you agree?" Hannah answered promptly, staring at it in mild curiosity and disbelief.

"I think it might be her...," the man responded, not knowing why but that it definitely felt like their daughter.

The green eyes of the doll blinked back at Hannah in response.

The woman paused for a moment, blinking her own eyes rapidly in return, as if unsure she had really seen the doll move at all.

"See! I think it's alive!" Earl scrambled, taking another step back in fear then he accidentally tumbled down to the floor as he unintentionally splattered mud all over him, his wife and the daughter-like doll.

The doll cocked its head to the side, the mud was smeared on half of its face.

"Surely not," mumbled Hannah in her own disbelief, eyes as wide as saucers.

"I am," the muffled voice of the doll finally responded.

With a shriek, Hannah had also dropped the doll back down, promptly landing herself on the ground beside Earl in the mud.

"Samantha," the creepy doll added, staring at the two people across from it.

The doll was now laying on its side, staring intently back at the couple while blinking several times in a creepy fashion.

"No, it can't be. This is a trick."

"I don't think it is," Hannah finally replied again, reaching back over to grab the doll.

Everything inside of her bones screamed that this was in fact their daughter. Logic made no sense but she could feel it in her soul.

A mother always knew her child.

"Sammy?" She whispered, bringing the doll into her arms in a cradle-like pose.

"Yes, mamma."

Tears fluttered down the woman's fair cheeks.

At least her daughter was alive even if she was unfortunately now a toy.

©️©️©️

So this is my first attempt at a thriller/horror...

Please let me know down below if it was any good. I would appreciate any and all feedback!

Please vote if you liked it as well. :)

Until next time,

©️ E. C. Xalfa ♡