Dark Eyes
Dark Eyes
It's a warm Saturday afternoon while two boys are riding their bikes through their neighborhood, on their way to swim in an old quarry. Frank and Richy are starting in the eighth grade and have been best friends since grade school. Richy comes from an abusive home while Frank comes from your ordinary happy suburban family. Whenever it was a particularly bad night at Richy's house he would always climb out his window, get on his bike, and spend the night at Franks. The two formed an inseparable bond over the years and now were as close as brothers.
The summer heat is lingering around in the opening weeks of the school year, so they boys decide to get one more day of swimming in before the seasons change. As the boys are riding they pass by other friends playing hockey in the street, family friends barbequing, and neighbors out watering the grass of their suburban homes. The route that the boys take lead them to a dirt path easily accessible from one of the city parks. As they ride down the path through open fields and areas littered with trees, Frank notices a man in the distance. Riding behind Richy, Frank slams on his brakes to try to get a good look at the man in the distance.
Noticing that Frank isn't following him anymore, Richy stops as well, and rides back to where Frank is standing. As Frank stands up from the seat of his bike, with his left foot on the ground and his right foot on the pedal, he stares at the man in the distance. He can't see his face, or really make out who it is, as the man is standing motionless with what looks like a black hooded garment concealing his true identity. As Frank continues to look at the man Richy finally reaches him.
"Whats going on," Richy asks.
"You see that guy over there?," Frank states.
"Ya...who is that?," Richy says curiously.
Frank takes a long pause and a deep breath before he responds to his friend.
"I don't know," Frank says reverently.
The two boys decide to move on and continue on their way to the quarry. As they are riding Frank can't help but look back, only to notice that the man is gone. Putting the strange encounter out of his mind Frank pushes his pedals with a vigorous pace and moves on.
A little ways further the boys are in a wooded area that leads into the quarry. As they stroll through the area on their bikes both of the boys hear what sounds like a large animal rumbling through the trees. The boys stop to look around and as they do they once again see the man standing half way behind a tree, only this time he is closer than when he was standing in the field.
"Hey prick!" Frank yells out.
"Dude" Richy softly says to his friend.
"Relax it's probably some high school kids messing with us" Frank claimed.
The two boys get no response, however man seems to raise his head revealing a eyes of pure black. The man gives the two boys a malicious smile with teeth that look like little daggers. The boys are frightened by his appearance and decide to ride as fast as they can to the quarry. Pedaling with everything they have the boys finally reach their destination.
"Those guys are so dumb," Richy says.
"What do you mean?" Frank asks.
"It was obviously those assholes Martin and Chris, you know they love messing with us," Richy clarifies.
"I don't know man, didn't you see his face?" Frank inquired.
"It was just some stupid Halloween mask" Richy implies.
The two boys put the ordeal behind them and finally enjoy the afternoon of swimming they've been riding towards. An hour or so goes by when Frank lays down a challenge to his friend.
"I'll race you to that little island of rocks out there," Frank challenged.
"I don't know I'm not that great of a swimmer, you know that," Richy pleads.
"Don't be a wuss," Frank spouts.
With that the two boys take off racing to see who could reach the little make-shift island of rocks at the far end of the quarry. A little over half way their Richy decides to turn around, he isn't comfortable with his level of swimming to go all the way out. Frank comes up for air to see his friend turning back.
"Hey man, where are you going!" Frank booms.
"I'll meet you back on land," Richy says as he goes back to swimming.
Frank decides he wants to keep going as he has gone this far anyway. Frank swims for a few more minutes before he reaches the island. Meanwhile Richy is still swimming his way back to their bikes. Then Frank sees something that sends a chill through his bones, the man in the black hooded garment his standing in the tree line just beyond the boys bikes. Frank screams and yells to try and get Richy's attention, but with his head bobbing up and down swimming in the water Richy does not hear him. Frank jumps back into the water and swims as fast as he can toward his friend.
Intermediately Frank stops to check on his friend, after about a minute he sees that Richy has reached the shore. Frank yells to his friend to warn him, but then notices the man is once again no where to be seen. Richy looks around and then turns to yell at Frank.
"What are you yelling about?," Richy shouts.
"The man is in the trees," Frank shouts as he returns to swimming.
Richy looks around and sees nothing, he puts it off as his friend trying to scare him for not making it to the island. Richy lays out a towel and sits down in the sun light. Frank is half way there, but this time when he comes up for air he sees the man in the black hood standing right behind Richy.
"RICHY!" Frank screams.
Frank is now swimming at a frantic pace as he is just outside the shore. He once again looks up from the water only to see that Richy, Richy's bike, and the man in the black hood are gone. Frank finally reaches land and desperately calls out and searches for his friend. No one responds and Richy is no where to be found. Frank jumps on his bike and speeds into the woods praying he can catch up to where the man has taken his friend. Frank rides along the path that brought the boys here, all the while looking for his friend. He goes through the wooded area, the open field, and finally back to the park. After searching the trail for hours Frank finds nothing, no trace that anyone besides himself was ever there. Night is approaching so Frank decides to ride back into town and go to the police station.
When Frank gets to the station he pleads with the officers in a panic that they have to help him find his friend. The officers sit him down to get the full story about what happened. After telling them everything, the officers call Richy's parents to see if he had simply gone home. His mother answers the call and says she hadn't see Richy all day. After hearing he is not at his home, Frank tells the officers about the man they were seemingly being followed by. Frank gives his description to a sketch artist, who can't believe the details he is being told.
"So a man in a hoodie and a Halloween mask was following you?," the sketch artist says.
"I'm telling you it wasn't a mask it was his face, his actual face," Frank pleads.
"Well who do you think it was?," the artist says.
Frank looks around at the officers before answering with, "The Devil,".
"Did you say the devil?," one of the officers asks.
"Or something like that I don't know, but it wasn't human" Frank begs. "He didn't look a normal man, he stood perfectly still, and he would just appear out of no where," Frank rambles.
The officers look at each other unconvinced by Franks description and identification of a suspect, they eventually send Frank home as he can do nothing else. The officers go out searching for Richy but come up empty. As news spreads of Richy's disappearance in the following days, a search party is formed through the police and community. For weeks they search for Richy and ultimately find nothing. Eventually they police have no choice but to end the search and hope to find new information or clues to his whereabouts later. In the end the police conclude that Richy had either drowned in the quarry or runaway from his broken home.
The summer heat is lingering around in the opening weeks of the school year, so they boys decide to get one more day of swimming in before the seasons change. As the boys are riding they pass by other friends playing hockey in the street, family friends barbequing, and neighbors out watering the grass of their suburban homes. The route that the boys take lead them to a dirt path easily accessible from one of the city parks. As they ride down the path through open fields and areas littered with trees, Frank notices a man in the distance. Riding behind Richy, Frank slams on his brakes to try to get a good look at the man in the distance.
Noticing that Frank isn't following him anymore, Richy stops as well, and rides back to where Frank is standing. As Frank stands up from the seat of his bike, with his left foot on the ground and his right foot on the pedal, he stares at the man in the distance. He can't see his face, or really make out who it is, as the man is standing motionless with what looks like a black hooded garment concealing his true identity. As Frank continues to look at the man Richy finally reaches him.
"Whats going on," Richy asks.
"You see that guy over there?," Frank states.
"Ya...who is that?," Richy says curiously.
Frank takes a long pause and a deep breath before he responds to his friend.
"I don't know," Frank says reverently.
The two boys decide to move on and continue on their way to the quarry. As they are riding Frank can't help but look back, only to notice that the man is gone. Putting the strange encounter out of his mind Frank pushes his pedals with a vigorous pace and moves on.
A little ways further the boys are in a wooded area that leads into the quarry. As they stroll through the area on their bikes both of the boys hear what sounds like a large animal rumbling through the trees. The boys stop to look around and as they do they once again see the man standing half way behind a tree, only this time he is closer than when he was standing in the field.
"Hey prick!" Frank yells out.
"Dude" Richy softly says to his friend.
"Relax it's probably some high school kids messing with us" Frank claimed.
The two boys get no response, however man seems to raise his head revealing a eyes of pure black. The man gives the two boys a malicious smile with teeth that look like little daggers. The boys are frightened by his appearance and decide to ride as fast as they can to the quarry. Pedaling with everything they have the boys finally reach their destination.
"Those guys are so dumb," Richy says.
"What do you mean?" Frank asks.
"It was obviously those assholes Martin and Chris, you know they love messing with us," Richy clarifies.
"I don't know man, didn't you see his face?" Frank inquired.
"It was just some stupid Halloween mask" Richy implies.
The two boys put the ordeal behind them and finally enjoy the afternoon of swimming they've been riding towards. An hour or so goes by when Frank lays down a challenge to his friend.
"I'll race you to that little island of rocks out there," Frank challenged.
"I don't know I'm not that great of a swimmer, you know that," Richy pleads.
"Don't be a wuss," Frank spouts.
With that the two boys take off racing to see who could reach the little make-shift island of rocks at the far end of the quarry. A little over half way their Richy decides to turn around, he isn't comfortable with his level of swimming to go all the way out. Frank comes up for air to see his friend turning back.
"Hey man, where are you going!" Frank booms.
"I'll meet you back on land," Richy says as he goes back to swimming.
Frank decides he wants to keep going as he has gone this far anyway. Frank swims for a few more minutes before he reaches the island. Meanwhile Richy is still swimming his way back to their bikes. Then Frank sees something that sends a chill through his bones, the man in the black hooded garment his standing in the tree line just beyond the boys bikes. Frank screams and yells to try and get Richy's attention, but with his head bobbing up and down swimming in the water Richy does not hear him. Frank jumps back into the water and swims as fast as he can toward his friend.
Intermediately Frank stops to check on his friend, after about a minute he sees that Richy has reached the shore. Frank yells to his friend to warn him, but then notices the man is once again no where to be seen. Richy looks around and then turns to yell at Frank.
"What are you yelling about?," Richy shouts.
"The man is in the trees," Frank shouts as he returns to swimming.
Richy looks around and sees nothing, he puts it off as his friend trying to scare him for not making it to the island. Richy lays out a towel and sits down in the sun light. Frank is half way there, but this time when he comes up for air he sees the man in the black hood standing right behind Richy.
"RICHY!" Frank screams.
Frank is now swimming at a frantic pace as he is just outside the shore. He once again looks up from the water only to see that Richy, Richy's bike, and the man in the black hood are gone. Frank finally reaches land and desperately calls out and searches for his friend. No one responds and Richy is no where to be found. Frank jumps on his bike and speeds into the woods praying he can catch up to where the man has taken his friend. Frank rides along the path that brought the boys here, all the while looking for his friend. He goes through the wooded area, the open field, and finally back to the park. After searching the trail for hours Frank finds nothing, no trace that anyone besides himself was ever there. Night is approaching so Frank decides to ride back into town and go to the police station.
When Frank gets to the station he pleads with the officers in a panic that they have to help him find his friend. The officers sit him down to get the full story about what happened. After telling them everything, the officers call Richy's parents to see if he had simply gone home. His mother answers the call and says she hadn't see Richy all day. After hearing he is not at his home, Frank tells the officers about the man they were seemingly being followed by. Frank gives his description to a sketch artist, who can't believe the details he is being told.
"So a man in a hoodie and a Halloween mask was following you?," the sketch artist says.
"I'm telling you it wasn't a mask it was his face, his actual face," Frank pleads.
"Well who do you think it was?," the artist says.
Frank looks around at the officers before answering with, "The Devil,".
"Did you say the devil?," one of the officers asks.
"Or something like that I don't know, but it wasn't human" Frank begs. "He didn't look a normal man, he stood perfectly still, and he would just appear out of no where," Frank rambles.
The officers look at each other unconvinced by Franks description and identification of a suspect, they eventually send Frank home as he can do nothing else. The officers go out searching for Richy but come up empty. As news spreads of Richy's disappearance in the following days, a search party is formed through the police and community. For weeks they search for Richy and ultimately find nothing. Eventually they police have no choice but to end the search and hope to find new information or clues to his whereabouts later. In the end the police conclude that Richy had either drowned in the quarry or runaway from his broken home.
Frank unconvinced by the determination of the police is left shaken and changed by the ordeal, convinced that something not of this world took his friend. Frank never stops looking for his friend, telling anyone who would listen what he believed he saw. He is convinced that whatever it was, will eventually come back for him. After accepting his behavior for sometime, Frank's parents send him to a psychiatrist hoping that it would help him work through and get over the incident. Franks realizing what people are starting to think of him accepts the help, if only for appearance. He answers the questions and says all the right things, as a facade to ease his parents minds. In time Frank starts to accept it as well. He goes on to live his life in somewhat normalcy but is never the same. He goes onto college, gets a job, a wife, and starts a family. Years and decades go by all the while convinced that a presence like what he saw the day his friend disappeared lurks around him.
Now an old man and near death Frank sits alone in his home in a reclining chair, with an oxygen mask on his face. A young boy and girl, Franks grandchildren, walk through the front door of his home. They have come to check on their grandfathers health, but are put off when they notice a shotgun placed across a blanket that covers Frank's legs.
"Grandpa, what are you doing," the young boy says.
"Getting ready to see my old friend again" Frank breaths through the oxygen mask.
"Who grandpa?" the young girl asks.
"Richy" Frank says softly.
As his grandchildren look at him and Frank takes one of his last remaining breaths the front door behind the kids slowly creeks open, and Frank displays a sardonic smile.
THE END
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