Shadows

Leaves falling and the scent of cinnamon pulls me out of my thoughts.  Looking around, I see no sign of the previous night.  To my left, a normal pine tree stands tall.

"Boo!" Fear penetrates my soul.  Whipping around, I find Gear smirking.

"Ha-ha.  Very funny Gear."

Something in the distance catches my eyes.  

"Man, I scared you!  Your eyes are still wid-"

"Gear!"  I watch as the shadow wraps around Gear, quivering like a leaf.  Wait...this is the man I saw with the woman at Moonbay.  As I walked out of the woods.​  Confusion bites me as I watch my best friend disapear.  As the shadow dissolves into nothing, a monster is revealed.  A scream echoes out of my mouth as I take off into the woods.

I hear twigs breaking and leaves crunching behind me as I flee the monster.  Terror-gripped and confused, I run face first into a tree and fall. I feel a hand touch my shoulder and shriek.

"It is me.  It is me," I hear Gear's voice saying. Turning around, I find the monster.  ", It is me, Gear!"

I stare the monster in the eyes and recognize Gear's eyes.

"Crap, Gear!  Take that costume off!"

"It is not a costume!"

Yanking at his arm, I realize that he is right.

"Ouch!  Stop pulling at my skin! This happens every halloween!"

Police sirens echo in the far distance.

"Gear," I question.

"Not me.  Stop assuming.  I am your third best friend and you blame me!"

A blood-tingling scream echoes off the trees.  Gear's eyes grow wide and he takes off into a sprint.

"Well, that was fun," I tell myself.

Pulling out my cell phone, I find a note stuck in the clear case.

"To whom it may concern,

You are now the Queen. This is all I can say.

-Anonymous"

Frustrated, I crumple up the note and throw it at the ground.  To add to my frustration, it starts glowing.  Tears streak my face as a memory pulls at the back of my brain.  ​I wonder how my mom is doing.  It has been a while since I last saw her. ​I close the eyes as the pain makes me kneel.  ​How come I miss my mom so badly all of a sudden?

A sweeping movement of cold metal against my head makes me jump.  I touch my head and find a weird metal shape.  Pulling it off, I find a golden crown. The note's words are etched on the back.

Black whisps make the air thick around me, making me scream. The shadow I saw earlier grins down at me with seeming enjoyment!

​Bowing, the shadow reveals my mom laying in a clear coffin.  Shrieking at the sight, I kneel.

"Queen, why do you always scream when something happens," the shadows question me.

Realization strikes me and I feel sick to the stomach.

"I am the dark queen?"

"Yes," hiss the shadows.