Hazard

 

Rune Wolfman and his pack of friends were terrorising the streets of Lomoure, blocking the road with their bikes, shouting expletives at the quaking elderly who regretfully passed, and banging the windows of innocent houses. The wind shrieked as the boys howled with raucous laughter, while an unfortunate pack member attempted to jump over a fence, failing. Rune scoffed and succeeded the trick effortlessly, to the applause of the others and admiration of the inferior boy. Wolfman was always the alpha male.

        As the autumn night wore on, the boys decided to show up to a pre-Halloween rave Rune’s girlfriend Asteria was hosting. Rune ditched his lesser subjects and hitched a ride from his older brother to Fireleaf Forest. The almost-full moon hung in the ink a malevolent phantom spilt into the sky millennia ago; Rune was in admiration of the powerful orb that had watched over all the suspicious happenings from nights gone by.

        If only he knew what it was yet to see.

        “Argh, I missed the turning!”  Rune’s brother growled under his breath.

        “Why did you have to do that?” raged Rune. “I’m gonna be later for Asteria, and you know she’ll break up with me if I miss it!  Argh, you’re such a - ”

        Clouds rolled over the moon. A flash of light. The wind’s soul screaming in agony.

        It was a ghost.

        Rune stopped mid-insult, his heart palpitating faster than any speeding wolf, shaken as though he was an autumn tree, feeling as though Arctic ice was coursing through his veins.

        Because it wasn’t just any ghost.

        It was the ghost of a cyclist.

        Bearing very close resemblance to him.

        “D-did you see that?” whispered Rune, softer than the light mist encircling the forest they were entering.

         His brother reply was as predictable as any horror movie. “See what?”

        Rune told him not to worry, and mentally shouted at himself not to be so stupid. Nothing scared him, especially not light reflecting off a car window. Imagine if Asteria saw him like this! No, he had to forget what he saw. After all, what good is a rave if you don’t enjoy it?

***

 

       It was 2am when the rave finished. Rune reflected on the events of the night, smiling furtively as he remembered that special moment with Asteria, for once away from the seemingly omnipresent yet stupid pack members. But why couldn’t he be fully happy? The rave seemed to go by in a daze, and even now Rune was subdued into silence. Asteria had told him that everything was going to be ok.

       Why couldn’t he believe her?

       “Didn’t you enjoy it, then?” asked Rune’s brother, confused by his behaviour. Usually Rune had too much to say, but tonight the silence seemed to be more noticeable than anything he had ever said.

       “I- I did! Leave me alone!” stuttered Rune.

       But did he? What was the thing causing his uncertainty?

       In reality, he knew the cause all along.

       It was the ghost.

       As he and Asteria ran off to a clearing in the woods, it had been the first time since the sighting that he had forgotten about the spirit. In a moment of much needed respite away from the world, Asteria had drawn him near and kissed him, almost as if phoenix tears fell onto all his troubles and cleared them forever. It was a shame that the moment wasn’t to last.

       Because then it appeared again.

        Rune almost didn’t notice it at first. The electricity between him and Asteria was greater than any charge from a plasma ball; he could almost see the sparks igniting the dead leaves around them. But the ghost’s power was too strong to go unnoticed. Just a subtle glint from between the trees and Rune knew what was there. He broke away from Asteria, panting raggedly as though he had completed a marathon, trying to stop the ground from so eagerly rotating. Asteria had asked him what had happened, but Rune could barely reply. He didn’t want Asteria to see how weak he was, at no point in his life would he succumb to showing vulnerability. Alpha males were not afraid of their own shadows.

        But Rune, try as he might, could not push something out his mind, despite Asteria’s best efforts to make him enjoy the party. The ghost had spoken to him. And the words that echoed round his head –

        "Don’t do it. I’ll be watching.”

        Rune shuddered at this recollection of events. The more he thought of them, the more it seemed true that the ghost was real. But tomorrow was Halloween – he and his pack were going to try out some new stunts and take candy from the houses in the neighbourhood (or else). Then when the full moon was at its pinnacle, the boys would film their new stunts by that mysterious light – they were trying to get Rune famous, and this would be the optimum time to do so. Yes, Rune had to forget about the ghost’s prophecy and give the pack what they wanted. The ghost must have just been him overthinking that light he saw when his brother drove round the corner upon arrival.

       Well, that’s what Rune kept telling himself.

***

 

       The full moon was almost at its pinnacle, and Rune was ready to attempt the jump from the roof of his house to another. Taking a sharp exhale laden with exhilaration, Rune started to clamber out of the attic window onto his platform, to the amazement of his pack below.

       It was time.

       Everything Rune had trained for would pay off tonight. The one leap of faith that would change his life was ahead of him. His wheels left the ground –

       The ghost.

       It glided towards Rune, pushing him down onto the alleyway that separated the houses. A raven mocked and cackled; a fox shrieked in horror.    

       Rune didn’t heed the warning.

       Now it was too late.

​