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Mommy by Bobbie Louise Apel During the summer months, our campground is a beehive of activity; children riding their bikes, golf carts carrying neighbors to bingo or the lake, dogs anxiously barking at the squirrels and deer foraging through the nearby forests for food. But alas, it isn't summer anymore. Its Halloween weekend. I didn't want to come. Its too cold to go camping in the mountains of West Virginia this time of year. But we had to come. The electric is being turned off on Monday and we have to prepare the camp for the harsh winter months ahead. Besides, the boys love it here and wanted to go to the big Halloween party at the community center. My sons could talk me into anything. Being their mom and making them happy has been my mission in life. We stuffed the cars with coolers of food and drinks, blankets, and warm clothes to last just a couple days. We'd be returning home on Sunday. Home. What I wouldn't give to be there right now. What I wouldn't give to be anywhere right now. Anywhere but here... We arrived around 5 in the evening; early enough to still have some daylight in order to collect wood for the fire and pitch the tents. Ten of us came in three separate cars. Myself being the only true adult at the age of thirty-eight. I don't consider my nineteen year-old son and his four college friends to be adults really. My younger sons, ages fifteen and sixteen also brought two of their friends along. I noticed nothing amiss until I was alone in the shed putting some of the groceries in the refrigerators stored there. I could hear the kids all talking and laughing about their costumes and plans for the evening but too I kept hearing faint whispers of which I could not distinguish any actual words. The voices, if you could call them voices, seemed to be coming from behind the shed which bordered the forest. I dismissed my uneasiness convincing myself there were neighboring children playing there. The kids set up the tents as I busied myself making the beds, cleaning the small camper and making a mental list of all the chores to be done before the weekend was over. The darkness settled in on the camp early as the clocks had just been set back. The lights we normally had surrounding the camp were for some unknown reason, not working. The only light was that of the raging fire the younger boys had started. After the chores were done, the kids started dressing for the party. Ghouls, goblins, playboy bunnies and ancient warriors soon inhabited our lot. I watched them with an amused smile but felt a growing sense of unease as the time grew closer to their departure. I kept having the feeling of being watched; stared at really. I almost changed my mind about staying behind alone but dismissed my fears as silly. It wasn't until the last moment, as they had piled into two cars and began pulling out of the lot, did I really regret not going along. "She's alone now" the childlike whisper came from somewhere behind the fire where I could only see blackness. "No, not yet." sighed another. "Patience" I grabbed the flashlight aiming it toward the whispers but could see nothing. Feeling real panic, I turned to retrieve my car keys from the camper deciding silly or not, I was not staying there alone. As I whirled the flashlight around, I froze in sheer terror as the rays of light caught a pair of eyes just inside the tree line. I'd never before seen eyes like these. They were not human but like no animal I'd ever seen before. Hovering about three feet above the ground, I could see nothing of the creature to whom they belonged. Two large dark eyes stared back at me, never blinking and seemingly growing larger as I remained frozen where I stood. I blinked and then there were two sets of eyes staring back at me. Then three. Then four. Finally I came to my senses and started to turn to the camper overtaken by panic and fear. Again the flashlight's beam crossed the line of trees. These same eyes were everywhere. The forest was filled with what seemed to be hundreds of eyes, all staring in my direction. I wanted to scream. I opened my mouth but could not make a sound. I reached for the door of the camper and attempted to yank it open but it would not budge. I knew I hadn't locked it as the handle turned in my hand but the door would not budge. Deciding to forget about the car and just make a run for it, I turned around and again froze in my tracks. The eyes hiding in the forest were no longer disembodied. I found myself surrounded by what appeared to be small children. With the exception of their inhuman eyes, they looked like a group of at least fifty five or six-year-olds. Each of them was dressed in long, black gowns, their heads covered with large hoods. They smiled at me in an almost friendly way. "Who are you? What do you want?" I asked, my voice cracking with trepidation. "Mommy" they answered in unison. "Where are your mothers?" I asked. "You're our mommy" they again answered in unison, their voices filled with happiness. "No!" I screamed at them. "I'm not your mommy. But I can go to the community center and get help to find her." I said with a more gentle tone, hoping I could escape the situation. "We found our mommy" they said, each taking a step closer to where I stood. I stepped back until I was pressed against the cold metal of the camper, searching frantically for an escape route. But they were everywhere. Realizing I could not run, I knew I had to try to talk my way out of this predicament. "What do you want?" I asked again. "What is it you want me to do?" "Take care of us, Mommy" they replied each taking another step closer. "How?" I questioned? "Come live with us, Mommy." They each stretch out their arms taking yet another step toward me. Always, they answered in unison and with happiness in their voices causing every hair on my arms to stand on end. "Where?" Where do you live?" "At home in the forest, Mommy." "But what about my sons? They will be back soon. They need me here to take care of them." I pleaded. "No, Mommy. They're big boys now. They don't need you anymore. We need you, Mommy." By now, several of them stood on the edges of the small porch attached to the camper. I knew I had to run, and run fast if I were to stand the slightest chance of getting away. I pushed from the camper and with all my strength hurled myself to the edge of the porch closest to the gravel road. I got no further however, before I was surrounded and bound by tiny skeletal arms encircling my legs, arms and torso. I tried to strike at them but could not even budge my arms. "Don't run away again, Mommy. Don't you love us anymore?" Their voices took on a somber tone and looking into their eyes I saw tears threatening to spill over. Despite my fear, I felt a sense of sorrow for these poor children. I stopped struggling and attempted to smile down at them. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." I lied. "I just want to go to the car to get your candy. I brought lots of candy for you for trick-or-treating." "You brought us candy, Mommy?" they asked, their voices again filled with delight. "Of course I did. It is Halloween. You can't have Halloween without lots of candy" I said attempting to sound sweet and caring. "Let me go and I will get it for you. It's right there in the car." I felt their arms fall away from my body and immediately I began to run as fast as I could toward the road. I had to get to safety. I had to get my own children as far away from there as I possibly could. Somehow I knew, our lives depended on it. I made it to the road where once again I was stopped dead in my tracks. On the road ahead, the only way to civilization, were hundreds of the same dark, round eyes staring up at me. I knew there was no escape. As they began to come toward me, I backed into the campsite feeling utterly defeated and lost. "Where's our candy, Mommy?" "I'm...I'm sorry. I must have forgotten it at home. Just let me get my keys to the car and I will go get it for you." "We don't need candy, Mommy. We just need you." They again surrounded me and held me in their tiny hands. I was being pulled toward the darkness of the forest and had no way of resisting. "Where are you taking me?" I screamed, trying with all my might to delay the journey. "It's time to go home now, Mommy." As soon as we passed the tree line, I looked back and was startled to find I could no longer see our camp. It had disappeared. Frantic, I spun in every direction looking for any sign of the world I left behind. There is none. I am surrounded only by trees, fields and my new children.