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an assignment I had to write for creative writing class


A thrilling tale

The moon glowed brightly in the sky and the Darren Shan sat one his front porch staring up at it. The streetlights lit the road in an orange glow, like quite a bit of orange sherbet had spilled. The streets themselves were empty despite the fact that it was Halloween night in one of the largest neighborhoods in the state.

Darren turned as he heard a slight rustling in the bushes behind him, chuckling slightly as a small raccoon emerged from them, nosing its way through the grass. “I’m a bit jumpy I suppose.” He muttered quietly.

He turned, this time hearing a loud thumping noise accompanied by several guttural grunts and growls from down the street. As he watched, horrible creatures began to march up the street, their arms dangling from their elbows by small strips of tendons and flesh. Their eyes fell from their sockets, swaying back and forth as they moved, the decaying retina’s barely holding on.

And they marched on and on, a seemingly never-ending tide of rotting flesh and bones, some of them no more than arms or legs that crept across the streets. Darren shrank back against his house, his chest tight with fear.

His breath came in quick gasps as he saw the creatures in front of him. And as he watched the creatures began to line up in rows. A beat began to play in the background and the zombies slowly began to move. They clapped their hands together as one slid from left to right, sliding towards their outstretched foot. They stomped their right feet in unison, their heads twitching to the side. They repeated the process again. The sound echoed through the silent streets and he heard the beat clearly for the first time.

It’s close to midnight
Somethin’ evil’s lurkin’ in the dark
Under the moonlight
You see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream

But terror takes the sound before you make it
The zombies were moving again, raising their arms like claws and swinging them through the air. They turned on their right foot, clawing at the air on their other side. They rocked from side to side on their hips, the tops of their bodies barely moving. How they managed that with their disjointed limbs was something that confused Darren greatly. But even with all the noise the beat still seemed louder than before.

Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no ones gonna save you from the beast about strike
You know its thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

They jumped into the air, their stomp slamming into the ground like a hammer blow. They swung their torsos in a circle, flinging their arms in the air as they moved to the intoxicating beat. They stood upright, looking from right to left as they stepped back and forth. They spun, looping their arms over their heads and bringing them down as they once more rocked back and forth. What mystified him was that the zombies were singing along with the song. Not traditional singing, simply a chorus of grunts but they were singing! And now the beat screamed through the air, it’s loud call drowning out noise from anything else.

You hear the door slam and realize there’s nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you’ll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination
But all the while you hear the creature creepin up behind
You’re out of time

Daren stepped forward, no in wonder as the beat entranced him as well. As he stepped into the midst of the zombies and began to dance with them they converged on him and killed him. And thus there is a moral to this story. If zombies appear outside your house and begin to dance to thriller, don’t join them. Good night everyone, and have a happy Halloween.