Day of the Dead Flash Fiction

I wrote this in one go after trick or treating for three hours. I hope you enjoy it.

When the magical ward that had been set on the doors of the Fossil Ridge Public Library was broken, Aileen Durant’s eyes popped open immediately. She winced and sat up, clutching her head. Her witch’s hat fell off, and she realized she had fallen asleep in her costume.

“Ergh,” she muttered as she slid off her couch and waddled toward the bathroom to pee. Another magical ward was tripped, meaning that whoever had broken into the library was now in the inner sanctum, which meant her office. Why was someone in her office?

She splashed some cold water on her face and looked in the mirror. Aileen’s naturally pale complexion was streaked with green paint still. Upon coming home from Maeve’s party, she had made a poor attempt to remove the makeup.

“It was just two lemon drops,” she groaned, stumbling out of the bathroom and into her living room. She picked up her phone and glared at it accusingly. “Who the fuck breaks into a library at 3 am?”

Oh. Right. It was the witching hour. She frowned in disapproval and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Aileen highly doubted that someone had broken in to steal something from the library. There were far juicer targets within sight of the front doors of the building. No, if someone was breaking in this time of night on the Day of the Dead, it could only be one thing.

Groaning, Aileen drank two cold glasses of water to try and stabilize her stomach, then swallowed some aspiring. Mumbling to herself, she found her headlamp and strapped it to her head. She didn’t own a car, but the bike would get her there in ten minutes.

Stepping out of her home while throwing on a coat, she turned to see that a raccoon was busy trying to work the lid of her trashcan off. The raccoon paused and stuck his hands in the air.

“What have I told you about that?” she said, keeping her voice low. It wasn’t for the sake of her neighbors, the closest one was a quarter of a mile away through the trees. Her head really hurt.

The raccoon chittered a defense at her, but Aileen wasn’t buying it.

“I know for a fact that you were eating out of the dumpster behind Diya’s. She said she’s going to shoot you next time she sees you.”

The raccoon put its hands together and pleaded.

“I don’t care how many kids you have at home,” she said as she opened the garage. It was mostly empty, primarily occupied by her bike, which was on its side. The good thing about not owning a car was that she could walk her bike home when drunk. Clearly she had been unable to park it.

The raccoon chattered, then made a wheezing sound.

“I only had two drinks,” Aileen countered. “I shouldn’t have gotten this drunk. Stop eating my trash.”

The raccoon stepped back from the trash can and sat. It seemed perfectly happy to wait her out. Aileen sighed and turned away from it.

“At least put the lid back on,” she grumbled, then hopped on her bike. She was still wearing her witches dress, which meant she had to hike up the skirt to keep it from getting caught in the chain.

It had snowed recently, and the night air sobered her quickly. If not for the fact that the streets had been recently plowed and sprayed with deicer, she wouldn’t have even bothered. However, someone had broken into her library in the middle of the night, and she could think of only one reason why.

It was hella haunted, as Maeve would say. The library itself was the oldest building in Fossil Ridge and used to be the courthouse. Not only had it seen its share of violence and hangings, but the courthouse had also been built on a sacred burial ground. The spirits who occasionally lingered there were content with the building’s current purpose, but the stories people told in town meant that ghost hunters were constantly asking Aileen or the mayor for permission to do ghost hunts. The mayor didn’t really care, but Aileen did. The dead deserved their rest and did not take kindly to being disturbed.

She didn’t bother pedaling much. Her trip into town was largely downhill, so she coasted. Her stomach hurt, likely from some of the candy bars she had eaten at Maeve’s party. Maeve was the part-time librarian and wasn’t much younger than Aileen. However, the woman was an extrovert, which meant she was constantly trying to drag Aileen out of her protective shell. 

That, and the Halloween party had actually been fun. While people were curious about the new Head Librarian, Aileen had already implemented so many positive changes for the Fossil Ridge library that most of what she heard was compliments. Being dressed as a witch had been the perfect ice breaker for most, because there were rumors around town that Aileen was an actual, bonafide witch.

Which she was, but holding out her arms and saying “What do you think?” while dressed as a witch kept her from being dishonest and also drew some laughs. Aileen’s costume was from the town’s big Trick or Treat event and she had been handing out candy at the library all day.

A few minutes before Aileen got to the library, she heard the distant sound of a truck roaring to life and spinning tires on asphalt. She crested the hill and saw headlights in the library parking lot as whoever had broken in was now fleeing like their lives depended on it. Maybe they did, who knew?

The library was mostly dark, but Aileen noticed that the basement lights were flickering. This caused her to stop her bike and pause for a bit to watch. After watching them for a bit, she sighed. Either someone had stayed behind to play with the lights, or a spirit was pissed.

Down in the parking lot, she parked her bike by the door and walked up to the front. She knelt down to inspect the lock and frowned. With a gentle tug, the door came open. Someone hadn’t broken in, they had used a key. The mayor had an idiot teenager living under his roof, and there was a good chance the kid had stirred up the hornet’s nest.

Aileen stepped inside and noticed that it was somehow colder than it had been outside. She could see her breath in the lobby. That wasn’t a good sign. Ignoring the feeling of malevolent eyes on the back of her neck, she walked directly to her office. Dark shadows flitted around in her peripheral vision, but she ignored them for now.

In her office, she opened her desk drawer and pulled out the false bottom. A small emergency kit had been placed there, and she grabbed what she needed from it. At the very least, she would have to burn some sage, but that could wait until morning. Whatever was stomping around her library needed a proper boot up its ass tonight.

Aileen pulled a pair of glowsticks out of her desk and headed straight for the basement. It was used mainly for storing things that you would almost never need, primarily because the place was a spook factory. Even she got chills going down there.

At the bottom of the stairs, Aileen let out a soft groan when she saw what was waiting for her. Someone had set up a bunch of led candles around a ouija board of all things right in the middle of the room. Scowling, she walked toward it and cracked her glowsticks.

The lights flickered and went out. Somebody sighed behind her, a sound that was soon replaced by a growl. When the lights came back on, she saw a dark figure standing in the corner.

“The veil will be lifted soon,” it whispered. “And great evil will fall through a hole in the sky.”

“Uh huh.” Aileen hoped that acknowledging the spirit would keep it from getting closer, or worse, taking a swing at her. “You guys are always saying stuff like this. It’s repetitive.”

“The grave beckons,” it whispered again. Aileen now stood over the ouija board with a frown. The planchard was off to the side and it was clear that whoever had left had done so in a hurry. Her best guess was that the board had been used to summon a spirit. This one was aggressive and had scared the shit out of the people who had been there.

The lights went out and the spirit growled. The dark shadow in the corner moved toward her, slow at first. Aileen stuck a hand in her pocket and knelt down to handle the board.

The spirit let out a high-pitched shriek and lunged for her. Aileen threw the handful of salt in the spirit’s direction, causing the apparition to fall apart before it could reach her. She pulled out a piece of chalk and drew a protective circle around herself and the ouija board before the ghost could come again.

“Let’s see,” she whispered to herself as the spirit raged and threw itself at the barrier she had made. Furniture in the basement squawked loudly as it was drawn across the floor, but the spirit wasn’t strong or mad enough to lift it yet. That protective barrier would do jack shit against an airborne table.

“Troubled spirit, I dismiss thee.” Aileen picked up the planchard and set it on the board. “Your time here is no more.” She gave the planchard a push and it wouldn’t budge. A dark mass pressed itself against the barrier/

“The veil!” it howled, dark fingers scratching the barrier and sending sparks into the room.

“You’re…quite a bit stronger than expected,” muttered Aileen. “But it’s time for you to go.” Crouching down, she shoved the planchard toward goodbye. “Go. Leave. Get out. I cast you out. Good riddance.”

A glowing pair of eyes manifested before her. Aileen looked up at them and shuddered.

“Okay, not an ordinary spirit, then.” Aileen muttered, then stuck her hand back in her pocket for more salt. She cast it toward the malevolent entity, causing it to scatter once more. Looking down at the spirit board, she put both hands on the planchard and pushed.

“Goddess guide me,” she prayed, then recited a banishing spell. The entity howled and a table moved most of the way across the floor toward Aileen. She winced at the sound, but continued her recitation. 

The spell weakened the spirit, and Aileen’s hands glowed white as she shifted the planchard to goodbye. The lights turned off and the feeling of dread lifted. Shaking her head, Aileen folded the spirit board in half and tucked the planchard in her pocket.

“Tough little bastard,” she muttered, taking the board upstairs with her. She locked the library on the way out and walked her bike home. Aileen was too hungover to pedal, and swore off lemon drops the entire way.