Slowly the hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Shade turned around quickly, but he saw nothing. He knew he felt something touch his shoulder, so he got up, and started looking around his house. He couldn't have just imagined that squeeze, someone had to be physically there.

First the bathroom right off his room, he checked behind the shower curtain covering the tub yet no one was in there. Next on the list was the living room. As he was walking down the hall he felt it again, the squeeze of his shoulder, but there was still no one behind him. He soon decided that he did not want to play with whoever was in his house, so he decided to leave.

When he reached his front door and got partially opened something slammed it shut in his face. He ran to his back door tried to escape again, but got the same results. Shade did what any sane person would do; he started yelling and screaming for help, but no one would come to his rescue.

That's when he saw it, the figure with a pumpkin for a head with a jack-o-lantern face smiling at him. The thing didn't approach him just stared. He stared back, but he was thinking about what to do. He was still at the door so as they were looking at each other, he tried to reach his hand up and grab the handle.

He didn't want this - what he assumed - crazy person to see him, so once he had the knob turned he blinked, Shade sprinted as fast as he could out of his home. He didn't make it far before he tripped over his dog sleeping in the yard. The pumpkin-headed thing grabbed his leg and dragged him back into the house as he yelled for anyone to help him.

He tried fighting against the "thing", kicking and digging his fingers into the ground to slow the "thing" down, all attempts proved futile as he was lifted onto the porch of the house. It was like no one could hear what was happening, because even the dog didn't budge. Once in the house, the "thing" let go of him, and went back into the dark corner, smiling.

Slowly, Shade stood back up and looked at him with fear written all over his face, and ask the Jack-O-Lantern the one question that's been on his mind:

"What do you want?"

The thing didn't say anything, it just watched him. It made him wonder if it wanted to hurt him or just some twisted prank being pulled on him, but then it happened. It's like it read his thoughts.

It's smile turned into a frown, and it lunged at Shade. It grabbed him around the throat and threw him across the room. Shade screamed out from pain when the "thing" dug its razor-sharp nails into the sides of his neck. His back collided with the wall opposite of where he just was. Shade took no time catching his breath and scrambled up to run up the stairs next to him.

He ran to his room and grabbed his gun from his dresser. Shade didn't know what to do, so he aimed for the monster's head. He thought maybe if it didn't have a head on its shoulders then maybe it would stop attacking. It came into his room, and he immediately pulled the trigger. He was right the pumpkin head exploded, but it wasn't over.

It grew back two more heads that were double the size of the previous one. How was he supposed to get rid of it now?! How was he supposed to be free?

"What do you want?" He yelled again, face heated, and body shuddering.

The "thing" attacked again, this time using its long talons like nails and slashed the skin on his stomach. That seemed to be the key, the more he talked the more it attacked. So he decided to not talk in his house, but be a prisoner to that "thing".