Home After Dark

‘Make sure you get home before Dark,’ Archie’s mum reminded him as she zipped up his hoodie.

“I will, mum.’ he said happily, opening the front door. His mum put her hand on the door and looked down at Archie, with that serious look on her face.

‘Promise?’ she asked.

‘Promise.’ he nodded.

Archie’s mum smiled. He gave her a hug and headed outside.

Now he was eight, Archie’s mum let him go to the park without her, but always on one condition. Like clockwork, every day, she made him promise to be home before Dark. Archie didn’t understand why it was so important, but when he asked, his mum told him that if he didn’t, he would never be the same. Archie wasn’t sure what she meant, but he loved his mum and trusted her. So, every day without fail, he set off home in plenty of time.

When Archie got to the park that day, his friends Marco and Sophia were already there, playing catch. Archie rode his bike up to them and parked it on the playground, before joining in their game. The three children spent hours playing ball games on the green, climbing around the jungle gym, and playing make believe, until eventually, the sun began to set. They all knew they had to be home before Dark, so they started getting their things.

‘I wish we didn’t have to leave so early,’ Archie picked up his bike as they all headed for the exit.

‘Yeah, but we gotta be home before Dark,’ said Marco.

‘I don’t get why it’s so bad,’ Sophia shrugged, putting up her hood as it began to lightly rain.

‘Mrs. June said her son didn’t get home before Dark once. And now she says she’s never gotten him back,’ Marco pointed out, adding,

‘I don’t wanna risk that,’

Sophia shook her head and closed the park gate behind them.

‘Old Mrs. June? She’s crazy, I see her son with her all the time.’

The next day, Archie couldn’t get what Marco said about old Mrs. June out of his head. On his way to the park, curiosity got the better of him. He turned his bike around and took a different route, making a diversion past Mrs. June’s house. As he biked past, he peered in through the windows. He could see Mrs. June putting breakfast on the table. And there was her son, sitting right beside her at the table. Sophia must have been right, thought Archie. Her son’s still there; maybe Mrs. June just isn’t very well. Content, Archie kept pedalling to the park.

What Archie couldn’t see through the window, was the way Mrs. June’s hands trembled with nerves. Or the blank expression on her son’s face. Or that his eyes, once baby blue and full of life, were now as black as onyx; flooded with Dark.

As summer continued, Archie spent most days at the park with Sophia and Marco. Every day his mum warned,

‘Make sure you get home before Dark,’ and every day he played from morning until sunset, when he speedily made his way home. But, as the months flew by, the sun began setting sooner and sooner. One day, just as they were leaving, Sophia realised she couldn’t find her football.

‘Just get it tomorrow,’ said Archie, tugging on her sleeve. Sophia shook her head and continued to search.

‘You guys go, I’ll find it,’ she insisted.

‘You won’t make it home before Dark, Sophia,’ Archie frowned as the sun got lower in the sky.

‘Don’t worry, that’s all silly anyway,’ Sophia said happily. She hugged Marco and Archie goodbye, and after a moment the boys set off home, and Sophia continued to look for her ball.

The next day, they all met as usual. But Sophia seemed different. She didn’t smile. She didn’t laugh. She barely spoke. And her eyes, usually bright brown, were Dark; completely black, like her pupils had spread across her entire eyeballs. Archie and Marco asked if she wanted to play, but instead she sat alone on the wall, next to Archie’s bike. While Archie wasn’t looking, she picked up a sharp pebble, and poked a hole in the tyre.

When it was time to leave, Sophia still didn’t say a word. They all left their separate ways.

Archie hopped astride his bike and started to pedal, but the bike didn’t move. Frowning, he looked down to see what was wrong. When he saw the flat tyre, his heart sank. The sun was slowly sinking deeper and deeper in the sky, and it would soon be Dark.

Archie quickly leapt off his bike and started wheeling it beside him, going as fast as he could. He forced his little legs to move quickly, but the flat tyre dragged and dragged, making it impossible to pick up speed.

By the time Archie reached his street, the sunlight had almost completely gone. His heart beat faster and faster as he panted and desperately tried to drag his bike home in time. He looked to the hills and saw the last part of the sun shining dimly above the landscape. Panicking, Archie dropped his bike on the pavement and began to run, as fast as his legs could carry him, breathing heavier and heavier. As he drew closer to his house, the last peek of sun disappeared. All in a moment, Darkness flooded the street. Archie felt a cold shiver. The only light now came from the dim, flickering street lamps. Archie found his feet rooted to the spot. He was paralysed, unable to move.

Out from behind the house beside him, he saw a shadowy figure emerge. His heart flipped as he watched it slither across the garden towards him. Before he knew it, the grim, tall, jet black figure stood before him; like a storm of bad feeling. Its raspy voice rang around Archie’s ears.

‘Didn’t your mother tell you to get home before me?’

Isabella Clark is a media graduate who pursued her love for storytelling through creative writing at Goldsmiths. Having written from a young age and being particularly interested in horror, she has a passion for penning subversive children’s stories which mix a fairy-tale style of writing with dark and eerie plots. Now working with primary school children, she hopes to nurture imagination and inspire future generations of storytellers.