Roadkill

No one else in the room seemed to notice of this I am sure but the pounding at the front door continued. It was sporadic. There would be pelts against the windowpane which was high above one’s visual field on the old wooden door. Then there would be silence.

Then a pelt and pound again. Yet the room full of people clad in Halloween costumes did not flinch.

“Can you hear that, Jamie?” I yelled to my friend across the room who was chatting with a guy in a gorilla suit.

“Hear what?” She smiled and turned away.

Thump! Again, the door shook. I peered out the window beside me moving back Queen Anne lace curtain. I looked over to the empty stoop, nothing no one out there. I pulled the curtain back and assured myself it must be the wind.

“Something out there catch your eye?”

I turned around to face words coming from a large rat, no possum possible a squir…..?

I felt a pang of recognition as I remembered what happened last year.

“Are you okay?” the voice behind the rodent mask spoke again.

“Yeah, I’m fine! Great costume!” Very realistic! You look like one I hit when I left this party last year.”

I laughed and waited for the giant gray fur pest to laugh with me, instead I almost spilled my spiked scary punch as two cold eyes stared right at me.

“My costume is a dedication to my pet, Bruno whom I lost at last year's party! "

“Bruno was a squir….??” My words were cut off as this oversized chipmunk put his index finger to my mouth as if to say shush!

“Bruno was my everything!”

“There are like a dozen Brunos outside right now!” The scary punch had loosened my filter, and I laughed again only to be met with the same cold stare. I moved my eyes back to my drink

“Do you know what happened to Bruno?”

“I’m not sure. I know that there are many of his kind roaming around and if I hit one it was just a squir…. !” Again, the finger came up to my mouth.

“If I find out you killed my Bruno, so help me!”

“Damn it Jamie, this guy is giving me the creeps, can we go now?” I yelled as Jamie was still talking to the gorilla.

The pounding returned to the door. I decided to go with or without my friend. Just had enough of this place and I was lit. The crazy rodent was still staring at me.

I made a face putting my teeth over my bottom lip in my best impersonation. “It was just a SQUIRREL! I hit it and I’ll probably hit a few more- Roadkill can’t be helped!” All of sudden there was a smile across the rodent’s face as he opened the door for me.

“Well thank you! Sorry about your little guy. Why don’t you run and capture another!” I snorted as I laughed and stumbled outside.

The door slammed behind me, but I could sense eyes watching me from all over. Then it began. The first one hit me off the side of the head. Then another right in eye.

“Ouch!”

“What the hell? The weapon dropped in my hand. A pinecone! Then another dropped from the sky then another! All at once I was being pelted! I looked up to see shadows of furry creatures purposely aiming at me. I ran down the steps and across the road. More pinecones came. Hitting me from all directions. I looked up to see bright lights of car only running right at me. I swear I heard “Not just a squirrel! It was Bruno!”