The worst stop on my mail route was the Jacklantern Mansion.
“There needs to be a proper driveway here,” I muttered and gripped the steering wheel of my old mail truck. Dark forest surrounded me, and the paved road trailed into a dirt path up ahead. “I waste thirty minutes every week on this stupid house.”
I stopped the truck just before the end of the paved road and grabbed the mailbag I had already prepared. Every Friday, there were eight envelopes for the Jacklantern Mansion. Thankfully, that was the only day I had to trudge through the forest, but that wasn’t much of a silver lining to me.
As I hopped out of my truck, mud splashed onto my black sneakers and up my bare calves. “Why did they give this uniform shorts?”
I ran a hand over my buzzed, blond hair and thought, you can do this, Jamie. Maybe you won’t have to talk this time.
The ground squished underneath my feet with every step, but I forced myself to walk down the muddy path. As usual, the forest was completely devoid of wildlife, and only the occasional rustle of leaves hit by the wind broke the empty silence. For the first few months I worked as a mail carrier, the silence terrified me. After a while, it became almost serene.
Though that night, the mud ruined that serenity.
The evening light barely filtered through the thick canopy of tree branches, but the rain somehow made its way through. At random moments, water droplets sprayed down on me in an airborne attack and chilled me.
But by the time I got to the Jacklantern Mansion, I managed to stay mostly dry.
Warm light poured out of the mansion’s large windows and illuminated much of the clearing it sat in. Strange shadows danced in the light.
It took every ounce of willpower to not turn and check if there was a person following me.
Only the Jacklanterns lived in this forest. No one else, nothing else lived under the canopy of trees.
I walked up to the black front door and fished the eight envelopes from my mailbag. The golden mail slot shone with a fresh polish. It was much more inviting than the front door. A small bit of warm light glowed from the window above the door.
Maybe I’ll get away this time, I thought.
I shoved the mail through the slot and immediately turned to leave.
I only got a few steps away when the door creaked open and a familiar voice called out, “Oh, is it Friday already?”
“Yes, it is, Misses Jacklantern,” I said through gritted teeth and turned to face the door.
Misses Jacklantern was a cheery woman who seemed like she came straight out of a horror movie. Her skin was so pale, it almost looked gray, and her arms stretched just long enough to be unnatural. Her hair was the same jet-black color as her dress, and they both hung limp and loose. And the worst was Misses Jacklantern’s smile: she always had that perfect smile, but something about it sent shivers down my spine.
I made sure not to look her in the eye.
“For the millionth time, call me Janace,” Misses Jacklantern said. “And thank you so much again for coming all this way, especially with the storm coming in.”
“I never heard about—” I was cut off by a clap of thunder.
There hadn’t been any forecasts of storms for that day, only showers.
“Would you like to come in and wait out the storm?” Misses Jacklantern shuffled forward and extended a bony hand to me. “I would hate for you to get trapped out there. It is the thirteenth, after all.”
A scream echoed from somewhere deep in the house. The smile did not fall from Misses Jacklantern’s face.
“That was probably just my children again,” she said.
“I need to finish my route actually,” I said and walked backward. “I’ll be heading out now.”
“Are you sure?” Misses Jacklantern kept her hand extended. “I remember you talking about how you like art, and I’ve recently acquired some wonderful new paintings I think you’d enjoy.”
The smile grew more sinister, and my blood ran cold.
“Sorry, gotta leave,” I blurted out. “Have a nice day!”
I turned and ran down the dirt path. Misses Jacklantern yelled something out to me, but I couldn’t hear what she said.
I got to my truck, I immediately jumped in and went to turn the engine on.
The truck didn’t start.
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