is a tale of horror and suspense. It tells the story of a group of common people fleeing from their daunting past, and their struggle for survival. It shows how man’s evil transgression and guilty conscience will literally follow him to his death, and perhaps even cause it. It also tells of how one man’s fault could not only lead to his suffering, but also to those he holds dear.
The tale begins when a group of six daring, young teenage boys plan an upcoming Halloween prank. The mastermind of the six, Jack Boomer, decides to try something different and more dangerous than the previous years. He plans to blow up the shack with a pile of firecrackers. Four of his cronies immediately agree with his plan; however, Ted Dot, the pessimistic, redheaded teenager, is reluctant. He tries to explain to them the consequences of being caught. The other five are not dissuaded from the idea, and they somehow talk Ted into going along with them. Once all six confirm their new idea, they gather their materials. On Halloween night, they set out to execute their plan. Everything works out perfectly for them, and the shack soon erupts into a blazing fury.
Their celebration is short-lived, though. From out of the forest appears a mysterious old woman. Her ethnicity is unknown, her origin is unknown, why she is bald, wears a polka-dotted skullcap, wraps her feet in construction paper for shoes, and wears a mud-stained, dark brown dress is all unknown, and it remains unknown throughout the story. The entire time she is simply referred to as the "old woman." In her hand she carries a long, gnarled staff– the most significant figure in the entire piece. This stranger claims that the destroyed shack was her home, and she doesn’t give the six teenagers a chance to explain. She unleashes her fury and invokes a horrible curse upon them.
From then on, it is the ultimate survival story for the six boys. Not only do they suffer the consequences, but also their family members and other best friends are part of the ordeal. And, the "old woman" claims, the terrible conflict does not cease until all six of them have been wiped out.
"STAN!" Frank yanked off his skis and ran up to the aid of his brother. He kneeled down and tapped him on the shoulder. "Stan, are you okay?"
Meanwhile, Stan’s parents were hurriedly skiing down the same dangerous slope, dodging all the trees and rocks. They eventually made it down, and they kneeled beside their two sons. Their attempt to revive him was all in vain, and after a few minutes Stan’s father looked up at the staring crowd of people.
"Well, what are you all looking at? Someone go call 9-1-1; this is an emergency! He needs to be taken to a hospital!" he yelled. Half the people turned and scurried to the nearest cabin- which was a quarter mile from where they were standing- while the other half stayed and gazed on wonderingly as two adults and a 15-year-old boy attempted to revive their mauled, unconscious 13-year-old family member.
Stan Fellinsworth- thirteen years old, white with dirty blonde hair, thick glasses, blue eyes, and the shortest male person in his eighth grade class- was dead.
Stan was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Doctors said he had broken his neck from the force of the impact when he smashed his head against the jagged rock. He had also suffered from a major concussion, which cracked his scull wide open. He had already been dead just seconds after his head struck the rock.
Stan’s family was heartbroken. Frank, as well his parents, blamed himself for the tragic accident. It would be years afterwards that Frank’s parents would even consider forgiving him for his unnecessary actions.
However, it wasn’t Frank’s fault; it was the Curse. Like the old woman had said earlier: the Curse would kill them in any way it chose, and it would take any form. In this case, it took the form of Stan’s own flesh and blood. It somehow convinced him to pick on his little brother, causing Stan to grow angry- or more eager to die- and slide off the edge of the slope to his death. Of course, the Fellinsworths didn’t know this, except Stan, who never would’ve told them because, obviously, they wouldn’t have believed him. No one would’ve believed him.
The next day, Ted, William, and Hank were trudging home together after another long day of school. The entire day they’d been worried about Stan, and now as they walked home they worried more about themselves rather than Stan. They had stopped at the sidewalk to wait on a passing car when Ted looked to the right at the nearby newspaper booth. He immediately stopped and stared at it with sheer terror. Hank and William noticed him, stopped and asked, "What’s wrong, Ted?"
Ted slowly walked up to the booth and continued to stare at it; William and Hank followed close behind.
"Ted, what are you looking at? Is something wrong?" they repeated.
Ted stopped in front of the booth and said, "Guys, come look at this newspaper article. You’re not gonna like what it says."
Once the other two boys were standing next to Ted, they read the headline of the article. It said: 13-YEAR-OLD FROM VERMONT DIES IN SKIING ACCIDENT. Ted fumbled through his pockets until he pulled out twenty-five cents. He put his quarter into the small slot, pulled on the latch, opened the window, and took out the newspaper. He unfolded it, and the three boys read together what the article said.
It told everything about Stan’s accident- from the moment Stan fell forward on his skis, to the doctors pronouncing him dead at the hospital. It described the type of heartache and pain Stan’s family was going through, and it gave a very brief summary of Stan’s life leading up to the accident.
Once they were finished, Ted dropped the newspaper and stared straight ahead. The other two boys looked in the same direction; their breaths were taken away.
It was the old woman. In her right hand was her trusty wooden staff, while in her other hand she held a pair of broken glasses. It only took a few seconds for the three boys to realize that they must’ve been the same glasses Stan had worn every day. The old woman glared at each of them before she turned around and laughed hysterically. She walked away, her construction paper shoes going crunch, crunch on the pine straw covered ground. Soon, she had disappeared into the woods.
William and Hank looked at Ted as if this had something to do with him.
"It’s happening," Ted addressed them. "It’s happening just as we feared."
