Author: Sam

Story: Halloween in Hazzard: 7 of 10

Series: n/a

Characters added: none new

Note: This is what happened to me in Mom's house about six months before my father's death.

Feedback: Yes, please? Especially constructive. samwise_baggins@yahoo.co.uk

Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/samwise_baggins/index.html

Enos looked nervously at the bobbing cork, the needle pointing directly towards him. With a rather anxious look, the young officer looked up at the others positioned around the table. Suddenly, he realized that he didn’t want to play any more. It wasn’t because he didn’t have any ghostly stories, witness Bo’s tale at the beginning of the game. No, it was more like the only story he had left that he could think of, and it was something he’d never told anyone... even the Duke boys. But the officer was also the most honest, fair-minded man you could come across. Since the cork had pointed at him, it meant he had to tell a story, even if he didn’t want to.

"When I was a teenager," the young deputy began, Adam's apple bobbing nervously as he took a swig of beer to steady himself. "My Mama and Daddy had this ol' cat they called Cameo. She was a rather... uh... protective cat towards my Daddy: you know, didn't let people near him or anything less'n she was in a good mood. She weren't but rarely in a good mood, neither." Enos let his eyes drop down to his tightly clenched hand, his knuckles standing out white around the mug handle. With a conscious effort he relaxed the grip, afraid he might break the mug.

"Well, I went up to bed one night, stopped and petted the cat on the way, and went into my room. I guess that was a bit odd, as she weren't a friendly cat, but she'd let me pet her, so I didn't pay it no never mind. As soon as I hit the bed, I was asleep, too. Sometime in the night, I woke up but I didn't know why. I don't recall any noise or nothing out of the ordinary, but I had the feeling someone was in the room that was never there before. Then I felt a sense of danger, but it wasn't the spirit... it was a sense around the spirit. The spirit wasn't hostile."

Enos didn't meet anyone's eyes. He felt odd, telling the tale. He didn't want a lot of questions about being able to sense things, because it was... creepy. With a soft sigh, not checking to see who had suddenly come so close up behind him, he continued. "I was so sleepy, I couldn't fight it anymore and drifted back to sleep. Next, I woke up screaming as Mama called my name. She asked if I was okay, and I said I had been until she woke me up. She said there had been a very odd noise, but she and Daddy couldn't figure out where it come from. I fell instantly back to sleep, still not able to keep awake. Again, I woke up screaming as Mama called me a second time. She told me that Daddy's cat, Cameo, had died in the night, and that was the odd sound... her last breath."

Looking up nervously, seeing only awed belief in the eyes of those listening, Enos relaxed just a bit. "I never did get answers to some of my questions, neither. Like, was that the danger I felt? Had I sensed Cameo dying, and felt her spirit as it passed through? Is that what woke me the first time that night?" Enos shrugged, then jumped as he felt a hand gently fall to his shoulder. Looking up, he gave a weak smile to Daisy, who had been the one that'd come up behind him. She smiled gently back.