Happy Halloween Dear Readers! I know that Halloween is fast approaching, and wanted to get a scary story out there! This story is based loosely on the Doctor Who episode 'The Empty Child' which is absolutely fantastic. It borrows heavily, but I hope you enjoy it!

The Empty Ed

Chapter 1: Are You My Mommy?

The sun had just gone down minutes ago, which considering it was summer, was quite late in the evening. Most of the kids of the cul-de-sac weren't quite ready to call it a night yet, since school was out, and their curfews were relaxed a bit, except for one responsible young man.

"Eddy? Don't you think we should head to our respective homes for the evening?"

"Relax Sockhead. I heard Kevin is planning to play Flashlight Hide and Go Seek! We gotta go!" The shorter boy responded. After the fated incident with Eddy's brother, they were on good terms with the other kids, even the Kankers weren't quite as feared and shunned as they once were.

"Are you certain? I'm sure if Mother and Father were in town, they would not approve of me fighting against my circadian rhythm."

"Your what now? Don't worry about it, I mean what's the worst that could happen?"

That's called foreshadowing, boys and girls.

Edd hung his head in defeat before sighing, and mumbling "Oh Dear..." before following Eddy at his usual gait.

Everyone was running and laughing in the darkness, the glow of flashlights bouncing around almost resembling a rave. The full moon had come out tonight, and shone like a bright white beacon against the bleak night sky.

"You got me Nazz!" Johnny 2x4 said smiling wide.

A new voice cut through the sound of children's laughter like nails on a chalkboard, "Are you my Mommy?"

All flashlights suddenly pointed towards the newest figure, and all laughter and speech quickly died down. A small child, wearing what appeared to be an old gas-mask stood there. Short, blonde, spiky hair peeked out from behind the mask, and black straps secured it tightly to the boy's head. Dressed in old, dirty clothes, he looked unremarkable save for some bruises on his hands.

Double D felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something wasn't right about this child. Those clothes looked like something out of the 1940's, as well as that mask.

Johnny was the closest, and took the opportunity to ask, "Heya buddy. Are you looking for your mom?" He crouched down and put a reassuring hand on the child's shoulder. The boy's head snapped up, almost as if looking Johnny in the eye, and repeated, "Are you my Mommy?" in a muffled tone. Johnny went to get up, but the boy's hand grabbed his arm instead.

"Hey! Let go! Ahh! It burns!" Johnny screamed out loudly in obvious pain. The child's grip didn't loosen though, if anything it got tighter as the boy struggled. The neighborhood kids were all frozen in shock, their flashlights on the scene before them. Johnny dropped to the ground and appeared to convulse. Plank clattered across the concrete, discarded. Johnny writhed in agony on the ground, and his screams became muffled, as he appeared to choke. Double D's flashlight focused on the boys mouth, as something forced its' way out. A black mass oozed out, almost like oil. Instead of dripping off of him though, it spread over his face and began to take shape. The terrified whites of his eyes were covered, and as a pulse hardened the material, two large black orbs replaced his eyes. The transformation complete, he rose up with an identical mask to the intruder.

"Dude... Uh, Johnny?" Kevin warily ventured as he shined his flashlight on the bald boy.

Their former friend looked towards the boy in the red hat, before tilting his head at an angle and asking that dreaded question. "Are you my Mommy?"

The original echoed the question, as they both took steps towards the neighborhood kids. For each step one of these children made, the neighborhood kids took one step back.

Eddy was the first to yell out. "EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

The kids all ran in different directions. Nazz went to Kevin's house with him. Their natural athletic ability gave them a huge lead on getting there, and locking the doors and windows. In all of the commotion, two teens ran into each other, colliding hard. Double D was dazed, but a hand swam into his vision and he clung on to it like a lifeline. He was pulled up, and drug along by his savior, Marie Kanker. He mumbled his thanks and looked back at the two possessed children. Someone had tripped, and they were closing in. Edd didn't want to imagine which one of his friends had succumbed to this surreal experience, and looked away. His vision caught sight of the moon, which had suddenly turned a rusty blood red color.

A little ways away from our main characters, a new addition to the soulless children got up and stretched his lanky figure. The new gas mask secured tightly to his head, a thick foreign accent spoke out, "Are you my Mommy?"

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