The Wammy Boys Ghost Stories

"And then, the shadow crept up to the window… the little girl heard a tap-tap-tapping, and shivered. 'It's just a tree branch,' she told herself, and tried to go back to sleep. But the tap-tap-tapping continued. Finally, she got up and went to open the window. But there was no tree branch there. In fact, there wasn't anything there. A shiver ran up her spine, and she went to the door to look outside. And when she opened the door… a shape darted by, a shape running on two legs with a lopsided gate.
"She decided to investigate. Creeping outside, she closed the door to the cabin. It locked behind her with an ominous click, and she realized that she was locked outside. After trying the doorknob in a futile attempt, she turned to face the woods.
"Suddenly, a hook dragged across her throat. She screamed, but it was cut short. The creature stood, just behind her corpse, its hook bloody, and flesh dangling morbidly from the tip of it.
"Even now, if you listen closely, you can hear her scream, and feel the bloody caress of the hook…"
Matt leaned over and dragged a twig across Mello's throat. The blonde jumped and let out a strangled squeak. Matt giggled.
"Shut up!" Mello snapped angrily, rubbing his neck unconsciously.
"I'm good at this, aren't I?" Matt chuckled, fingering Mello's hair. "You know... that girl had the prettiest blonde hair… that's what they say the man was really after."
"Stop it!" Mello squeaked, snatching his hair back. "It's just a stupid story."
"That's right," Near spoke up from across the campfire. "That couldn't really happen." But his skin was even paler than usual.
Matt laughed. "Scardy cats."
Near sniffed indignantly. "Fine, Matt. You think you're so smart. Now it's my turn!"
Mello rolled his eyes. "Oh, joy. No one but you will find the destruction of Toys 'R Us scary, you little albino."
Near regarded him with calm annoyance. "I know that. Just you wait. I'll scare you senseless.
"One night, much like this one…" Near began, spreading his hands and standing for dramatic effect, "three boys were camping in this very spot. They were roasting marshmallows. Little did they know, there were things in these woods besides little boys who liked smoars?
"When the mist started to roll in, they thought nothing of it. But soon it became hard to see, and the fire began to splutter. The cold air nipped at them, and they began to get scared. They decided that it was best to head back to their tents.
"But when they got up and looked around, they found out that the mist had thickened to the point that they couldn't tell which way to go! They had no idea which way their campsite was. Terrified, they huddled together as the last of the fire went out. And there, in the pitch darkness, they began to hear laughter.
"It wasn't nice laughter, more like a low, insane chuckle that rang around the empty, dark clearing. Shapes began moving in the mist, twisted shapes, like misshapen humans and deformed animals. The three boys held onto each other, trying to stay warm, and, more importantly, alive.
"The shapes circling them began to grow nearer and nearer, the scents of putrid death chasing away any remnant of the scent of smoars. The sound of gnashing teeth and the ever present laughter wafted around them, and they trembled. One of them couldn't take it anymore. He made a run for it, despite his friend's warnings, and vanished into the mist. They heard his scream.
"The mist continued to swirl the entire night. Then, finally, the first few rays of light broke the trees, and the mist- and creatures –slowly faded. The two boys had made it out alive, but what of their friend?
"They searched for him, calling his name." Near leaned close into Matt from behind, murmuring in his ear. "They only found his goggles, abandoned at the base of a tree. He was never seen again." Near drew away, and continued his leisurely stole around the campfire. "They say his spirit is still trapped in these woods, and you can still hear the pounding of his feet as he runs; the desperate panting of his breath as he tries to outrun death."
Near sat back, satisfied that he had scared his two companions witless. Indeed, Matt was as white as a sheet, and Mello looked rather faint.
"Are you kids still out here?" A shaggy head poked out of one of the two tents. "Telling ghost stories, are you?"
Near nodded. "Yes, L-sama," he said, a sadistic grin on his face.
"Oh, joy of joys," their mentor grumbled, crawling out of the tent. "Glad I'm not out here." He slouched over to the folding table, plucking out several marshmallows and stuffing them into his mouth as though no one had noticed.
Mello giggled. "L-sama, how many marshmallows can you get in your mouth at once?"
"Quite a few, I would guess," L murmured, snatching a few more and cramming them into his mouth, eyes closing in sugar-induced bliss. "But I don't care to choke to death tonight, thank you."
Grabbing another handful- and mouthful –to go, the raven haired detective ducked back inside his tent with a muffled, "Don't stay out too late," that sounded more like, "Dwof stwa ouf twoo fwate."
All three boys broke out into laughter. At first, none of them had been too keen on L coming along to chaperone; now it was proving to be quite amusing.
They stayed outside for a little while longer, countless smores meeting their end. After an hour and a half of nonstop smore eating, Near sighed and stretched.
"I'm going to bed," he announced sleepily, crawling into the tent beside L's without another word.
Matt and Mello glanced at each other, and Mello looked at his watch.
"Three in the morning," he announced.
Matt sighed. "I guess we should go to sleep, too."
Mello's eyes twinkled. "But we won't, will we?"
Matt grinned. "Hell no."
Another half an hour of smores later, Matt had fallen asleep on Mello's lap, and the blonde himself was nodding slightly.
That was when the mist started to roll in.
Mello's eyes snapped open. He looked around slowly, his blood chilling.
"Uh… Matty…" he murmured, prodding the sleeping redhead.
Matt snorted and opened one eye irritably. "What, Mels…?" he whined.
"T-the mist…" Mello stammered.
Matt rolled his open eye. "Mello, don't try to scare me. I'm going back to sleep."
"Matt, I'm not trying to scare you!!" Mello snapped, wrenching the redhead upright.
Matt let out a strangled yelp, eyes flying wide, and leaped back onto Mello's lap.
The two clung to each other as a ghostly laughter floated around them. Matt forced a natural sounding laugh.
"H-hey Near…" he called shakily. "This i-isn't funny…"
A scream split the air. Both boys recognized it as the voice of their white-haired friend. Mello shivered.
"N-near…?" the blonde called. "L…?"
Suddenly, a hand appeared from the mist, clawing at the ground. L was visible for a split second, and then gave a strangled yell as he was dragged back into the mist by an invisible force. Mello screamed and hung onto Matt tightly.
"L!!" called Matt desperately. "L, can you hear me?!! Near?!!"
The two boys received no reply except the ghostly laughter. Tears formed in Mello's eyes.
"M-Matty…? Are they d-dead…?" he asked quietly.
"I-I hope n-not…" Matt whispered back.
The fire spluttered. Mello's heart lurched, and Matt whimpered. It faded, the coals glowing, and then even they went out.
"A-are we going to die…?" Mello finally asked.
"I-I hope n-not…" Matt repeated.
The laughing became louder, as though the forces that were controlling this found amusement in Mello and Matt's suffering. Mello buried his face in Matt's vest.
Matt sniffed. "If I die… you can have all my video games."
Mello shook his head into Matt's chest. "And… and you know my chocolate stash…? It's all buried in a box under the swing set out back."
Matt stroked the blonde's hair soothingly, crooning to him. "Mello… Mels… I love you, okay? I love you, Mels."
"I love you too…" Mello murmured.
The mist closed in around the two, and it became hard to breath. The smoke smelled sickly-sweet, cloying and suffocating. Both boys had never prayed so hard for the dawn to come.
The laughter only grew louder as dawn approached, the stars glittering down coldly as Mello and Matt held each other in the pitch blackness.
The first ray of sunlight struck through the mist. Mello and Matt looked up, tear-streaked and terrified. More light broke through the trees, and the mist slowly melted away.
The laughter didn't fade with the mist, though. But it did change, becoming less metallic and haunting and more… human?
A shape leaped down from a tree in the dying mist, and Mello squealed, leaping back. But the shape turned out to be a pale, white-haired boy… laughing his head off.
"You should have seen your faces!!" Near crowed. Then, he feigned surprise. "Oh wait… you can! Cause I got it all on tape!!" He brandished a video camera in the air.
Mello blinked and rubbed his eyes. "N-near…?" Then, understanding dawned on him. "NEAR!!!!!"
L jumped down next, his eyes lit with humor. "That was… so funny…" he laughed. "Near, you truly are a genius."
Near gave a mock bow. "Ah, so I am. You, though, were the one who came up with the metal tubing to make the laugh sound scarier."
"Yeah, but you were the mastermind behind the whole thing!" L pointed out. "You were the one who came up with the story itself, too! And the dry ice… oh, and the hose buried under the firepit to make the campfire go out at exactly the right moment… perfect!"
"And yours was quite a convincing performance," Near complimented. "Being dragged back into the smoke was very terrifying, even to me, and I was watching it from the trees!"
"You… you…!!" Mello was shaking with both rage and relief. He pushed himself up and away from the stunned Matt and lunged at Near, who easily dodged.
L reached over and grabbed a handful of marshmallows. "What'd you think the other's I'll say? I mean, Linda and all the others? How'd you think they'll like that video?"
"Gimme that camera!!" demanded Mello, lurching forward, dizzy from his ordeal the night before.
"Um… no." Near danced out of Mello's reach easily.
Matt stood stock still. "You mean… this was all… an elaborate joke…?"
L nodded, patting the redhead on the shoulder. "Yep, that's about it."
Matt nodded slowly. "Pretty good, I have to admit. I mean, I'm pissed as hell, but… I've gotta admire this…"
Mello spun, furious. Matt raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I said I'm still pissed as hell, but I have to respect it."
Near snickered. "That… has to be the highlight of my life."
---
Not long after, while packing up the campsite, Near was washing out one of the pans in the small stream that ran by the camp. He wasn't really paying attention, still too caught up in the beauty of the trick he and L had pulled off the night before. He was still laughing when he noticed the mist rising up from the river.
He stopped laughing when something started laughing with him.
"L-L…?" he called uncertainly. "I-is that y-you…?"
The laughing continued, and Near took a step back. As the one who had set it up, he knew that the metal tubing didn't extend this far away from the camp.
The small boy felt breath on his ear, and a shallow voice whispered:
"You've done my work well."
---
Mello looked up at the scream coming from the river. Matt and he exchanged glances, and L poked his head out of the tent. Near came barreling out of the trees faster than any of them had ever seen him move. He went sprawling straight into Mello, who lurched backwards, surprised to find a small boy suddenly attached to him.
"What the hell's the matter with you?" the blonde asked irritably.
"I'm cursed!!" wailed Near. "A-at the river… and the m-mist…!!"
Everyone glanced at each other, unnerved by the small boy's words.
Then, all of them seemed to hear an echo of laughter dance around the trees.
Maybe it was their imagination.
But did they also imagine the glowing red eyes?
---
"Did you have a nice trip?" Beyond Birthday asked, his red eyes glowing.
"Hehe... uh... yeah..." Mello murmured, rubbing the back of his head.
"Never again," L said shakily. "Camping is highly overrated." He popped another few marshmallows into his mouth, obviously trying to comfort himself.
"What happened?" B asked, deceptively innocent. "You all look like you've been scared half to death."
"Nothing happened," Matt said, trying to convince himself as much as Beyond.
Beyond Birthday, however, knew better.
"Well, welcome home," he murmured soothingly. "Whatever happened, you're all safe now."
L sighed. "Thanks, Beyond. Just seeing you makes me feel better."
"Oh, I'm sure it does."
"Yeah, if anything come to get me, you'll protect me, right?" Near asked anxiously.
B felt a devilish grin threaten to break through. "Oh, of course," he purred.
Matt patted his shoulder on his way past. "You're a good guy," he said.
'A good guy,' Beyond thought gleefully. 'Yeah, I'm a good guy. I make an awfully good ghost, too.'