Halloween Scare by Maggie Sefton

Author:Maggie Sefton [Sefton, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Margaret Conlan Aunon w/a Maggie Sefton
Published: 2014-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Kelly raced up the Lambspun front steps and into the shop. She couldn’t wait to show everyone what she’d found at the costume shop. A Medusa wig with realistic-looking rubbery snakes that writhed and wiggled whenever she moved her head. One look at the Medusa wig when she tried it on, and Kelly laughed out loud. If she couldn’t be scary, at least she could make people laugh.

“Hey, Rosa. Come into the front when you finish and see the great costume I found,” Kelly said as she burst into the foyer.

“I’ll be right there,” Rosa said as she replaced yarns in the bins. “Mimi’s still in class. Show it to Hilda. She’s still knitting in the armchair.”

“Okay. I’ve got Mimi’s and Burt’s costume hanging up in the car.” Kelly skipped through the middle room with the large Mother Loom and into the front where the counter and cash registers. “Hilda, you’ll never guess what I found at the costume shop. A Medusa wig, complete with writhing snakes.” She looked over at Hilda in the armchair. But instead of Hilda’s warm smile, she looked at Kelly blankly.

“Wha—what...?”

Kelly stared at the elderly woman’s face. It looked strangely pale. “Hilda, are you all right?”

“Sick... stomach...” Hilda said softly and started to push herself out of the chair. “Bathroom...”

“Here, I’ll help you,” Kelly said walking over to the table and dumping her packages. “You might have caught a flu—”

Hilda lifted herself halfway out of the chair then suddenly crumpled to the floor, dropping like one of her lace handkerchiefs. The soft ball of yarn and knitting slipped to the floor beside her.

Shocked for a second, Kelly ran around the wooden winding table and knelt beside Hilda. She picked up Hilda’s wrist, frantically searching for a pulse. She felt a series of fast beats and cursed herself for not signing up for that CPR class the hospital offered last month.

What do I do now? Start chest compressions?

Call 911! The voice inside her head urged.

“Madre de Dios!” Rosa cried behind her. “What happened, Kelly? Did she faint?”

“I don’t know. She was sick to her stomach, and then she tried to get out of the chair and fell.”

Rosa rushed around the table and knelt at Hilda’s head, her fingers pressed against Hilda’s neck. “Her pulse is racing. She may be having a heart attack. Let me get where you are, Kelly, so I can reach her chest.”

“You know CPR? Thank God.” Kelly swiftly moved out of Rosa’s way then lifted the other end of the heavy wooden winding table and dragged it two feet away so Rosa would have room.

“I’m gonna start mouth to mouth, Kelly. You call 911 right away.” Rosa ran her fingers inside Hilda’s mouth then pinched Hilda’s nostrils and bent her open mouth over the elderly woman’s.

Kelly grabbed her bag, fingers frantically searching for the smartphone inside. Retrieving it she punched in 9-1-1 as she watched Rosa start rhythmic compressions on Hilda’s chest. A woman’s voice came over the phone.

“What is the nature of your emergency?”

“An elderly woman just collapsed in Lambspun knitting shop.

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