The Scythe

It was a year ago this Halloween and the fog hung so low and thick it clouded even the darkness itself. The Tool Library rooms and halls lay silent, its members hiding in their homes from the chilly night. Only Chad, our noble coordinator, sat alone at the front desk, replacing a belt on a carpet cleaner by a single fluorescent bulb. He remembered closing the big bay door against the wet October cold, but now the moon shown through the wide opening onto the already ghostly leaf blowers. He bravely went to re-shut the door, when a glisten caught his eye. A giant scythe now hung from a high hook by the shovels, swaying gently, though the night was breezeless. As he surveyed the new tool, an inventory number began to appear on its handle, 4968.

And to this day that scythe still hangs from the library wall, waiting, calling, urging you to borrow it. That is, if you dare…