Are you afraid of Apples?

I just moved to a small town in Iowa. Best known for a unsolved murder case involving an axe. On the surface, the town doesn't look like much. Outdated buildings with a quaint small town feel.

"Abigail, we gotta go get you registered for school. " My mom yelled from downstairs.
"Coming mom!" I replied. Turning to leave my room, I stared at the photos of me and my best friend, Bethany, standing on the Golden Gate Bridge, happy as could be. I miss her already.
"Stan, we'll be right back." Mom said.
"Okay. Can you stop by the store and grab some bread please?"
"Yes." She said.
"Good news is we are less than a block from school so you don't have to take the bus."
"Great." I said getting into the car. After getting situated, I noticed an old lady staring at us with a weird eerie grin.
"Must be our new neighbor." Mom said while smiling and waving back.

We drove past her house and around the corner to the school. Afterwards, we made it to the store which took all of 3 minutes to get too.
On our way back, the old lady next door was still standing in the same spot, almost awaiting for our arrival.
"Hello new neighbors. I haven't had a chance to meet you. I'm Doris." She still has the weird creepy grin on her face.
"I'm Claire and this is Abigail. My husband, Stan is inside."
"Oh it's so nice to meet you, Abigail. I wanted to let you know I hand out homemade candied apples for the fall season and you are welcome to have some. All the kids enjoy my candied apples. It's a yearly tradition in my family, you see." Doris said with that same weird smile on her face.

"Okay." I just said as I took a few steps back towards the house. "I have some unpacking to do still so I have to go."
"Make sure you put the laundry that needs washed next to the basement stairs." Mom announced. "It was so nice to meet you Doris but I should get going too. If you don't mind if maybe I could get some candied apples from you sometime, I have a sweet tooth and….."
"No! They are for the children only!" Doris said abruptly and walked away.

Claire was stunned but decided that maybe it was a tradition for kids only and she didn't know much about the towns history.
She walked into the house and Stan was there to greet her.
"What was that all about?"
"I don't know. The old lady, Doris, was offering Abigail candied apples for the fall season as she does for all the kids but when I asked if I could get some from her she freaked out. "
"Weird. Maybe let Abigail know not to accept anything from her."
"I think she came to that conclusion herself Stan. She's in highschool after all and she's not dumb."
"Just making sure."

Monday rolled around and it was time for Abigail to go to school. She was ready to go except for breakfast.
"Hungry kiddo?" Dad asked from the doorway.
"Yes dad. Starving!" I said. Walking through the door into the kitchen, Dad was standing next to a pulled out chair with an apron on and a floral hand towel on his forearm, like he was a butler at a 5 star restaurant.
My dad can be quite the character with quirks and this was one of those times.
"Madame, your table awaits."
"Thanks dad." I said with a giggle in my voice.
He brought over a plate full of eggs, toast, bacon and sausage.

After breakfast, I told Dad and mom I loved them and headed out the door. Noticing there are students walking towards the school, some driving, but they all stopped by Doris's house before heading to school. Even the adults pulling off and parking so their kids can get an apple.
I reached back out to the door knob, open the door and yelled for mom and dad. They came out and noticed the commotion.
"Oh Abigail, I have a special apple for you since you're new in town." Doris bellowed across the yard.
I was hesitant and looked at mom, she looked at dad and he looked like he didn't know what to do. Groans and complaints came from the other kids in a crowd forming in front of Doris's house.

"Now the only catch is you have to eat it here and now."
After she said that, everyone stopped moving. They stopped talking too. It was very, very quiet. Even the adults who parked turned their cars off and stared at me.
"Umm, okay." Walking over slowly to Doris and the apple. I ate it and it didn't taste funny like she poisoned it or anything. It was just weird how everyone was staring at me until I finished it. Then they cheered like I just saved the town from bandits or something and continued on like nothing happened. I looked back at mom and dad, they had concerned looks on their faces but waved bye to me. My mom motioning to call her if anything happens. I shook my head yes and started walking with the other students to school.

"You're so lucky. It's not often Doris hands out special apples." A girl said.
"What's the deal with the apples?" I asked her.
"Oh, they are to protect us from the spirit of the axe man." The girl said without missing a beat. I just stared at her with an unbelievable look. "What?"

"She puts a protection charm on each apple and hands them out to children everyday because the axe man comes back every night at midnight. He only cares for the souls of children between the ages of 5 to 18. It's hard to explain but he can sense when a kid turns 18." I just looked at her like she was full of it but thinking back to what just happened in front of Doris's house, now I'm not so sure.

She continues on, "One time, this kid, Mike, refused to take an apple for a day. He was always a trouble maker and went against the general flow of society. He disappeared that night and haven't been heard from since." She pulled out her phone and looked up the news report.
'KID GOES MISSING: MICHAEL ELWIN' read the headline. He was 16 and son to a single mother. He went missing around 12:21 in the morning on Oct. 14, 2013.

The girl pulled her phone away, "some people say that his mom couldn't take the pain of missing her son so she got admitted to a mental hospital. Others say she chased the axe man back down to hell to get her son back. But no one actually knows what happened to her after Mike got taken. One day she was just gone." I had a look of shock and disbelief on my face. What kind of town is this?

"I'm Isabella, or Bell for short." She said. "I'm Abigail." I said in response. "How long has this been going on for?" I asked Bell.
"Ever since Doris's son went missing. She kinda feels responsible for keeping the town safe. Since it was her son that summoned the axe man in the first place. Many children went missing shortly after that until Doris started handing out candied apples that have been charmed. What made yours so special is yours has been charmed and dipped in Jesus's blood for extra measures. The axe man will stalk his prey, pretending to be her sometimes. Standing there, staring." ……………..