Eric was walking home from school. He was in 5th grade, but he was very mature for his age. His school was also only a few blocks away from his house.

It was the Friday before Halloween. His class just had a party. The classroom was decorated with black and orange crepe paper. The teachers brought in pizza and spider cupcakes. The students even watched an episode of Goosebumps on the SMART Board. It was a great party.

It was a cloudy, dark, quiet day. Eric thought he'd see more people on his walk. The only sound was the wind blowing through the leaves. He was a little unnerved, it isn't usually like this.

Eric walked under a tree on the side of the street. He could see his house from there. As he walked out of the tree's shade, he heard a thump behind him. Something jumped from the tree.

He turned around a gasped in horror when he saw it. It was the Grim Reaper! He knew it was! It had bony hands and a soulless-looking skull. It had no legs, it was just floating. It even had it's signature Scythe.

Terrified, Eric turned around and ran, screaming for his mom. He never ran so fast up his front lawn before. Just before he could reach his porch steps, The Reaper flew in front of him!

He nearly ran into it. He stared into the soulless eye sockets with his heart pounding, tears leaking from his eyes. Eric knew he was doomed.

Then, The Reaper spoke. "I...am...not...here...to...reap...your...delectable...soul...". It then handed Eric his Scythe. "My...time...has...come......You're...The Reaper...now...". With that, The Reaper disappeared.

Eric is now The Grim Reaper. He now spends his days reaping the souls of the unfortunate. He will do this until his time comes, where he must pass the mantle onto someone else.