Halloween 2020!

  “I’m…almost…done…there! Finished!”

Rebecca beamed brightly at the completed jack-o-lantern, wiping her hands on her bat-printed pajama pants. Her older brother, Samuel whistled in appreciation.

“Nicely done. It actually looks like what it’s supposed to be this year.”

The teen scoffed as she punched his arm. “Shut up. The one last year was just a creative take on the traditional design.”

The elder teen snorted

“That’s an awful lotta words for ugly Becs.”

Before she politely reminded him about the large bowl of pumpkin innards she had right beside her, a voice they didn’t recognize started speaking.

“Thank you so much Creator!”

Rebecca and Samuel screamed. The happy and ecstatic jack-o-lantern looked between the two.

"Finally! I've been waiting for years to get to talk to you!"

Silence then fell over the room. The carved pumpkin's smile dropped.

"Creator?"

Rebecca opened her mouth to speak, but only small squeaks came out.

She then promptly passed out in a heap on the floor. Sam stared at her and then the pumpkin.

"A talking jack-o-lantern." he stated plainly. "Hm."

Then he too passed out.

  Aurora was absolutely thrilled at the sight in front of her.

So much blood and gore everywhere. The pain-filled screams in the background were music to her ears as she grinned widely. The room looked absolutely amazing.

“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Her lover, Sebastian leaned his head on her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her neck.

“I’m glad you like it. Took quite a while to complete but it was well worth it to see how pleased you are.”

Sebastian then pulled away to begin handing things to Aurora.

An apron. A mask. And a butcher knife.

“How long until the other victims arrive?” Aurora asked after she tied her apron and pulled back her hair.

Sebastian glanced at his pocket watch. “Roughly twenty-five minutes.”

The woman nodded as she started heading to the basement. She opened the door and the terrified screams got louder.

“Let me know when our guests arrive,” she told him. “In the meantime, I’m going to have a bit of fun with the company we already have.”

“Very well My Love. Happy Halloween.”

Before she went down, she smiled fondly at the man. “Happy Halloween to you too.”  

  Addy could feel the paranoia seeping into her bones. She could feel someone staring at her. But nobody was there. Not really. But she knew what it was. 

It was The Book. Or rather the stories within it. They were following her.

When Addy walked past the storefronts and saw her reflection, she wasn’t alone. It would be Marie covered in blood and gore, tears streaming down her face.

If Addy tossed a coin into the fountain in the city center, she’s positive she’ll see Ronnie, dirty and scared, hoping for something that will never happen.

Their faces and all the others that Addy had read kept with her like they were her morbid, little ducklings. And they were wearing her down. She thought she could handle it. But she was wrong. 

Oh so wrong.

How could she really believe she was able to bear the burden of what she read? She was on anti-depressants for a reason. She needed assistance to deal with her daily life so why would she think she could do this on her own?

She couldn’t. Not like this. She needed help, but from who?

Then like a flash, a name came to mind.

Hazel.  

   Michael had made many mistakes in his short and brief twenty-five years of life, but this was hands down the worst. 

"I didn't think you were serious! Or at least not this kind of witch!"

He heavily regretted the day he met Giselle Hot Goth Girl Andrews. But it wasn’t really her fault. It was definitely his. And now he was going to pay dearly.

 Giselle raised a black brow as she looked over at the tied up man. "And what kind of witch did you think I was?"

 "The kind with candles and crystals that checked their horoscope every morning or something!"

 The woman let out a small, breathless laugh as she continued her work.

 "I do have those things and I do check my horoscope fairly often," she replied with a teasing lit. "However I am a bit more than that too. Something that you told me you were okay with."

 She placed a dagger on the table. Michael saw this and started struggling against his bindings, grunting with the effort.

 "Even gave me your blood oath."

 That made his stop and begin muttering under his breath, gaining Giselle's attention.

 "What was that? Speak up?"

 Michael's face heated up, his neck starting to flush red.

 "I uh...only did that so I could...uh...get laid."

 The woman paused her movements and turned to completely face the man.

 "...please say sike."

 Michael stared at his bound feet, refusing to make eye contact with the witch.

 Silence feel between the two, Giselle's blank, green-eyed gaze burning a hole in Michael's head.

 "Do you realize that-"

 "I do," Michael interrupted, not wanting to hear her state the obvious.

 He could've avoided all of this.

 "So you realize-"

 "Yep."

 He knew he was an idiot.

 Giselle huffed over being cut off but brushed it off, going back to her preparations. No point in making a fuss over it. He was going to die either way, so it didn’t matter to her.

 "I guess since you revealed your truth, I suppose I could tell mine."

 She placed her book on the table beside the dagger.

 "I'm sacrificing you to bring back someone important to me," she told him. "Abraham."

 "Abraham? Is he your brother?"

 The woman shook her head no. "Nothing like that. Abraham is my lover."

 Now it was time for Michael to stare at Giselle.

 "You're sacrificing me so you can bring your dead boyfriend?!" Michael exclaimed. "Are you serious?!"

 Giselle scoffed as she folded her arms across her chest.

 "Don't even try to claim the high ground," she retorted. "You're in this position because you were trying to get laid."

 Michael had nothing else to say. He never should've listened to his idiot friends.

 Get a goth girlfriend! You're guaranteed to get laid! They're freaky! It's going to be great!

 Wrong. All of it. Except one thing. 

 This one was a freak. But not the fun kind like he was expecting.

 Giselle was the sacrificing type of freak. And it looked like she was ready and set to do just that.

 Michael was going to die here. On Halloween. And without the sweet taste of candy to at least ease his suffering.

 "So what's about to happen?"

 The woman looked over at him, taken aback by his blasé tone. She wasn't expecting him to be so calm. Begging and pleading for his life were the correct responses to a situation like this.

“I’m going to say a bunch of fancy of words, cut a giant symbol into your chest and then take a bit of blood,” she answered as she finished up.

Michael hummed. He was surprised that it wasn’t more…painful.

“Seems tamer than I was expecting to say the least,” he commented. “Thought I’d be in excruciating pain or something.”

“No. No excruciating pain,” Giselle told him. “Abraham will take over your body and you will…cease to exist.”

“Well then. Can I request one thing before I cease to exist?”

Giselle waited for him to continue.

“Can I get some candy to eat? Like it’s Halloween and I’m usually halfway through a bag of chocolate by now.”

At first the woman was going to tell him no and just start the ritual, but she had time. Plus, he was being a pretty decent sport about the circumstances.

“Any other preferences besides chocolate?”

“If you’ve got any like soft candies that’d be great too.”

With a nod, Giselle took off to go and get the candy she left by the front door. While she was gone, Michael looked around the room. For a basement being used for a sacrifice, it was pretty decent. Spacious and fairly well-lit with an overhead light and a bunch of candles. Even the table he was strapped to was nice. Definitely a sturdy wood. He tried to break it earlier, but it didn’t budge. Overall, not the worst place to die. And he was about to get some candy? Eh. Definitely could be worse. Ain't gotta worry about his student loans either.

Heh. Suck it Uncle Sam.

“Alright I brought you a few choices,” Giselle said, her voice carrying from the top of the stairs.

When she came down, she placed the candy bowl next to the ritual materials, pulled up a chair next to Michael’s head, then sat down with the bowl now in her lap. Then she started feeding the man some candy, a small chocolate bar first. At first the two sat in silence, except for Michael to indicate when he wanted another piece. Soon small talk began between the two, with Giselle eating some of the sweets too. Then it morphed to a full blown conversation. Despite the circumstances, they were having what someone might call a good time.

But when Giselle’s hand reached the bottom of the bowl, the mood shifted on its head.

“Um…”

Giselle stared at Michael, brows knitting together.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, attempting to wave his hand nonchalantly. “I’m stuffed full of candy and I’m content.”

He gave her a thumbs up.

“This is super fucked, but we might as well get it over with. We know how this is gonna end.”

Giselle looked hesitant but Michael wasn’t having it.

“You had a plan Giselle, stick to it.”

With that, Michael leaned back and got comfortable.

And true to her word, the process didn’t hurt outside of her cutting his arm. The ritual started and ended, Giselle feeling pleased that it succeeded, but saddened at the cost of it.

But what she was wrong about one thing.

Michael didn’t cease to exist.

He was still in his body. But now so was Abraham. 

    You come and visit me again. But tonight’s different.

Tonight is the first time I can see you, all of your features on clear display for me. 

So close. Too close. Far too close.

“Good evening William. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you face to face.”

I wish I could say the same. Your voice was too much for me. So dark. It crept around like tendrils in my ears, burrowing deep in my mind. No matter what I did, your presence lingered. But now that I can see you, you look so…

Absolutely terrifying.

There were no words I could use to describe the skin crawling feeling gazing upon you gave me. The sheer blood freezing effect you had on me. But you seemed positively thrilled to see me.

Your grin was wide. Ravenous like you could barely contain yourself.

Made me sick to my stomach.

“I’m so elated that we can convene without any…barriers between us.”

You continue to lean over me, chilling the air around us. I want to push you away, but I can’t. I’m too small. Far too small. Much smaller than you.

If only I were bigger. Then I could stop you. Fight you tooth and nail. 

If only my teeth were here. If only my nails weren’t clipped. 

I wish I could squirm at the very least, make you see how much discomfort you bring me. But I can’t.

I can’t move a single inch. Wrapped up tight. A usual comfort during the day but now it only brings frustration. I curse my fragile self. Too soft. Too weak.

And you love it. I can tell. You revel in my helplessness. Feed on it.

Why else would you be here if not to torment me?

“We’re going to have so much fun together William.”

The thick stench of death-coated words permeate my nose and fill me with dread.

There was nothing I could say to you. I couldn’t tell you to go. To leave me alone.

Couldn’t yell “stop coming here!”.

All I could do was scream. So I did.

Screamed bloody murder. Screamed as loud as my lungs would allow. All my air being used for one singular purpose. Showing you just how much you disgust me.

How much I hated you.

How much I feared you.

But it did nothing to deter you, laughing at my shrill and frantic pitch.

Nonetheless, I persisted.

Because finally a light came.

“Aw Sweetheart.”

My Savior. My Guardian. 

Mother.

The bitter frigidness was immediately replaced by sweet warmth.

“What’s wrong my sweet angel hm?”

I can’t answer her. Can’t tell her about the demon that came to visit me. How I used to hear that unsettling, monstrous voice before I even came into this world.

And how as the figure disappeared into a blur from my vision, I could still hear its voice.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night dear William.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks in fat waves. I was powerless to stop them.

So all I did was bury my face in the comforting scent of my mother, allowing her spirit to ease my mind. I clench her shirt tightly in my tiny fists. Praying for the time when I'm older. When I'll be able to protect us both.  Until then I will breathe in all the positivity my mother brings me and allow her to lull me into a pleasant slumber. I'm safe now.

Until the darkness comes creeping back tomorrow.  

      This was all an elaborate dream. Or just a well designed nightmare. Either way it was fine because it wasn’t real. This was not real. She was still at work, must’ve fell asleep at her desk. Because this. Is. Not. Real.

“Mommy! Don’t I look cool?”

Tasha plastered a fake, tight smile on her face as she crouched down to daughter’s level, placing her phone in her pocket. She took plenty of pictures.

“Absolutely Sweetheart!” she falsely exclaimed. “You’re a very…cool Incredible Hulk.”

She patted her daughter’s head, then moving to rub at the green on her cheek. “Very realistic.”

The girl beamed brightly, her two front teeth missing from her smile. Tasha tried to push down her annoyed feelings, refusing to rain on her daughter’s parade.

“Alright Persie. Go get your trick or treat bag and your jacket,” the woman instructed. “And tell your uncle to come here so I can thank him for helping you with your costume.”

The little girl nodded and took off.

“Uncle George!” she yelled through the house. “Mommy wants you!”

It only took a few minutes for the man to appear in the living room.

“Hey. What’s up?”

Tasha’s smile dropped as her arms folded across her chest, eyes narrowing.

“You know you almost got away with it,” she stated plainly. “When I came in from work, I was pleasantly surprised to see Persie dressed and ready to go. Makes sense, she’s excited to go get candy.”

George put some space between them. He could tell from her tone that she wasn’t particularly pleased.

“But then she gets up off the couch and I’m expecting to see green paint. I’m not going to say anything, she didn’t really know, no big deal. But to my surprise, no paint. Super clean. Not a spot.”

The man closed his eyes and steeled himself as she continued.

“Then dear Persie came over and wrapped her arms around me. I was about to reprimand her about the paint until I realized she didn’t have paint on her. It was her skin. Her skin was actually green.”

Tasha picked up a pillow off the couch, shaking her head with a bitter laugh.

“I hope you’re reeeal proud of yourself Doctor Baker.”

The man shrugged lightly. “I wouldn’t say I’m proud, but I am impressed with how well she turned out.”

George barely missed the pillow that flew at his head. He didn’t miss his sister’s hand slapping him in the chest.

“Are you insane?!” she hissed quietly. “You turned my daughter into the Incredible Hulk!”

“She said that’s what she wanted to be!” George replied.

“As a costume. Green paint! Purple clothes! The little Hulk smash hands!”

She flailed wildly.

“Not actually turning her into the Incredible Hulk!”

George scoffed, muttering under his breath about how Persie was at least wearing purple.

“But look how happy she is!” he replied, after speaking at a normal level. “So excited! How could you-”

A large crash happened, interrupting his speech. Persie came running in, wide-eyed and slightly out of breath.

“My Barbie went flying into the wall.”

Tasha cut her eyes at George. He held up his hands in defense.

“Don’t worry about that,” the man said. “I’ll fix that right up. No big deal Kiddo.”

Persie turned from her uncle to her mom.

“I’m sorry Mommy.”

The woman tsk’d, giving her a smile. She then held out her arms, the girl running into them. She placed a kiss on her forehead before she spoke.

“You’re okay Baby. It’s fine. Let’s just get your shoes so we can get going.”

Persie perked up immediately, heading for the door.

“Yay! I can’t wait til Rosie sees me!”

George was about to follow when his sister grabbed the back of his shirt.

“How long is this going to last?”

“Just for a few hours,” he answered. “Long enough for her to look awesome in front of her friends and grab candy in the neighborhood.”

Tasha stared at her brother, gaze unwavering.

“That better be true or else I will end you.”

George heard the threat loud and clear. With a swallow, he nodded.

“You have my word. Your daughter, my darling niece will be back to her normal self by the end of the night.”

With the promise heard, Tasha let him go.

“I can’t believe you turned my daughter into the Hulk.”

The woman shook her head, running a hand over her hair.

“When I told you to help her get ready, this is not what I meant.”

“Aw come on Tash. You have to admit that it’s kinda cool that I turned her into the Hulk.”

Tasha tried to look stern, even folded her arms to sell it, but despite the annoyance lingering, she did think it was amazing. Persie had the best “costume” for sure.

But that wouldn’t negate the annoyance.

“Let’s just get through the night without Persie throwing a car at someone’s house for giving her dental floss or pennies.”

The two adults started walking.

“Won’t have to worry about that,” George stated. “She can’t pick up cars. Already tested that theory.”

The mom let out a sigh of relief.

“However she did completely pick up the dining room table. So…”

Tasha scoffed. And now her annoyance was running high again.

“Let’s just get this night over with.”

Once George and Tasha were at the door with the excited Persie, they went out as the girl yelled with glee. They made it a couple of houses before they met up with Persie’s friend Rosie and her mom Dana.

“Wow Persie! That’s an awesome costume!” Dana exclaimed as the girls greeted each other. 

“Right Rose?”

The little brunette nodded vigorously, almost knocking her glasses off her face.

“Super cool!” she affirmed. “Do you like mine?”

“Yeah! You’re a great Clark Kent!”

Rosie grinned as she tugged at her dress shirt, revealing the blue suit and the ‘S’.

The two girls continued to talk amongst themselves, heading off to the next house while their guardians followed behind.

“I see you’re still alive George,” Dana joked. “And Persie’s the Hulk.”

Tasha stared pointedly at her brother as the man scratched the back of his neck.

“The night is still young,” he mumbled lightly.

Dana chuckled as she patted the man’s shoulder. “Persie looks nice and she’s over the moon about tonight.”

That part was directed to the frowning Tasha.

“There’s a Barbie-made hole in our wall,” she grumbled.

“A hole I said I would fix.”

Tasha scoffed. “Still a hole.”

Before an argument could start between the two siblings, Dana directed Tasha’s attention to the two girls.

“Look how happy she is.”

Tasha felt her mood lift as she saw Persie get another handful of candy. A genuine smile was on her face.

“She is really happy isn’t she?”

“Yes she is.”

Dana bumped her. “Now stop being grumpy and enjoy your baby’s night.”

The three adults watched as the two children came towards them.

“We got so much candy!” Rosie cheered as she went to her mother’s side.

Dana turned her attention to her daughter while Tasha looked at hers.

“Here Mommy. They gave me your favorite candy.”

Persie dug in her bag and passed her mom a box of gumdrops. Tasha gazed down at the candy in her hand. Her heart warmed in her chest.

“Thank you Persie,” she said fondly. “I will cherish these as I eat them.”

Seeing how elated Persie was made the remnants of her irritation melt away. There wasn’t any point in being upset anymore. Persie was having the time of her life tonight. A bunch of people complimented her and even got a few photos with her fellow superheroes. Overall, it was turning out to be a fantastic night and Tasha couldn’t be more thrilled to enjoy it with her child.

And to think she was going to spend the night grumpy.

“Hey G?”

The man raised a brow in acknowledgement, taking a bite of a mini candy bar.

“Thanks for making Persie’s Halloween.”

George was surprised to hear the words.

“I-uh you’re welcome,” he replied, finishing his treat. “I was more than happy to do it. But um…”

He let out a sigh.

“But I’m sorry for not clearing it with you first. That wasn’t very Cash Money taking over for the ’99 and 2000 of me.”

Tasha snorted at his words. “It’s alright. I know you’re not going to do anything stupid that would harm Persie.”

George wrapped an arm around his sister.

“Exactly. Just know I check everything a thousand times over before I involve Persie because if anything happened over my negligence, I wouldn’t have to worry about you killing me, but I’d let you do it anyways.”

Tasha didn’t comment further, choosing to let the conversation drop. Nothing else needed to be said. She knew George was responsible when he needed to be. When her husband was deployed overseas, George left his fancy lab job to help his big sister raise her daughter. And with five months in, he hadn’t let her down.

“Next time you want to do something…extravagant for the holidays, give me a heads up first yeah?”

George laughed, squeezing her to his side. “Yes ma’am.”

They separated after Dana came back with the kids.

“I see you two made up,” she commented.

“Yeah we did,” George responded, nudging Tasha. “She threatened to body slam me like when we were kids, so I had no choice but to shape up.”

The woman made an unamused expression, causing the girls to laugh.

“Don’t worry Uncle George! I’ll protect you from Mommy!”

George placed a hand over his heart in a dramatic manner. “My hero The Incredible Persie.”

The girl replied by punching her fists together.

“Alright Hulk and Clark, this is your last stop of the night.”

Tasha pointed to a house across the street. Rosie and Persie made a small fuss but nonetheless acquiesced. 

“They really thought we were going everywhere,” Dana joked. “My feet are killing me and I’m ready to raid the chocolate.”

Tasha and George nodded in agreement. They casually chatted while the girls waited for their turn for candy.

A few minutes later they were done and heading back. But before they could, the group of kids in front of them, snatched their bags.

“Hey! Give those back!” Rosie yelled, stomping her foot.

“No can do!” one of the boys sneered.

Tasha and Dana were about to go over and knock some preteen heads when George held them both back.

“Not yet. Let this ride out.”

Tasha was about to argue but she saw the amused gaze in her younger brother’s eyes.

And she was glad she did. She saw that Persie hadn’t moved or anything.

“Give back our bags!” Rosie screamed again.

The kids laughed and started heading to their bikes. When the last one got on theirs, that’s when Persie snapped to. She reached out and grabbed the metal of the handlebars.

“Let go!”

Instead of listening, Persie bent the bars together.

The adults could see the boy and his friends stiffen. They couldn’t hear what Persie said, all they know is that the boy shakily gave her the bags on his arms. After that he quickly got off his busted bike and on to the back of his friend’s. 

But Persie wasn’t done. To further instill fear into the older kids, she roared, the noise louder and deeper than should come out of a small seven year old child. The group of four dropped their candy bags as they sped away, screeching about the monster child. The adults tried not to laugh. But they definitely did when Persie walked around and picked up the other bags.

“She is definitely your child Tash,” George stated through his laughter, the girls coming back way more successful than they thought.

“I hope you know that you’re not eating all this candy,” Tasha told Persie.

“I know. I know.”

She handed most of the bags to her mom with a nonchalant shrug. “This just means that I don’t have to share my bag with you and Uncle George.”

Tasha snorted as she rustled her daughter's hair, George looking on with a smile.