Nate glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost 7 pm.
“We have to get home soon,” he said.
“Bullshit! Mom said we could stay out until eight!” His little sister Dani shot back.
Nate sighed. “Mom would have a fit if she heard you talking like that.”
“Well, she’s not here,” Dani replied, sounding distracted. She lifted up her plastic skull mask and pulled it off her face. “My mask is getting wet.”
“Of course. It’s practically a monsoon out here,” Nate pointed out.
“This is what we get for moving to Seattle,” Dani grumbled.
“You always said that Idaho was boring.”
“Yeah, but at least it wasn’t soggy and foggy and wet all the time.”
“Fits the atmosphere of the holiday, though, don’t you think?”
Dani didn’t answer. She examined her half-full orange jack-o-lantern container. “Okay, let’s review what we have so far,” she told him, sounding like a local news broadcaster reporting on a breaking story. “Four Butterfinger BB’s. Two regular Butterfinger bars. Three Snickers. Five Shark Bites. Two M&M fun sizes. One candy corn.”
She made a face. Nate didn’t blame her. He hated candy corn, too.
“Two Three Musketeers. Four Reese’s Pieces. Three Gushers. One…whatever the fuck this is,” she said, holding up a soggy, drooping candy bar wrapped in a generic black wrapper.
“Looks like dog shit,” Nate remarked. “Do you remember who gave it to you?”
Dani shrugged.
“It’s probably poison candy from some crazy neighborhood maniac. You’ve heard the stories. Happens every year somewhere,” Nate told her. He was kidding – mostly.
“Yeah, well, I’m not eating it.” She theatrically tossed the candy into the air and then punted it with her foot, sending it careening through the darkness and down a sewer grate.
I have to admit, that was pretty impressive for a twelve-year-old, Nate thought.
“Oh, speaking of maniacs, did I tell you about what Connie told me at school the other day?” Dani asked. “A few years ago, there was this crazy psycho dude who dressed up as Satan. He kidnapped and killed a bunch of girls around Halloween. Connie said that he slaughtered like twenty people before the cops finally got him! And she told me that he had horns growing out of his head! Real horns! Can you believe it? It happened right here in Ridgecrest!”
His sister’s friend had fabricated or grossly exaggerated many of the details, but Nate was familiar with the story. There weren’t many murders in their little Seattle suburb, so this incident was still the talk of the town, especially in October.
“Yeah, that happened a couple years before we moved here, back when mom and dad were still together,” Nate said.
“Yeah, no duh,” Dani agreed.
“But you like the other candy you got, right?” He asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah, but I’m not done yet.”
“Come on. We’ve hit all the good neighborhood houses already. The only ones left are the dentist who gives floss instead of candy, and that weird lady who gives out leaflets with Bible verses on them. You can’t tell me you’re interested in going to either of those. Every kid in Ridgecrest avoids them like the plague.”
Dani shook her head vigorously. Her brown ponytail swung back and forth. “Who said we have to stay in our own neighborhood?”
“Mom did.”
Come on!” Dani whined. “I haven’t even gotten any Warheads yet! Those are my favorite! You just want to take me home so you can go to that Halloween party at Kevin Connor’s house.”
She was right. Kevin was the quarterback of the Ridgecrest High football team. He was known for his legendary annual Halloween parties.
Nate hadn’t been allowed to go to the party last year, when he was a freshman. He couldn’t drive yet, and his mom had told him he was too young to go anyway. She had relented after he turned 16 and received his license.
Everybody at school was going to be there. There would be booze, pizza, and hot girls wearing sexy costumes. He couldn’t wait.
If I take you to two more houses, do you promise to come home with me after that?”
“Four more,” Dani negotiated.
“Three.”
Dani sighed. “Okay, three.”
Nate smiled. The party wasn’t expected to really get going until around 9. This would still give him plenty of time to drive over there after trick or treating was done.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said.
They walked out of their cul-de-sac and made their way to a crosswalk. The neighborhood one street over was located on Pike Street next to Phantom Lake, Ridgecrest’s biggest park.
The Halloween displays here were truly spectacular. Nate stared in wonder at a house directly ahead of them, which featured a seven-foot tall animatronic of a skeleton figure with a jack-o-lantern head.
The monster swung back and forth, cackling maniacally. Its spindly arms reached out, as if to grab anyone who dared to venture too close. The steps that led up to the front porch were adorned with a row of pumpkins, each with a different expression on its face.
Nate examined them. Happy, sad, funny, grumpy. Were they inspired by the seven dwarves from Snow White?
“Crazy fuckin’ rich people,” Dani remarked. “How long do you think it took them to set all this shit up?”
“You better give me some of your candy, or I’m going to tell Mom all about your swearing problem.”
“That’s blackmail!” Dani protested.
Nate shrugged.
The streets here were filled with trick or treaters. A couple of guys were wearing President Clinton masks. One dude was dressed up as Butthead from the MTV series. Two girls about his sister’s age were wearing vampire costumes, complete with fangs and fake blood dribbling down their chins.
“Hey, Nate.”
He swung around and his heart skipped a beat. It was Mary, one of the cutest girls at Ridgecrest High. She sat in the desk in front of him in chemistry class. They had been assigned to work on a class project together last week. Nate had been trying to drum up the courage to ask her out.
Mary was tall and slender, with long straight black hair and brown chestnut eyes. She wore a witch hat, a flowing black dress, and lime green makeup on her face.
“H-hey,” he replied. “How are you doing, Mary? This, uh, this is my sister, Dani.”
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Mary said, giving his sister a quick wave.
“Yeah,” Dani responded flatly, apparently still perturbed by his blackmail threat.
“Are you going to Kevin’s party tonight?” Mary asked.
“Oh, yeah, yeah, are you?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, my friend Samantha and I are going.”
This is going to be the raddest party ever, Nate thought.
“Are you supposed to be the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz?” Dani asked.
Mary nodded and grinned. “Bullseye. You got it.”
She turned to Nate. “Who are you supposed to be?”
Nate pointed at his T-shirt, which was pitch black except for the yellow smiley face in the center. “Kurt Cobain.”
“Ohhh of course,” Mary replied sheepishly, hitting herself on the forehead with her palm.
“Oh, uh, no it’s okay. I, uh, I should have made it more obvious. I should have worn a blonde wig and brought a guitar prop to smash, or something. Kurt looks a little weird with dark hair, right?”
He cringed internally. Why was he always so awkward when he talked to pretty girls?
Dani cleared her throat. “Three houses, Nate. Remember?”
Nate sighed and smiled ruefully at Mary. He put his hands up in a gesture of mock surrender. “Well, I better get going.”
“Okay, well, nice talking to you, Kurt. See you tonight,” Mary replied, flashing a sly smile.
“Yeah, see you,” Nate said. He watched her turn and walk away. His heart was pounding, and he could feel beads of sweat on his forehead.
“Stop staring at her ass, you perv!” Dani stage whispered, elbowing him in the chest.
“What? I was- wasn’t.”
Dani rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re in luuuuvvvv.”
“Shut up.”
“Three houses.”
“Fine. Which one do you want to start at?”
He watched as Dani’s eyes darted back and forth, surveying the neighborhood. It was fascinating watching the gears in her 12-year-old brain churn. Which houses were most likely to have those precious Warheads she craved?
He heard a loud, excited hooting sound in the park nearby.
“Whooooo!”
It sounded like an owl that had discovered a tasty critter to snack on. Either that or a drunk hobo who had just found a discarded flask of whiskey.
“Whoooooooo,” he heard again. This time the hoot was longer and breathier. It sounded almost mournful. Nate watched as a lanky, shadowy figure darted from behind a tree and scurried away.
“Who’s that?” Dani asked.
“Just some asshole trying to scare people.”
“Let’s scare him back.” Dani raised her eyebrows and grinned mischievously.
“Wait, what happened to three more houses?”
“This will only take a minute.” Dani theatrically goose stepped from the sidewalk onto the park grass, crouching down to avoid detection. Nate rolled his eyes. She was wearing a black hoodie and dark blue jeans, so it’s not like she would have been easy to spot, anyway, especially in the misty darkness.
Nate followed behind her. He looked around but saw and heard nothing. “He must have left.”
“What’s that?” Dani asked, pointing to a picnic table just ahead of them.
A small box sat on top of the table. It was decorated with black wrapping paper and sported an orange bow, like a Halloween version of a Christmas present. A lime green envelope had been taped onto the side.
“What the hell,” Nate said. His curiosity got the best of him. He opened the envelope and pulled out a small white piece of paper.
“What does it say?” Dani asked. She shone her flashlight on the letter.
The message, written in black marker, was brief and to the point. “Who? – Shabby,” Nate read. A stick figure drawing of a scarecrow had been placed on the bottom right corner.
“What does that mean?” Dani asked.
You are just full of questions tonight, aren’t you, Nate thought. “Beats the hell out of me,” he told her.
“Maybe we should go,” Dani said, her voice wavering slightly.
Well, how about that. She’s scared. My little sister – scared! Will wonders never cease? She was probably right, but Nate had to know what was in the wrapped package. This was kind of fun. It would give him a cool story to tell Mary at the party later.
Nate tore off the wrapping paper, revealing a brown cardboard box underneath. He ripped it open. There was an orange envelope inside. Nate picked it up and shook it. Something small was jangling inside. A pen, maybe?
Dani was being uncharacteristically quiet. Nate glanced over at her. “What do you think it is?”
She shrugged.
Nate carefully opened the envelope and turned it upside down, letting its contents fall to the ground.
Dani shone her flashlight and gasped. “Is that…” A severed finger lay amidst the muddy, leafy mush. It had a long orange plastic fingernail on the end, presumably part of somebody’s Halloween costume.
“It’s fake,” Nate said quickly.
“How do you know?” Dani asked.
I don’t, Nate thought. “Come on. Somebody chopped a finger off of a Halloween prop,” he said, trying to sound confident.
“It looks so real,” Dani replied, sounding both awed and nauseated.
“Remember when we went to that wax museum in Portland? The figures there seemed so lifelike. This is probably from something like that.”
Dani snorted. “My favorite was the sasquatch.”
“I thought the Abraham Lincoln figure was pretty impressive.”
“You would, you nerd!”
Nate glanced at his watch. “We’re running out of time. If we’re going to hit three more houses for candy, we need to go now.”
“Fine, whatever,” Dani said. “This is boring, anyway.”
Nate noticed something else had fallen from the package onto the ground. “Another note.” He picked it up. It was soggy, but still legible. “One clue found, two to ghost. Goblins roam the night, ready for Halloween fright. Guess WHO to survive the night.”
Nate chuckled. “I guess this is supposed to be a scavenger hunt or something. He wants us to find more clues to figure out who this finger belongs to.”
Dani shook her head. “This is dumb, let’s go.”
Nate was still curious about where this was going, but not enough to risk being late for the Halloween party. He thought again about Mary, and how hot she looked in her wicked witch costume.
“Yeah, let’s get going,” he said.
He realized that they were surrounded by thick fog. It had been rainy and misty all day, but not like this. He couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of him.
“This is the way back, right?” Dani said, pointing in the direction they had come.
“Yep! Let’s go,” Nate said. They began to walk toward Pike Street. Five minutes passed, then ten. This doesn’t make sense, Nate thought. We couldn’t have walked more than a few hundred feet from the sidewalk. Phantom Lake Park isn’t even that big. We should be back by now.
“We must be going the wrong way,” Dani said, sounding bewildered.
“It’s okay, we’re just a little lost, that’s all,” Nate said. “Let’s stop here and take a break. We’ll figure this out.”
He heard footsteps in the distance. Yes! Somebody’s here! They can help us!
“Hey, excuse me?” he called. The footsteps stopped for a few moments and then resumed. He could see a shadowy figure in the distance.
“Hi! Sorry, my sister and I are a little lost. Do you know how to get back to Pike Street from here?”
The figure didn’t respond but continued walking toward them. Nate could see him clearly now – a tall, lanky man in a scarecrow costume. Nate wondered where he had bought it. It looked very expensive, not the kind of thing you could get at some five and dime local shop.
The scarecrow was wearing a tattered brown hat, dirt-caked black boots, torn blue jeans, and a rumpled red and white plaid shirt. His hair, arms, hands, and legs seemed to be composed of straw. He stared at them with gleaming yellow eyes.
Nate was six feet tall. He guessed this guy was at least half a foot taller than him.
“Oh, I get it. You’re the guy who set up the scavenger hunt. Nice gag, man. We really enjoyed it, but, uh, we gotta get going now. My mom expects us home really soon.”
The scarecrow shook his head.
“Who are you, dude? Do you go Ridgecrest High?” Nate asked.
The man stared at him, saying nothing. What was it that the first note had said? Shabby? Yeah, that was it. Shabby the Scarecrow.
“Are you Shabby?” Nate asked.
The scarecrow chortled. He pointed at himself and nodded.
“What do you want with us?”
The scarecrow pointed at the envelope that Nate still clutched in his right hand.
“What, do you want this back?”
The scarecrow tilted his head, as if confused by the question.
“Look, this isn’t funny anymore. We just want to get out of here.” Nate said.
“Leave us alone!” Dani shouted. There was a simmering panic in her voice that Nate had never heard before.
Shabby pointed behind him at the woods.
He wants us to keep playing, Nate thought.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he told Dani.
But to where? They should have made it back to the neighborhood a long time ago.
Both of them began to run. Nate heard Dani take deep, gasping breaths as she tore through the forest. He glanced backward and realized, with a wave of relief, that the scarecrow was gone.
We’re going to be okay. This is a Halloween prank. A damn good one, but just a prank. Nate heard Dani shriek. He turned toward her and screamed.
This isn’t possible, Nate thought. Shabby was standing directly in front of them. It was as if he had teleported there, like the characters in Dr. Who.
“Let us go!” Nate demanded. He stood between the monster and Dani, who was gasping and sobbing. His mouth was dry, and his heart was pounding. Fear and disbelief had given way to rage.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?” He shouted. “SPEAK TO ME! SAY SOMETHING!”
The scarecrow chortled again. He opened his stitched mouth to reveal a set of jagged yellow teeth.
“Whoooo?”
To be continued…
