Halloween 2019: Choose Your Spooky Outcome: Chapter 13
Strong as the desire to chase Cort down is, it doesn’t outweigh your need to see everyone make it through this night. Spinning from his fleeing form, you race over to Victoria, hands already grasping the array of potions hanging from your robes.
You arrive just in time to see Victoria grabbing the trophy, muttering dark incantations below audible range. It warps in her hands, twisting like it’s trying to escape, but her fingers only dig in deeper. Above you both, the lightbulbs are overloading, exploding into sparks and shrapnel. It makes Victoria’s eyes appear to be flashing in a purple hue as her face knots in concentration.
“Merlin…” Her words are so much a hiss you’re genuinely not sure if they came from Victoria or the hair-snakes. “Tear off a piece of your robes.”
Fumbling about for a knife, you spot a box-cutter near a section of broken down cardboard under the prize table. It isn’t fancy, but the blade still slices as you work the entire lower section of your robes through the chop. When the fabric drops, it’s a sloppy swath, though you doubt Victoria cares about neatness.
After you give a modest toss, Victoria snags it from the air; binding the trophy in the lower part of your robes. With it out of sight, the lightbulbs pop even faster, casting a hideous gleam to Victoria’s bared teeth.
“I am drained from this night, ready to be away from here, and every moment delayed only enrages me further. So here me now, sad sputtering spellcraft, you will yield.” On the last word, she squeezes, and you can see something in the bundle give.
One more flash of the bulbs, and suddenly, the world is back to normal. No more awakening prizes, no rampaging spider, even the light show has died off. What hasn’t changed is that you’re still on unfriendly territory, and now without magic to serve as a distraction.
“Come on, we have to go.” You lead Victoria out of the prize table while she continues to crush the trophy, breaking it down into a fine powder. Across the crowd, you catch sight of Thad hauling Jim onto his feet. Once your eyes meet, he signals back toward the entrance, then hustles Jim into movement. Looks like you two are going to regroup at the front rather than try and cross the current blockade of bodies. Right now everyone is mostly confused, probably ready to believe it was all imagined. That’s Scruples’ problem though, you are officially done for the night.
Well… maybe not quite done entirely. As you and Victoria stalk through the night, working to draw minimal attention, your mind flashes back to that voice on the phone. So far as complex clues went, “Ask the Lady of Autumn” wasn’t a tough one, it’s a nickname of Victoria’s you’ve known for years now. However, “the Between”, that’s something new. You’re not quite sure you want to be brought to whatever is just yet, especially if this and the magical items have the same source. But learning more, that couldn’t hurt.
“Victoria, I’d like to ask you something. It might be about a subject I’m not supposed to know, so sorry if I step on any Halloween taboos.” You press on, not giving her the chance to ask questions, largely because you know you won’t have real answers to offer. “Have you ever heard of the Between?”
Definitely a touch of surprise, but she’s far from shocked at the term. “Not taboo, just not something that comes up often. The Between is what the name would indicate, the space that is neither one world or the other. Think of it as the cushion that pads the various realms of reality. Given how cagey you were about the topic, is there any point in asking why you want to know?”
“Something I’m still figuring out. Maybe a vision, or a message, or a trap. Tell me this much, would it be possible to go to this Between?”
Victoria doesn’t respond right away, chiefly because you both have to turn aside as a trio of helpers come darting past. They don’t seem to recognize you, or the alert hasn’t gone out yet, because all three dash by without pausing. Only once their gone does Victoria respond, her words chosen carefully.
“Possible is a dangerous concept. A great many things are possible, it doesn’t mean they are wise. Yes, I think it would be possible to enter the Between, but the effort would be tremendous. Only on a Halloween, when the barriers are thinnest, would such an attempt be feasible, and even then it would be a venture of constant peril.”
Not somewhere to go lightly, it looks like. Plus, this Halloween is already near it’s end, there’s no time to try and mount some expedition into an unknown domain. Next year, on the other hand… well, it’s a choice you’ll grapple with when the time arrives.
Together, you and Victoria slip along the path back out the entrance, where you find Thad holding Jim’s backpack steady as your roommate’s legs wildly kick from the top. With Victoria’s help, you’re able to yank Jim free, upon which you find an array of sweets stuck to his face and hair. Peeling a lollipop off his forehead, Jim gives a long lick, then offers a single query as explanation.
“Want any Candy-spider leftovers?” Its only then you catch the strands of what look like webbing yet Jim is slurping up like cotton-candy running between all the treats. Look at that, maybe Jim managed to give the crowd some fun along with their frights. That’s the version you choose to believe, at least.
Accepting a chocolate bar that still has a wrapper, you’ve only just started chewing when Victoria’s car pulls up. Piling in, you head back to the house, ready to spend the rest of the night celebrating Halloween from the safety of a couch. And, perhaps, wondering about a recorded voice’s entrancing invitation. No matter what, you’re finishing the night with your friends, and that makes this a Happy Halloween in…