Halloween 2019: Choose Your Spooky Outcome: Chapter 5
Winning more points makes the most sense, when you consider the potential danger. There’s no telling what any of these magical toys might do in the wrong clutches, you can’t very well let innocent people get their hands on them. Outside of all the contests you can’t be there to win, that is. There’s frankly far too many for you to grab them all, but you can at least minimize the potential risk.
“Having the most Pristine Points lets us get the trophy and scoop up dangerous prizes. Two for one, I say we go for it.” The words are barely past your lips before Thad is unrolling a fresh schedule, this time not attached to a broken bulletin board, though the night is young and Jim is still conscious. You look down at it with him, perusing the listings.
Events are spaced out throughout the night, with some repeating and others not. Bobbing for apples, for example, was apparently a one-time thing. Maybe they only bought so many apples, or just didn’t anticipate a big turnout. Given when the trivia contest ended, and the walk over to look at the prize booth, you’re in-between major options for the moment. What you do spot, however, is a small midway that leads to a large tented area. According to the schedule, there’s going to be some sort of special game event starting there soon. If it offers lots of Pristine Points, better to be there and seize the moment.
“Right now I think our best bet is to head down the midway, toward the tent. Hopefully those games also pay out in Pristine Points, so Thad can shore up our score a bit along the way.”
“Even if they do offer those points, there’s no guarantee I’m going to win them,” Thad attempts to protest. The effort goes nowhere, as you reply with a stone-faced expression right back at him. The humility serves him well most of the time, but there’s not much point in pretending Thad doesn’t win virtually everything he tries at, and lots of things he doesn’t. Against actual rigged carnival games, he’s walked away with big prizes. If this place’s midway is half as pure and clean as the act it puts on, then the games will be winnable by normal people, meaning Thad might triumph just by walking past them.
Sure enough, no sooner have you four arrived at the first booth than Thad is knocking down “spooky milk” bottles, which look like normal milk bottles, only with what appears to be some kind of smiling vampiric cow on the label. Some of these attempts to cutesify Halloween concepts result in mixed messages, the say the least. Like, what’s the effect of drinking a vampire’s milk? Is that even a thing? These are not questions the sober mind was meant to grapple with.
Happily, you aren’t around the bottle-booth long, as Thad quickly turns his pittance of a playing fee into the grand prize the booth has to offer: one Pristine Point. Turns out whoever put this together had some concept of controlling supply. Rather than allowing the midway to give out Pristine Points as a casual prize, invalidating the other contests by allowing good players to run up huge scores, instead the midway itself is essentially one giant event. Ten booths, each able to award a single Pristine Point as the top prize, no repeats allowed.
Endless talent or not, Thad is still only one person. Since Victoria is looking rundown and Jim’s attempting to… you think flirt with a stuffed animal, but it’s really anyone’s guess with those eyebrow movements. Regardless, he’s not going to be much help on anything that requires much coordination, not that you’d be a lot better. The upside is that Thad does manage to win at three midway games as you trek over to the tent, bringing your Pristine Point count up to 6 in total. It’s nice progress that falls immediately out of mind as soon as you reach your destination.
Looming over the area is a massive stage, much grander than anything the homemade sets have prepared you for. It stretches into the air, with long steps on either side. All along it’s expanse are more of the cheery, light, pleasant decorations that have marked this Happy-Ween. You feel some movement as Victoria leans on your shoulder, like a dizzy spell has taken hold. It passes in seconds, so fast you could think the whole incident imaginary, if not for the slight wrinkling along the cheap fabric of your costume’s shoulder.
Each side of the stage suddenly flares to light, a single figure emerging from either wing. You know them instantly, it’s hard not to recognize the pair that led you through the entire trivia competition. Frankie, still clad in the same costume from the video, strides to the front, microphone in hand. “Pleasant evening, everyone! I hope you’re out there having an amazing Happy-Ween! For anyone who hasn’t met us yet, I’m Frankie, and this is Styne.” At the sound of her name, Styne hustles to Frankie’s side.
“Dadgum, what a crowd we’ve got tonight, Frankie. I think we might even have enough to run one of my famous experiments.” Styne doesn’t just put extra flare on the word, she literally lifts her hands and wiggles her fingers as she says it, receiving lots of giggles from the children clustered up near the front. “What do you think everyone? Want to have some fun? I’ve got a hefty cache of Pristine Points to share with the winners.”
You look to the others, who mostly look back. Jim has his head buried in his backpack, presumably refueling to whatever state of high he deems necessary. This many people, it might be hard to win. Without knowing what the contest actually is, you could be wasting valuable time for minimal gain, plus it doesn’t sound as if there’s many haunted prizes to be worried about here. Then again, Styne did mention a hefty cache of Pristine Points, and it is a special event. If there’s some massive payout, you’ll be setting yourself back to miss it. This is one that will require careful thought and discussion with the others.
“Okay everyone, here’s how it’s going to work,” Frankie continues. “On my side will be test subjects, on Styne’s side will be scientists. First eight people on either side will be our teams, so if you want to play, I’d start running for the stage… now!”
Uh-oh, looks like to hell with that “careful thought” idea. If you want in the game, better pick a direction and start hustling.