Halloween 2022: Choose Your Spooky Outcome: Chapter 13
“We’ve had one hell of a ride, but if my options are get off, stay on, or become the conductor, I just want to let you know this whole thing has been…”
You clap your hand against Jim’s, holding tightly.
“…Fucking Magic.”
* * *
Sunlight streams in through the windows as you wake up in your living room, mouth dry and head sore. If you didn’t know better, this might be mistaken for another Halloween hangover, but the memories are still there.
Flinging yourself up, you hurriedly look around for everyone, flooded with relief to find your friends groggily lifting their heads. All save for Jim, who is in the kitchen making a concoction he refers to as a Bloody Jim. The recipe consists of vodka, tequila, cherry Kool-aid, and a Slim-Jim as a garnish.
“Are you all okay?” You ask, voice too loud for the enclosed space.
“We’re fine,” Thad assures you. “Jim swooped in to save us before we could get devoured. Tucked us in some extra-dimensional pocket where we could wait and watch until the end.”
“Chaos god, huh?” Pumpkin shakes her head. “Kind of annoyed with myself for not seeing it earlier.”
Walking into the living room with his drink in hand, Jim takes a deep swig then chomps off a bite of the garnish. “Don’t beat yourself up, I am a master of disguise.”
As they’ve been talking, Thad has gotten up and walked over to the mantle, where various pictures of the roommates are resting. Next to one of Wilbur giving a boney wave outside a graveyard, there is a childhood one from a Halloween long past. In it are the much younger versions of you, Thad, and one more.
“Ummm, Jim, why are you in our old photographs?” Thad asks.
“Oh! Noticed that one quick I see.” Jim either cannot or will not contain the worrying smile that splits his face. “When I was bringing us back, since I had the extra juice from the EverKey, I made a few tweaks to smooth things out. Pumpkin, for example, now has an actual social security number and birth records.”
Victoria has shaken off the last of her grogginess and risen to her feet. “How does wedging yourself into Merlin’s past smooth out anything?”
“Well, here’s the thing. Reality says that Thad had a younger brother named James, a name I borrowed to get this whole shebang kicked off. And honestly, its grown on me. I’ve been Jim for a whole lot longer than our friend here was ever James. So when I was patching things up, I pulled a little slight of hand. Thad still has a younger brother named James, only now, he was part of a set of twins. One named James, and the other…”
“Merlin.” Thad says the name, looking at you with a hint of moisture in his eyes. “Your name, I remember you having a name!”
Lifting your hands as if seeing them anew, you search your memories and find that there is once again a name there. Not the normal name you always hated, one more reflection of your mundanity for the world to see. No, this is the name Victoria used, the closest thing you had to one for yourself. Now, Jim has made it official.
“Is that even allowed? What does it mean? Can you just give out names like that?”
“Sure it’s allowed. I mean, having me, a god, in your bloodline is where Thad and Pumpkin’s powers come from in the first place.”
Thad scratches the back of his head. “Wait, that makes no sense. You were born after me, and also you just made yourself our brother.”
“Not really grasping the whole ‘chaos’ bit yet, are we? If you don’t get hung up on things like cause-and-effect, it will all go much smoother.” Jim stands from his chair and pops open the front door. “As for what it means, who knows? Your original fate was meant for a fellow with my name, maybe it will try to jump on me. Could be a fun change. Or maybe it’ll kick back against my shenanigans, which could be interesting too.”
With a movement that contains all the subtlety you’d expect from Jim, he waves to Thad and Pumpkin, motioning to the door. “We’re going to go do a sweep of the area, make sure everything popped up as it should be. Oh, and don’t worry about the new name, it’s really more of a trade. I haven’t used that one for centuries anyway.”
Jim slips out the door, followed shortly after by Thad and Pumpkin, who gives you a thumbs-up on her way out. Only you and Victoria remain in the living room, she standing, you still half-seated. You pull yourself up, movements slow but steady. Finally, you face her head on. “Okay, I’m ready. Say it.”
“Say what, praytell?”
“I’m not magic anymore. No more death-resets. Which means I don’t have what it takes to be your vassal. I can’t hang with monsters through persistence or pop back from mistakes. I can’t help you achieve your dream.”
In a motion so quick you barely catch a blur, Victoria’s hand flashes up and flicks you on the tip of the nose. She manages to avoid slicing you with the sharp edge of her nail, but it still stings like hell.
“Magic is a nebulous thing, there are always sources of it to be found and utilized. What matters far, far more to me than some ability you possess is the loyalty you’ve shown.” A slight smile touches her often stoic face. “I have known beings with power far greater than anything you’ve seen who still crumpled into treachery when truly pushed. Yet you, my most dear and normal of friends, have never broken.”
Her hands wrap around your own, holding them both gently. “What manner of idiot do you take me for, that I would reject such a devoted vassal? While my father might prize power over dedication, I was taught better. No, Merlin, I won’t be casting you out. In truth, it would wound me greatly to see you leave.”
You look down at her hands, which begin to let go, though Victoria is clearly showing no rush on the process. “So what happens now?”
“We see what the future holds,” she replies. “And breakfast. I could devour a mountain of flapjacks.”
“That sounds awesome,” you agree. “Jim was talking about a brunch place last week. Supposed to have amazing French Toast. Also, it might be haunted by the ghost of an evil wizard.”
Victoria gives an enthusiastic nod. “Sounds delightful. I’ll go get the others from just outside, where they’re listening at the door.”
A mad scramble of noise from the front porch proves how right Victoria was, and together the two of you head out to rejoin with your friends, eager to face the challenge that a new day presents.
Happy Halloween
Hey Folks! Drew here, swinging in to address a few questions that have come up through the course of this year’s entry:
Q: Is the story really done?
A: At least for now, yes. I’ve always said, and hopefully this year has driven home, that this is a story about choice. You collectively made the call to take this ending, and I intend to respect that. If I think of new ways to fold these characters into a similar format, then we’ll see, but if nothing else I expect we’ll spot some cameos somewhere down the line.
Q: What will happen next Halloween?
A: I’m honestly not sure on that yet. Doing the Choose Your Spooky Outcome tales has been a fun, interesting, challenging experience. That said, there are a lot of aspects to Halloween, and it will be cool to consider a wider variety of options for next year’s event. Because there will be something for Halloween, I love the holiday too darn much not to enjoy it.
Q: Will the free Discord Channel come back next year?
A: Absolutely! I think it’s a great chance to let people see what the Discord is like, and having extra folks for the events livens things up. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, the free Discord channel is still open as of this writing.
In fact, I’ll be popping by it all day to answer questions folks have about this story, though of course my usual rule of “no spoilers” still applies. Swing by, say hi, but most of all have a great Halloween!