Halloween 2022: Choose Your Spooky Outcome: Chapter 6
“If my big brother says he’s got this, then there’s nothing to worry about,” you announce. However, you do make sure to catch his eye. “Just be sure to go all out, they can be tougher than they look.”
“Don’t worry about me.” As he’s speaking Thad catches Styne’s next charge, snaring her arm and lifting the dexterous woman overhead, where her grace is useless. Rearing back, he throws Styne, who flies like a cannonball, smashing through the side of a stage in a shower of wooden splinters.
There’s a crackle in the air as Frankie’s beam slices through it, missing Thad by several inches as he twists and tumbles, putting on a gymnastics show second only to Styne herself. Planting a foot and launching off, he quickly closes the gap, snagging the ray-gun from Frankie’s hand then smashing it into debris between his fingers.
“You were worried about these goons?” Pumpkin says, lifting an incredulous eyebrow.
“Maybe the versions here are weaker?” You offer up, though that gun sure doesn’t seem to be a step down from anything shown at Happy-Ween.
The sound of crunching and footsteps pulls the collective attention back to Styne, who is tottering her way forward, slowly picking up speed. Waiting patiently, Thad makes a “come on” motion with his free hand while keeping and eye on Frankie, who is digging in her coat once more.
Through it all, Cort Scruples merely watches, observing from the sidelines.
By the time Styne makes it to Thad, she’s regained a fair bit of momentum. That serves to be a detriment, though, as Thad catches her first kick by the ankle and swings her around, hurling Styne directly into Frankie. The two go down in a tangle of limbs, clangs rising from the ground where Frankie and her lab coat land.
Even by your usual Thad standards, this is a serious ass-kicking. “You weren’t kidding about being up for this.”
“Yeah well, after I met my world-saving, dimension-hopping niece, I realized that I’d barely scratched the surface on a talent I thought I was making the most of.” Thad snags a piece of blinking electronics out of the air, hurling it back toward Frankie, who’d thought her throw to be covert. “That was when I stopped taking victory for granted. For the past few years, I’ve been actively working to improve, and the results have been… noticeable.”
An explosion of purple and black smoke blooms from the device, engulfing Frankie and Styne, who both begin coughing and hacking loudly. The noise is so entertaining, and distracting, that you don’t even notice the movement until it’s too late.
The wooden cane whistles shrilly through the air, on a crash course with Thad’s skull, but your brother dodges at the last moment. Cort Scruples’ cane slams against the ground instead, the force smashing a small crater into the street. What seems like such an innocuous tool would have turned Thad’s brain to paste if it had connected.
“Disgusting,” he murmurs, cane already in motion once again. While it might hit with a truck’s force, he still moves it around like light wood. “Filthy, foul magic tainting our world.”
“Why don’t you toss the cane down then, hypocrite,” Pumpkin hollers from the sidelines. She’s leaning forward, barely restraining herself from joining in.
Thankfully, Thad still appears to have the situation well in hand as he buries a meaty fist in Cort Scruples’ stomach, the gasp that emerges a mix of pain and shock. “How dare… how can… you touch me?”
“Guessing you have some sort of anti-spooky enchantments, but tough luck buttercup.” Rearing back, Thad slams his fist into Cort Scruples’ chin, literally launching the old man skyward from the might of the uppercut. “I’m not part of that magic. I’m just me.”
Cort lands in a heap, groaning softly. At your side, you realize Victoria has produced her cell phone and is snapping pictures. She grins hungrily upon noticing your stare. “There is a strong chance the photos won’t make it through the night, but if perchance they do, my family will be delighted by such sights.”
Cracking his knuckles, Thad surveys his work before looking back toward you. “See? I’d call this pretty well handled.”
The sound is hard to describe, something like a fzzplowmp that reaches your ears as you see the bright flash of green light. From the fading purple and black cloud, Frankie’s hand is sticking out, a half-broken gun-like device with a wide nozzle at the top. Tracing the path of her aim, you find the target.
Thad’s foot is covered in a viscous green slime that appears bonded to the road. He pulls at his leg, only to find it unmoving. More struggling doesn’t yield any difference in results, the goo refuses to budge.
From the cloud, groans are rising, as are the people within. After trying to move his leg for a few more seconds, Thad finally stops. “You all need to go.”
“Like hell!” Pumpkin exclaims. “We can beat them back until you get free.”
“I fear it won’t be so simple as that, against us those three would be far more effective.” Victoria looks down the road, then to Thad’s leg. “Though I confess, the idea of leaving another friend behind does not sit well. Perhaps we can find a way to remove the bonding agent.”
“And while you’re all doing that, the giant wall of endless devouring moves closer,” Thad counters. “Even if you somehow pull it off, that’s a lot of time to waste, and we don’t know how much further you still have to go.”
“Waste?” You’re tempted to slug the guy, but know it would end with hurting your hand against his chiseled jaw. “Thad, you’re my brother. Win or lose, trying to save you will never be a waste of anything.”
He grins, then gently shoves you away. “Thanks bud. It means a lot to hear that, especially with how things used to be between us. But like you said, I’m your big brother. I’ve got your back to the end. Now get out of here.”
The coughing has subsided, replaced by sounds of movement in the cloud. With the attacks about to start anew, best decide how you want to handle things. Beat back the enemies, try to break the goo, or get out of there?
What Do You Go For?