The Flood, A Halloween Story

[Sathe]

Micah paused while getting dressed to look out the window, which was splattered with water droplets like blood on a butcher's apron. It had been raining nonstop since yesterday, the only relief in the downpour coming as occasional intervals of mist or sprinkling rain. The sky was a mass of dark clouds, growing darker as the day wore on. The clouds had been relatively peaceful so far--no thunder, no lightning.

Micah looked away from the window and resumed his preparation. He was actually pretty excited about his costume this year. His mom had finally given in and let him be something cool, instead of a stupid cowboy or vampire. She had even let him get some of that fake blood and a fake neck wound. He had used some purple makeup to dab bruises on his face and arms, and splattered an old t-shirt with red paint. He was certain he would be the most convincing murder victim in the neighborhood.

Already the younger kids were out with their parents, and Micah had heard numerous ringings of the doorbell followed by his mother exclaiming "How cute!" and "How scary!" as necessary.

Micah stood in front of the bathroom mirror, satisfied with his work. He headed out after adding a last-minute trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

His mother looked at him and bit her lip in disapproval. "No coat? You'll freeze!"

"I have a hoodie, mom. And the rain has to let up soon."

"At least take an umbrella," she urged.

Micah sighed but relented, knowing that if he continued to argue with her he could very well be here all night and miss out on all the free candy. He took the umbrella but avoided her attempt to hug him with a quick "no smudging!" and headed out the door, pillowcase in one hand and umbrella in the other. He took a left on the sidewalk against the flow of traffic and away from the prime trick-or-treating grounds. Before he went over there, he had to stop off at his best friend's house. As he walked, he kept an eye out for his other friends from school.

[thesporkman]

Jack stood sulking in the rain. What was supposed to be the best Halloween ever was now the worst Halloween ever! He had spent weeks saving up his allowance to buy this wicked awesome werewolf mask with real synthetic werewolf hair and these big scary werewolf fangs and everything. But who was wearing his super awesome werewolf mask right this very moment? His stupid older brother! At some stupid high schooler Halloween party! And why? Because his mom decided at the very last minute that the mask was "too big," that it "wasn't safe" because he "couldn't see out of it." What was she talking about? Okay, so maybe he couldn't see very well out of the eye-holes, but he still had a pretty good view through the left nostril if he positioned it just right...

Anyway, so then, of course, he needed a new last-minute makeshift costume, and, long story short, he was now a bed sheet ghost. That's right, a bed sheet ghost, the lamest and stupidest and worst costume ever! And to make matters worse, he wasn't even a proper bed sheet ghost, because his dad wouldn't let him cut up the nice white sheets from his parents' bedroom! Oh, no! He had to use some really old sheets of his brother's, which had pictures of someone called the "Power Rangers" all over them...

Jack looked up from his angry brooding and was horrified to see his friend Micah from his math class approaching, whom he had told all about his incredible, amazing werewolf mask...

[Mysterious Silver]

Casey could hardly help but snicker to himself as he crouched in the bushes, waiting for Jack to walk a little closer. He lived for scares and pranks, and while jumping out of the bushes wasn't a particularly complex idea, the payoff would be wonderful.

Just think of it, when he saw the little imp with the gelled up hair and blue skin jump out at him, he'd be scared right out of his bedsheet! He had even talked his dad into buying him the red-eyed contacts this year, and practiced putting them in for a week beforehand. Even still, he had a hard time doing it; but it's details that add realism. Fake claws sat on the end of his hands as well, though he had to take them off to do anything.

Just as he was about to hop out, he saw a boy made up like a corpse walking towards them. Upon closer examination, he realized it was Micah. Casey let out an almost silent low whistle. Micah had outdone himself this year, the makeup and fake blood amounted to an atmosphere that almost matched his own! Still, it wouldn't save him from the little imp terrorizing the neighborhood tonight.

Two scares are better than one, he thought...

[Sathe]

Micah had seen a few kids he recognized so far, but no one he ever talked to much at school. He would have approached some of them, but they were all walking in groups and he didn't have quite that much courage. So he kept walking until he saw a kid under a Power Rangers sheet standing still in the rain.

The Power Rangers ghost was staring at him through his eye-holes, which made Micah think it was someone who recognized him. Something about the kid seemed familiar, but Micah just couldn't place who it was. He almost kept walking past the ghost, but then he stopped. He was sick of walking alone, dangit! He gave the ghost a small wave and headed over to say hi.

[thesporkman]

Jack had been holding on to the frantic hope that Micah wouldn't recognize him under his bedsheet, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the boy waving to him.

"Oh no!" he thought. "He recognizes me! He knows exactly who I am, and he probably thinks I'm lame and stupid and that I was lying about the mask, and now he's going to hate me forever!"

Jack didn't know what to do. He panicked and darted behind a nearby bush, where he tripped over a blue imp.

[Mysterious Silver]

Now is the moment to strike! Casey thought, perhaps a little over-dramatically. He took a small step back and lept out into the open, terrifying his two friends!

...or at least, that was his plan. In reality, he collided with Jack, bonking his head smack dab into the middle of the bedsheet. He let out a sharp cry and stumbled backwards, clawed hands clutching his forehead.

"Ow! Watch where you're going, why don't you!

[Sathe]

Micah watched the ghost run toward the bushes. Great, he thought, he was probably just looking at someone behind me. He felt so stupid. As he started walking again, though, the ghost tripped in the bushes. He heard a familiar voice cut through the crisp Halloween air.

Micah strode over to the bushes and saw Jack and Casey in a tangled heap. "Geez, you guys, what's going on?" He stood closer so that his umbrella covered all three of them. "Sweet costume, Casey. What's up with your eyes?"

[Mysterious Silver]

Casey rubbed his head, mumbling as he stood up, careful not to mess his hair. He rolled Jack off of him, put out about the failure of the scare.

"Ugh... contacts, my dad let me have them. Don't have to worry about losing my glasses, either."

He dusted himself off and looked down at Jack. "So who's the ranger ghost?"