Halloween Horrors

      *.*.*.*

Selena smiled at her reflection, pouting as she slicked a fresh coat of lip gloss on. "You're going to be late for your party!" her sister, a starry Korbat whined, flapping her wings as she entered the room. Her silky black hair grazed the floor, and her fangs pressed into her lip nervously.

      Selena wagged her yellow Gelert tail and set her makeup down. "I'll be on time, I promise. I just want to look good. This is sort of a big deal."

      "I know!" the Korbat, Amy cried. "That's why we want to get to the party. On. Time." She played with the fringe on her witch costume anxiously.

      "Fine, fine." Selena unscrewed the cap of her mascara, coating her eyelashes carefully.

      Frustrated, Amy soared out of the room to leave. "I'm not waiting any longer, Sel," she called as she unlocked the front door.

      Sighing, Selena adjusted her short purple wig and scampered out of her room. She tumbled down the stairs and out the front door. "Wait up!" she yelled, watching as her sister flapped her wings faster and faster. Amy flew out of sight, and Selena stopped as the woods loomed ahead.

      Carefully, she put one paw in front of the other as she padded on the cobblestone pathway. The pathway turned to a brittle dirt road, and Selena gulped as darkness swallowed her up.

      It was October thirty first, a frightening day. Being all alone in the Haunted Woods? Not a good idea. Selena turned around to look at her solitary house, wondering if she should head back home.

      But no. She had to make an appearance at Hanja's party. The Faerie Uni only held this bash once a year, and she wasn't going to show up late like last time. It was considered an honor to even be on the guest list.

      With a whip of her tail, she set off into the woods. A coldness enveloped her as she shivered in her summery faerie outfit. She walked past twisting, knobby trees, an eerily silent brook, and finally came to a fork in the road.

      Biting her lip, Selena stared off to the left. Rows of twisted, jagged trees stretched in front of her. As she glanced to the right, she saw darkness. But there was a faint, bobbing, light blue string of lights in the distance. Could it be Amy?

      Taking a chance, she darted down the right way as fast as she could. The lights got closer and closer, and with dismay she realized that it wasn't Amy. It was blue flames. Was someone holding a torch? She nervously pawed over to the image, curiosity overpowering her fear.

      The fire was segmented, and seemed to be moving along with a figure. The flames were so close to her now, she could reach out her hand to touch them. She tried doing just so. As her fingers grasped for the illusion, the source of the fire whipped around, screaming a glass breaking pitch.

      Selena never screamed. She'd never screamed in her life. It was a strange thing, really, to never have forced your voice into hysteria. But Selena never had. And this was no exception. Gasping in shock, she stared into a pair of beady blue eyes.

      A bright white light flickered for a moment, then lit up the two pets. A mutant Acara stood in front of the Gelert, fear pasted across her delicately frightening features. In a small voice, the Acara said, "Oh. Oh my. You scared me."

      Selena caught her breath and smiled. "I didn't know what to think of those flames..." She motioned with a shaking hand to the creature's head.

      "I'm sorry," she blurted. "Please don't be mad at me."

      Selena looked at the Acara. "Of course I'm not mad at you. What's your name? I'm Selena." She hesitated, but stuck her paw out.

      The Acara stared down at it, the tentatively shook it with two fingers. "Daisy. That's my name."

      Selena burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, but that's ironic. You're... you're mutant! Isn't Daisy a name for a Faerie pet?"

      Daisy stared down at the ground. "I was a Faerie pet. Until Sloth came."

      "Sloth?" Selena's eyes widened.

      Daisy nodded. "Sloth. He just turned me into this type of monster," she wailed.

      "Don't be upset. I think that mutants are cool," Selena said.

      "Really?" Daisy smiled softly.

      "Really," Selena encouraged.

      They stood there smiling at one another for a moment, when suddenly they heard a moan.

      Selena stepped closer to Daisy. "W-w-what was that?"

      Daisy shook nervously. "I'm guessing just the wind."

      "Okay... y-yeah... probably just the wind," Selena reasoned. "I have to get to a party, so I should get going..."

      "Hanja's annual Halloween bash?" Daisy questioned in her tinkling voice.

      Amazed, Selena nodded. "That's the one. You've been to it before?"

      "Back when I was a Faerie Acara, sure. I was invited to all the parties back then. Now? Now I just hide in the woods. Nobody... nobody likes me. I'm feared. Parents take their children away from me like I'll just attack at any second! It's so unfair," Daisy whined.

      Selena didn't know what to say. She mumbled, "Well, that's not good."

      Daisy looked at her. "No, it's not."

      Realizing the situation, Selena spoke up. "Do you by any chance remember where Hanja's house is?"

      Daisy's eyes fixed onto Selena's. "Of course. Why?"

      "Oh thank you!" Selena tackled Daisy in a hug.

      Daisy yanked herself away. "Thank you for what?!"

      Selena laughed, a weight lifted off of her shoulders. "I'm lost. See, usually I go with my sister Am-"

      "Who said I was taking you there?" Daisy cut her off. "They don't want to see me there. I'm a monster."

      "I'm lost, though. You have to help me," cried Selena.

      Daisy rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you owe me one."

      *.*.*.*

      Turns out, the left road in the fork had been the correct way to go. Soon, they were arriving down a familiar path. "This is it right here!" Selena grinned.

      "Not yet," pointed out Daisy. "You've still got some more traveling to do."

      Selena sighed. "I know, I know. I just get excited."

      Suddenly, they heard a high pitched scream.

      "That was not the wind." Daisy froze.

      Selena tugged on her hand. "We have to hurry. We're already late."

      Daisy shrieked as a pale hand stuck out from behind the bushes.

      "H-h-help..." Beady black eyes appeared next, made up like a creepy doll's.

      It was a ghost. It floated slowly behind the trees, letting the girls catch flashes of it. It shuffled the trees in a horrifying way, leaving the girls standing in terror.

      "Seleeeeeeeena!" the ghost lolled. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP ME!"

      "It knows my name!" cried Selena, clutching onto Daisy.

      The ghost Korbat floated out towards the girls, its head jerking slowly. Its arms twitched, and droplets of red spilled from her mouth.

      The girls heard rustling behind the Korbat, and soon, an entire army of ghosts flew out. There were Unis, Zafaras, you name it. They floated in eerie silence that sliced through the night.

      Selena screamed. It was a high pitched ringing sound that filled the night. It was a scream she'd been holding back for fifteen years. She let it out and it echoed off of the trees, danced across the lake, and swirled around them all. Even after she closed her mouth, their ears still rang from the sound.

      Daisy murmured, "Whoa."

      "I know." Selena shook in fear. "I didn't know I had it in me."

      The ghosts circled around them, leaving them trapped.

      "What will we do?" wailed Selena. "We're cornered!"

      Daisy looked at the ground. "Technically, we're enclosed. Not cornered."

      The creatures slowly inched closer and closer, moaning their haunted melodies as they approached.

      "Now is not the time," Selena said through gritted teeth. "These ghosts are about to get us."

      Daisy snapped her head up. "That's it!"

      Selena looked at the Mutant Acara. "What?"

      "They're ghosts. See through. We can just pass right through them! Trust me, my cousin was a ghost. I always walked through her. We can do that now!"

      Selena looked up at the spirits as they reached out their wispy fingers. "It's our only chance." She darted forward into the Korbat, but ran straight into her. The impact sent the Gelert flying backwards.

      The same thing happened to Daisy. "Selena, are you okay?" she cried in her small voice.

      Selena groaned and flipped onto her back. "I... I don't know. My leg really hurts."

      "We hurt her!" cried Amy's voice.

      Selena sat straight up. "AMY?!" she screamed.

      The Ghost Korbat wiped at her face and a starry pattern was revealed. "Sel, are you alright? We never meant to hurt you."

      "Amy?" Selena coughed. "What... what's going on?"

      A Ghost Uni wiped some of her paint off too, revealing blue Faerie fur. "We totally got you!"

      Daisy looked away, not wanting to speak to the group.

      "Can someone please tell me what's happening!" the Gelert shouted.

      Amy swooped down. "See, you were late as usual, and we decided to pull a prank. It was originally going to be for Hanja's neighbors but we decided to pull it on you."

      Hanja fluttered down beside them. "We're sorry! And... hey, is that... is that Daisy?"

      Daisy looked up in surprise at the sound of her name. "Wha-um, me? I... yeah, I'm Daisy."

      Hanja smiled sadly. "I haven't seen you in a really long time. You used to be Faerie."

      Daisy sighed. "I remember, don't worry," she said a little bitterly. "You haven't spoken to me since."

      The Uni's brow furrowed. "What? Every year I send you an invitation to my party. But you never show up."

      Daisy's eyes lit up. "You sent me an invite?"

      Hanja nodded vigorously. "Of course! You were one of my best friends. But you never RSVPed."

      Daisy looked at Hanja. "I moved out a while back. I've been living on my own ever since."

      Hanja asked, "But why? Why did you disappear?"

      "I'm Mutant!" screeched Daisy. "You guys are all snooty Faeries. Why would you want to hang around me?"

      Hanja giggled. "Daisy, you're being dumb. It's not how you look, it's about who you are. I could care less about your coloring. You were a great person then and you still are now. Can't you see that?"

      Daisy murmured, "You really think so?"

      "I do. We all do." Hanja gestured to the group around her.

      "In that case, I guess we can party now?" Selena piped up.

      Amy laughed. "We're such sisters. I was gonna say the same thing!"

      Hanja reached her hoof down to help Daisy up. They stood face to face. "I'd absolutely love it, we all would, if you would join us this year. And the next. And the next."

      Daisy looked at each face in the room, finally landing on Selena's. The Acara mouthed, "Thank you" to her new friend, and smiled at Hanja. "My pleasure!"

      And from that day on, Halloween was less a trick and more a treat. I'm not saying that scream-worthy pranks weren't pulled or that horrors weren't unleashed, but it was a warmer time. Because everyone could scream in fear--together.

The End

Happy Halloween, Neopia! *evil laughter in background*