A Strange and Sour Night

     Tightly clutching your bag of candy, the words of Sophie the Swamp Witch echo through your mind as you make your way towards the entrance to the woods. Despite your nerves, you can't help but chuckle to yourself at the strangeness of the situation. Though, perhaps, not as strange as the witch's final warning as you made your way out of her hut:

      " Oh! I almost forgot. Make sure you don't bring any gummy candy! "

     You lick your lips nervously and heave a resigned sigh as you take your first steps towards the ominous, looming trees that arch across the trail. Autumn leaves, too wet to crunch, muffle your footsteps, only adding to the eerie silence that surrounds you. Despite the chilled, fall air, you feel a bead of sweat drip from your brow. Something rustles in the nearby brush, causing you to clutch the bag of candy even tighter to your chest. You whirl around and peer into the gloom, only to see a Schnelly dart across the trail. The sight causes you to let out a relieved chuckle.

     After what feels like hours of anxious walking, you spot the pumpkin patch in the distance. An eerie glow seems to illuminate the area, but you're having trouble figuring out the source of the light. With no one to tend to the pumpkins, they grow completely unchecked, their viney stems twisting and curling around one another.

     In the middle of the pumpkin patch, perched atop a massive pile of Halloween treats, sits a Hissi who appears to be made out of.... gummy candy? Even stranger, he seems to be adorned with skeletal remains of... something. Moonlight shimmers off the shiny white skull upon his head, causing it to appear almost luminescent. He sticks a hand into the massive pile of candy and fishes out a Korbat Gummy Tail. His face twists in disgust as he tosses it over his shoulder. Again, he digs within the pile, this time emerging with a wrapped candy. Seemingly satisfied, he throws the candy into his mouth, not bothering to unwrap it first. A moment later, he spits out the empty wrapper and tosses it over his shoulder to join the gummy tail.

     You apprehensively approach the Hissi, your heart pounding in your chest. He takes notice of you, and in a snakey hissing voice he says:

      " You better not have brought any Gummy Candiessssss... they ssssstick to my fangsssss. "

     Full of dismay, you stutter out a reply:

      " N-no... I picked up Millipede Lollypops and Eye Candies from Spooky Foods... "

     The Hissi seems pleased with your selection of candies, and a faint creep of a smile spreads across his face. His tongue darts out twice as he uncurls from his hoard of candy, silently making his way towards you. You notice that he leaves a trail of sparkling sour dust in his wake. To fill the silence, you continue on nervously:

      " I-I was told by Sophie to bring this if I wanted to... "

     You trail off as the Hissi stops in front of you, holding out his hand.

     For a time, you simply stare at him, stunned and unsure of what to do. Finally, you realize you're still clutching the bag of candy tightly to your chest. You slowly uncurl your white-knuckled fists as you reach forward forward with the bag. He hastily snatches it from you and wrenches it open. You watch with fascination as he buries his face into the contents. When he arises, he's sporting two lolly sticks, which hang lazily out of the right side of his mouth.

      " Thisssss will sssssuffice, he hisses to you, his words a bit muffled by addition of the Millipede Lollipops. " I am Sssssourbonessss. In return for your offering, I will allow you to sssssspeak with ssssssomeone who hassss crosssssed to the other ssssside. They will truthfully anssssswer any quesssstionssss you have for them, but be warned. You may not want to hear what they have to ssssssay. "

     His words cause an icy chill to run down your spine. Had you made a mistake in coming here? You look over your shoulder anxiously and wonder if it's too late to return home.

      " You can alwayssssss turn back. " You jolt your head back towards the Hissi, alarmed by his seemingly-psychic response. " You wouldn't be the firssssst, and you ccccccertainly won't be the lasssssst… "

     You consider this for a moment, as your mind drifts back to your safe and cosy NeoHome. If you leave now, there may still be time to turn on the porch light and pass out candy to a few late-night Trick-or-Treaters. But, then, you think of her empty room, and the silence it emanates…

      " No, " you say, your voice gaining its strength back, " I have to speak with her one last time. "

      " Very well, " he replies. He turns and begins to slither away.

      " Wait! Do I need to tell you who it is? Where are you going? "

     He simply shakes his head and says, " Wait. "

     So you do. You watch him make his way towards a clearing in the pumpkin patch. He circles around it, pauses and then cuts across several times. You observe his strange behaviour with a fascinated curiosity as you ponder what in Neopia he could be doing. You inch a few steps closer and suddenly, it dawns on you–he's drawing a summoning circle with his trail of shimmering sour dust!

      'Could this night get any weirder? ' You wonder this for a moment before answering your own question: 'Probably. '

     Sourbones slithers out of the circle and begins tracing intricate runes along the outside of the circle with his tail. Though you recognize some runes from the faces of codestones, most are entirely foreign to you. Entranced by the ritual, you watch with quiet reverence at his intricate scrawlings. The sour summoning circle shimmers by the light of the moon, and you find yourself losing track of the passage of time.

     When he completes the final rune, he turns from the circle and slithers back to his pile of candy. You watch as he reaches shoulder-deep into the pile. He fishes around a bit before emerging with five candles, each a deep, crimson red. He carefully places each of the candles around the circle, perfectly spaced from one another. He turns towards you, and, breaking the silence, says:

      " Got a match? "

     The absolute absurdity of the night draws a rising laugh deep within your throat. With some effort, you stifle it and fish a lighter out of your pocket, handing it to him.

      " Thanksssss. "

     After carefully lighting each of the five candles, he slithers in a final, sour line towards the centre of the circle. With the final line complete, the circle springs to life. Soft blue flames erupt from the entangled lines, causing shadows to dance across the clearing.

     You watch as Sourbones' jaw goes slack, and his mouth hangs agape. The scene is unsettling, and the silence that follows more. Something else seems off, but you can't quite place your finger on what it is. You take a few apprehensive steps towards the circle and realize, with horror, it's his eyes. They're gone. Nothing peers out from under the skull. You stare at the voids within his eye sockets and feel a sickening sense of dread overtake you.

      " I wouldn't stare for too long. Something unsavoury may stare back, " a familiar voice says.

     It's her voice! You tear your eyes away from the empty sockets and look excitedly around the clearing.

      " Is it really you? Where are you? " you call out.

      " Sorry, I can't be there in person, " she responds, this time a bit louder. This allows you to pinpoint the source of her voice–it's flowing out of Sourbones' unmoving mouth!

      " But is it really you? "

      " It really is me. "

     A few tears start welling in the corners of your eyes. You thought you'd never hear that voice again. All the questions you had rehearsed before coming here seem to slip from your mind simultaneously. The moment seems to draw on for hours, and you merely stand there with tears silently streaking down your cheeks, unsure of what to say.

     Thankfully, she's the one who breaks the silence:

      " You know it's not your fault, right? "

     Her words wrench a choking sob out of you. The floodgates you were holding back begin their torrential downpour. Your mind drifts back to the cave. You remember the smell of wet earth and the sensation of spiderwebs. So many spiderwebs. You begin to envision the creature scurrying along the walls towards your beloved Draik before you force yourself to stop. It takes you some time before you can recover enough for a response:

      " I'm sorry. I wish we both had made it out. I… " you trail off a bit before finishing your thought: " I miss you. "

      " I miss you too. "

      " Are you… happy? Is it good where you are? "

      " Yes. "

     You pause for a moment, carefully thinking about your next question:

      " Will I see you again? "

      " Yes. "

     You heave a sigh of relief. Your other questions no longer seem so important. You glance at your watch and realize most of the night has slipped away. The long hand tips towards the edge of midnight.

      " It's time. I must go back, " she says wistfully.

      " I figured. It was so good to hear your voice again. Thank you. "

     Though you can't see it, you can almost feel her characteristic half-smile. It causes your own faint smile to spread across your damp cheeks. You chance one more glance at your watch and watch as the hand inches dangerously close to midnight.

     Her final words come in the form of booming echoes that swirl around the clearing:

      " Farewell, old friend. "

     The hand hits midnight and light explodes from Sourbones' eye sockets. You shield your eyes from its brilliance as everything goes black.

     —-----

     You wake up to a Schnelly sitting on your chest, staring at you with its big eyes. You groggily shake the creature off, and it darts into the nearby brush.

      'Where am I? '

     Your bones ache, and you realize you're laying on the ground. Pale, grey morning light streams through the twisting branches of the overhead trees. You gingerly hoist yourself into a sitting position and notice that your clothes are cold and damp from overnight dew. The chill seems to reach straight to the core of your bones. You groan as you stand up, assessing your surroundings.

     The events from the previous night rush over you in a wave. As you scan the clearing, you realize the eerie glow that once illuminated the pumpkin patch is gone. The pumpkins, which seemed to be wild and healthy last night, are now decomposing lumps. The sweet smell of rotten pumpkin permeates the clearing, and you can see Petpetpets scuttling in and out of the deflated gourds. The gummy Hissi, along with his massive candy perch, is nowhere to be seen. You look for the sour summoning circle in the middle of the clearing, but all you can see is glittering, morning dew.

     Your head pounds as you can't help but wonder:

      'Was it all a dream? '

     Your brow furrows as you close your eyes and massage your temples, thinking. You shake your head in frustration and decide to begin the journey home. As you turn away from the clearing and begin to leave, you feel your foot kick something small. You bend over to pick it up.

     It's your lighter! As you observe the object, you notice its covered in something gritty. You have an idea of what it might be, but you want to be sure. Heart pounding, you apprehensively touch the tip of your tongue to the side of your lighter as your suspicions are confirmed: it's sour.

     The End.