The boy wandered the forest, axe in dirt and oil stained hands, shining a fading and flickering lantern through the darkness, searching for something.
It was Halloween night. Coraline was in her room, glue and construction paper littered the floor. She stood by a mirror, triumphantly holding a broom, while wearing a long dark cloak and a surprisingly well-made pointed construction paper hat. She held out her hand in front of her, observing how well the brightly colored gloved looked against the dull-colored witch costume. Pleased with her costume, she scurried down the stairs and exited onto the porch. It was somewhat windy, and she had to hold her hat in place to keep it from blowing away with the warmly colored leaves that fluttered through the air. Upon the steps sat a jack-o-lantern, cut in a classic triangle-eye and smile style. She walked past it, the old stairs creaking and groaning with each step.
Coraline began the walk to Wybie's house. The wind was biting and cold, but her thick wool cloak protected her from the nighttime chill. When she finally arrived, Wybie was already sitting on his front porch. He lifted his plastic zombie mask to reveal a warm smile and waved.
"Hey, I like your costume"
"Thanks, yours looks like you got it at the dollar store"
Wybie laughed a little, though the comment had clearly hurt.
Together they walked back to the pink palace, the first place on their trick-or-treating route. They first visited Ms. Spink and Forcible, who offered them some oddly expired-looking candy, which they politely declined. They then walked up the rickety steps to 's apartment. They knocked and waited while the old man made his way to the door.
"Hello? Who there?" he said, opening the door.
"Ah! Coraline and her friend! Здравствуйте! So good to see you!"
Coraline and Wybie held out their bags, "Hi, Trick or treat!" Coraline said.
"Ah, yes, is Halloween." said, disappearing behind the half opened screen door.
"Yes, yes, I having your candy. Is very goo-"
He was interrupted by a monotonous drumming sound which had suddenly began. He turned in the direction of the sound, and Coraline craned her neck to see what it was. She, however, dismissed the sound, noticing that it was only a small bird tapping on the window. Mr. Bobinsky, on the other hand, seemed dismayed.
"Господь! That is very bad omen!" He said, seeming quite upset.
"Umm…" Coraline said quietly, confused and trying to bring his attention back to the candy.
"Ah...yes, candy" He said, after rapping on the window until the bird flew away. "Yes I am having candy for you" He said, handing them each a chocolate bar. Coraline looked at hers, she didn't recognize the brand and it was labeled in Russian. However, she liked chocolate and it didn't look a thousand years old, so she was satisfied with it. They left after briefly trying to console , who was often disturbed by his strange superstitions.
"So, where to now?" Coraline asked her friend.
"Well, I was thinking maybe we could go over to that rich area of town. Y'know, where they give out full size snickers." Wybie replied.
"Sounds good, but that's through the woods." Coraline said, trying to make it clear that she didn't think trying to find their way through the forest in the dark would be much fun.
"Well...I can go back to my place and grab a flashlight if you want. You're free to your own opinion, but I'd rather go through the woods than try to walk alongside the road without a sidewalk in the dark."
Coraline narrowed her eyes slightly, she didn't want to admit that Wybie's plan was more logical.
"Fine, I guess. Let's go, it's late and I wanna get their before all the candy's gone."
They walked into the woods, which was an uneven area, full of sloping hills and the occasional bluff or valley. It was impossibly dark, and the earth was slick with mud and wet leaves. Huge tree roots creeped and spiraled across the already uneven and slippery ground. The full moon shone through the tangled branches, shedding an unearthly blue-green glow on the area.
It seemed impossible for them to maintain their footing in the dark and uncertain forest, but Coraline felt as though returning to get a flashlight would be admitting defeat. And so they pressed onwards, collecting mud in their shoes and clutching the twisted branches for support.
"Do...do you wanna go back?" Wybie asked.
"No, I think we're almost there. I think I can see some street lights up ahead" She said, pulling her foot out of a mud puddle with a splatter of murky water.
Now standing on an area of even ground, Coraline stopped for a second to stomp the mud off her shoes.
With each stomp, a small clump of mud fell onto the ground, along with assorted twigs and leaves. On the third stomp, a large crack resounded through the forest.
And the ground fell out from beneath the two children.
And down they fell.
Into the Unknown.
"Woodsman, the lantern's light is growing dim. If you let the lantern go out, your brother shall fade into darkness with it."