It's their fourth Halloween together as a family. This year, since the boys are older—Roland is almost eleven and Henry is fourteen—they plan for a campfire in the backyard. Robin has spent the week thinking of ghost stories to tell the family. Henry had teased that he's heard them all, has even shared them with friends at school to spook them this time of year, but Robin promises, "Just wait until we're out there. I've got a story I guarantee you've not heard before." Henry had given him a good natured smile and nodded.
Regina agreed they were old enough now to go trick or treating by themselves, but reminded Henry to keep an eye on Roland and to always stick to each other. They boys agreed, and Henry even put his arm around her. "You worry too much, Mom. We'll be fine." Still, she couldn't help but worry; these were the most important people in Regina's life and she would always protect them, keep them safe. Still, she acquiesced. Henry was responsible enough and Roland looked up to him.
Halloween night finally comes and the boys are wearing their costumes. Henry, who's been obsessed with The Walking Dead chose to dress up as a zombie, and Roland decided to dress up as Luke Skywalker. She smiled lovingly and told the boys to stand by the front door with Robin, snapping their photo before giving each of her sons a kiss and a hug. "I want you both back home by 8:30."
Henry groaned, "Mom! Come on, it's almost 6:30. That doesn't give us a whole lot of time."
"I'm sorry but we've got the campout planned for later, remember? Your dad's been working on his ghost stories," she reminded him as Robin's arm went around her shoulder and she kissed her husband's cheek.
Henry sighed as Roland called to him from the gate. "Henry, you coming?"
"Yeah Ro, I'm on my way."
#—#—#
They set up the yard for the campout, placing the chairs in a circle around the stone fire pit Robin made last month. The boys return home apologetic, only a few minutes past their curfew. They immediately get to work in helping set the yard up since their parents are expecting company, some of Robin's colleagues. He owns a very successful landscaping business.
Tuck and John show up first and they sit down around the fire Robin's been tending. Regina hands each of them a long stick for roasting. The family has put out drinks and snacks, including hot dogs and bacon, fruits and cheese, and marshmallows and chocolate. Rose, the bookkeeper, also shows up with a couple of pitchers of sangria for the adults and some cider for the boys. Ruby, the receptionist, arrives last and brings the boys small canvases she painted with sugar skulls.
After they've eaten and enjoyed pleasant conversation, Tuck grabs the flashlight that's on the table and turns it on, pointing the light to his chin and giving his face an eerie look.
"Who's in the mood for some ghost stories?"
The small crowd hoots in encouragement. Robin and Regina sit close together on a bench nearest the fire pit, while everyone else is spread out a little on chairs. Rose had asked Regina for a blanket so she was the only one who looked dwarfed in her seat, the blanket blending into the darkness. Ruby laughed, saying she resembled a floating head, but Rose shushed her, saying she was cold.
John laughs at them, agreeing with Ruby and Tuck waits for them to settle down before he starts his story.
"Now, this story was told to me by my brother, and he swore it was true. Said one of his students wrote about it for his class a few years ago. A young couple living in Texas had fallen in love and wanted to get married. Their families, however, didn't approve of the union and so they ran off together. The girl, Carmen, came from a poor family of farmers and the boy, Josh, came from a very wealthy family. His father was a tycoon who'd made a fortune in the oil wells. They wanted to get married because they found out Carmen was going to have a baby, Josh felt it was the right thing to do. Carmen knew that if she told her family, her parents would make her give the baby up and she knew she couldn't do that."
Roland yawned and Henry looked bored. Regina looked at each of them, winked and blew them a kiss, then gave them a smile. Robin smiled at her as his fingers squeezed hers.
"They planned their departure, leaving their homes and families in the middle of the night. They were going to Las Vegas; Josh had gotten them fake ID's so they could marry in one of the chapels, since they were both only seventeen. They left before dawn. Josh knew Carmen's family were early risers so they planned on leaving at four in the morning sharp. Josh parked his car a block from Carmen's house and walked the rest of the way, standing outside where they agreed to meet. Carmen was already there, a backpack on her shoulders. They walked to Josh's car, hand in hand."
"Hey Tuck, I thought you said this was a scary story?" Ruby teased. "Nothing I've heard yet is creeping me out. But I am hearing Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On in my head!"
Everyone laughed, including Tuck though he quickly recovered. "I'm getting to that, Rube."
"Josh and Carmen got in the car and as the sun came up, they felt at peace with their decision. They stopped just as they'd crossed the border into New Mexico. They were both exhausted but knew Josh's family might be looking for them soon so they only slept a few hours until they were back on the road, right around two in the morning. The road was dark and lonely, and the only thing they could see for miles was darkness. They'd left their cell phones behind, but had bought prepaid phones once they'd arrived in Dallas. Carmen looked at hers, noting there was no reception and her spine tingled. Josh comforted her, saying they'd be in Vegas soon and most importantly, they'd be married. They soon saw a flash of white on the road and Josh stopped the car."
Finally, Ruby mutters as Rose taps her knee and shushes her. Tuck glares before going on.
"There was no one around, so Josh got back in the car and they kept on driving. Several miles later, same thing happens: flash of white and Josh gets out to investigate but no one's out there, just them. He gets back in the car and Carmen says she's not feeling well, that she's scared, and that maybe they should turn back. But Josh says she's imagining things, that there's nothing the matter and he keeps driving. The flash of white appears again after they'd driven another ten miles, and Carmen's skin is covered in goosebumps. She begs Josh not to go out there and investigate, begs him to leave whatever it is alone, but Josh refuses to listen and steps out of the car a third time. As he's outside walking around the front of the car, the headlights brightest on his hips, there's a knocking on Carmen's side of the window. They both scream in fear but it's an innocent looking woman wearing a denim jacket and stonewash jeans. She asks them for a ride to the next gas station, says she broke down up ahead and if they'd be so kind as to help her out, she'd pay them. Josh and Carmen seem unsure, but the woman begs them and she seems harmless enough."
All eyes are on Tuck, mesmerized and waiting for the next part. He sips sangria from his cup, and licks his lips.
"The woman sits in the backseat of their car and they start to drive. They engage in friendly conversation and the woman tells them her name is Chris. But as they keep driving, they realize that there's no car broken down on the road. So Josh asks her where her car is and Chris replies nonchalantly that they aren't far from it."
Robin quirks an eyebrow at Tuck pointedly then looks at Roland and Henry then back at Tuck. It's an unspoken question: will this scare my sons?
In understanding, Tuck clears his throat and says, "And then they dropped Chris off at a gas station and continued driving to Vegas."
"What?!" Ruby shrieks. "No way! That's not a scary story!"
Just then Regina let's go of Robin's hand and announces it's time for the boys to get ready for bed. They grumble but the parents insist, it's still a school night and it's way past their bedtime. The boys say goodnight to everyone and head into the house, Regina and Robin following.
Fifteen minutes later, they rejoin everyone outside. "Tuck, finish the story," Robin says.
"Okay. They ask Chris about her car and she says they're close and to keep driving. They go on for miles and miles, and the car is very quiet. No one says a word, and they're so far out there's no reception on their radio. Josh asks Carmen to cue some music on his smartphone and she plugs it in. The music starts to play as Josh swears he sees a flash of white. Carmen had been looking at the music so she's oblivious and when she turns to ask Chris if she likes the Foo Fighters, the woman isn't in the backseat. Carmen gasps and tells Josh, who says it's impossible. He adjusts his rearview mirror, moving it in every direction only to discover Carmen's right: the hitchhiker they picked up has vanished from their car. They hadn't stopped anywhere, only those times before they'd picked her up. Another flash of white lights up the road and from the back seat comes a voice that sounds nothing like Chris. 'You can stop here, there's my car.' When they turn around to look, they see a corpse dressed in denim."
Tuck waits expectantly and Ruby scoffs and rolls her eyes. "What a crock of shit, Tucker! Honestly!" They all laugh as she says, "Next year, I'm telling the story."
"That wasn't the end, Rube."
"No? What's the end then?"
"Josh and Carmen's car vanished that night, nowhere to be found. It happened back in '08. And it was a true story. Look," he says as he reaches into his wallet and pulls out a folded piece of newspaper. It's an article about the two teens who mysteriously disappeared on Interstate 10, and since the event happened around Halloween, they tied it to another disappearance that coincided with it, which had happened twenty years before that in '88." The group gather around Tuck and scan the article, where they read about a woman named Christine Lawrence having vanished near the same area where Carmen Gomez and Joshua Herrington, III are thought to have been driving on.
"Now you tell me: doesn't that give you guys the creeps?" Tuck asked.
They each mumble that it does kind of freak them out, but then Regina declares Halloween is over and everyone shuffles out, thanking them for the food and the company.
As they say their goodbyes, Regina and Robin stand at their front door waving at their friends.
No one takes notice that there's a woman dressed in denim watching them across the street.