Chapter Three

Plans Made In The Night

When Violet and Edward reached the turn where the houses were lit up they stopped. Edward leaned against a stop sign panting for breath, then looked up at his sister. After a while they started laughing.

"You were so scared!" Edward said while giving her a shove.

"I was scared? What about you" She put her hand to her forehead in a dramatic pose. "Let's get out of here!" Her voice sound especially girly as she said this. "You looked like you we're about to shriek like a little girl." She returned his shove.

"Hey at least I had enough mind to shove Gregory and Justin off of the Bridge. You were in such a hurry you almost let him go." He said, shoving a little more roughly this time. Violet gave him a funny look then pushed Edward almost causing him to lose his footing.

"Oh yea, well at least I didn't get cuffed by Justin King. Your lip is still bleeding by the way." Edward shrugged and wiped his lip.

"He just caught me off guard." Edward said, giving Violet a dirty look.

Violet ignored it. She looked up the street as a street lamp went on.

"Carolyn will be expecting us home." She said, referring to their mother who they had been calling by her first name since their father had died three years before.

"Aww come on Shock, we're so close to giving her an ulcer as it is, a few more hours couldn't hurt. Let's see how long it takes her till she calls the cops or something." Edward said, calling his sister by her nickname. They rarely ever referred to each other as anything but this when they were by themselves. It was a stupid thing they had started when they were little, and hadn't ever really gotten out of the habit of.

Violet gave him a bitter look.

"If she calls the cops on us it won't be to find us and bring us home safely. Come on." She grabbed Edward by his collar and started walking in the direction of their house.

"Aww but we haven't even made mail box quota today!" Edward whined. He struggled to get loose of her fingers and got rather frustrated when he found he couldn't.

"Please Lock, don't even try. You haven't been able to over power me since we were four." She said, a wicked smile playing on her lips. Edward struggled a little longer, determined to prove her wrong, but after a while just gave up. The last of the street lamps were on before the two children reached home.

The last streetlamp to light up in town was that of the King household. The only reason for this was that the King's street lamp had been so badly battered since the King family had moved in that it could barely tell what was dark and what wasn't. The sky was black before the cool yellowish orb lit up, looking quite solitary amongst the others which burned brighter and had been on for a good hour.

On the other side of town, at the place where Gregory and Justin where heading away from stood a lovely street lamp that rested at the foot of the Pumpkin House and upon first glance looked quite old fashioned. It was the sort that still was illuminated with a candle protected by the glass door, which did not keep the oxygen out like the others. This lamp was just one of the many things that kept the myths and legends of the odd house alive and thriving.

Although by all rights it should have been entirely manual, it was always the first street lamp in town to go on.

Right when dusk hit, and the last of the sunsets colors filled the sky in dark purples and lovely shades of midnight blue did the candle within the little glass box start to burn. It always did this, even when there was no one home, and Kingston's 'big shot' as they liked to call the owner was not on one of his monthly….or sometimes yearly visits. Some of the towns people had once been very curious how or when this started. Because though the candle had always been old fashioned, when Hector was alive it had been manually lit. Back then Hector himself was seen every night as it just started to get dark, walking down his driveway, and setting the lantern alight. Like clockwork, the town would say.

The thing that caused a chill racing down the spine of anyone who bothered to think about it was that now, it lit at almost the exact time that Hector had once lit it every night.

Just like clockwork.

From the side of the house two headlights suddenly burned to life, looking very much like eye's in the dark, and from the shadows an old fashioned car seamed to materialize. In the dark it looked very much like one of the Black Cadillac's that carried the dead to their burial place, that was at least until it passed the old street lamp and one could see that it wasn't. And that it was just a very big black car, as dark and mysterious as whoever sat behind it's wheel.

The car stopped at the end of the driveway, at the mailbox that was shaped like a screaming cat, with it's hair standing on end and everything. One of the many things the owner had not bothered to change since Hector had lived there. The window rolled down and the owner reached out, his hand looking very white against the dark as he checked his mail.

Across the street, a man sitting on his porch watched this in a state of wary curiosity. He took a drink of his tea, as the look of fixation fell from his face when the hand went back in the car and the window was once again rolled up. He watched the car all the way down the street, before his glance fell to something else.

A few moments after this, Jeff King, who was just finishing up putting his tires back on his car, which may have been a nice car if it hadn't been so horrible beaten up by the older kids in the neighborhood, caught sight of the black automobile as it passed by. He froze, looking at it with a fearful look, as though it were some sort of ill omen. He nervously wiped his hand over his forehead, not taking his eyes off of the cars progress. As the car got in front of his house, (which was the sort of house you'd expect the owner of a town to live in.) it seamed to slow down. At first Jeff told himself it was just his imagination, but after a while it became obvious that the car was indeed decelerating. He froze, his look of fear slowly changing to an ugly look that Edward Violet or Gregory would have recognized, for it was the same look his son had been wearing earlier. The car was but crawling now, it seamed to be taunting him, just waiting for him to lose his nerve. Jeff stood his ground as he waited for something to happen.

Suddenly the cars brights flashed on, illuminating Jeff's face and the street with blinding light. Jeff started terribly, to his own shame. And looked after the car with an intense hatred as it sped up again and passed Jeff's house. He stood in front of his house until the car turned the corner and was out of sight. In his hands, the bandana he had been using while replacing his tires was twisted and just slightly ripped.

"You conniving scum bag." He whispered below his breath.

"Mr. King." A voice came from behind him making him jump again and let out a girlish yelp. He turned to see who was addressing him. It was Annabel Venison from up the street, standing beside her, shaking and looking quite cranky was his son.

"Sorry for scaring you Mr. King. Me and Frank found your son down at Skeleton Lake…"

"Well down in Skeleton Lake we should say." Frank said with no sign of amusement in his voice.

Jeff looked at his son with a crease in his brow, then back up at the couple quizzically.

"How did this happen?" He said, then his eyes fell upon Gregory who was sitting in the backseat of the Venison car, looking quite wet himself.

"You did this to my son." He said pointing at the boy who looked up at Jeff with confusion in his eyes.

"Wha?" Gregory started.

"Now Mr. King Gregory didn't do anything." Annabel said. "Both boys were pushed in the lake." Jeff nodded and turned from Gregory, not bothering to apologize. His eyes narrowed.

"Well, who did it then?" He asked the two portly adults who looked at each other tiredly.

"Do you even have to ask Mr. King?" Frank said. "Ever since Mr. Wayward passed on, his children have become this towns living demons." Annabel nodded.

"Yes, and their mother doesn't do anything about it. Not a very good parent. She can't seam to get her children under control." Jeff tightened his jaw, then after taking a deep breath he forced a smile. It wasn't a very good one, one could tell that easily by looking at the faces of those it was directed to, as a look of discomfort crossed their countenance.

"Well, they did lose their father, and their mother doesn't seam to care much about them. It's a sad situation, but their acts of juvenile delinquency is obviously just a way to get attention." Jeff said, his voice filled with a thick and sickening kindness.

Justin, who had remained oddly quiet throughout this time, screwed his face up in a look that made him appear as though he had just swallowed something very nasty.

"Your not going to do anything about this?" He yelled up at his father shrilly. Frank and Annabel winced.

"Well son, some people aren't as fortunate as we are…"

"Those kids aren't unfortunate, their just rotten stupid, evil children. I'm sick of being pushed around by them because you feel like being a freaking coward!" The boy's voice had gone up in volume throughout his speech. Jeff was wincing too by the end of it.

"Justin you have to understand…" He started flashing the Venison's with a look as embarrassment.

"I don't have to understand anything. If you won't do something about the Wayward kids, I will! This town would do well to get rid of them." He turned towards the Venison's and gave them an angry look.

"And it's KING LAKE. Hector Skellingtons dead. Get over it!" He stormed past his father and into the house, slamming the door behind him." Jeff laughed nervously.

"He's had a…um…rough day." Jeff stammered. "I think I'll go inside as well. Thank you for bringing him back." He looked at Gregory, who looked back at him in obvious dislike.

"Sorry about the snappish judgment. I suppose I've had quite a rough day too." He said, standing and smiling a little longer before following his son back into the house. Annabel and Frank looked at each other.

"Sheesh! Talk about not having any control over your kids." Frank said, before sitting behind the wheel of their car again. Annabel looked at him for a moment with her hands on her hips. He cleared his throat and slid over to the passenger side.

"Sorry dear." She nodded as she sat in the drivers seat. They pulled out of the Kings driveway and headed towards Gregory's house.

Up in his room Justin was having a fit. He threw his many things around at the walls ripping his stuffed animals to shreds and breaking a good many expensive glass things. Finally, after it was all over he sat on his bed, and took a deep breath. Now that he had gotten rid of his rage, he was clear headed enough to puzzle over how he would deal with the Wayward children.

His cousins came to mind. They we're bigger boys. True bullies, with a lot of muscle. They could take care of Edward and Violet. Unfortunately, they weren't going to visit for another month or so.

Justin sighed and walked to his window where the blinds had been crudely ripped from the bar at the top. He looked out, raising his fist to his chin in thought. His eye's wondered to the top of the Pumpkin House and a thought arose in his mind. His face lit up with it.

When they had been there earlier that night, Edward and Violet had been scared when all of the lights came on. They were just as afraid of it as anyone else. If he could somehow work that house into his plans, perhaps he could scare Violet and Edward so badly that for once they would be the ones getting embarrassed, being made fun of, humiliated. Maybe then he could get rid of them for good. They would fear him, and finally, he and his family would get a little more respect. It was hard to when those brats constantly sabotaged them. Oh sure, the town claimed that the Wayward children terrorized all of them. But Justin knew the truth. They were all in it together. The whole town hated them. They all wanted them out so they could have their precious Pumpkin Town back.

"Freaks." He whispered to himself. He smiled in the dark of his room, looking quite mad as he did, but as he looked at the Pumpkin house his smile dropped from his lips.

What was he thinking? He didn't want to get near that house. How could he scare someone with it if he refused to get within a hundred feet of it.

A bitter looked crossed his face. When his family had moved in he had been sure that the house had been part of their plot to get him and his family out pf their town. He had thought all of the strange occurrences were a result of a whole town trying to ward away "outsiders" the people they felt didn't belong there. And most of all to get rid of the family who had bought their precious town and made it…well…normal.

He had even investigated this theory. He knew more about the things that went on at that house then almost anyone else, certainly more then his father or mother did. He had watched it from a distance to avoid being seen and had made note of everything that seamed out of place or paranormal. But after watching the house for a month or so his theory about the neighborhood being in on the stuff that went on there kind of fell apart in front of him. It did this because after a while, Justin had a hard time believing any of the neighbors could be in on something like that. They all seamed terrified of the house. And none of them ever went near it.

Besides, some of the stuff that happened there went a little beyond their abilities. Justin could ignore the improbability of a candle setting itself alight, and of lights turning on by themselves, and perhaps even the sounds one heard sometimes at night that most people would not seam to be capable of making. But he drew the line on stuff like misty figures walking across the window, and unearthly lights shining from the attic, and once, when he had been passing by the house on his way home from school when he had missed the bus because he had thought his father was going to pick him up (But couldn't because his tires had been let out…again.) he had seen what he had thought to be a light on in the basement it had been flickering in an odd manner, so he had stopped. After a few moments he had realized to his own horror the flickering must have been fire. He watched it for a while, as smoke and the smell of burning things drifted about and then suddenly, as though he had been imagining the whole thing, it went away. The basement became dark, the smoke vanished and the smell went away. Justin had decided to never walk that way home again.

Justin backed away from his window. His countenance once again displaying that of deep thought. Perhaps he could get someone to help him. He didn't think too many people in town would, especially if it meant going anywhere near The Pumpkin House…but perhaps he could get someone who wasn't from around here to help him…someone who didn't really know about the stories surrounding the house. Someone like Gregory perhaps. He smiled to himself. Gregory was new, didn't have any friends, seamed the sort who might appreciate some protection…for a price of course. Maybe he could even go an easier way and just pretend to be Gregory's friend… new kids were usually desperate to be friends with anyone. Then, if he did that, he could get Gregory to help him with matters of the house, and dump him afterwards. It'd be easy. Then he could get back at Edward and Violet for everything they had done to him in the past.

Justin grinned to himself as the plan formulated in his mind. This, he thought, would be very sweet indeed. Forgetting that they were broken he pulled down his blinds for emphasis, the result was the whole thing coming down on top of him.

In the night that fell upon Kingston, illuminated slightly by the lanterns in front of all of the houses, no one saw as a light in the attic of the Pumpkin House turned on.

Hmm, at some times Justin's not quite as annoying as I thought I would make him…and Gregory's not as much of a loser as I thought I'd make him. O well. Characters tend to do that I suppose. Have a mind of their own. Well I finished the chapter. It's a bit short, and not much happens, but I figure I'll give anyone who wants to read it this before getting in too deeply. I have to plan out a lot of what happens from here on. Still, I plan to update as much as possible and expect to have the next chapter out soon. Thank you for your reviews (ladybirdbuzz) since you are the only one who has reviewed this story. I'm glad your enjoying it and I greatly appreciate your feedback.