Ch.3: Tricks and Treats
"...and no one has ever seen him since," finished a blonde-haired little wizard.
Arthur shook his head, laughing a bit. "Keep working on it, Peter," he advised playfully before he turned around and opening the door to the first round of trick-or-treaters.
Adrienne and Francis stood at his door. Adrienne, her yellowish hair in a bun, was wearing a black-and-yellow-striped sweater, leggings of the same pattern, and black flats, along with a pair of yellow, circular wings. She was adjusting a pair of antennae on a headband, and then she grinned. "Bonjour, Arthur!" Then she stood on the tips of her toes and looked over Arthur's shoulders. "Ah, is Peter home?"
"Yes," Arthur said with a grin. "You can come in, if you'd like."
"Oui," she said, and jumped up, squeezing past Arthur. He heard Peter's footsteps and, imagining his Ravenclaw robes, gave a little chuckle. Then he turned to Francis, who was grinning.
"This year, Adrienne wants to go to that haunted house thing, that one not to far from here."
Arthur froze up. Then he grinned. "Ah, of course. Well, have fun!" He began closing the door.
"No, no," Francis said, pushing the door open. "Adrienne would like to invite you and Peter to accompany us."
Arthur breathed in. "Well, if you'd like to invite us, I guess I'd like to go." He sighed and nodded to a group of children who were walking up his driveway.
Adrienne and Peter zoomed out of the house at that moment. Peter was chasing Adrienne, who had swiped his hat. "Give it baaack!"
Francis grinned at the costumes and moved out of the way. Arthur handed out candy to the children, who shouted a simultaneous "thank you" at the urging of their parents. Then they ran across the street.
"Are we going to go?" Francis asked as he watched Adrienne and Peter run around Arthur's spacious lawn.
"I suppose," he said reluctantly, walking outside into the chilly, late-October air. He shuddered under his thin coat. Peter ran up to him.
"Are we going to the Williams' haunted house?" he asked, jumping up and down.
"Who?" Arthur asked, and Francis nudged him with his elbow, motioning to a dark house a few doors down.
"Oh. Them." They were quiet neighbors, never disturbed him. He thought he'd actually only ever seen the man once. Matthew?
A young, wheat-haired man with glasses stood to greet them. He had on a zombie costume, complete with the ripped clothes and flesh.
"Welcome," he groaned in a crude impression of a zombie-like voice.
"Matthew!" Francis greeted, a grin on his face. "Comment allez-vous?"
"Bon," the zombie responded, grinning a bit through the makeup. Then he motioned them inside before turning to greet another round of haunted-house-goers.
Arthur felt claustrophobic and, inevitably, scared out of his skin. It was quiet and the only light was a blacklight hanging from the ceiling. Adrienne must have triggered something, for she let out a shriek. Peter scooted closer to his father, and Arthur gripped his shoulder tightly.
A ripped up, dirtied blanked covered any view of the next area. Arthur hesitated, and Francis pushed him on. "Get along, bébé," he teased, and Arthur narrowed his eyes.
Arthur stumbled into the next area. The light above them was flickering. Peter shuddered and Arthur gripped him tighter, but more out of his own fear than of his son's. Adrienne let out a giggle. "Scared?" she asked.
"No," Peter said defensively, "just a bit... startled." He made a face and wriggled his father's hand off his shoulder. Arthur raised his eyebrows. Come back...
He realized those weren't his thoughts. A voice had sounded next to him. "Come back... Come back..." Arthur felt the urge to scream.
Crude makeup and a paint-enhanced smile made clowns frightening to begin with. But God, if he'd ever seen anything scarier, he would have dropped dead then. They had literally made it terrifying.
He bit his lip in a horrible attempt to keep himself from yelling at the top of his lungs. He wanted to get out. He was petrified. He couldn't just say that. But he wanted to.
Something popped out from behind a curtain in a bathroom with an abandoned amusement park (?) restroom theme. Arthur didn't have his eyes open long enough to see what. He shrieked and reached for the person whose hand was closest to the left of him.
Then he opened his eyes. Whatever it was, it was gone. He looked to his left and drew back.
"It's alright," Francis comforted in almost a mocking tone. Then Arthur grinned a bit, his expression softening, and he reached for Francis's hand again.
/A.N.\\
Happy Halloween, readers! I hope you're enjoying my story so far. Much more to come!
Have a Happy FrUking Halloween!
-FW