Through The Hollow

Chapter 11

"Ok, Jack. Are you ready?"

"Remind me again why we went trick or treating first…"

"It's all part of luring the victims."

"You scared those people pretty well."

"I can't help it if old ladies are like that. Besides, it helped us to get our candy faster."

"I suppose."

"Now, are you ready?"

He nodded.

"Good. We'll start…" Yulee looked around her and pointed to a set of large gates where a bench sat just outside. "That's where we'll have our first few victims… By the I means besides the old hags." She crossed to the gate and looked at the thick metal lock. Yulee rubbed it in her fingers. She then snapped it in half with an action that looked as though she had been snapping her fingers. The thick chains fell to the ground with a clang and Yulee peered at them for a second. Then she pushed the gate open and beckoned for Jack to step inside.

He followed her motion and walked through the gate to the cold place that lay beyond it. Jack looked back to her with a smile. "Oh, you are very original, Yulee."

"Just shut up and bury yourself."

"Bury myself?"

"You know, like you've risen from the dead to avenge a poor girl… blah, blah, blah."

"Now that is original."

"All right, all right. Hurry up!"

"Ok, ok. I'm going."

Yulee turned back and looked around her. There was a fair amount of people. It was perfect.

---

"Dude! This sucks! I could have been at a party by now!"

"You weren't invited to a party this year Carl."

Carl went silent. He looked into his, near empty, sack of candy. Throughout the entire night neither he nor Reeaz had been able to get all that much candy. For some reason, most of the houses that they had gone to were either out of candy or wouldn't come out to greet them. The entire night had been a complete bore and Carl had hated it. He would have much rather stayed at home with what candy his mom had and watch some horror movies. He pulled at the itchy sheet that was his horrible excuse for a ghost costume. He'd made it at the last minute when Reeaz appeared at his door in a wizard costume with a think purple cloak and a whit beard. He was supposed to be Dumbledore from Harry Potter but he looked much more like any normal old guy in purple than he did the mighty wizard.eHe

"You are right though," came Reeaz's bored voice. "This Halloween sucks. I can't believe that no one had any candy left to give out."

"And what was with what that old lady kept muttering?"

"Yeah. You'd think a little girl scared her half to death."

"Then again, it wouldn't have been to hard at her age."

The two boys laughed with one another for a minute.

Carl wiped a tear from his eye that originated from his laughter. He smiled at his friend, even though he knew that Reeaz would not be able to see it. He overlooked the night that they had been going through and mentally tried to figure out the reasons as to why the people handing out the candy could be so scared or not have any more candy left. It just didn't make sense. Usually, in the years before now, he and Reeaz had been able to walk all up and down this neighborhood and they would always be able to get pillowcases full of candy. Neither of them knew why they weren't getting any this year. There weren't all too many kids out this year. Had the people anticipated that and merely bought less candy/ If so, there was no point in them continuing through the night because it would be the very same at every house that they would have gone to visit.

"Seriously dude, we need to get some candy or I'm just going to go back. I can't bother wasting my time out here without anything to do."

"Yeah, you'd much more like to watch some nice X rated movies right?"

"Bingo."

Carl sighed. "Man… I'd do anything for some candy right about now. I'm starving."

"Just think of all those caramels…"

"And those heresy kisses…"

"And the Kit Kat bars…"

"And the gum…"

Distraught and annoyed the boys let there shoulders lean back onto one another. They sighed and sank to the ground on some grass. Carl and Reeaz sat back-to-back, bored and hungry. They sighed deeply at the same time and then looked into their near empty sacks. It was pathetic somehow. They had absolutely, positively, definitely, no…

"Candy… I love you."

Their attention was brought back by that voice. Carl and Reeaz turned their heads to a bench close to the old graveyard. Carl took off his sheet and tidied up his bright blonde hair. He rubbed his nose. Reeaz took the wizard mask off and looked at the person on the bench. He scratched his dark skin and stared at the person sitting there. She had so much candy with her… The girl was dressed as a witch. She had cobweb arms on her dress and she had a pair of jeans underneath the short fabric of the gown itself. She had long black hair and a face heavily coated in make-up. Two fake wings were set on her back. They looked sort of rotten and battered. She also had large ears on as though she was an elf but they seemed to be even too long for that. Her skin was pale as the moon itself and her eyes were red as blood, most likely with contacts.

Reeaz looked over to Carl who looked back at him. "Should we? She's got plenty."

"We'd probably go to hell for it."

"We're going to hell anyways dude."

"Dude!"

They gave each other props by touching their fists together and then turned back to the girl sitting on the bench. She was a prime target. If they couldn't get any candy of their own they would take it from someone else. That how hungry they were. They were going to take candy from a little girl. It wasn't as pitiful or cruel as stealing candy from a baby but it was still a pretty low thing to do. Reeaz turned to Carl. "Put your costume back on. If she sees us she'll tell the police what we look like. That wouldn't be too good." Carl shook his head and pulled the sheet back over his body. He put his arm out the holes in the sides and then nodded to Reeaz once he had his own costume on. Reeaz smiled under that heavy beard. "Ready?"

"Ready."

They approached the little girl. She had some of her candy dumped out of the bench and she was counting it without a care in the world. Carl wondered why someone so young was out all by themselves. She popped a caramel into her mouth and chewed on it with delight. Their mouths watered from under their costume covers.

"Hi."

The little girl looked up at them. Only then did they notice that she had a bat painted on her forehead. It, usually, would have been hidden by her long bangs but they were pushed back with a few red and orange pixie sticks. She smiled at them. "Hi."

"What are you doing out here all alone so late at night?" inquired Carl.

"I was just counting my candy. And I'm not alone. Jack should be somewhere around here."

"Oh? Is he your older brother?"

"No. He's a younger friend."

"Younger?"

"Yeah." She popped another caramel into her mouth. "He should be around somewhere. He ran off a little while ago. Something about giving someone a good scare."

Carl laughed. "Yeah well. Listen, we've got a problem."

"Like what?"

"The people around here don't have anymore candy."

"Oh, I know all about that. They gave all their candy to me. Jack scared them." She giggled a little bit.

"Huh? Oh. Um. Anyways. We were wondering if you could help us… Seeing as you have so much candy and all…"

The girl's eyebrows touched the bridge of her nose. She swept what candy she had out back into her bag and then looked at them. The girl stood up and started to walk as she said: "Get your own."

Reeaz didn't even think about what he did next. He dove for the bag of candy.

The girl jumped out of the way, taking her bag with her, and pulled off his mask in the process. She bounded off the wall and landed just in front of his, close to the graveyard entrance. The girl wriggled the mask in her hand with her candy dragging on the ground in the other hand. She smiled with delight when she looked at his dark skin and brown hair. Her smile got even wider when he glared at her.

"Give that back!"

"You should be nicer to me. I know what you look like."

"You're a smart little brat ain't ya?"

She smiled even more.

"I want some candy. Give it up."

She shook her head.

Reeaz went for her.

The girl snapped back to attention and dove for the gate. She wriggled at the lock as he neared her. Then, realizing that she wasn't to get in that way, pulled herself up the metal gate like she was climbing a tree. She did a series of acrobatics and then landed on the top of the gate. Reeaz smashed into the pole just as she dove away and received a bloodied nose and a large red mark on his face. Carl ran to his side and then looked up at the girl who was now sitting on the very peak of the fence. She should have leapt out of the way once she sat on the point that was at the top but she acted as though it was nothing and balanced on it perfectly. "W… How… did you do that?"

"Who cares how she did it? I just want to get her."

The little girl stuck her tongue out to Reeaz and then smiled at him. Reeaz, in his temperamental state, shook the gate. She fell off inside the courtyard and landed on her back. Carl figured that she would cry out. At a fall like that even he would have done so. But the little girl crawled back to her feet, her sack of candy and Reeaz's mask still in hand. She placed a finger on the bottom portion of her eye and pulled it down as she stuck her tongue out again. Then she ran further into the darkness of the graveyard.

Reeaz stood up and rubbed his sore face. He looked into the dark and smiled. Then he pulled out a flashlight and aimed it into the darkness. The little girl's form wiped by once and his smile went even wider as he jiggled at the lock. Seeing that merely shaking it did nothing he took out a pocketknife and picked at the lock. It fell to the ground and Reeaz easily pushed the gate open.

He turned back to Carl. "Are you coming?"

"I don't know… Does it really matter? Why don't we just go home and buy some candy tomorrow? It'll be easier."

"Look what that brat did to my face! I won't let her get away with that!"

"Technically you did that to yourself…"

Reeaz glared at him.

"Uhh… Never mind what I just said. Let's get her."

"That's the spirit!" Reeaz stepped inside the courtyard with his light shining into the dark. Carl followed close behind him. They walked deeper into the graveyard with each headstone staying right there and remaining motionless. Nothing in that whole place moved. All was silent. Even the wind had stopped in what melody it had been playing. The sound of it swirling through the air and past the trees was gone and the whole area was still as the death that lay beneath its soil. "Damn it's quiet…"

"Yeah… A little too quiet, don't you think?"

"Don't be such a baby. Do you believe in ghosts?"

"N…No."

"You're shaking."

"Well it's not my fault! It's freaky in…"

The gate behind them slammed shut. The lock, as they looked back, floated up from its place on the ground and wrapped around the gate doors. Then there was a click that echoed through their heads. Carl ran for the gate and tried to yank it back open but the lock was done up nicely. eHeHe pulled out his own pocketknife and tried to pick at the lock. It glowed bright purple and then melted so that it had completely molded shut. There was no way of opening it now. Carl backed up and fell to his bum. He ripped the sheet off of his head and rubbed his blue eyes. "N… No! No way! This can't be happening!"

Reeaz gulped down as much fear as he could. He looked into the dark. A moving figure caught his eye. Then the little girl's giggle echoed through the graveyard and he realized that it was her that had just run by. He smiled and turned back to Carl. "Don't worry, dude. She's just trying to scare us. This is all a trick."

"Melting the lock shut wasn't a trick!"

"Then what was it?"

Carl went silent. He looked at the ground and muttered something under his breath.

"What?"

"Magic! It's real magic!"

"You're full of a lot of shit, you know that? I'm going after the girl. You can stay here and be a baby if you want to but I'm not drying your eyes if you start to cry. See ya." Reeaz walked into the darkness after the girl.

Carl watched him go. He refused to move from his spot.

---

Reeaz glared into the darkness of the bone yard. It was darker than it should have been. There was no moonlight. The moon was out and he was able to see it from under the trees in the area but he wasn't able to see the light that should have come from it. All that was left was a white circle in the sky that gave him no help at all.

The air around him had turned deathly cold. He felt sick just looking about. The trees, wit their grasping branches, looked as though they were ready to reach down and grip him by the throat. He progressed further into the darkness of the graveyard but as he went he found that he had to use more courage with each step.

Come on Reeaz. Get it together. If a little girl can get in this far then you can too. It's not too dark here either. As long as I have my light I'll be fine…

His light blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Then it went out.

"Shit!" He shook it hard and tried to get it to work again. Reeaz smashed it against a tree and he heard a crack. "Stupid flashlight!"

OK… I'm still fine. That little girl made it in further without any light at all. I just have to stay calm. If I do that I'll be absolutely fine… There's nothing to worry about. Everything here is dead… Yeah! It's all dead! Nothing can get to me here! Reeaz felt his heart leap up with enthusiasm. He felt his bravery returning to him and he discovered that he was able to take more fearless steps than before. Everything in this place is completely and utterly dead. Nothing is alive. I'm the only one… Other than Carl and that little girl but still! I've got nothing to worry about! And it's not too dark. I can still see some of what's in front of me…

He stubbed his toe on a tree root and fell to the ground.

"Ow!"

OK… so I can't see as well as I thought I could… No matter… I'm still fine. Nothing is going to bring me down! I'll just get up, get that girl, and then get out. Simple…

Reeaz tried to stand but there was a tugging on his pant leg that pulled him back to the ground. "What the…?" He looked back at his foot. He wasn't able to see anything at all. The only thing he was sure of was that something was holding him down. He frowned and sat up, reaching hands out to grip hold of whatever held him and rip it right off.

What he touched was very cold. Stupid tree roots… He pulled on it.

It pulled back.

"What the…?"

"Hi." He looked to his right where that voice came from. There was a small figure standing right close to him. "I'd like you to meet Jack. He's my friend."

Reeaz looked at the thing that held his foot. It was a hand. He followed along the form of the long, skinny arm that held him. His eyes met with the one the figure called Jack. They went wide and he screamed.

---

Carl sighed.

He watched as Reeaz's light went out in the darkness and he vaguely heard him yell out: "Shit! Stupid flashlight!"

Carl was going to go but he thought better of it. If he went he wouldn't be able to see at all. Then again, neither did Reeaz. The moon had, somehow, blinked out a little while ago and there was nothing left. All around him was pure black. The only light that he could see what that left by the lampposts on the street. But he couldn't get out and he didn't want to bother trying. He's just wait for Reeaz to come back and then he'd get the little girl to help them. For some strange reason he had a feeling that she had something to do with what had just happened.

Maybe she's a real witch and she's lured us here so that she can eat us for tonight of turn us into frogs or toads or something… damn it! That sounds so stupid! Come on Carl, get a grip. It's just one little girl… How could she have done this? Then again… Maybe it is possible… After all, the border between the spirit realm and our world is supposed to be at its weakest on Halloween. Carl rubbed his head. Why do I even believe in that? It's just plain stupid… I've got to get my fears under control. Ok… let's see…

This girl comes and says that her friend scares all these people but he's younger than her.

Then when Reeaz tries to get her she shows absolutely no fear, which is just inhuman.

When he dove for her she was able to get out of the way of his attack so quick.

Then she jumped up and landed on the gate without hurting herself at all.

When he shook the gate she fell backwards and then could run away.

Then the gates suddenly closed all on their own without the wind.

And then the lock melted completely shut, which isn't possible.

Reeaz is being dumb but he always thinks things through.

I don't feel any courage at all and I'm real scared.

We're both like opposites of ourselves now.

The moonlight is now completely gone.

Reeaz's flashlight's gone out.

I still don't get any of it.

This is so weird.

There was a scream that echoed through the graveyard. Carl's body froze as the shiver of the fear that enveloped him ran up his spine. It was Reeaz. Reeaz had screamed. Carl wanted to move but he was too scared. He wanted to help his friend but he was too frightened to do anything at all. He was far to chilled to the bone to do anything useful.

"Hi." He nearly leapt out of his skin at the little girl's voice. He felt himself scream out loud and he felt onto his side, scrambling away from her. The moonlight came out again and shone down on her tiny form. She was smiling at him as he lay there on the ground. Her candy sack was still in her hand and she had her arm out towards him, in her hand was Reeaz's mask. "I just thought that your friend might want this back. I don't have any use for it whatsoever. So here."

Carl took it. "But… He went out to look for you."

"Oh, I know. He met Jack. They're getting acquainted right now. Jack should be coming to met up with us any second. He'll bring your friend too. Reeaz was it?"

"Yeah. So you guys made up? He was pretty mad when he left."

"Don't worry about that. It's all fine now." The girl sat down next to him. "What's your name?"

"Carl, you?"

"I'm Yulee."

"That's a strange name. What does it mean?"

"I don't know. What does yours mean?"

"Manly." Yulee laughed. "What?"

"I scared you. You don't seem very manly to me."

Carl frowned. "Oh! About that lock…" he pointed to it so that Yulee knew what he was getting at. "Did you do that?"

"Oh! Look! Here comes Jack!"

Carl looked out. "I don't see anyone."

"You're looking on the surface idiot." Yulee took Carls' hand and placed it to the ground. "Jack's not coming on the surface. He's coming from down there."

Carl's eyes went wide.

The soil under his feet burst upwards and he stared up at it. Then he closed his eyes as the dirt showered down again. Carl peeped open his left eye and looked up. The figure before him was huge. He was tall and dressed in a swanky pin-stripe tuxedo. His bony hands had long fingers that curled as his hand pointed to the ground from their spot away from his body. His meet were set apart from each other, more so than Carl could have made his own go and his arms were out from his sides as though he was about to fight. His back arched and the cue ball, scull sat upon the shoulders. Though there were no eyes in the ocular cavities Carl knew that the creature that had risen from the ground was staring at him. He shivered with fear.

---

"How'd I do?"

"For you're first scare… Pretty freaking well. What about my acting?"

"Very good. You seemed like a very well mannered, little girl. You almost had me fooled."

Yulee did a mocking bow at the skeleton.

Jack laughed. Then his smiled diminished. "Do… Do you think we scared them too much…? They looked… really… really…"

"Stop worrying Jack. I'm sure that they'll be fine…"

Yulee led him down the bare street. Their next target place wasn't too far away. Then they had to take a portal to the one after that.

---

"Poor lads…"

"What happened here?"

The police officer turned to a woman just outside the gates of the graveyard. She had a worried expression on her face. "Someone with a really horrible sense of humour scared these boys pretty good. From what we can tell they lured the two kids into the graveyard and then melted the lock so that they couldn't get out."

"The poor things. Are they all right?"

"It'll take a while I reckon. They looked pretty scared when we found them. One of em just keeps saying the same thing over and over again. 'Horrible… lifeless… eyes…' The other one won't say a thing at all."

"What a terrible thing to do to young boys."

"Yeah…" The police officer looked at the ambulance where the mumbling boy was being seated. He was still clutching his legs up close to his chest and his eyes were the size of dinner plates. He was shivering so furiously that he could have made a milkshake had you given him the cup. His fingers had dug into his legs so much that he had cut his skin and was bleeding slightly. The medics had pulled up his pant legs and were tending to the cuts. "A terrible thing…"

---

Brooke: I don't think that they'll be as 'fine' as Yulee says. Oh well. If you ask me they deserved it. Anyone who tries to take candy from a little girl should get just that. Ok, more reviews to take into account now… Zim, who's first?

Zim: Musically again.

Brooke: Glad that you like my story so much. That makes me feel good. If you want to see Jack meet Sally… Here's a preview. It comes out in the 19th chapter. It's a little far away but you're getting closer! Thanks for the review!

Jack: Now, we have another from Sugary Snicket.

Brooke: Whoo! I went to your account file and I saw that story you have. Why didn't you tell me you had an origin story about Jack too? Oh well. Glad you like how I wrote it. Thanks for the review!

Batty: I think everyone should get some cola and cookies for these! (Hands out)