Chapter 5 Throwing Things and Midnight Snacks

After twenty four hours of continuous driving, the nightmares finally reached a small generic town with a generic name of Sunnyvale and a generic collection of suburbs. The only thing slightly not generic about the town was the collection of bigger, richer homes near the town's edge. Barrel and Kevin were on location reconnaissance there while Lock and Shock were taking care of more pressing matters, grocery shopping.

The shopping list had taken nearly twenty minutes to create with the demands of eight family members and cross off a bunch of stuff to fit in their limited budget. Despite all that the one thing they could agree on was the obtaining of as much candy as the basket could carry. So here where Lock, Shock, and children piling things into a shopping cart at some family run store off any of the major streets.

Marco nervously hid behind Shock, Lock, or whichever friend was closest to him when someone passed by them. Shock said that the amulets would make people not notice them but he was so nervous that it would stop working and people would notice that a demon was standing in the middle of the produce section. Lock finally scolded him into calming down when one of Marco's wings nearly knocked over a pile of cans.

"Stop being so jumpy," Lock whispered seriously at him, "It makes you look suspicious."

"I can't," Marco whispered back, "What if the amulet's stop working? They'll see me and turn into an angry mob or something!"

Lock didn't know whether to laugh or sigh, "Those amulets have an after-lifetime warranty and besides," he pointed at a particularly shiny glass door of the refrigerated section, "Who would ever think you're threatening looking like that?"

In the shiny surface an image of a blond, short-haired, brown-eyed boy stared back at Marco. No, he didn't look threatening at all. He actually looked like the poster child for innocent children everywhere. Marco tried to stick his tongue out at his reflection but it just smiled. So Marco switched from being scared of being seen to embarrassed of being seen, at least being a demon made him look cooler. At least the others looked just as cute as he was, and that Shock and Lock's disguises made them look like old people. It's a well established fact that no one ever suspects or actively bothers kids and old people.

Shopping list items now obtained, they stacked up the check out counter with mountains of candy and a pile of actual food products. As Shock handed the money to the lady cashier, "Now kids I want you to promise me you won't eat it all at once."

"We promise Grandma!" The disguised delinquents chanted at once.

The cashier awed and offered to get someone to help them to the car with their groceries.

"No thank you, dear. We'll be fine," Shock said politely.

As they left the store Shock caught sight of herself in the front window. Her disguise was a white-haired, wrinkled and slightly slumped forward old woman. Lock had stopped to look too. His old man disguise was similar to Shocks with the exception of glasses and a straight back. It was completely surreal.

"Do you think we'll be like this when we get old?" Lock whispered to Shock.

"You mean an old married couple with grandchildren?" Shock asked slyly.

"N-no! I mean-" Lock felt himself blushing.

Shock laughed at him, she enjoyed making him blush. Considering it payback for holding her hand in the Land of the Dead, she walked ahead. Lock was slightly angered by her laughing when he remembered that she hadn't laughed like that for a while. He suddenly felt better.

Junker had been parked around the corner and behind some bushes where no one could see him from the road. After looking around to see make sure no one saw them enter, they all piled in. The groceries were put away and about three-fourths of the candy was stored in the assigned candy cabinet. Everyone then broke off to do their own thing. Shock and Violet started practicing potions in the kitchen. Lock and Marco sat on the floor of the family room to work on the old-fashioned radio they had gotten from the junkyard before they left. Gisele and CJ were delighted to find that the Mobile Mansion had its own ballroom; Gisele liked the polished floors and room to practice what she remembers of her dance classes and CJ liked the fact that the room was big enough to house his trampoline.

Everything was peaceful up until…

"NOT THAT MUCH!"

There was a following explosion from the kitchen and an outburst of purple smoke that quickly disappeared as soon as it came. Lock and Marco were up at once, rushing into the kitchen they saw the last of the smoke dissipate, revealing a purple-skinned, pink polka-dotted pair of witches. To Lock's relief, Marco started laughing first, making it totally acceptable for him to laugh too.

"Knock it off!" Violet yelled at the boys.

"I'm s-orry. Y-your f-faces!" Marco gasped out between fits of laughter; Lock didn't even try to apologize.

"Well if you think this is funny," Shock threatened, "You'll think this is hilarious!"

At 'this' Shock threw a handful of unknown powder on the heads of the two boys. Their hair started sizzling ominously before turning a shade of bright pink. Violet and Shock erupted into their own fits of laughter. Lock's hand darted into the silverware drawer, grabbed a spoon, and held it up long enough long enough for him to see his new hairdo.

"Our hair!" Lock exclaimed.

"Serves you right," Shock giggled in response, "Now if you'll clear out, Violet and I might just make the antidote before Kevin and Barrel get a load of you when they get back."

Marco quickly sobered up and turned to dash out of the kitchen when CJ sprinted in, only just able to avoid colliding with the demon and out the other kitchen door.

"She's gone mad!" CJ laughed maniacally, thundering down the hallway.

Half a millisecond after that, Gisele darted past furiously screaming, "Your hat is mine!"

Marco and Violet stared after them before sharing smiles. "This I've gotta see," Marco started off in the direction the two.

"Wait for me!" Violet followed.

Just as Violet and Marco turned the corner down the hallway, Shock and Lock heard a definitive crash of a broken magic window.

Shock turned to Lock, "Would you like to, or should I?"

Lock sighed and started after them, "You start on whatever it is that fixes my hair and I'll handle this."

Turning around the same corner Marco and Violet did, Lock followed the sound of chaos past the weaponry and the room he liked to use as a workroom. Noting that one of the enchanted windows in the hallway had shattered, leaving a pleasant view of the wall underneath it, he eventually caught up with the kids messing around in an abstract part of the home where support beams and stairs lead every which way to nowhere. Shock had admitted she wanted to see this piece of art in person just for the fun of it. CJ was currently stranded on the highest beam, (How he got up there was anyone's guess,) while Gisele circled menacingly below him. Marco and Violet were watching from the sidelines on a stairwell that rose into the ceiling, Lock took a seat next to them.

"What's the word?" Lock asked.

"Ok, from what we can tell this started because CJ never takes off his hat. Gisele wanted to know why and he wouldn't tell her. One thing led to another and now she's trying to take his hat off. CJ is stuck up there and Gisele has no way to get to him so we're kind of at a standstill," Violet reported.

"At least until Gisele decides to throw something at him," Marco commented.

"Ow!" CJ yelped as a shoe struck the side of his head, "That hurt!"

"Sorry, I didn't have any soft shoes to throw at you!" Gisele called up.

"Good aim, kid!" Lock called to Gisele, "He was at least a story and a half above you; that takes talent."

"Really?" Gisele asked, her head tilting slightly.

"Of course, Shock, Barrel and I are all practiced in the art of throwing things. I myself was once able to peg the Mayor from half a block with a wet sponge."

"That's cool!" CJ yelled down.

"If you guys don't kill each other, I could teach you a few things before dinner. If you want to that is…"

"Ok!" "Teach us!" "I want to learn!" "Help me get me down from here!"

~~Page Break~~

Throwing lessons had come and gone, broken magical windows had been repaired, dinner was made and eaten, and potions to reverse spots and pick hair were administered. It was nearly midnight before Barrel and Kevin returned. They were both incredibly tired but had satisfied smiles on their faces. Sitting at the dining table, they relayed what they had learned on their mission.

"Ok, we've got three documented people sill in coma, this one being the closest. Location?" Shock asked.

"The address the notebook gave us led us to a big house on the end of the road," Barrel started, "On the older side, two stories, and big windows without screens. A big law keeps neighbors at a safe distance away."

"Is she actually in there?"

"Yup," Kevin answered, "Marie Williams, in coma for the past five years. We saw her through one of the second floor windows. There are a couple of machines she's attached to that keep her alive."

"They keep her in coma inside the house?" Lock asked disbelieving.

"Rich people, weird people," Kevin shrugged, "From what we've seen she has a workaholic dad and at this moment a very pregnant mom. There's also a kind of nurse/nanny in the house, we guess that she's the one that runs the machines."

"Meaning she's always there," Shock mused, "That's going to be a problem. But first thing's first, what's our way in?"

"Big trees on property provide good cover but not a way to get to the roof or the second floor," Barrel informed her, "There are two chimneys but they're too narrow to climb down. We'll have to use the front door, back door, or one of the windows. But here's the biggest problem, home security system.
A door or a window can't be open without it going off unless someone puts in the code."

"Crap," Shock rubbed her head.

"Ok, we got a nanny and security system, any ideas about how to take care of both at the same time?" Lock asked.

"Wait…" The gears in Kevin's head started spinning, "The code stops the alarm from going off for the entire house. So can't we just sneak in while they're leaving it and stay there until they come back?"

Lock, Shock, and Barrel simultaneously turned to stare at Kevin.

"Wait, here me out guys. The house is huge; there are more than enough places for us to hide. If we're careful we can come through the back door or something and when the parents come back home we'll be out of the house and far away by the time they realize she's gone."

The trio was stunned.

"That," Shock said surprised, "was actually a good idea."

"Didn't know you had it in you," Lock scowled.

"Way to go bro!" Barrel said cheerily.

Kevin nearly glowed with pride.

At least until Shock said, "There's only one problem. Marie, once we're inside what guarantee do we have that when we… change her that she'll just go along with it?"

There was silence again.

"We'll just have to risk it."

The four of them turned around to see Violet, dressed in a nightgown and holding a little lantern, stood in the doorway. Behind her stood Marco, Gisele, and CJ, dressed similarly but looking more nervous than Violet seemed to be. In fact, she looked nothing short of determined.

"And what are you four doing up?" Shock asked, the tone of her voice making every child but Violet cringe.

"W-we wanted to help," Gisele piped up sheepishly.

"Yeah, like, with the mission," CJ finished for her.

"We should all help," Marco added, "We could-"

"NO," Shock forcefully cut him off, "There is no 'we' in this. I don't want you guys to be a part of this."

"But-!"

"No 'buts', I don't want you guys getting in over your heads. That stunt you pulled with the Mayor was good, but this is serious. We're not stealing toasters and breaking clocks here we're-"

"Doing the exact same thing you did to me," Violet said forcefully, shocking both the older and younger nightmares. The young witch looked directly at her sister, "Marie has been trapped for the past five years. She's been waiting for us. We… I just want to get her out of there."

Shock walked around the table and kneeled down in front of Violet, "I understand Violet, but we have to be careful and plan this through. We're not going to be any help to her or any of the others by getting caught. I know you want to help, but if things start to go wrong I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire. You're just going to have to trust us on this one."

Violet nodded sadly and Shock hugged her tightly.

"Come on, I think this calls for a late night snack," Shock took Violet's hand and motioned the others to follow her.

"Now you're talking!" Kevin said cheerily, "I'm starved."

"The real question is: Popcorn or Smores?" Barrel asked his brother.

"Both!" CJ exclaimed.

"I second the motion!" Marco laughed.

"Then I third it!" Lock agreed.

So the wee hours of the night were spent with popcorn, smores, and the disappointment of the younger nightmares. But that was the way life went, sometimes your parents couldn't let you do what you wanted.

Author's Note:

I realized that I needed to strengthen the relationship between some of the characters here and this is the best way I could do it while still moving the plot line along. I caught my sister's writing bug! :D