Summary
One wild Halloween. The Harrowing Series Part 1. – OddBall2
Chapter 1
'Going on a trip. Take care of your little brother while we are gone.
- From parents'
An outdated green pickup truck took a turn into a three-story apartment complex. The entire place looked like it has gone all out for Halloween, with the flickering lights - some of which are outright missing - and the eerie atmosphere that gives the impression of being abandoned.
The truck came to a stop upon arriving at the destination. The front area is covered in cobwebs, vines, and a few carved pumpkins. Next to the door is a wooden chair with a solitary candy bowl on the ground.
Honk!
The driver of the truck lightly pressed the horn. After waiting for a moment, the driver honked again.
WHAM!
The sound of a screen door slamming into the wall reverberated throughout the apartment complex. An older teenage girl with long black hair and dark blue eyes came storming out, wearing black-frame glasses, a 'Hello Kitty' Beanie, a black tank top, and black leggings. Her tank top features the 'Hello Kitty' mascot character wearing a red pooka dot dress and glasses, and on the upper right corner of the tank top is a red heart symbol. She has several 'Hello Kitty' rubber bands on both of her arms, three chained 'Hello Kitty' rings on her left hand, and belt buckle boots. Completing her outfit, she wore a jacket that resembles Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. A second later, as the screen door closed, another person came storming out with a less audible second echoing slam.
"Why can I not go with." A young male voice demanded in anger. The kid looks to be a younger teenager with short, messy black hair and light blue eyes and wore a T-shirt, gloves, a fur hooded jacket, pants, and shoes. His T-shirt is black, with white on the collar, and his pants are black with a spike belt. His jacket is black, with white fur around the margins and hints of black on the fur's edges. The long wolf ears on the hoodie have fur in the same hue. His jewelry is a chain necklace.
"Cause Sam and I have important errands to run, and you can't come!" The sister responded as though they were in a standoff.
"You cannot just leave me alone. Mom and Dad instructed you to look after me." He said and stomped his foot.
"This is important-!" She began to explain but regrettably had to pause in the middle of her sentence when the truck honked as a signal of 'Hey, I'm here'.
"I Can't do this; I do not have time for this! You're ground, so, you will spend it all night sitting in that chair and handing out candy!" The sister ordered as she headed to the truck but paused for a moment, "I mean it, until I get back!"
"Alright, fine." He said this while crossing his arms and sitting down on the chair.
The sister opens the passenger door and slams it shut once inside.
"Soooo?" A female voice spoke from the driver's seat. The sister turned to face her with a furious glare at her best friend, who has brown eyes and long hair with layers of black, blue, and purple. She is wearing a contemporary witch-style costume consisting of a grunge T-shirt, black silk jacket, jean pants, and Converse high-tops. Her T-shirt features a skeleton weighing the options with the text 'worst case' above and 'you die' on the bottom. Symbols adorned the margins of her silk jacket, and she wore a crescent moon necklace. Her lips and nails are both black, and she has temporary tattoos of the moon's phases traveling down her throat.
"No!" The sister fumed.
The window on the passenger side of the truck suddenly began to roll down.
"Wha- What are you doing!?" She questioned as she attempted to stop the window from going down, but her best friend was two steps ahead of her and had already locked it.
"Hey, Jasper!" She shouted.
"Hello, Samantha." Jasper responded with a neutral expression, even though it is obvious from his posture that he is upset.
"You know you are welcome to call me Sam!" A warm smile spread across Samantha's face as she spoke.
"I am good." Jasper said, and Samantha merely shrugged her shoulders in response to Jasper's comment.
"Alright. Look, Kayla and I have some errands to run. Just know that she is looking after you and that she loves you with all her heart!" Samantha said while Kayla attempted to conceal herself with her hand – at least her eyes from her brother.
"Hey! After trick or treating is over and if there is still candy in the bowl, you can have it all! How about that?" Samantha said with a chuckle and a mischievous grin.
"I do not eat candy." Jasper protested.
"Oh. Right!" Samantha exclaimed at the revelation, "Could I have it then!?" She inquired while formulating a plan to take the candy if she is told no.
With a slight shrug, he replied, "Sure."
"Yesss!" In triumph, Samantha yelled while she raised her fist into the air and backed down in victory.
"I beg you, please just leave." Kayla managed to speak out a feeble plea.
"Alright, we are heading out. You take care!" Samantha said as she waved goodbye and shifted the truck into drive.
As they headed out and the passenger window rolled up, Samantha asked, "Did you tell him?"
"GAHHHhhhh!" Kayla screamed.
Meanwhile
"Since the beginning of Humanity, we have been given laws that define what we can and cannot do, preventing us from achieving true greatness with these flawed bodies. But what if I told you that I can change the way we understand things, bringing the impossible to life! And it is all possible with just a simple agreement!" A man in his late forties with a bald head and short beard, dressed in a professional business suit, explained. His standing conveyed respect and authority.
His moment, however, is ruined by a fit of laughter, causing his mouth to turn into a hideous scowl.
"You find this amusing. I am on the verge of greatness, one that will change the foundation of the world!" In a fit of rage, he slammed his fist upon the desk and yelled.
"My apologies! It's just that you can't possibly be serious… (Gasp!) Oh! Y-You are! Hahaha!" The man started laughing out loud and had to force himself to catch his breath after laughing so hard. He made an effort to act professional once more, but despite his best efforts to maintain his poker face, he couldn't help but occasionally let a burst of laughter escape through his poker face, until finally, he managed to rein them back.
"Look, your- (Cough!) Your script is truly a masterpiece, it really is! But you still have a restraining order from two of the actors. So, how about we find two different actors that don't have a restraining order against you to play the roles? And can actually stand you." He said, though he mumbled the last few words into his fist, then proceeded to snort a second later.
"You are going to regret this. Everyone will regret this moment because I will become a Legend, while you can continue withering and struggling under the dirt like the worms you are!" He said, standing up and pointed accusingly at them.
The employees outside paused for a moment to stare as the man stormed out of their boss's office, leaving the boss stunned.
"What?" Confusion laced the boss's voice.
Through the walls of the building and out onto the street, the sound of loud music can be heard. A few dozen individuals can be seen dancing through the open doors, and on occasion, one or two passerby's danced a bit to the beat. An older male in his late twenties busted open the party's side door, with Kayla following shortly after. As they went deeper into the shadowy alley, the two were laughing and giggling.
Suddenly, from the shadows, the man's voice shrieked, "Ga!"
Then there was an abrupt, unnerving silence between the two, interrupted only occasionally by the sounds of the man struggling and gasping.
"I still think you should have told him!" From the intersection of the street and alley, Samantha spoke up.
Almost inaudible through the music is the sound of gulping.
"(Gasp!) And tell him what! That his older sister is a Vampire, who, incidentally, is unsure of whether she got turned or was born this way!" Kayla said in frustration.
"Exactly. If you were born this way, he might know something!" With enthusiasm, Samantha explained.
"How would he possibly know?" Kayla stated it bluntly.
Samantha opened her mouth to retort, only to be interrupted by bright lights flooding the entire alley, revealing the source to be numerous motorcycles and a lone neon blue scooter. This caused Kayla to release the nearly desiccated husk of the man she was holding. He collapsed to the ground, and the two looked like dears staring at the headlights.
As the engines rumbled with the occasional revving, a tall woman in the middle of the group got up on her bike and pointed at them.
"Get them!" She yelled.
"Run." Kayla said, and the two started running.
With that, the group chased after them.
"The marketplace!" Samantha called out in a loud whisper.
The two began to modify their course after Kayla nodded her head. The marketplace is bustling with people, making it the ideal place to get the biker gang off their backs. Kayla took the initiative and led them through the gaps until, finally, they blended in among the crowd, and just in time as the biker gang arrived.
"Gahhhhh! They got away!" Frustrated, the Leader's voice bellowed in anger.
"What should we do, boss?" The guy on the blue neon scooter asked.
"Split up! They couldn't have gone far." She ordered, and the others promptly departed to surround the area, with the exception of two people who stayed behind.
Parking their motorcycles on the side, the Leader removed her helmet and revealed a large afro that somehow miraculously stood in place. The Leader's brown eyes peered through the crowd like a predator searching for a hint or breadcrumb, but most of all, desperation. These telltale indicators will aid in tracking. Therefore, when the two felt their desperate need to get through the crowd, they took a risk by disrupting the flow of people, which made the gang Leader notice them.
"This way!" She barked out, and they marched forward.
Those who recognized her quickly stepped out of the way as she practically mowed through the crowd. She was unfortunately blocked, as one guy sadly didn't get the memo and accidentally got in her way.
"Out of the way!" She shouted, which is a big mistake on her part, as when she shoved the guy back into the building that he had just left, this alerted the two to her presence. Samantha made a last-minute decision and turned left, with Kayla being dragged along. This turned out to be the correct path, as they managed to lose their tail and successfully reach Samantha's truck.
As they climbed in, Samantha started the engine, and as she did so, a large grin could be seen on her face in the center mirror.
"You are right." Kayla said in between breaths, "We need to tell him." She concluded as the truck backed out of the parking space rather quickly.
"Are you grinning?" Kayla exclaimed.
"I'm having so much fun! Maybe this will escalate into a car chase! I could easily run folks off the road, or over!" Samantha yelled in joy.
"You mean the biker gang, right?" Kayla asked.
"Yeah. Something like that." Samantha replied, and her best friend could only shake her head.
While waiting for any trick-or-treater, Jasper kept his arms crossed and periodically rocked the chair. Only something drew his attention: bright headlights flying down onto the street at an alarming speed, and when making a turn, a fleeting glimpse of a familiar old truck is just barely visible through the headlights.
Despite driving at an illegally high speed, the truck nonetheless stopped at the apartment, or more precisely, almost crashed into the neighbor's apartment. The front doors open with two teens spilling out, one having a wild look and the other filled with worry while the engine continues to run.
"You're still here!" Kayla expressed her joy.
"Yeah. Exactly where you left me." Despite him casually telling them, they can't discern if he's being sarcastic or literal.
Unbeknown to Kayla and Samantha, they didn't lose their tail, as the gang Leader is still pursuing them. Behind the apartments, the gang Leader's motorcycle pulled up; as she came to a stop, both her engine and phone, which displayed the map and two dots close by, were turned off.
"Think you can escape my grasp, huh! Guess again!" She said as she dismounted her motorcycle and retrieved some rope from the storage compartment.
Losing isn't an option.
"Look, we need- I need to tell you something!" Kayla spoke as she struggled to find the right words.
"I- I- Where are our neighbors!?" Samantha groaned in exasperation in response to Kayla's deflecting question.
"Come on, Kayla! Just tell him! We still need to get out of here!" She gestured at him, their apartment room, and the truck.
"It's rather strange, isn't it? I don't even hear our neighbors!" Kayla said as she slowly made her way to the other apartment rooms and tried to peek through the blinds.
"What are you doing." Jasper asked, and even Samantha is perplexed.
"Yeah, what are you doing!?" Samantha discreetly questioned in a loud whisper.
"Don't you find it a little weird!?" Kayla replied in a hushed whisper. Only, they are doing a rather terrible job at being discreet.
"You're the weird one!" Samantha yelled, and Kayla responded with a shush to keep it down.
"Not that. Don't you find it odd that we haven't seen a single neighbor since we got here, let alone a trick or treater!?" Samantha's eyes widened at what Kayla pointed out.
"Okay, that is weird." Samantha concurred, and they turned to face Jasper, who is still looking at them with disappointment.
"Hey! Sooo! Sam and I are going to have a quick look around the apartment. In the meantime, could you please start packing our stuff up. We are leaving!" Kayla said in her upbeat sister voice that is definitely the tone of voice when she is trying to hide or avoid something.
CLINK! CLING! DINK!
Kayla and Samantha both turned to face the stairway, where the ominous sound came from. The two exchanged glances, and after nervously nodding, they began to cautiously move towards the stairs.
"Sis. Stop. Maybe our neighbors are trying to get some sleep." As the two made it up to the top, the warning bells in their heads drowned out Jasper's voice. Red flags were being raised and noticed by what they were seeing.
The second floor appeared as though a tornado had passed through twice, with missing wood and patches of missing floor, rooms that have little to no walls left, and a rickety stairway leading up to the third floor, where, funnily enough, they can see the night sky.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the apartment complex, about three stories up, the gang Leader is holding the rope tightly because it is her sole safety and support. She realized the wall wasn't entirely stable when one of her steps knocked some things down. Just as she made her way up to the roof, with one more floor to go, the window above opened outward, and a man emerged.
"What the-" The man exclaimed as they both stared at each other in surprise at the other being there.
"Uhhhh!" She drawled out, only for a surprise out of left field to occur, he pushed her off the building.
As Kayla and Samantha stood there in a bewildered stare, the tension increased as they heard a woman's screaming followed by a thunk and eerily silence.
"Okay, time to go!" Kayla said; however, it was already too late as a tall, shadowy figure crept up from behind them.
On the top floor of the tallest building in the city, the Businessman stood just inches away from the window as he gazed down upon the city.
"And if you don't show up, you will lose everything!" The man talked about the importance of the meeting. Yet, the Boss didn't seem distressed or worried.
"Oh, I'm not worried about that." He spoke calmly as he slowly turned around and walked towards his desk. To the employees' shock, he observes his Boss opening a hidden drawer compartment, and he even swears that he saw a cold mist disperse upon the door opening. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to see the object being hauled out, but he could tell it was substantial based on his Boss's apparent interest.
"Because I have something that will change not only the entire world but all of Mankind and our future!" He said, "I want you to make an appointment with the actors! I have an offer that they can't refuse!" He ordered.
"But, sir! The company is about to go bankrupt, and…" The man started to explain, only to halt in his tracks by taking one glance at his Boss's face in the reflection.
"Yes, sir!" The man shouted, and he swiftly left the room and made his way gingerly around the areas that are being torn apart by the IRS that are auditing the business.
The Boss, however, was unconcerned about any of this because he was focused on something much more important. More important than looking down on others or the city. He gazes upon the vial containing mysterious substance of black liquid.
Bonus Scene
Being on the lookout is one of the greatest honor and trust to be bestowed; it is a responsibility to keep watch and alert those one is protecting, even going so far as to improvise and create distractions.
"Watch out, George! It's Pennywise!" Samantha yelled out, only to pause when taking a closer look at the two.
"Oh! Never mind! Just a child dressed as Pennywise! You're doing a good job, Sam. Keep on the lookout! You are excellent at this! And the possible father of the child is staring at me like I'm the weird one. And I'm saying all this out loud. Nothing to see here! Keep moving!" Samantha said as the father dressed as George picked up his son, and as he walked away quickly, she cringed.