The night was cold to the touch—the perfect kind of weather for the season. This was the kind of night where the air hung tight as the frozen vapor of sustained breath remained in the air. The leaves outside crinkled to the sound of the ominous chill—a gust so faint if not focused on you could believe it to be the whispers of the dead. Some would wonder if the dead could whisper—whose voices one would hear in those hallowed halls.
The house was full of energy as this time of year was special—it was the anniversary of the new world—at least, to those who inhabited this house. Them who the world belonged, and yet, on this day it still did. Stories told of those who haunt the night and such a word was ever so fitting for their existence. Haunting and haunted were two diametrically opposing ideas by assuming the subject of each were separate—but here in this home, the two couldn’t be more similar.
Decorative cobwebs were arrayed up in the corner of doorways and on the front awning that overlooked eternity hung a paper mache skeleton with a cartoonishly evil grin.
“Where the hell are my fangs?” A voice called out across the foyer.
It belonged to Andrew Cress—sometimes called Galgaliel and most times shortened to Andy. He strode into the family room as his cape trailed behind him. Set out across the side tables were ghostly ornaments and spewing fog from some unknown source. There were shapes that seemed to emit from the depths of the fog, but if one tried to focus on them for too long they would dissipate. In its entirety they seemed to glow with a cosmic resonance—the whole ordeal was made using tricks Andy picked up from Ormus—sometimes called Gavin Daniels.
“They’re on your dresser where you left them, remember?” Lindsey called from the hallway behind him.
“Oh right, I was trying them on in front of the mirror.” Andy said.
“Oh my, modeling now, are we?” Nehemoth called from the corner of the room. She was sometimes called Megan in the old world. Her blonde hair was dyed red and she was dressed in the appearance of a jester.
“I thought vampires couldn’t see themselves in the mirror,” joked Gardov—also called Jay. He was sitting with his arm hanging over the edge of the chair.
“Yes yes, you’re all very funny,” Andy said. “Hey dear, would you mind bringing me them?”
“You’re funny if you think I’m touching them after you’ve taken them out of your mouth,” Lindsey called back.
Andy sighed, then did his best to avoid the humorous gazes he was receiving from the others. He turned on a dime and just as he was about to leave, Gardov spoke up. “Hey, if you see John, can you tell him I want to see him? Got some uh...things I’d like to talk with him about.”
“Aw, it’s the father-son talk,” Nehemoth joked.
“I’ll let him know,” Andy said, ignoring her jabs. “I think I saw him with Ez out near the balcony.”
“Ah, right,” he said, turning back to his drink. “Yes...that’s probably for the best first…”
Andy nodded and turned to find when he opened the door to the main hallway that Samael—known back in those days as Jack Adata—stood dressed to the nines in an old Victorian garb with a whip at his side.
“Oh very funny,” Andy said, “You chose the vampire hunter.”
“I...thought I was going as Indiana Jones,” he offered, putting his hands up in a defensive position.
“I think it looks dashing,” Megan offered. “But you’re missing the crystal skull thing he has, right?”
Jack offered a shy smile at the sight of his daughter. “Yeah, I guess I could have gone farther with it.”
He stepped into the room and Andy made to leave as quickly as possible. He knew that things were different since coming to the new world, but he still had an aversion to being in the same room as him considering all their shared history.
He continued down the hallway and saw Devon and Alex talking in the main foyer—a drink was in each of their hands and he saw they had dressed up in robes that reminded him of some cultist priest. He remembered them laughing about the irony. He sort of admired their ability to poke fun at the absolutely morbid—although he thought that was due to their younger sense of humor.
He thought on the matter a moment longer, and realized that if time had been flowing in a linear fashion they would be about as old as his father...a strange thought to think nonetheless.
He offered them a greeting and he continued up the staircase to the second floor. He figured he may as well tell Thag that Jay was looking for him. Might save him from the awkward moment with being outnumbered with Adatas.
He pushed open the door to the parlor room and found Gavin and his father, Gregory staring at the painting in the rear of the room. He had a feeling they would both be here—Halloween was Gavin’s mother’s favorite time of year. They each spent time giving her her respects around this time of year—it was actually Ez who painted it for them—that day was more emotional for Gregory he thought than it was for Gavin. But that was one of the few times Andy has seen him shed a tear. He blinked and instead of seeing them dressed in fine suits—the both of them were very weird about Halloween costumes and didn’t like anything restricting their vision—he had for but a moment seen them as they really were in this world—shadows with the faintest colored slits for eyes. He shook his head and they were back to their fancy dress—and the thought was gone from his mind.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
He walked up to them both and put his arms around as he joined in the center. “I think she would be looking down on you both with the greatest jack-o-lantern grin she could muster,” Andy said.
“Oh, she wouldn’t for me,” Gregory offered with a nervous laugh. He was sometimes called Egregore in this new world. “I think she would have told me she wished me to meet up with Freddy or Jason or something else equally corny but spiked with the venom we shared with each other.”
“You both had the weirdest relationship,” Gavin said, wiping a tear. “How are things downstairs?”
“Jack’s just arrived, so you can assume how that’ll go.”
He rolled his eyes and looked back up to the painting. “Yeah...I don’t think I’m going to head down there, then. I’ll probably start something and it’ll ruin the whole mood.”
“Understandable,” Andy said. He turned to Gregory, “Hey, have you seen my Dad anywhere?”
There was a new unsettled look on his face, and Andy could tell it wasn’t great news.
“I tried to get him to come, but he wouldn’t take any of my calls. Probably still in bed and probably will be for the next day or two.”
“I see,” Andy said, and sighed himself. He knew his father—sometimes called Scantar in this world—had been facing the extreme ends of the emotional disparity since coming over. He had found it impossible to talk with him as his emotions tended to get the better of him until he went to the extreme opposite side of the scale where he drew inward and refused to talk to anybody until he balanced out.
“I wouldn’t expect him here anytime soon,” Gregory offered. “I’m...sorry he isn’t here.”
“You don’t have to apologize...each of you is suffering in your own way, and we ours,” Andy said, then made an unconscious glance toward Gavin. “I’m going to go find Thag, he still out there with Ez? Out on the balcony?”
Gregory nodded, and so Andy left. He thought he heard Gavin say something under his breath, but he had less than zero interest in confirming what it was he thought he heard.
He continued to the door that led out to the balcony and found John and Sarah—sometimes called Thagirion and Ezrael—sitting across each other at a table overlooking the moon in the infinite void. The moon itself glowed a variety of vibrant colors—shifting and spilling into one another.
They had looked like they were talking about something serious before he stepped in, but Sarah turned to him and offered him a sweet smile. It was just like her to ensure everyone around her was okay first before returning to her own thoughts.
“How are you guys out here?” Andy asked.
“We’re fine, just talking some things out since we have the opportunity,” Sarah began. “I know our time is limited here...but do you know why we only seem to be here when this time of year comes around?”
Andy looked out toward the void. He knew this as the place they lived, but she was right. They seemed to be more present during the Halloween season. Was there something to the ‘spooky’ season that drew out their energy more inside Noctem? He couldn’t say for sure.
“I dunno, I think that might be better posed for Gavin. I think he has a closer relationship with the powers that be that might have that answer.
“That’s fair,” Sarah said. She turned to John and her eyes quickly darted to the side.
“Oh, before I forget,” Andy said. “John, your dad wants to see you at some point before the night ends. I think he’s still down in the family room.”
“Is Jack here yet?” John asked.
“Unfortunately,” Andy sighed.
“I’ll come down with you, that way you aren’t alone,” Sarah said.
“No no, I’ll need to face this head on sooner or later.” He moved to stand, “I should get it done so we can see out the close together.” He stopped as his eyes went wide and he slowed.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah asked.
“I just...got this weird feeling of deja vu...all of us being here together. Wasn’t there someone else who…?”
“Someone else?” Andy asked.
“No, must have been something else,” John said. His eyes were focused and lost in thought. He shook his head and then continued, “Must be nothing. Just thought I remembered a dream or something else where all of us were together. I thought there was someone else there too. I can’t place their face though.”
“Hm...now that you mention it, that sounds...familiar,” Andy said. “I couldn’t tell you the details, though.”
“All right, well I’ll meet back up with you here,” John turned to Sarah.
“Okay, I’ll be up here.”
“I think I’m going to go as well,” Andy said.
Sarah gave him a look that could mean a million things, but he knew the truth of it, and he closed his eyes and turned from her without another word.
Having seen almost everyone, he felt a sort of satisfaction like reuniting with a bunch of old friends, even if some of them weren’t as friendly in the old days, but he knew where he wanted to be when the time closed out for another year.
He paced back to the foyer and climbed down the stairs—making his way through the hallway to the door to the bedroom on the left.
It was empty. It was always empty. His mind’s eye saw the form of his wife finishing her hair in her vampire queen outfit—the look would have been absolutely stunning, but that’s always what it would have been. He closed the door behind him and saw the pair of plastic fangs sitting alone on top of the dresser. He stumbled over toward them and held them in his hand, looking up at himself in the mirror he felt the memory caress his shoulder, but nothing more.
This house was a place of solace for some—for John and Sarah they have love, they have understanding, and they have the makings of a family they can come back to. Gavin and his father—while not the healthiest of relationships, have something to build off from. Devon and Alex both seemed to come to their own understanding.
Even Jack Adata has his daughter back and Andy...he had nothing. His own father was either a menace and refused to change or a sad pitiable man who drained him of his resources. In this short time they got each year to see each other as they were—outside of the darkness where nothing was except for them—he sat alone in his room once more. Another year and he swore that feeling on his shoulder was stronger than it was last year...maybe one year he’ll be able to see her smile again.
Maybe next year he--
The lights would soon turn off and the year would come to a close—and all would return to darkness.
“Happy Halloween,” Andy muttered to himself and closed his eyes. This night would continue to go on...and yet his deepest desire was for it all to end.