What If? Chapter: Halloween
In the twilight hours of the town of Hallow Shade a blood-red sedan drove down a neighborhood street, passing by countless houses decorated in a myriad of Halloween decorations.
“They really went all out this year…” Aurelia muttered behind the steering wheel.
“You think that means they’ll have more candy?” Stryg said with wide eyes as he stared out the passenger seat.
Aurelia clicked her tongue, “Is that all you think about?”
“You should have seen him at Valentine’s,” Feli giggled from the backseat.
Aurelia sighed, “At this rate, you’re going to get fat.”
“What? No, I’m not. Look at my sister, she literally drinks enough to kill a pair of elephants and she doesn’t gain an ounce. Besides, I haven’t eaten today. I’m just hungry.” Stryg crossed his arms.
“I feel like he’s always hungry,” muttered Tauri.
“Especially in bed,” Maeve whispered to the girls in the back.
The sedan slowed down and stopped on a corner street.
“Thanks for the ride, Mom,” Stryg said as he jumped out. “Even though we didn’t need it.”
Aurelia scoffed. “If you think I’m going to let you drive back home drunk from Noir’s party then you really are an idiot.”
“I’m not even going to get drunk, Mom,” Stryg groaned.
“It’s Dolores Noir’s party, who knows what kind of weird alcohol she’s got.”
“Thanks for the drive, Ms.Veres.” Maeve climbed out from the back.
Feli and Tauri did the same and echoed their gratitude.
“Don’t let him talk you into doing anything stupid,” Aurelia warned the girls. “I’m going to be busy tonight, call Lunae to pick you up.” And with that, she drove off.
“Finally, she’s gone,” Stryg sighed in relief.
“She’s nice. I like her,” said Maeve.
“Says the vampire.” Feli shivered, “That woman is terrifying.”
“Agreed,” Tauri winced and nodded.
“There you guys are!” Nora waved from a distance and jogged over.
A white bedsheet with two holes for eyes ran beside her.
Feli looked over Nora’s costume. She wore tight black shorts, a crop top, puffy black paws, and cat ears. Long black whiskers were painted over her cheeks. “Sexy black cat, nice,” she smirked.
Nora blushed, “It’s not my style, but when Cly saw it at the store he really wanted to see me wear it.”
Stryg glanced at the white bedsheet. “A ghost? Very original.”
Clypeus’ scarlet eyes squinted as he smiled underneath the sheet. “You know you like it.”
“If it doesn’t get stained with blood by the end of the night I’ll be disappointed,” said Stryg.
Clypeus reached out and flicked Stryg’s popped-up red and black collar. “Dracula, huh? Who’s original now?”
Stryg grinned and pulled his three girlfriends into his embrace, “And the Count’s three brides. We vant to drink your blood!”
“I’ll pass on the blood part,” Feli said dryly.
“Same.” Tauri extracted herself from his embrace.
“I think you all look great,” said a cheerful voice from behind.
They all turned and smiled.
“Cal, Kitty, you made it!” said Stryg.
“Knights of the round always honor their oaths!” Callum bowed, his shining armor squeaking with the movement.
Kithina groaned and pulled up her Guy Fawkes mask. “How did you know it was me!?”
“Your real hair is sticking out,” Stryg pointed at the orange strands slipping between the black locks.
“Shit.” Kithina quickly tucked the orange strands underneath her black Puritan hat.
“Well, Mr. Knight-in-Shining-Armor, you should remember that next time you ask someone out on prom,” Kithina frowned.
“You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?” Callum sighed.
“Nope,” she smiled.
A white limousine drove up to the curb and the backdoor swung wide open.
“Your queen has arrived, bitches!” Freya strutted out, her scantily white robes billowing behind her.
“Oh, look who finally showed up,” said Clypeus flatly.
Kitty cocked her eyebrow. “And who are you supposed to be? Queen of the sluts?”
“I’m Eris, Greek goddess of strife, duh,” Freya growled and held up a golden apple.
Kegrog stepped out of the limo behind her, his massive height made even more evident as he stood next to the dwarf.
“Well, you’re both late,” said Kithina.
“Nonsense,” Kegrog slammed his wooden staff into the ground and stroked his grey bush beard. “A wizard arrives precisely when he means to.”
“Aren’t you cold?” asked Maeve.
“A little,” Freya admitted, then smirked, “Not as cold as Miss Kitty Cat though. Rawr.”
Nora stepped behind Cly in embarrassment.
“Hey, where is Sylvie?” asked Callum.
“Her mom grounded her after she played hookie yesterday,” Stryg explained.
Callum’s shoulders dropped. “Oh, that sucks.”
“Yeah, the horror,” Kithina waved her hands sarcastically. “Whatever shall Ms. Perfect do while grounded in her mansion.”
Clypeus cleared his throat. “Anyways, we should hurry and start trick-or-treating. We still need to visit Plum’s haunted house before hitting up the Noir’s party.”
“Lead the way,” Callum said, eager to leave their conversation behind.
The first house they went to was painted black, the walls and roof. Even the grass seemed a little grey. Giant cobwebs stretched across the yard and house. Blue light flickered in the pumpkins sitting on the porch.
Stryg walked up first and knocked on the door. It swung open after the first knock. Louise, dressed up as a witch, stood in the doorway with an excited smile. “~Whoooo do we have here~?”
“Trick-or-treat!” yelled the group of college students.
Loh stepped out from behind the door and wrapped her arm around her lover. A black silk dress hugged her long legs and a pair of fake spider legs hung over her back. “Look what we have here, the students who skipped my class yesterday and the professor who helped them.”
Tauri sheepishly tried to hide behind Stryg to no avail.
“It was all Kitty’s fault,” Stryg said without hesitation.
Kithina twirled around, plastic daggers in hand, “You lying son of a—!”
“Are you guys gonna be at the party later?” interrupted Louise with a smile. “My mother-in-law throws the best parties.”
“You mean the most drunk parties,” Loh rolled her eyes as she handed out mini candy bars to each of them.
“Yeah, we definitely won’t miss it,” Callum nodded politely.
“Thanks for the candy!” Feli waved them goodbye.
The next house looked ordinary enough, if one ignored the countless trimmed rose bushes and the pair of marble horse statues displayed proudly in front of the home. There were no Halloween decorations, though Stryg had a feeling that they still had candy.
Freya strutted forward and knocked on the door.
Marek opened the door, dressed as an 80’s barbarian, a giant sword strapped to his shirtless back. He put on his best glower and spoke in a deep voice, “Who dares come to my home?”
Freya looked up with wide fearful eyes. “U-Uh…”
“Leave her be, dear.” Ophelia walked over, dressed in a flowery vibrant green dress, a bright red wig, and emerald lipstick. Her lips curled in a sultry smile, “She clearly knows how to dress for the occasion.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Hmph,” Marek grunted and pulled out a weathered cloth sack. He swung it forward and a wave of candy fell out on the porch. Ophelia slammed the door shut.
“Seriously?” Freya asked. “What assholes!”
A shadow hand came out from underneath Stryg’s cape and swept up the candy into his jack-o-lantern bucket without hesitation.
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Nora yelled and tried to grab some.
Stryg yanked his bucked back and hissed. “Mine!” Then he ran off down the street.
“Did he really just take all the candy?” Nora blinked.
“Yup,” Clypeus chuckled with a shake of his head. “Come on, if we don’t hurry he’s gonna clean out the entire neighborhood.” He grabbed his girlfriend’s hand and threw her on his back. She yelped, then giggled as he chased after Stryg.
“What’s up with those two?” Tauri asked.
“Stryg gets like this every Halloween,” Feli sighed.
“Imagine what he’s like on Christmas.” Maeve felt goosebumps crawl up her arms.
~~~
The last house on their route seemed actually abandoned. The windows were broken in, the walls were stained, the roof seemed in disrepair, and the grass was dead. There were no decorations, unless the entire house was a decoration.
“So, we’re skipping this house, right?” asked Maeve.
“Nah, it’s my cousin’s. She just likes to go all out on Halloween,” Stryg sighed. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Are you sure this is the right place?” whispered Feli.
The front door swung open with a loud creak as they stepped up on the porch.
Callum glanced around conspicuously. “I’ll wait on the sidewalk.”
“Pussy!” Freya shouted.
“Fuck you too.” Callum gave her the finger as he walked away.
“Coward,” Freya scoffed and walked inside, Kegrog close behind her.
The house was empty, not a single light on. The dusty wooden floors creaked with every step. And a quiet child’s laugh echoed through the house.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Nora mumbled to her boyfriend.
Clypeus glanced at Stryg who just shrugged. “Probably.”
A white fox sat on the ruined kitchen table staring at them with wide cold eyes. The fridge screeched open and a scrunched-up clown emerged, her limbs bent all around her at strange broken angles.
“Welcome home, kids,” the Monster in the Dark giggled and bared her sharp yellow teeth in a too-wide smile.
Freya tensed for a moment, then shook her head and stepped forward, holding out her bucket. “Trick-or-treat.”
“Trick… or… treat…?” The clown’s limbs began to untangle with a horrid creaking of bones.
Kegrog cleared his throat, “Babe, I don’t think we should—”
Freya stomped her foot. “Just give us the candy you raggedy creepy-ass clown!”
“Okay,” she giggled. “One question… Do you want to float?”
“Huh?” Freya frowned.
“Yeah, I see where this is going. I’m out.” Stryg turned around, tossed Tauri on his back, and picked up Feli and Maeve in his arms, then dashed out of the house.
Clypeus glanced at Stryg once then followed, after carrying Nora princess-style.
“Hey, guys, wait up— Oh, what the fuck!?” Freya screamed as her feet left the ground and she began floating towards an unending ceiling.
“Freya!” Kegrog yanked her back and threw her out the door. “Go!”
“Kegrog, noo!” Freya screamed as Kegrog floated away.
Kithina scrambled outside but a pale grey arm shot out from Ananta’s back and pulled her back into the shadows. “Where do you think you’re going, pretties, don’t you want candies?”
Callum watched his friends all run out as if their lives depended on it. “What the fuck happened? Where’s Kitty and Kegrog?”
“They’ll be fine, probably,” Stryg said.
“I think that concludes our trick-or-treating for the evening,” Clypeus said dryly.
Nora pushed herself out of his arms and dusted herself off. “Come on, Plum’s waiting for us at her haunted house.”
~~~
“Nice job, Ann,” Lin Lu said sarcastically.
Ananta stared out the window as the kids ran out. A dozen arms stood out her back, each holding a handful of candy. “Was I too much?”
“Definitely.”
“Oh, shit, full-size candy bars!” Kithina yelled excitedly.
“Look, I’m flying! I’m flying!” Kegrog shouted as he flapped his arms around in the air and laughed.
~~~
The group of friends found themselves in front of an ‘abandoned house’ with colorful lights shining out from the windows. A hundred different Halloween decorations hung from the walls and stuck out from the bright green grass.
“This doesn’t look nearly as scary as the last place,” said Tauri.
“Might as well get this over with,” Stryg sighed and walked in. The others followed.
Flickering fake candles lit the hallway. A door slammed open and an ogre jumped out, a chainsaw aimed at Feli. She flinched, just as Clypeus socked the ogre in the face.
“Ah, fuck!” The ogre dropped the chainsaw and collapsed, rolling on the ground.
“Rorik, is that you?” Stryg asked.
Clypeus shifted in his ghost blanket. “Apologies. Reflex.”
“You broke my fucking nose!” Rorik groaned.
Clypeus looked around awkwardly, “Um…”
Tauri stared at Rorik for a moment and scrunched her nose. “Yeah, he’ll be fine. Just put some ice on it.”
“Fair enough. I’ll buy you a drink later.” Stryg walked over Rorik’s prone form.
The others followed suit and walked over him.
“I hope you feel better, Captain Rorik,” Feli apologized before hurrying after Stryg.
“T-thanks Fe— ugh!” Rorik gasped as Freya stepped on his gut as she walked past.
The group saw a few more jump scares, but no one really reacted, leaving the actors standing there uncomfortably.
Tauri sighed, “Man, after your cousin’s place, this doesn’t seem scary at all.”
“I know, right!? I was thinking the same!” agreed Nora.
“Let’s just go find Plum so she knows we came to support her and then we can split,” said Stryg.
“Yeah, for sure,” Nora nodded.
Carnival music suddenly began blaring through the next room and Vayu jumped out of a crate dressed as a clown. He laughed like a psycho while he juggled daggers, and tossed one at them.
Maeve squeaked as the dagger sailed way above her head. Stryg reached up and snatched the blade from the air. Twirling the dagger in his hand he glanced at Vayu, “My turn.” He aimed the dagger at Vayu’s absurdly large hat, pulled his arm back, and threw it. The blade spun through the air and landed cleanly through his thigh.
Vayu stared at it for a moment and the other two daggers slipped out of his hands and stabbed straight into his feet. “Argghhh!?”
“Oooh, I missed,” Stryg winced.
“You both are menaces,” Maeve glared at Clypeus and Stryg.
Callum sighed and began to channel White. “I’ll make sure he’s alright. You guys go on ahead.”
“Are you sure, cousin?” asked Maeve.
“Yeah, Halloween has never been my thing. Drinking on the other hand,” Callum grinned. “I’ll see you at the party.”
“Of course, you will,” Maeve rolled her eyes.
~~~
They finally came across a giant pair of freshly painted black double doors. Stryg pushed them open and was faced with a massive throne room. A black throne sat at the end, and a succubus lounged atop it.
Plum smiled seductively. “Well, well, well, it seems a group of adventurers have made it all the way to me. Welcome to hell.”
Pillars of fire shot out from the corners of the room and ghosts floated downwards, wailing and screeching.
Plum snarled. “Bow to your demon queen or die.”
They all looked around the throne room in disappointment. Tauri yawned.
“W-Wh-What are you doing!?” Plum shouted, her voice losing momentum. “I said BOW!”
“I know, it’s just not very scary, ya know?” Stryg said.
“Eh?” Plum furrowed her brow. “But there’s ghosts! And fire!”
Freya waved her hand and channeled Yellow. A powerful gust of wind swept through the chamber and the illusionary ghosts broke apart in clouds of purple dust.
“Your illusions aren’t even strong,” Freya clicked her tongue.
“W-Well, what about the fire! It’s real fucking fire!” Plum shouted and stood from her throne.
“Yeah, it’s cool, but like, it does really move. It just sits there, might as well be a fireplace. Not really scary,” Feli observed.
“Well, fuck you guys! I worked hard on this!” Plum said, teary-eyed. “If you hate it so much why don’t you try and be scary!”
“Plum, that’s not what we meant,” Nora began apologetically. “Really, it’s nice—”
“Alright.” Stryg rolled his shoulders. “I’m up to the challenge.”
Feli frowned. “Babe, what are you doing?”
Plum pointed her pitchfork at him. “~Ooh look at me, I’m DisCount Dracula, I’m so scary~”
Stryg leaped across the throne room in a flash and pounced on Plum. Her scream was cut short as Stryg bit down on her neck. She gasped for breath but none came. Her eyes rolled up and she went limp.
“Oh shit, he actually bit her!” Freya gasped.
Stryg pulled off her horned hairband before unceremoniously dropping Plum’s unconscious body. With a flick of his foot, he kicked her pitchfork up, snatched it, and sat down on the throne. He slipped the headband on, the black horns settling nicely on his pale hair. He crossed his feed, leaned back, and smiled sinisterly. “Looks like I’m the demon king now.”
Nora frowned. “Stryg, this isn’t funny. Plum is literally twitching. You should heal her before anything happens—”
Stryg snapped his fingers. “Cly.”
Clypeus jumped Nora from behind. She yelled in shock as he wrapped his arms around her. His fangs poked out from the bedsheet and sang into her pale neck. She stiffened and gasped as blood poured down the sheet, staining it red.
Feli, Maeve, Tauri, and Freya looked at each other, fear in their eyes. They slowly began to walk backwards while keeping an eye on Stryg.
“Stryg, this isn’t funny,” Feli said shakily.
Maeve immediately knelt and bowed her head, “I shall gladly serve you, your infernal majesty.”
“What are you doing!?” Tauri snapped.
“I know how hungry he gets when he starts drinking, I don’t want to be a blood bag all damn night!”
“You traitorous bitch!” Freya sneered.
Stryg dragged his finger across his throat. “Maeve, take her out.”
“Wait, don’t you dare—” Freya turned, but it was too late. Maeve jumped her before she could channel her mana and bit down on her shoulder. Maeve was petite, but she was still about the same height as the dwarf and her vampiric strength quickly overwhelmed Freya.
Feli watched in stunned silence as Freya looked up at her pleadingly, her golden eyes glazing over as she blacked out.
“Stryg, this isn’t funny!” Feli yelled.
“I know.” Shadow tendrils shot out from his throne and grabbed her by her ankles and wrists. She screamed as he yanked her forward and caught her by the throat. He bit her wrist and watched as the last of her breath left her and her body went limp.
Stryg cradled Feli’s unconscious body like a demon cradling his prey. He licked her cheek, leaving a slick blood trail. His eyes glowed in the dark as he swept across the throne, finally settling his gaze on Tauri. Maeve and Clypeus stood to their feet, leaving their prey on the floor, and followed their king’s gaze, their scarlet eyes gleaming with hunger.
Stryg leaned forward and bared his bloodied fangs. “Run.”
Tauri sprinted away as fast as she could.
~~~
Callum stood on the sidewalk, an arm hooked under Vayu’s shoulder, holding him up. With his free hand, he held his phone and called an ambulance. “I did what I could, the healers will take care of the rest. You’ll be fine.”
“Thanks,” Vayu mumbled weakly.
Dozens of wretched screams suddenly began ringing through the haunted house.
“Huh, it looks like your team is doing a good job scaring visitors,” Callum smiled.
Vayu furrowed his brow. “No… Those are my team’s voices.”
Tauri burst through the front door, covered in sweat and gasping for breath. She spotted Callum and ran towards him when a blue hand yanked her back by the hair. Tauri slammed into the porch hard and groaned in a daze.
“Professor?” Callum called out warily. He could have sworn he saw Stryg’s hand but the blue goblin was nowhere to be seen.
“H-help,” she managed to spit out. “HELP!” she screamed as something dragged her back into the house. Her nails dug across the wooden planks and her voice was suddenly cut short as the door slammed shut.
Vayu glanced at Callum. “Wanna get a drink?”
“...Yup.”