48 - Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns (4 page)

Bad attitude.

“I’ve been thinking of some really scary things we could do at a party,” I
started. “I think—”

“No party!” Shana interrupted.

“Right. No party,” her twin agreed. “We worked so hard on last year’s party.
And then Tabby and Lee didn’t show up.”

“Grrrrr.” Just thinking about last year made me growl.

“Well, if we don’t scare them at a Halloween party, where do we scare them?”
Walker asked, tapping out a rhythm with his fingers on the desk.

“Shane and I have some really good ideas,” Shana said.

“Yeah. I think you have to listen to Shana and me this year,” Shane chimed
in. “We have a really good plan. It will have them shaking for a year. Really!”

Walker pulled the desk chair closer. Shane sat on the floor beside him. I
leaned closer to Shana on the bed.

Speaking in a low voice just above a whisper, Shana told Walker and me their
plan. A very scary plan.

It gave me a chill just hearing Shana describe it.

“It’s very simple,” Shana finished. “Very easy to do. And there’s no way it
won’t work.”

“We’ll give Tabby and Lee a Halloween they’ll never forget!” Shane boasted.

“It’s really mean,” Walker murmured.

I gazed at the chubby, pink-cheeked twins. They were so cute-looking. So
sweet and innocent. But their plan to frighten Tabby and Lee really was truly
horrifying!

“It’s mean,” I agreed. “And it’s cruel. And it’s terribly gross and
shocking.” I grinned. “I
like
it!”

We all laughed.

“So we agree?” Shane asked. “We’re doing it?”

We all agreed. We all solemnly shook hands.

“Great,” Shana declared. “So Drew, all you have to do is invite them to come
trick-or-treating with you. Shane and I will do the rest.”

“No problem,” I replied, still grinning. “No problem.”

We all cheered and congratulated each other. We knew this was the year—
our
year.

Shana started to say something else—but my mom poked her head into the
room.

“What are you four plotting so seriously?” Mom asked.

“Uh… nothing,” Walker answered quickly.

“Just making plans for Halloween, Mom,” I told her.

Mom bit her lower lip. Her expression turned serious. “You know, Drew,” she
said, shaking her head, “I don’t think I can let you go trick-or-treating this
year.”

“Mom—you
have
to let me go trick-or-treating! You
have
to! Or
else you’ll spoil all of our plans for revenge!”

Those words
almost
burst from my mouth.

But somehow I held them in.

I choked back the words and stared hard at her, trying to decide if she was
serious.

She was.

“Mom—what’s wrong?” I finally cried. “What did I do? Why am I grounded?”

“Drew, you’re not grounded.” Mom laughed. “I just don’t think
trick-or-treating is a good idea this year. Haven’t you seen the news stories?
About the people in town who disappeared?”

“Huh? Disappeared?”

My mind flashed back to my daydream. I pictured the old couple again, locking
kids up in their back room.

“You mean kids have disappeared?” I asked.

Mom shook her head. “No. Not kids. Adults. A fourth person was reported missing yesterday. Here. Look.”

Mom had the newspaper rolled up under her arm. She pulled it out and unrolled
it. She held the front page up so we all could see it.

I could read the bold, black headline from across the room:

LOCAL MYSTERY: 4 HAVE VANISHED

I climbed up from the bed and made my way over to Mom. I saw Shane and Shana
exchange worried glances. Walker’s expression had turned solemn. He drummed his
fingers tensely on the desktop.

I took the newspaper from Mom and stared at the photos of the four people who
had disappeared. Three men and one woman.

“The police are warning people to be very careful,” Mom said softly.

Walker walked over and took the newspaper from my hands. He studied the
photos for a moment. “Hey—these people are all fat!” he exclaimed.

Now we all clustered around the paper and stared at the gray photos. Walker
was right. All four people were very overweight. The first one, a bald man in a
bulging turtleneck sweater, had at least six chins!

“Weird,” I murmured.

Shane and Shana had grown strangely silent. I guessed they were frightened.

“Why would four fat people disappear into thin air?” Walker asked.

Mom sighed. “That’s what the police would like to know,” she said.

“But, Mom, if only adults are disappearing, why can’t I go
trick-or-treating?” I asked.

“Please let Drew go,” Shana pleaded. “It’s our last year to go out on
Halloween night.”

“No. I don’t think so,” Mom replied, biting her bottom lip again.

“But we’ll be
really really really
careful!” I promised her.

“I don’t think so,” Mom repeated. “I don’t think so.”

Once again, Halloween was completely ruined.

But then Dad thought maybe trick-or-treating would be okay.

It was two days later. He and Mom had been discussing it nonstop.

“You can go out if you go in a group,” Dad said. “Stay in the neighborhood.
And don’t wander away from the others. Okay, Elf?”

“Thanks, Dad!” I cried. I was so happy, I didn’t remind him to stop calling
me Elf! Instead, I surprised him with a big hug.

“Are you sure about this?” Mom asked.

“Of course he is!” I cried.

No way was I going to let them change their minds. I was already halfway to
the phone to tell Walker that our plan was back on!

“There will be a thousand kids trick-or-treating in the neighborhood,” Dad
argued. “Besides, Drew and her friends are old enough and smart enough to keep
out of trouble.”

“Thanks, Dad!” I cried again.

Mom wanted to keep the discussion going. But I ran out of the kitchen and up
to my room before she could get a word out.

I called Walker and told him the good news. He said he would call Shane and
Shana and tell them to get ready for trick-or-treat night.

Everything was set. I had just one little problem left.

I had to convince Tabby and Lee that they should go trick-or-treating with
us.

I took a deep breath and called Tabby’s house. Her mother said she was over
at Lee’s, helping him get his Halloween costume ready.

So I hurried over to Lee’s house. It was a gray Saturday afternoon. It had
rained all morning, and the storm clouds still floated overhead.

The front lawns shimmered from the clinging rainwater. I jumped over wide
puddles on the sidewalk. I wore a heavy gray sweatsuit. But the air felt damp
and cold, and I wished I had put on a jacket over it.

I jogged the last block to Lee’s house, partly to warm up. I stopped to catch
my breath on the front stoop. Then I pushed the doorbell.

A few seconds later, Lee answered the door.

“Whoa!” I cried out when I saw his costume. He had bobbing antennas on his
head. He wore a fuzzy yellow vest, pulled over a black-and-yellow-striped girl’s
swimsuit.

“You—you’re a bee?” I stammered.

He nodded. “Tabby and I are still working on it. We bought black tights for
my legs this morning.”

“Cool,” I said. He looked really stupid.

But why should I tell him?

Tabby greeted me as I stepped into the den. She had opened the package
containing the tights and was stretching them out, tugging them hard between her
hands.

“Drew—have you lost weight?” she asked.

“Excuse me? No.”

“Oh. I guess you
like
your sweatsuit baggy like that—huh?”

She’s so mean.

She turned her head away. But I saw her snicker to herself. She thinks she’s
really funny.

“Is that your costume?” she asked.

I decided to ignore her nasty jokes. “No. I’m going to be some kind of
superhero, I think,” I told her. “You know. Wear a cape and tights. What are you
going to be?”

“A ballerina,” she replied. She handed the tights to Lee. “Here are your bee
legs. Do you have some heavy construction paper?”

“What for?” Lee asked.

“We need to make the stinger. You know. To glue to the back of your tights.”

“No way!” Lee protested. “No stinger. I don’t need a stinger. I’ll only sit
on it anyway.”

I let them argue for a few minutes. I kept out of it.

Lee finally won. No stinger.

Tabby pouted for a while and made faces at him. She hates it when she doesn’t
get her way. But he’s even more stubborn than she is.

“Listen, guys,” I started. “Walker and Shane and Shana and I are all going to
trick-or-treat together this year.” I took a deep breath, then asked my
question. “Want to come with us?”

“Yeah. Sure,” Lee replied.

“Okay,” Tabby agreed.

And that was that.

The trap was set.

Tabby and Lee were in for the most frightening Halloween of their lives.

Unfortunately, we were, too.

The week dragged by. I counted the hours till Halloween.

Finally, the big night arrived. I was so nervous, I could barely get my
superhero costume together.

It wasn’t much of a costume. I wore bright blue tights and a blue top. I
pulled a pair of red boxer shorts over the tights.

For my cape, I cut up a red tablecloth we didn’t use anymore and tied it
around my shoulders. Then I pulled on a pair of white vinyl boots. I had a red
cardboard mask that just covered my eyes.

“Super Drew!” I proclaimed to the mirror.

I knew the costume was lame. But I didn’t care. Tonight wasn’t about
costumes. It was about terror. It was about scaring two kids to death!

I grabbed a large brown shopping bag from the closet to use as a
trick-or-treat bag. Then I scrambled down the stairs, hoping to get out of the house before running into
my parents. I hoped to avoid a last-minute lecture about how I had to be careful
outside.

No such luck.

Dad stopped me at the bottom of the stairs. “Wow! Great costume, Elf!” he
exclaimed. “What are you supposed to be?”

“Please don’t call me Elf,” I muttered. I tried to get past him to the front
door, but he blocked my way.

“Just let me take one photo,” he said.

“I’m kind of late,” I told him. I was supposed to meet Walker on the corner
at seven-thirty. It was already a quarter to eight.

“Be careful out there!” my mother called from the den.

Dad disappeared to get his camera. I waited at the bottom of the stairs,
tapping my hand on the banister.

“Don’t talk to any strangers!” Mom called.

Very helpful.

“Okay. One quick shot,” Dad said, returning with his camera raised to his
eye. “Stand against the door. You look great, Drew. Are you Wonder Woman or
something?”

“Just a superhero,” I mumbled. “I’ve really got to go, Dad.”

He steadied the camera over his eye. “How about a smile?”

I gave him a toothy grin.

He clicked the shutter.

“Oh. Wait. Did it flash?” he asked. “I don’t think I had the flash on.” He
examined the camera.

“Dad—” I started. I thought about Walker, standing by himself on the corner.
Walker hated to wait. I knew how tense he’d be.

As tense as me.

“Dad, I’ve got to meet my friends.”

“If you see anyone suspicious, run away!” Mom called from the den.

“Let’s try again, Elf.” Dad raised the camera again. “Smile.”

He clicked the shutter. No flash.

“Whoa—” He checked the camera again.

“Dad, please—” I begged.

“Oh, wow,” he murmured. “Would you believe it? No film.” He shook his head.
“I thought I had film in here. I’ll go upstairs and get a roll. It will only
take a second.”

“Dad—!” I screamed.

The doorbell rang. It startled us both.

“Probably some trick-or-treaters,” Dad said.

I leaped to the door and pulled it open. I squinted into the yellow porch
light. A boy stood there all in black. He wore a black sweater and black pants.
A black wool ski cap was pulled down over his forehead. He had black makeup
covering his face. And he wore black gloves.

“Cute costume,” Dad declared. “Get him a candy bar, Drew.”

I groaned. “Dad, it’s not a trick-or-treater. It’s Walker.” I pushed open the
storm door so that Walker could come in.

“I thought you were going to meet me,” he said.

Dad stared at Walker’s all-black costume. “What are you supposed to be?” he
asked.

“A dark and stormy night,” Walker replied.

“Huh? Where’s the stormy part?” I asked.

“Here,” Walker replied. He raised a black plastic water pistol and squirted
me in the face.

Dad burst out laughing. He thought that was a riot. He called Mom in from the
den to take a look.

“We’re never getting out of here,” I whispered to Walker. “We’re going to
miss Tabby and Lee.”

We had the night all planned out, down to the minute. But now the whole plan
could be ruined.

I had a knot in my stomach. I could feel it tightening. The cape suddenly
felt as if it were choking me.

Mom and Dad were admiring Walker’s costume. “A dark and stormy night! Very
clever,” Mom said. “But how will anyone see you in the dark? You’d better be
very careful crossing the street.”

Mom had advice for everyone tonight.

I couldn’t take it anymore. “We’ve got to go. ’Bye,” I said.
I shoved Walker out the door and followed right behind him.

Mom called out more warnings from the house. But I couldn’t hear her. I
pulled Walker down the driveway, and we hurried toward the corner. That’s where
we were supposed to meet Tabby and Lee.

Our two victims.

“You should have stayed on the corner,” I scolded Walker. “Maybe Tabby and
Lee were here already and left.”