This choice: When something unusual happens in town, Rupert investigates. • Go Back... With Halloween only a few days away and plenty of pocket change to burn, Rupert went to his favorite after-school hangout: Gallows Spire's town arcade, Pins 'n' Blips.
The arcade sported various new and retro arcade machines run as a family owned business. Rupert had learned to drive race cars, shoot alien menaces and munch strings of dots at Pins 'n' Blips. Rupert's favorites were the pinball machines. Owing to the arcade's name an entire wall of the arcade was nothing but pinball machines. The arcade had acquired quite the collection and would seasonal rotate the more popular machines with other classics.
And for Halloween, they had just completed the installation of some of the more spooky arcade games. When Rupert got to the arcade there were some teenagers shooting their way through the House Of The Dead, various beeps from the other machines in attract mode, and the sounds of bumpers and pinballs being hit in the back hall.
Rupert grinned as he looked along the pinball machines he was looking to get top scores on. Holiday favorites like The Addams Family and The Twilight Zone were back in rotation, and there were several other fitting them like Werewolf Attack, Pirate Siege, and Crypt of Horrors. The Jensen Twins, 20-something brothers looking to continue on the family business, would customize some of the older pinball tables or create new ones outright that they only brought out this time of year.
Crypt of Horrors was such an example, as Rupert inserted his quarters into the machine. The play field was a derelict graveyard where the player had to fight zombies, vampires and liches. Bone spires formed the supports of the ramps and in multi ball mode, three sections of the field would spin to cause the balls to veer wildly. It used an old dot matrix display and the sounds were very atmospheric.
Having played the game twice this year already, Rupert got into a familiar groove of jostling the ball with the main play flippers and the two upper side ones for skill shots. His score climbed higher as he cracked gravestones, sunk balls Six Feet Under, and completed the U-N-D-E-A-D spell bonus.
"Hey Rupert!" It was his best friend, Emerson, who appeared in Rupert's peripheral vision as he was deep in his gameplay.
"Hey," Rupert replied curtly, solely focused on the game.
"Dang, you're killing it out there," Emerson cheered as he watched Rupert play. Already eight minutes into play, Rupert had set himself for the most difficult completion challenge. Ghouls 'n' Ghosts caused all of the undead targets to become active again with several twists. Lightning would flash across the display screen and lights would flicker in the cabinet with ghostly apparitions to make it difficult to track the ball. Plus, the upper flippers would move sporadically on their own. There was only one lost ball save if it drained from the bottom of the board, and Rupert had already used all of his session's bonus balls to get to this state.
"You cannot stop the undead!" said a gravely voice from the machine as Rupert strained his eyes to keep track of the ball. The vampire target lit up after a hit, and if he could get the ball up towards the glory ghost bumpers he could rack up an impressive score multiplier. The ghostly paddles had other plans, rocketing the ball across the play field and the spinning zone changing its directory down the side Rupert didn't anticipate.
"No!" His ball had drained, the cabinet flashed its lights a final time as the necromancer laughed evilly at the defat of the player. "I was so close!"
"At least you got the special ending?" Emerson said, trying to lift Rupert's spirits.
Rupert sighed, turning to catch a full view of Emerson. His friend prided himself on making the best homemade costumes. He was wearing a green plaid tweed jacket, a deerstalker cap, brown trousers and a bubble pipe.
"Weren't you Sherlock Holmes two years ago?" Rupert asked, as Emerson had already pulled off the black, youthful Holmes costume before.
Emerson grinned. "Yeah, but this is a pre-Trick or Treat costume. We've got a bonafide mystery on our hands, Spade."
Rupert sighed, although this one carried some merriment. Last year he had dressed as detective much like Emerson was currently doing, having made a Sam Spade costume. Rupert had an eye for mysteries throughout the year, especially ones with friends, and Halloween at Gallows Spire could have quite the kooky mysteries.
"I'll bite," Rupert said, his brain curious for what Emerson could have discovered. "What's the mystery?"
Emerson thoughtfully blew a large bubble from his pipe before replying.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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