Halloween Night & the Fourth Wall 1

Chapter 1


The boys sat in their bedrooms playing on the X-box 360's, after finally agreeing to play Minecraft.  For once it seemed they were all getting along.

"So what are you going as tomorrow night?" Stephen asked the other three.

"I'm going as a Viking." Nick answered.

"Our mom made me a Ghast costume." Alex said right after him.  "How about you J?"

"I've decided to be a Zombie Ghostbuster.  I'm going to hide in the maze my moms made in the yard, and when the kids get close enough to the door, then I will jump out and scare them."  He told them.

"Why aren't you going trick-or-treating this year" the other boys asked him.

"Oh, I'm going guys, I go early with my mom, aunt, and cousin, then when we get home I will help out by hiding in the maze." he answered. 

"So how late can you guys stay up?" Nick asked the other two.

"My mom said I can stay up until one." Stephen told them.

"My moms said I can stay up tonight since there isn't school tomorrow." J answered as well.

"Yeah, our mom said we can stay up too." Alex stated.

Nick and Alex were brothers, they were three years apart in age. Alex had light brown hair cut real short, and bright blue eyes, while his brother Nick's hair was longer, and darker with similarly striking blue eyes.  Usually, they would fight and argue, and annoy each other, but neither one wanted to be told to shut down and go to bed so by unspoken agreement they were getting along.

Stephen had dark brown hair and eyes that were equally as dark, he sat alone in his room, enjoying a soda and some candy, with only the light of the tv screen as illumination. 

Jaden was alone in his room as well, his unruly brown hair getting in his hazel eyes. Unlike Nick and Alex, he and Stephen were only children, they both lived in neighborhoods that weren't entirely safe, so they spent more time playing on the X-box with their friends building worlds, than outside finding trouble.  Tonight all four boys were working on a brand new world, building a mansion and a town.

"Hey did you hear there IS a way to get through the Fourth Wall." Stephen said finally.

"No way." the other boys answered.

"It's TRUE!  All you have to do is find the portal surrounded by snowmen on Halloween." he responded firmly.

"We're playing in peaceful, there won't be snowmen." Alex reminded him.

"According to HeroBrine1, he said it only shows up on Halloween anyway, no matter what mode you're playing in." Stephen continued.

"You're such a newb," J told him "believing something like that."

"Naah, HeroBrine1 said that one of his friends did it last year and disappeared."

"You'll believe anything." Nick laughed.

"You're such a Nugget." J told him laughing along.

Stephen was getting angry, "It IS true!  I googled it and the kids name came up, there was an article about him disappearing and everything, they still don't know where he is!"

"Yeah, but did they blame it on MineCraft?" Alex asked.

"NO, they just say he disappeared, that's all it says really, a mysterious disappearance." 

"So, some guy on Xbox tells you a story and you believe him? Come on Stephen, he could have gotten the kids name and heard that it was 'mysterious' and just made the story up from there.  I mean it's not like that guy is a friend of ours at school or anything right?  You wouldn't know him if you saw see him so he could say ANYTHING he wants and pretend it is real."  J stated

"J did you get your shower yet?" faintly the voice of a woman is heard by the boys as Jaden's mom called up to his room.

"Sorry dudes, gotta get a shower, be back soon as I can."  He set his controller down, getting ready to flip on his light as his Halloween candle turned on across the room, lighting the room in blue light.  He watched a moment as a vampire and some bats flew over a house and graveyard, while what looked like a little white top stirred everything in the candle making it all move.  "Keep the room safe til I get back will ya Drac, thanks" he told the candle.  Closing the door as he headed down the hall he called out "Doing it now mom, lost track of time SORRY."  He heard the murmur of voices and some laughter, and smiled just another normal night. 

The boys continued playing and of course the arguing about how real this so called fourth wall was.  Jaden finished his shower and headed downstairs to where his moms were arranging the room for tomorrows ritual.  Jaden and his mothers were Witches, and Halloween was their most important holiday.  It was their New Year, they honored the dead on Halloween night, by setting a special table or altar as they called it with pictures of their family members who had died.  They also had a special meal and held a family ritual.  At ten the explanation felt long and drawn out, that fact and knowing his friends didn't really understand his religion was a reason, J didn't really bother trying to explain it.

"All done!" he said as his momma Shel looked up.

"Did you use water?" momma Kel asked him looking at him suspiciously and smiling while sniffing the air.

"Yeesss." He answered sighing heavily.  Watching as his mothers continued decorating. They had finally been able to get legally married last year so this year the family had another reason to celebrate as well. 

"Here boy, help us out a minute." Momma Kel said handing J a couple candles and a picture of his grandfather for the altar.

"So what are you doing up there?" Momma Shel asked "Planning to take over the world?"

"No... we are just playing MineCraft."

"We?" she asked.

"Yeah, Nick, Alex, Stephen, you know."  J turned to go back to his room then stopped "Hey, mom?"

"Yeah, buddy?" Momma Shel answered, as Momma Kel turned to look his way.

"Is it possible for someone to do a spell and get pulled into a video game?"

"I guess so." she answered

"Why?" Momma Kel asked "What are you thinking bud?"

"Something Stephen was saying that's all."

"Well honey, being Witches we know something like that is possible." she reminded him.

"Which game J?" Momma Shel asked

"MineCraft, HeroBrine1 told him if you play the game on Halloween a special portal shows up and you can get pulled into the game if your character enters it."

"Well I've played MineCraft, and read the magazines, and there is no mention about special portals, or worlds.  I'm sure someone is yanking his chain."  She answered with a smile.

"Yeah, that's what I think, and I told him so." J said with an answering grin.

"But being who we are, we will play it safe."  said Momma Kel as she grabbed a bundle of smudge and lit it while walking over to him.  Waving the burning smudge stick around him and mumbling words he couldn't understand.  "I've added a bit of extra protection, just in case." 

He nodded, then headed back to his room and friends and the game. 

A few minutes later there was a knock on his door.

"Come in mom." he called out.

"Here bud." said Momma Shel "Keep my walking stick with you tonight while you play, your mom isn't the only one prepared for 'just in case'. She'd kill me if I gave you one of the ritual knives, but this will do in a pinch.  You're my boy, so if you're playing that game tonight keep this close." He looked at the walking stick, it was solid black except at the top which was silver where a howling wolfs head topped it.  What was so special about this was the sword that was hidden inside it.

He knew she was right, they probably would play tonight and look for the stupid portal, but if he got sucked into the game how would he get out?

"Remember J, if there is a portal in and I'm not saying there is, but if there is there will also be one leading out, you will just have to find it. 

"Mom, how am I going to take this with me if I get sucked into the game?"

"Don't know bud, you'll figure it out.  Don't stay up too late, tomorrow is an important day remember, love you, goodnight."

"What was that all about?"  Nick asked him. The biggest problem with the Xbox, when you were in a party and communicating through your headset, it picked up everything.

"Just my mom, saying goodnight."  J answered looking at the walking stick, then laying it down so the wolfs head was on his hip and the stick ran down the length of his leg.  He began playing the game with his friends again. 

They spent the better part of an hour and a half playing.  In that time, Nick and Alex had left the game one after the other to get showers as well.  J had laughed with Stephen hearing their mother yell at Alex for leaving his wet towels on the carpet then running through the upstairs naked.  The boys got bored playing MineCraft and decided to stay in the party to talk but to play different games for awhile then come back and keep working on their new world. 

Nick and Alex decided to play soccer, while J was in search of zombies in his Walking Dead game, Stephen stayed with MineCraft telling the boys midnight was coming soon making it Halloween officially and he was going in search of the portal.  They stayed in chat while playing their games.  Nick was telling them about the three goals he scored in his soccer match earlier that day, and J told them about how much weight he lifted total at the Y when he went to work out with his mom.  He was proud that he could do sixty pounds on one machine then up to one hundred on another.  While Alex was busy making his usual sound effects and cutting into the boys conversation.

"If you don't stop I'm telling mom!" Nick finally told him, which stopped Alex for the time being. 

A little past midnight a shout from Stephen made all the other boys jump.

"I FOUND IT!!!"  He cried with excitement.  "I told you!  I was RIGHT and HeroBrine1 was right!  It's surrounded by about a dozen pumpkin headed snowmen though.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to get through them without killing any of them."

"What?!"  Nick exclaimed.

"That's how you're suppose to do it.  You have to get to the portal without killing any of the snowmen."

"I have a question for you," J began "once you get into the game how are you suppose to get OUT again?"

"What?"

"You know you heard me, how are you suppose to get home again Stephen?"

"I don't know, I guess you just do."

"That doesn't make any sense." Alex said "Didn't you say that kid disappeared, and was still missing?  Now you want to do the same thing without knowing how to get out again?"

"Well, like you guys said it's probably fake anyway." Stephen said

"Why don't you wait for us to finish our games, then you can show us the portal then we can play with you."  said Nick.

"Yeah," Jaden added "that way if something happens we will all be there."

"Oh sure, and what are you gonna do, cast a spell?" Stephen chided.

"NO!" Jaden shouted "but if one does need to be done out of the four of us I would be the best qualified to do it!"

"Dude, he's the witch." said Nick.

"Just send us the invite" Jaden told him

"I'm not waiting.  I'm going through now.  It probably won't work anyway."  With that Stephen sent the invites, then let out a war cry and continued his game.

Jaden was just finishing up a zombie when a message popped up in the corner of his screen 'Stephen wants you to play MineCraft'.  At the same time the message popped up on Alex and Nick's screen.  The boys hurried up and finished up their games then went to the message screen and accepted the invite.  By the time they got into the game Stephen was no where to be found.  Alex looked at the clock.

"Does anyone else notice the time? It's twelve thirty in the morning on Halloween day."

Jaden looked at the clock on his wall, it had a zombie face, flesh rotting and hanging from it.  Alex was right it was Halloween day.  He swallowed deeply.  "Anyone know where he is?"