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Rated: 13+ · Campfire Creative · Fiction · Horror/Scary · #2058922
Teens get a scare when they decide to hold a Halloween party at an old house
[Introduction]
In their neighborhood in New City New York, Accountant Mark Greenwood(45) and wife Karen are getting ready for a Halloween party at his firm when their youngest son Joshua(6) came in dressed up like Batman, "Dad?" Josh says, "What is that scary-looking house down the street?" Mark says "That house once belonged to Jacob Crabb, the meanest man in the neighborhood." Joshua says "What made him so mean?" Karen says "First of all, he hates kids, remember all the mean tricks he played on kids every Halloween dear?" Mark says "Yes, razor blades in apples, my friend Scott Wilson fell for that, he ended up with 18 stitches in his lip, his father was a lawyer and tried to stick him with the bill for Scott's medical expenses. Jacob tore it into confetti." Josh asks "What happened to him?" Mark says "He died, kids TPed his property, the next morning as he was cleaning up. Harriet Clarkson's corgi went into his yard, and distracted Jacob so much, the ladder fell with him on it, breaking his neck on impact. They say that Jacob's ghost still haunts that house so don't go near it when Trick or Treating."
Mark yells "Alex, could you come down for a minute? I have something to ask you." Mark's older son Alex(16) comes downstairs "What did I do this time?" Mark asks "Could you take Joshua Trick or Treating? Your mom and I are invited to Larry Kaufman's Halloween party at the firm tonight." Alex says "Why can't Eunice do it?" Karen says "She's in Costa Rica spending time with her family and we can't hire another baby sitter at the last minute." Alex says "But Mom, Dad, I was about to go to Greg's house to plan a party of our own."
(Hertz, if someone actually did the razor blade in the apples things, they wouldn't just get sued they would probobly be arrested...Your penchant for villains who have bizarre immunity to the law baffles me...I'm assuming he was only able to get away with these things because he made some kind of satanic pact or something)

"Hey Dad." Alex said "If it was beyond the shadow of a doubt that Mr. Crabb was responsible for Scott's injuries how come he didn't get...Arrested?"

Mark rubbed his arm nervously "That's....Complicated."

"It wasn't like he was a billionaire or something!" Alex exclaimed "My friends have been arrested for less!"

"You watch too much Law & Order." Mark said

"I think it's more like I have a basic understanding of how the law works." Alex said "Is there something you're not telling me? Why are you darting your eyes back and forth like that?"

"That's enough Sherlock!" Mark snapped "Don't sass back at me! We're all wholesome law abiding citizens in this wholesome law abiding town!"

Something about his Dad's insistence on the purity of the town and citizens gave Alex a cold feeling in his belly, maybe it was the fact he and Greg watched the Exorcist last night, but a profound feeling of raw fear, gave him the urge to protect his younger brother

"OK Dad." Alex said "I'll take Joshua Trick Or Treating."

Alex didn't put on a costume, he was too distracted by that exchange he had with his Dad...Joshua meanwhile having a blast trick or treating and made sure to count the chocolate to non-chocolate ratio in his candy because Joshua liked chocolates more then any other candy.

Just then, some giggling Teenage Girls came up to the two of them, one was wearing a Rabbit Suit and the other was wearing a Cat Suit.

"Hey Alex!" Cooed the Girl in the Rabbit Suit Alex knew that voice well he blushed

"Wendy? Is that you?" He asked

The Girl in the Rabbit Suit took off her giant Rabbit Head underneath was a fair African American Girl with black deadlocked hair and a Jamaican accent

"Hey Alex!" Wendy said "We're on our way to Jodie's Party!"

"Jodie?" Alex was so dazed from his crush that he couldn't remember who Jodie was

"You know..." Said Wendy "Short red hair, freckles, likes video games and Dungeons and Dragons with her boyfriend Caleb...She's throwing a special Halloween Party! A Be a Beast Party! Everyone shows up dressed in an Animal Costume and then we'll all play a TMNT & Other Strangeness!"

"Wha?" Alex was blushing up the wazoo

"It's the Ninja Turtles RPG." Said the Girl in the Cat Suit who Alex recognized as Ariel from the girl's lacrosse team "Made back in the 80s when it was still a black and white indie comic book this game is VINTAGE man...They don't even print it anymore! You play as a Mutant Animal trying to survive on the outskirts of Human Society."

Alex thought...Joshua loved Ninja Turtles maybe he would be OK with playing a Ninja Turtles game and he could spend time with Wendy

"Hey Little Bro." Alex said "Want to play a Ninja Turtles game where you pretend to be a Mutant?"

"OK." Said Joshua

"He's dressed as Batman." Said Alex "Does that qualify as an animal?"

"Since he's six. Yes." Said Ariel "But you Dear Alex...Need a Costume."

Areal took something out of her backpack and plunked it on Alex's head

"I always saw you as a Wolf of a man." Said Arial as she had put a werewolf mask on his head

(I'm well aware of such lawsuits, my brother Andrew fell victim to such a sick prank, and my father sued the prankster. But if Jacob Crabb got sued, this won't be much of a story.)

On their way to Jodi's, they all passed the old Crabb House, Ariel says "There it is, the home of Jacob Crabb." Wendy says "What I heard about him, he's more like Satan then a old man. Things he did to trick or treaters." Alex says "I heard once he gave out laxative in the place of candy, but he crossed the line when he gave Scott Wilson the razor-bladed apple." Wendy says "That is one sick man, that accident got to be Karma catching up to him and it costed him his life." Ariel says "Let's get out of here, this place even makes me sick." As they all left, inside the property where a broken ladder is, a strange occurrence takes place. particles of light raised from it and a ghostly voice says "Children!" The lights form a humanoid shape, and it's Jacob Crabb's ghost. He faces the sidewalk where Wendy, Ariel, Alex and Joshua were, "I hate children!" and flew into the old house.
(Yeah...I guess that's what you're trying to accomplish...But remember real life criminals try to keep their actions a secret because if they get caught then you know the police are going to put them in jail, they're not just going to get sued the fact Mr. Crabb is being so blatant about it kind of defies the logic or reality so he must have some sort of power that keeps the law from prosecuting and when are you going to add to my campfire?)

They arrived at Jodie's house, the music was loud, there was lots of food, Jodie arrived dressed up as a Black Panther.

"OK Guys!" She said "I got the game! Let's get started making characters!"

Everyone sat down to start playing the game.

"You go first Alex." Said Wendy

"Do I get to play a Wolf Man?" Asked Alex

"Characters are randomly generated." Said Jodie "So take these two percentile dice and roll them

Alex rolled the two dice
"01." Alex said

"You are an Urban Animal." Said Jodie." Roll again to see what kind."

Alex rolled again "72." He said

"You are a Sparrow." Said Jodie

"Oh." Alex said a bit miffed he got a little birdie

"Can I make one?" Asked Joshua

"Yeah." Said Jodie "We'll all roll our species before we roll mutation and education."

Joshua took the dice in his little hand and rolled

"23." Alex read the dice for him

"You are also an urban animal." Said Jodie "Roll again."

Joshua rolled again

"20." Said Alex

"You are a Dog." Said Jodie "Dog Breeds have their own table so roll one more time

"Joshua rolled again

"16." Said Alex

"OK. Joshua..." Said Jodie "You're a Mutant Elkhound."

Before Alex could wonder why his little brother got a cooler animal then he did, the lights went out...It was pitch black!

"OK Stay cool everyone!" Jodie said "I know I got an emergency candle somewhere!"
With the only light in the room being from a candle, things got spooky indeed. It didn't help that Ariel kept trying to blow out the candle. Then she hid in a corner and made noises like a crazy person laughing.

"Ariel!" cried Jodie. "Stop that! It's scary enough without you adding to it."

But Ariel just said, "Mwahahahahaha!"
Then Ariel's voice got deeper, everyone noticed her eyes were glowing. "You disgusting children have no right, entering my property and now you must pay, you all shall pay!" Wendy says "What do you mean? Your parents welcomed trick or treaters." Alex says "Wendy, I don't think that's Ariel anymore. I think she's been possessed...." Jodie finishes "...By Jacob Crabb!"
Jodie acted quickly by throwing the burning candle into Ariel's face, getting hot wax in her eyes

"Quick!" Jodie said "Follow me!"

Jodie led all her other guests out of the house.

Jodie got out her cell phone...It was dead.

"Shoot." Said Jodie "Anyone else have a dead cell phone."

Alex, Wendy and the half a dozen other teenage guests checked their cell phones, all were dead.

"OK." Jodie said "I know what we're NOT going to do! We're not going to act like people in a horror movie! Because those people always get killed off one by one! And we weren't even ON Old Man Crabb's Property! We were at my own house!"

"Jodie..." Said Alex "Earlier tonight I asked my Dad about Old Man Crabb...And he told Jodie about his Dad's very suspicious wording about the town and it's citizens being 'wholesome' and 'law-abiding'

"Sounds like a older generation doth protest too much." Jodie said "Something is definitely up...Or else, why didn't Old Man Crabb go to jail? There is only one thing to do...We all got to leave town...We can't rely on our folks because they're keeping secrets from us."

"Where do we go?" Asked Wendy

"We'll take bus to Cincinnati." said Jodie "One time I went to the Cincinnati Zoo with my folks and I met a Zookeeper named Zelda...I told her what neighborhood I was from and I distinctly remember this look of horror cross her face, she said to me...If I ever need to run away from home, I can come to her place."

The ten kids caught a Greyhound bus to Cincinnati as they rode on the bus by themselves the Bus Driver asked them what a bunch of teenagers were doing riding a Greyhound by themselves

The teens told them they were from New City New York.

"Aw man..." Said the Bus Driver "I heard tales about that place...I heard it was founded by a Satanic Cult that 100 Years Ago A man named Jacob Crabb sacrificed children to give him power..."
"That's strange that you know about New City," Jodie said.

"Not strange at all," said the bus driver with a grin and Jodie noticed for the first time that he had horns growing out of the top of his head.

"Stop the bus!" Jodie yelled. "Let us off!"

Wendy grabbed Jodie's arm. "Jodie! What's wrong with you? Have you gone crazy?"

"This is a bus from Hell!" Jodie said, "and there is a demon driving it!"

Wendy looked at the bus driver and screamed. His face had become even more Satanic. To the horns had been added a little goatee and his skin had taken on a reddish hue. He grinned at the girls. "Don't be alarmed, ladies," he said. "I love teenage girls. I cherish them! You're safe with me."

Now all the teenagers realized something was very not right about the bus and they all started screaming for the driver to stop the bus and let them off.
As they got off, they noticed that the bus is nowhere to be found, then a police car came in with sirens wailing and stopped right in front of them, two policemen inside one rolled down the windows, "Thank goodness we got to you in time." Jodie says "What's happening officer?" The second policeman says "There's been a massive disappearance of children while trick or treating, their parents are worried." Wendy says "I'll bet it was Jacob Crabb, that bus driver did say he sacrifices children to give him power." The first officer says "Can't be, Crabb's been dead for years."
"I think he is...And yet he can still do it." Said Wendy and they told the Cops what the Bus Driver told them

"So let me get this straight." Said the Sergeant "You're saying Jacob Crabb was alive 100 years ago...Founded the town of New City with a satanic cult and has been haunting the place ever since."

"If he did gain any powers from his sacrifices." Alex said "Maybe that's why he survived as long as he did."

"Well..." Said the Sargent "We're going to look into New City's records...Wait here."

There was a slight booming sound and the windows rattled, the kids looked outside their window and saw a Dragon as large as a bus.

"Guys hold on!" Said Jodie as she ran outside "I think this dragon...IS Zelda! She came to pick us up!"

The Dragon had kind eyes and she nodded.

"How do you know that Dragon is Zelda?" Asked Jodie's boyfriend Caleb who was dressed in a Dragon Costume

"I just know." Said Jodie "She's here to take us to Cincinnati.

To Alex's eyes the Dragon seemed more friendly then his own Mom so taking his brother brother hand he go on the Dragon's back following Jodie

Then Wendy got on, followed by Caleb soon ten kids were on the Dragon who spread her wings and flew into the night sky

They quickly arrived at the Cincinnati Zoo where the Dragon turned back into Zelda

"Thank goodness I found you kids in time." Said Zelda "My name is Zelda Babblebrook I am a zookeeper but I am also a good witch...And Jacob Crabb is an old enemy of mine going back to before this century."

"You don't look a day over thirty." Said Alex

"Good witches stay younger longer." Said Zelda "I have means of hiding you where Jacob Crabb won't be able to find you...It involves turning you into animals and letting you live in my zoo...The Evil Rituals Crabb did all those years ago had a cost...He was no allergic to all animals, even the ones with no fur and feathers like Frogs, Lizards and Snails...Why do you think it was a Dog that was his ultimate undoing?"

"What animals are you going to turn us into?" Asked Joshua

"That depends." Said Zelda "I don't choose the shape, the spell transforms you into the Animal your personality is most like."

She waived her arms and said a few words, and to Jacob's surprise most everyone turned into the Animal they had dressed up as (Well except for Percy Parker...He had dressed up as a Lion and turned into a Pink Pig) Alex himself found himself turning into a handsome grey wolf...He saw Wendy turning into a Silky White Rabbit and Jodie turning into a Sleek Black Panther.

He looked over at Joshua...He was turning into a small puppy, an Elkhound Puppy just like he rolled with his dice.

"Well." Said Zelda "With the exception of Caleb (Who had transformed into afire breathing dragon) I think most of you will blend in at the zoo
Joshua sighed. "I knew we never should have gone to Walmart and bought those Trick-or-Treat bags."

"What the heck do the bags have to do with anything?" asked Caleb.

"We got to thinking too much about Halloween. It's an evil day, you know. My Aunt says only heathens have parties on Halloween."

"It's just for fun. It's harmless. It's just another day of the year."

Joshua pointed to their surroundings. "Does this look like harmless fun? We're stuck in a zoo in animal bodies. That seems pretty extreme to me."

"It's only for one night, just for Halloween."

"So we've been told. For all we know this is the real evil and it was Jacob Crabb who was trying to save us from this."

"You're just being ridiculous now."

"Am I?" Joshua said. "Am I?"



A news broadcast is being shown at the office TV, it shows a footage from New City, they recognized the scene, it's the house of Jacob Crabb, but this time it's on top of a mountain that somehow grew from the foundation, the sky over it is crimson red. "For those who just joined us," the anchorman says, "this strange occurrence just happened a few minutes ago. Local authorities are baffled on what just happened. According to records, it belonged to Jacob Crabb." Wendy says "If Jacob Crabb is trying to save us, explain that."
"You got to excuse my brother." Alex said "he's only six years old...And Aunt Petunia tends to be...A bit loud with her opinions whenever she comes over."

Soon Zelda had them all situated in their habitats, Joshua was with Alex in the Wolf Habitat because an Elkhound Puppy can pass for a Wolf Puppy

"Where are you going?" Alex asked Zelda

Zelda transformed into her dragon form, "I'm going to fight Crabb's Ghost." Zelda said "Time to settle this once and for all!"
The house of Jacob Crabb was surrounded by media people. Dozens of cameras transmitted images of the remarkable phenomena to televisions around the world.

News lady Jennifer Houston continued her broadcast. "The mountain seems to have stopped growing now. The house of Jacob Crabb is perched high above us, but our news helicopters are sending us plenty of footage. We go live now to Kevin Goodman in the sky above New York."

The scene on the monitor shifted to a view from the helicopter looking at the mountain. Kevin took up the thread. "It's almost like a mini volcano, Jennifer. I mean, there is no lava or anything, but this crimson glow in the sky certainly reminds you of volcanic activity."

JENNIFER: Kevin, can you see any activity inside the house? Do you have a view through the windows?"

KEVIN: No, Jennifer, I do not have a view through the windows. The curtains are drawn. Oh my God!"

JENNIFER: What is it, Kevin?

KEVIN: A fire breathing dragon has appeared in the sky. Mike, can you put the camera on that?

JENNIFER: I see it! It looks like a real dragon!

KEVIN: It's real, alright, Jennifer. We're so close to it that I can practically count its scales.
Inside the house, Jacob has over a dozen children hostage, he lets out an evil laugh and says "Soon, these children will be sacrificed and I'll be the most powerful being on Earth, those badge kissers think they can arrest me for all the pranks I did, but little as they know, you can't arrest a god of a man." Zelda kicked open the front door, "Not so fast fiend! I'm going to end your reign of terror!" Jacob just laughed "Look who decided to stop by? Zelda, even you won't be able to stop me!"
Zelda didn't even bother responding, she had prepared for many years for this final confrontation

She got out several pieces of paper with Chinese characters on them, she through them at the kids "Light of Holy Fire!" She called

Soon the kids were protected in a ball of Holy Fire that did not burn them but burned all that is evil and unholy.

"You Witch!" Yelled Crabb "You never understood there is no good an evil! There is only power and those too weak to seek it!"

"You a but a psychopath with a God Complex." Zelda replied she got out a giant paintbrush, painted a Chinese character and the Chinese symbol for fire leaped and burned itself right through the Ghost's body

"I know why you've never been arrested." Said Zelda "You founded this town with a collection of followers, you took the desperate, the opportunistic and the overly innocent and had them sign a contract in blood had them swear never to reveal the source of your power, when their children and grandchildren protested you blackmailed them with the crimes of their ancestors, fearing for the reputations and safety they let you get away with everything because they feared you could send them to hell...But now the newest generation proved your undoing...They know there is no such thing as inherited that they will not be sent to Hades for something their great grandparents did." She then blew on the ghost and Crabb crumbled to dust
The mountain collapsed like a bad soufflé. The hostage kids screamed as the house went crashing down with the mountain, but Zelda swept them all up and put them on her dragon back and carried them to safety.

KEVIN: Did you see that, Jennifer?! Did you see that?!

JENNIFER: It was amazing, Kevin! Truly amazing!
Zelda landed on the street in front on what's left of the house. reporters soon swarm in like hornets asking questions.
"Who are you? What are you?'' They asked
"My name is Zelda Babblebrook. I am a zookeeper at the Cincinnati Zoo, but I am also a good witch. And Jacob Crabb was an old enemy of mine going back to before this century."

"You don't look a day over thirty," said a reporter.

"Good witches stay younger longer."

"What about that dragon?"

"That was me," Zelda said. "I can transform into a flying dragon when necessary."
Another reporter says, "What is the current condition of Jacob Crabb?"
"Currently is the depths of Hades." Said Zelda
In their neighborhood in New City, New York, accountant Mark Greenwood and wife Karen are watching television.

"I'm so glad this incident has come to a happy conclusion," Mark says.

His wife puts down her knitting. "Must you always talk like an accountant? Aren't you thrilled the kids are safe again?"

"Yes, darling," Mark says. "Thrilled. They will have quite a story to tell to their friends."
Pretty soon, Alex, Joshua, Wendy and Jodie are back in New City and back in their human form, they soon met up with Ariel who has no recollection of being possessed and just as well.
"Here." Said Joshua "Have some candy."

"I don't like Liquorice." Said Ariel

"I'm keeping the chocolates." Said Joshua
And thus ending the reign of Jacob Crabb, the ruined house is soon torn down and the Mayor christened the lot as a children's public playground. Zelda went back to Cincinnati and continue her work as a zookeeper. as for Alex and Joshua, Alex plans to go to College and major in Drama and the Arts along with his girlfriend Wendy, while Joshua still attends elementary school. Ariel peruses her dream as a pop diva while Jodie majors in therapy, the one thing they won't forget is their adventure.

The End!

© Copyright 2015 Hertzman, Twiga, Steev the Friction Wizurd, (known as GROUP).
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