In Alien Hands, 2018 Halloween special

Holli-ween special, pt. 4

Dog-men and their humans slowly began arriving at our home. Most of the time, only the humans were in costume, though a few dog-men showed up dressed for the occasion. The new arrivals were immediately given bands once they got to the yard, and were then allowed to roam. Most of them immediately came to join us, we were playing games set up by our family. 

Over twenty humans and their dog-men arrived, their humans joining us while the dogmen helped out ours or watched us play. Hide and seek was far more fun with loads of people, and the decorations provided more places to hide. By the time one person was left hiding, they had loads of people looking for them, so dog-men weren't needed to intervene. 

After a few rounds, we were called over to play some of their games. Most of them weren't really competitive, just fun Halloween themed games. A few of the humans seemed a bit scared of our dog-men at first, though they quickly realized they were harmless. 

Half of us were led indoors, where we found the house was changed even more. a maze had been set up inside, we were led through. There were several cheesy decorations, Aspin complained that the haunted house was never scary. My favorite part was the wall of spider webs, which we had to walk through, covering our selves in the fake webs. Silly recordings of ghost sounds were playing all around. 

Upon completing the maze, we were given some candy in a pumpkin-shaped bucket. Merle was the one giving the candy out. I had expected extra candy from my dog-man, but instead, he only gave me three pieces. 

"Hey!" I said, disapproving of my candy neglect. Merle laughed at me, holding up a plastic bag full of candy. He said a few things which I couldn't understand. I figured he was holding off my candy until later. I squinted at him, so he gave me another piece of candy. It wasn't the bucket full I was expecting, but I settled, for now. 

Several of the dog-men came to collect their humans once we had some of our candy. They were all led to the main hall of the house, a quick peek revealed that all the doors were closed, with decorations near each one. The dog-men each led their humans to the first door, knocking on it. Another dog-man would open the door from inside the room, give the human a few pieces of candy, and close it. They were trick or treating. 

I had been too old to trick or treat for several years, so I got excited at the chance to revisit something I had so much fun doing as a child. Several of the humans flinched every time the door open, holding out their bucket for the candy like they expected the dog-man to hit them. 

Merle and I held up the back of the group. He knocked the first time for me, not that I needed him to show me how to trick or treat. Out of pure habit, I said "Trick or Treat!" when the Dog-man answered. She happily gave me a greeting while she put a few pieces of candy into my bucket, speaking to Merle. She seemed to know him well. I thanked her. I couldn't be sure if she understood me, but it couldn't hurt to be polite anyway. 

I knocked the next time, saying trick or treat once more. This one gave me a small toy, he seemed a bit gentler than most dog-men, like I was very frail and skittish. I widened my grin for him (my grin was plastered to my face at this point, but I managed to make it wider) before heading onto the next door. 

I received various things from each room, from toys to pieces of candy. Most toys given to us were things to fidget with, such as stress toys or tops. They weren't anything that could keep you entertained for more than a few minutes, but they were satisfying when you used them. 

My bucket was nearly full when we finished the last door. We headed back to the living room, where Merle gave me a piece of candy to eat. he dumped the candy from the plastic bag into my bucket, placing it on top of the highest shelf, where he usually put things he didn't want me to touch. I didn't mind much, I was busy with the piece he allowed me. 

The second group had come through now, and people were leaving. I was curled up in his lap, gnawing on the candy he gave me. My human family members all sat on the couch with their dog-men once finished, who waved at the leaving guests. Grae stood by the door, collecting the bands from the visiting pets before they left. 

Once everyone had gone, our dog-men set about preparing dinner. It was another quick and easy meal, only taking a few minutes to take and eat. All of us were pretty tired, we were fed in the living room. Once done, Merle lifted me. I remembered that I would be having a bath that day while he carried me to the tub.

I used to hate having baths with Merle, but now I almost looked forward to them. There was something relaxing about laying back in the perfectly warm water while I was cleaned. Merle was always very respectful, I had no concerns about him mistreating me. 

Once done, Merle dried me and helped me into some pajamas. He brushed my hair after drying it thoroughly and carried me to bed. Everyone else was already being bedded down for the night. I was laid into my bed and tucked under the covers. Merle gave me a kiss on the forehead, mumbling something to me before all the dog-men filed out. I had a full day, so I quickly fell asleep for the night. 

Published 11/1/18

I hope you guys like this! I intendthis one to only be Holli's POV, as Merle didn't do much interesting today. Thank you 

for the lovely cover!