Halloween

Chapter 5

   Back in the halls, the three girls were having anything but fun.

"How are we supposed to do anything fun tonight if we have to babysit six ghosts all night," Gabby asked, puffing her cheeks into a pout and swinging her ghost-trap around.

"I have to babysit one twenty-four seven, and honestly, fun is out of the equation," Victoria sighed, walking alongside the group and shooting an annoyed glance up to Rune. He was busy inspecting a party banner hung on a locker... it was irking how fascinated he could be by the most mundane things.

Katy was busy darting her eyes around the corridor, constantly on edge waiting to run into their next conflict. Anyone they ran into was another person they had to lie to.

In the back of the group, Henry skipped beside Amyx. "That's so sad that they're not having fun on Halloween!" he exclaimed, examining the floor. He was busy picking up candy and random pieces of confetti and shoving them into his pockets. "I'm having fun!"

"They're about to be having way less fun," Amyx added, clearing his throat. "Hey, Ghost-bozos, have you really not noticed that three of your apparitions have disappeared?"

"What?" Gabby asked, turning around, still fidgeting with her box. Katy and Victoria spun around as well, and it didn't take any of them long to realize that their headcount was three heads too short. "Oh, shit! Where's like, half of them?" Gabby asked.

"Oh my god, they probably snuck off while we were arguing with Kat!" Katy placed her hands on her temples. "Oh my god, they could be anywhere, talking to anybody, what if they run into Arian? What are we gonna do?"

"Ha! Would you look at that, this great plan somehow went wrong! I'm utterly shocked!" Rune smugly grinned down at the three, seemingly proud of his intentionally insulting comment. However, any potency it was meant to deliver was overridden by the fact that he had somehow completely entangled himself in party streamers.

"Shut up, you're just mad you couldn't even leave if you wanted to. Also, you look stupid." Victoria replied.

An indignant look washed over Rune's face before he realized that he'd mummified himself in cheap paper decor. He began to shake it off in vexation.

"Psst, Amyx, are we gonna get in trouble?" Henry asked, tugging at his friend's sleeve. A tone of genuine worry flowed through his words, almost making Amyx feel guilty for finding so much entertainment in the situation.

"Nah, we probably won't. I can't say the same for the girls, but," he shrugged, tilting his head to the side.

"Dude, Arian's going to actually sacrifice us to Satan. Isn't that what witches do on Halloween? We're gonna be human kabobs, I can see the news headline!" Gabby spread her arms out as her eyes got wide. "South Warren Skewer: Local Witch Grills Three Girls!"

"Gabby, stop, they're not gonna kill us," Victoria interjected.

"Yeah, as long as they don't find out," Katy twiddled her fingers together. "We've gotta find them, like, ASAP. Before Arian, or really, anybody else does. If we start looking now, maybe we can find them before Arian and Celine even get here."

"Too late for that!" Rune laughed, pointing down the hall. Arian and Celine had just made their way through the side entrance doors.

Luckily, they didn't seem to be paying much attention- Celine was pointing out some decor, and Arian was simply smiling.

"Run, run! Don't let them see us!" Katy hissed, shoving everyone into a sharp right turn down the next hallway. "Go, go, go!"

"Oh my god, that was close-" Gabby was cut off as she and Victoria slammed into two other figures in the hallway.

"Ow!" Elias' distinct voice exclaimed. "Oh, hi! Happy Halloween!" he greeted upon recognizing the trio. He smiled at them after regaining his balance.

"Ah, yes, happy Halloween, amici," Romeo added. The two boys were dressed up as Mario and Peach- Romeo's every word bouncing beneath a thick fake mustache, and Elias adorned in ruffley pink fabric.

"Oh, hey guys!" Gabby beamed, her knuckles rested on her hips. "Cool costumes!"

"Thanks, my mom made them!" Elias proudly stated, fluffing out his skirt. "You guys are the Ghostbusters! I like it. I've never seen it though, way too scary," he shuddered.

"Haha, yeah... Scary..." Katy trailed off. "Maybe we'll catch you guys later, we really gotta go-"

"Hey, who are your friends?" Romeo asked, examining Rune, Amyx and Henry who stood behind them. "I have never seen these people before!"

"Oh, these guys? They're kind of shy, they don't really like-"

"Hi! I'm Henry!" Henry bounced his way to the front of the crowd, standing up on his tiptoes. "Do you guys want some candy?" he asked, pulling some out of his overalls, a few pieces dropping to the floor.

"Sure!" Romeo accepted, taking the candy from him. "Wow, your hands are so cold. I guess it is chilly outside." He shrugged and turned to Elias, who inappropriately for the kind gesture, looked petrified.

"Oops," Henry grimaced.

"What's the matter?" Romeo asked, raising a brow. Elias now crouched behind him, barely looking over his shoulder.

"I've seen that kid before! I swear, it's him!" His yellow eyes squinted in Henry's direction.

"Uh, what?" Gabby asked.

"The kid I saw at the lake on Halloween when I was like, 10! When I saw a ghost, he looked just like that!" Elias pointed over Romeo's shoulder.

Henry nervously shifted his eyes, and Katy felt a pit grow in her stomach. The ice was growing thinner with every interaction.

"Oh, please, not this again," Romeo groaned, stepping to the side. He grabbed Elias by the shoulders. "For the last time, ghosts aren't real! And you can't just accuse this poor child of such a thing! I thought we agree, none of your superstitious nonsense tonight."

"This isn't silly, it's the truth! I swear, it's him!" Elias crossed his arms.

Romeo simply rolled his eyes and took him by the arm. "Sorry about him, he's crazy."

"Am not!"

"We'll catch you guys later though!" He waved before trotting off with Elias, who still seemed to be defending his stance.

"I'm gonna have a heart attack tonight," Katy shook her head.

Amyx spoke up. "What the hell was that all about?"

Henry slowly turned around. "Well.. I do think a couple years ago I was out and about on Halloween, and might have accidentally ran into some random kid..." he trailed off. "But I swear, I totally forgot about it!"

"What are the odds," Victoria grumbled.

"It's fine, it's... whatever," Katy replied, taking a deep breath in attempt to calm herself. "But seriously, we've got to find the others. Let's get going."