Several minutes later, Rosco looked up to see Mandy at the top of the stairs, wearing something different. His eyebrows shot up. Hmm...Mandy didn't usually look like that.
She wore a shiny purple dress from the costume store that came down just above her knees, over black tights. She'd pulled knee socks over the tights—one green, one purple. On her feet, she wore her lime green rain boots. To top it off, she wore a white lab coat with a few zigzagged lines across it that Mom had created using purple masking tape. The lines were supposed to look like lightning bolts.
Mandy's long brown hair was tied up in two high ponytails, with sparkly green and purple holders, and she wore thick, clunky plastic eyeglasses with no lenses, just the frames.
"What do you think?" She turned to one side and then the other to show Rosco. "I'm going as a mad scientist!" She bounded down the stairs.
Rosco sat down and stared at her, not sure if he should be shocked or concerned.
"Look what I have for you!" She held up a red bandana and a small cowboy hat, just the right size for a dog's head.
What is that? thought Rosco, alarmed. He generally did not appreciate dog costumes, at least not when he was the one made to wear them.
But his thoughts were interrupted, because, at the top of the stairs, a wolf-like creature suddenly appeared. Rosco hunched down and growled at the intruder.
The wolf was dressed in clothes—jeans and a long-sleeved plaid shirt and sneakers, and oddly, it stood on two legs, like a human! Strange, he thought, but yes, this was definitely a wolf—wasn't it?
Those fangs—they're huge! And those paws, and those claws! The wolf raised its arms in a frightening gesture. "Ah-oooooo!" it howled.
"Ruff, ruff!" barked Rosco, furious. "Ruff, ruff!" How did that creature even get in here? And where was James? Had it eaten him already? Wherever this creature had come from, he would not let it hurt Mandy—or James, if he wasn't too late.
"He doesn't know it's you, James!" said Mandy. "Take off your mask!"
The creature lifted the head off of its— head?
Rosco stopped short. James was standing there—wearing the wolf's clothes. Huh?
"What's going on in here?" asked Mom, coming in from the kitchen.
"James was teasing Rosco!" said Mandy. "He tried to scare him."
"Rosco thought I was a real werewolf!" said James proudly. "This is a pretty good costume, I guess!" He grinned and walked slowly down the stairs holding the large, rubbery mask, careful not to startle Rosco further.
Mom laughed. "Is that all? Well, I'm glad Rosco's going with you tonight, then. He'll keep away the goblins and the ghosts with that bark." She winked.
Mandy eyed her mother for a moment.
"I'm only kidding, Mandy," said Mom. "There are no goblins or ghosts."
"I sure hope not," said Mandy.
Rosco rushed over to James at the bottom of the stairs and sniffed. James put a hand on Rosco's head, petting him with the oversized, furry, clawed gloves still on his hands. "I was just kidding around, boy. Don't worry. It's just me."
Very strange, thought Rosco, sniffing the gloves. Very strange, indeed.
Rosco settled himself on the floor as Mom left the room. This was turning out to be an odd night. But wait—Mom said we were going somewhere. I wonder where?
Mandy reached down to press the miniature cowboy hat, which was glued to a small headband, onto Rosco's head. "Don't spook him like that, James. We need him to protect us tonight." She fastened the bandana under his chin.
"Protect us from what?" asked James. "I thought you said you weren't scared."
"I'm not," said Mandy, sounding cautious. "You just never know." She tied the bandana under his chin.
"Don't worry." James picked up a large, white sack. "I was just preparing Rosco for the worst. He'll get the hang of it."
The worst? Hmm. Okay, then, he'd behave himself, whatever they were doing, even if there were more kids dressed as beastly creatures. Not funny, by the way, James. You really had me going. Rosco, stood up, sighed, and shuffled over to the door.
All photos and artwork courtesy of Pixabay
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Rosco the Rascal Trick-or-Treats - A Short Story for Halloween
Short Story"The tree was big enough to shade the whole front yard. Its long branches swayed in the soft wind like giant arms dancing in the sky. Mandy shivered and took Trisha by the arm. "It's kind of spooky here, isn't it?" An owl hooted somewhere nearby. Ma...
