The kids continued on through the quieter side of the neighborhood, collected more candy, and soon came to another house, which, unlike most, was unlit. The only light on the whole property came from the flickering candles inside the jack-o-lanterns lining the porch.
For the moment, there was no sign of other trick-or-treaters. James and the group stopped at the front walkway of the house. "I don't know..." said Mandy. "It doesn't look like they're home."
"Let's just try it," said Trisha. "They might be." Trisha skipped ahead of the group and reached the doorbell first.
They waited a long moment, but no answer came. Ian pressed the button again and they waited again, but still, no answer. "Looks like Mandy's right," said James, starting down the stairs. "They're not home."
"Maybe they ran out of candy," offered Ian.
"Yeah, probably," said Leo, shaking his sack, which had grown heavy with treats. "I've got enough here for months."
"You mean hours," said Ian, grinning. Ian and James laughed.
"You're right—only hours." Leo laughed and skipped ahead.
Leo, Ian, James, and Rosco—who'd been moving faster than the girls all night—turned the corner on their way to the next house.
The girls headed down the walkway when Naomi noticed something unusual in the middle of the yard, which was so dark that Rosco and the boys hadn't even noticed anything. Naomi pointed and Mandy and Trisha turned.
Mandy pulled off her glasses to get a better look. She peered at the figure and gasped. It seemed to be an enormous fake spider. Furry and black, it was perched on top of an icky pile of rocks and artificial spider webs.
"I dare you to pet that spider on the head, Trisha," whispered Naomi.
Mandy made a face. "Oh come on, Naomi. Don't tell her to do that," Mandy shuddered. "It's so creepy. Looks like a giant tarantula." If there was one thing Mandy really didn't like, it was spiders.
"I don't mind, Mandy." Trisha placed a hand on her hip. "What do I get if I do, Naomi?"
Naomi held up her bucket. "Three pieces of my candy—anything you want."
"All right, fine." Trisha flashed a clever smile and handed her bucket to Mandy. "Hold this for me, please."
Mandy grabbed Trisha's arm. "Trisha, don't do it. I'll give you some of my candy, without a dare." Dares always got people in trouble, or hurt—Mandy didn't like them.
Trisha waved it off. "Don't worry, Mandy. It's nothing. The spider's fake!" She turned and pranced across the grass. Mandy realized that the spider was at least twice as big as Rosco, with bulging red eyes. She held her breath as Trisha crossed the dark lawn.
Trisha stopped in front of the monster and turned back bravely to the girls. "See, no big deal."
"Go ahead," said Naomi, with a devilish smile. "Give it a little pat on the head."
Mandy looked at the house to make sure they weren't being watched, biting her fingernails, then fixed her gaze on Trisha.
Trisha hesitated a moment. "It's so ugly—and so big." Then she reached out slowly to pet the head of the creature.
Without warning, the creature seemed to come to life, lunging forward. It grabbed at Trisha with its long, furry legs. "Eeeeeeeeeek!" it screeched, red eyes ablaze. Trisha screamed. Mandy screamed. Just as quickly, the spider released Trisha from its hold and settled back into the stillness of the yard.
Mandy stared at Trisha, eyes wide. She hadn't expected it to do that!
"Got you—both of you!" Naomi buckled over with laughter.
Mandy wasn't laughing.
Trisha ran back to the girls and went down on her hands and knees, breathing hard. "That almost scared me to death!"
Mandy frowned at Naomi. "You knew it was going to do that, didn't you?" Moving decorations always made her jump.
Naomi kept laughing. "Yeah, I saw one at the Halloween store! It's on a sensor—attacks when you touch it!"
"That wasn't nice!" said Mandy.
Trisha stood up straight again. "All right, Naomi, you got me good. Now, let me see your candy." She leaned over and reached inside Naomi's bucket.
Mandy sighed heavily and waited for Trisha to take her prize. "Let's go, you guys." These were exactly the kinds of things Mandy didn't like on Halloween. Things that made your heart race, things that creeped you out. Suddenly, she really wanted to catch up to James and Rosco. Maybe she should've asked Mom to come with them, after all.
All photos and artwork courtesy of Pixabay
YOU ARE READING
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...
