The 7 Nights of Halloween

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

       "Archie, what do you think we should be for Halloween this year?" Ray asked, spinning around in his chair. He made sure to take off his headset so he didn't get tangled up this time. "Can we match this year? You never wanna wear matching costumes. It makes me sad."

       "What's the point of wearing costumes if we just stay at home, watching movies?" I asked.

       Ray ruffed. "You're so mean, Archie. Mean, mean, Archie."

       "I don't care, dumbass."

       Daisuke sighed. "I don't get how you two can go all lovey-dovey one minute to name calling the next. Also, can you stop with the name calling? I'm trying to focus on the cameras. I'm still not use to these ones since I had to switch rooms all of a sudden."

       "That wasn't my fault," Ray said, still spinning around in the chair. It wasn't going to be long before he ended up getting sick since he always got motion sickness. All the spinning was going to get to him soon. "It's Archie's fault for kissing me. Ooh, Archie, I have an idea for a Halloween costume."

       "No."

       "You didn't even hear it."

       "I don't need to hear it. I don't want to dress up if we're going to be staying home all day."

       "Then how about we go trick or treating?!"

       "We're eighteen. I don't think people will handle us going trick or treating well."

       "But I also get mistaken as a middle schooler all the time so..." Ray stopped spinning, clutching his stomach as he crouched over. "Oh, I think I'm going to be sick."

       I sighed, picking up the garbage can in the control room before handing it to Ray. "That's what you get for spinning like that when you know you get motion sickness, dumbass."

       "Try to hold it until Mason comes back," Daisuke says. "I'm sure he has something in his backpack that would help."

       That was one of the many reasons why we all referred to Mason as the mom of the team; he always carried a first aid kid, extra snacks, and all sorts of things just in case we needed it.

       "I don't think I can hold it," Ray whined.

       I ruffled Ray's hair. "You'll be fine."

       It didn't take long for Mason to come back into the control room, holding a large, but fake, ruby. "Three of these were where the map led, as long as a note that said something like protect them with everything you've got."

       "So if I got a baseball bat, I can use that to protect the ruby?" I asked.

       "What? No," Mason said. "No violence. I don't want to get sued. Or go to jail. Again."

       "Wait... Again?" Daisuke asked, staring at his boyfriend astoundingly. "You... Huh?"

       "I didn't say anything," Mason said before seeing Ray crouched over in the chair. He immediately walked over, placing his hand on Ray's back. "Ray, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

       "I feel sick..." Ray muttered.

       "Don't worry! I'll have something you need!" Mason walked over to his backpack, grabbing some anti-nausea pills as well as a water bottle. He walked back to Ray, holding them out towards him. "Here. The usual."

       Ray sat up, holding his hands out. Mason placed the pills in one hand and the water bottle in the other.

       "Uh, we have a problem here," Daisuke said, looking at the camera footage.

       "What is it?" I asked.

       "The alligator is making its way over here," Daisuke said. "It's really close."

       Since Ray was still trying his best not to throw up, I picked up the headset and put it on, turning on the microphone. "Hey, Giovanni, Nico."

       "Ugh, it's Archer," Nico said. "What happened to Shrimpy? I like talking to him more. He's cute." I heard what sounded like a slap, followed by Nico saying, "Ow, Scotty! You're so mean."

       "As he should be," Maddox said.

       "Where's Giovanni?" I asked.

       "Oh, he's beside me," Maddox said. "I was going to say hi to Ray but no, his stupid boyfriend is here instead."

       "Do you want to fight, short stack?" I asked.

       "Yeah, I do," Maddox said. "Let's meet up outside right now."

        Daisuke couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but he still sighed heavily. "Archer, tell them about the alligator."

       "Oh, right," I said. "Alright, so Daisuke said the alligator is starting to make its way to the control rooms. And it's close. Really close. Should probably lock the doors." I muted the microphone so I didn't have to talk to Nico anymore.

       Maddox and Nico relayed the messages to their teams as Mason went to go lock the door. "Wait, no, don't lock the door," Ray said after he heard the click. "I want to say hi."

       "I thought you wanted to say hi to the clown," I said.

       "I want to say hi to both. To all of them, actually."

       "No."

       "Meanie."

       The phone in the control room suddenly rang. I groaned as I answered it, putting it on speaker. "What do you want this time?" I asked.

       "You're always so rude," the voice said. "Why can't you be as nice as Ray? We like Ray."

       "I keep telling him to be nice but he won't listen," Ray said. He was no longer feeling sick so I put the headset back on him.

       "Yeah, yeah, I don't care," I said. "What do you want us to do this time?"

       "Well, it seems as the gemstones that was found attracts the animatronics," the voice said. "Very soon, they'll all realize it's in the control rooms and will try to grab it. For the next hour, you're going to want to make sure they don't get in the control room, let alone get the gemstones. Oh, and I know you think it will be easy if you keep the doors locked, but the animatronics are smarter than they look. You're allowed to leave the control rooms or do whatever you want to lead the animatronics away, but you have to keep the gemstones in the room. Good luck." And just like that, they hung up.

       "Ooh, does this mean I can leave the room to meet the clown?" Ray asked.

       "No," I said. "You're not leaving."

       Ray frowned. "No fun."

       "Yeah, I'm the definition of boring. Just relay the message to the others. Oh, and Maddox wanted to say hi to you."

       Ray unmuted the microphone. "Hi, Maddox! I miss you!... I know, right? He's so grumpy. Like a grumpy cat. He'll hiss when he doesn't like you, but then he's all cuddly when he wants affection. So cute."

       I scowled. "I am no grumpy."

       "I can't even see you, and I can tell you're scowling," Ray said. "You're grumpy."

       "The monkey is starting to make its way to the control rooms," Daisuke said. "And the alligator is even closer. So no more arguing or flirting. We need to focus on getting these to leave us alone for the next hour."

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i love ray and archer being polar opposites <3 i just love them in general lol.

ngl, i'm tempted to give these boys the winter story as well. i just love them and love how chaotic they can be at times.