The Tale of Tessa Crane (Halloween Chronicles #2)

Chapter Six: The Headless Horseman

"Everything's going to be okay," Ander said, but there was a wobble in his voice and I knew he didn't fully believe what he was saying. He was trying to be brave, but he was just as frightened as I was. He stepped back, pulling me with him until we were standing below the middle of the bridge. We were far enough away that we could still feel the heat from the Headless Horseman, but it wasn't as stifling as it had been. It felt more like being next to a fire instead of in one. "We are safe under the bridge."

I nodded, unable to speak. The horse shook his head and snorted more smoke in our direction. All the other times we had come face to face with the Headless Horseman had been unexpected, and so adrenaline had kept me from thinking too much about the danger I had been in, but not this time. We were standing face to face with the monster and we were trapped, unable to run away without leaving the safety of the bridge. I realized just how badly we had messed up, and I didn't know how we were gonna get out of it.

"We just have to wait until the sun comes up," Ander said, seeming to read my mind. He pulled out his phone, the screen lighting up his face. "Only ten hours or so. He always disappears when the sun comes up."

"Ten hours is a long time," I said quietly, rubbing my hands up and down my arms, not just because of the chill.

"I know," he sighed, "but we don't have any other options at the moment. Unless you have a plan."

I shook my head. "We should have come up with a better plan."

"Tessa!" Ander suddenly jerked me towards him and I stumbled into him. A pumpkin landed and smashed close to where I had been standing. The air suddenly reeked of rotten vegetable. "He just threw his head."

I looked at the Headless Horseman to see Ander was right. He had been holding his eerie jack o'lantern head, but his hand was now empty. Until it wasn't. A new jack o'lantern manifested into his hand. "What the—"

"Holy—" Ander said at the same time, but we were both cut off, jumping apart to avoid being hit by the newly formed pumpkin. Ander's face puckered in disgust and I put my sleeve over my nose trying to ward off the odor. "Did you know he could do that?"

We watched as the pumpkin reappeared in his waiting hand. He had perfect aim and we jumped even further apart to avoid being hit. Both Ander and I gagged from the smell. "No, that definitely wasn't mentioned in any of the legends. What do we do now?"

"Clearly he's trying to get us out into the open," Ander said. We were further away from the Headless Horseman, but we weren't in the middle anymore. We were still safely tucked underneath the bridge, but we were closer to the edge than I would like. "We need to make sure that doesn't happen." Ander ducked, as a pumpkin went sailing past him. He righted himself and stood next to me. "We also need to make sure he doesn't separate us. We are better together."

I hissed. "We also need to make sure not to get hit." A pumpkin had smashed too close to us and the guts had splattered on my leg. "It stings." I shook my leg out, trying to alleviate the pain. Ander leaned down and brushed the pumpkin innards off my leg and then shook his hand. "I told you it hurts."

"I know," he continued shaking his hand, "but you were in pain and I wanted to help. Besides," he tried smiling, but it was more of a grimace, "it's not too bad."

"Liar," I said. It felt like I had been bit by fire ants, and that was through my clothes. Ander had used his bare hand to wipe it away. I grabbed his hand, turning it palm up to look at his fingers. They were red and it looked like his pointer might have had a blister. "Thanks."

"How disappointing this all is," a deep voice said. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my heart skipped a beat. Ander squeezed my hand and his eyes widened. We turned to look at the Headless Horseman. He was holding up his jack o'lantern head. "I had hoped for better." The voice was definitely coming from the pumpkin, but the face never moved as he spoke. It was very disturbing.