Creeps and Crooks

 In Solgnor, there was no such thing as magic. Books about magic were banned, songs about magic were banned, and any toys that you could use to practice magic were strictly prohibited. Somehow, though, these things still got in, and because of that, many people still believed in magic. Greta Elise Plover was one of them. She lived in the part of Solgnor called Berkley, which was long known as "The Magic Shed" because all of the people who believed in magic lived there. Her mother's name was Florette Mae Plover, and her older brother's name was Xavier Scott Plover. Men like her father who held public office (he was the mayor of Solgnor) were not allowed to live anywhere except the "real" city, so he had left them when she was 3, 8 years ago. Her brother was the only one who had been very sad.

Every year the people of Berkley celebrated the Hallows Festival on October 31 and November 1. It celebrated the haunts and spirits that lurked about near the city and blessed the people that had Passed On. Becoming a ghost was considered the greatest achievement, and so the townspeople did everything they could to help them along on their journey.

The Plovers had their own Hallows Festival traditions. When she was young, Greta had been chased home by a ghoul. Ghouls were dreaded spirits because they were from people that had truly done bad things. Since then, her family had put out carved pumpkins to ward off evil spirits, and a shrine for her brother Patrick who had died from a cold when he was 4. They also lined up their shoes to go outside the door, and spirits would grant wishes or bring them treats.

Some years, Greta would go to the cemetery and celebrate with Xavier's friends. Not this year, though. There had been unexplainable deaths in the village, and everyone was told to stay home so they wouldn't get hurt. Everyone speculated why the deaths were happening, and the only conclusion anyone could come to was that the spirits were upset about something. That was why Greta was getting into her warmest wool dress and borrowing her brother's Swiss Army Knife. She was by far the bravest kid in her class and had organized a hunt for the spirits that were causing trouble. Surprisingly, almost everyone in her class had volunteered to come. They had agreed to meet near the gate and would methodically work their way up to the town square in groups of two. The kids had drawn sticks that morning to see who was with who. Greta was paired with the boy she secretly liked named Danny.

So, at 10:00 pm on the first night of the Festival, all 36 members of Mrs. Schrolbek's 6th-grade class gathered to defeat the spirits that plagued their town. Everyone was to carry a flashlight, a bag of salt (to protect themselves from ghosts), a knife, a phone, and a canteen. If they saw a ghost, they texted the number they saw, and if someone was hurt, they yelled as loud as they could. Under no circumstances were they supposed to name any of the other students that were with them, and were to keep their phones locked whenever they were not using them.

After a quick discussion of plans and a whispered cheer, everyone set out in different directions. Danny and Greta were supposed to go to the edge of Berkley and scour the border for any trace of people that could've committed the crimes. They had to walk faster than anyone else.

After a while, Danny suddenly stopped.

"Do you hear something?" he whispered.

Greta held perfectly still,

"Yes!" she texted back, "It sounds like Xavier when he's sick. It must be a ghost!" I think I hear where it is coming from, follow me."

Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and pulled him through the brush. In front of them was the old Murlack cabin. In a small salt circle stood her classmates, and there were 10 ghouls guarding them.

"Quick! Make a salt circle around us and turn on all of our lights!" Greta whispered.

The ghouls immediately turned to look at them. Greta gasped. She recognized them as prisoners from the Solgnor prison. She also recognized that they were wearing make-up. Danny could clearly see that too.

"Knives out everyone!" he yelled, "Charge!"

Many of the students had not realized that there were real people instead of ghouls, but followed nonetheless. The prisoners were very surprised, and it took them longer than it should have to run away from the frightening horde.

"Bye, Baldy!" Greta whispered as she passed them.

Once they were at a safe distance, Greta stopped and pulled a harmonica from her sleeve

"What's that for?" A boy asked.

"We need to get these crooks out of here somehow. Why not give them a real ghost scare!" she replied.

Truthfully, not even she knew that this would work, but she had read a book where a boy had used the song The Holly and the Ivy to summon spirits, so it might work. She lifted the harmonica to her lips and played a clear stream of notes. After a few minutes, many bright, glowing ghosts emerged from the trees and gathered around her. She slowly bowed her head to them and said,

"Ghosts of Berkley, please escort the men who have been killing our people out the gates and use an enchantment to keep them out. We will be forever in debt to you."

Then, a small ghost drifted forward and said,

"Greta? It is me, Patrick. I love you and my ghost friends would be honored to vanquish the criminals," and he sped away before she could respond. Greta couldn't stop the tears from coming to her eyes. Danny gave her a reassuring pat, and slowly she stood up.

"Well," she announced, "we should probably get home before our parents start worrying. Goodnight, and thank you for doing this. You can tell your children that you saved Berkley from a terrible fate."

As soon as everyone left, Danny pulled Greta aside.

"You were great back there!" He said

"I couldn't have done it without you!" She responded.

Danny chuckled, then grew serious,

"Would you like to go to the Hallows End dance with me tomorrow?"

Greta blushed profusely,

"Of course, I would!"

They walked back to their houses hand in hand.

When Greta got home, she found her mother and Xavier on the couch watching a video of the play The mystery at midnight that Greta had written and performed when she was in 4th grade.

"I've been waiting for you," her mother said, "Xavier told me everything the second you left. Did you vanquish the ghouls?"

She knew me too well.

"Fakes, but yes. I even got a boyfriend!"

Xavier perked up at this.

"Exciting!" Mrs. Plover remarked, "Want to watch a movie with us? We were just about to start The Girl With the Ghost in the Wall. If you'd like, you can pop some corn."

"You bet!" Greta exclaimed.

When she opened the cupboard, she found it filled with all of her favorite candies from caramels to candy corn.

"Slight change of plans, Mom!" She called.

She headed back to the living room with a serving platter full of candy. This was going to be the best Hallows Festival yet!