User blog:Gnomehunter/Day 31: Undead Kingdom Trick-or-Treat

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Undead Kingdom Trick-or-Treat

“Mom, can I go trick or treating in the Undead Kingdom this year?” Kelsey, asked, looking over to her mother at breakfast that morning. Her mother looked as if she was considering the question, but answered without any ambiguity.

“Kelsey, we’ve been over this in the past. I don’t want you going outside our neighborhood. I want you somewhere that it’s easy to find you if we need to”.

“But mom! My 13th birthday is this year, and it’s literally a 24 hour trick or treat celebration in the kingdom on Halloween!

“Don’t our neighbors give out enough candy? And you’re not going all day, the 31st is Thursday, and that’s a school night”.

“It’s not just about the candy. It’s a whole thing! I want to go there while I still have a chance”.

“And what exactly is so special about this Undead Kingdom? Isn’t it full of zombies and other dead people?”

“They’re not dead, they’re undead! Come on, mom. It’s a whole kingdom populated by undead mamono. You know how people dress up as like, skeletons or ghosts, or put all that creepy stuff up as decorations? Well in the kingdom there’s real, live ghosts and skeletons! Well, not living but, you know what I mean”.

“So is it better than what we have at home?”

“It’s like the biggest spookiest place you could be on Halloween!” Her mother was thinking.

“What do you think about it, hon?” She asked Kelsey’s father.

“I don’t think that sounds like the kind of place I want any of my kids to be”, he replied, putting down his ipad. “Jerry linked an article about the place on facebook, said they put some kind of nasty stuff in all the candy, makes people turn into-well, it’s not good”.

“Yeah, you get a lot of candy but it all rots your brain”, said, her brother, who had remained silent throughout most of the conversation. Kelsey kicked him under the table.

“Shut up! It’s not that bad, dad. The trick or treating is safe for kids under 13, I already read everything on their website”.

“I really don’t know…” her mother said.

“Please? You can read all about it. This year will be my last chance”.

“We’ll talk more about it”, her mother finally decided.

---

That night, both parents were talking in the living room. “George, I think we should read more about where Kelsey wanted to go on Halloween. She’s been asking for two years now, and it seemed like it was something she really wanted to do”.

“I don’t know, seems like kind of a sketchy place”.

“Why don’t we read about it? Kelsey said there was a lot of information about the place online”. George put his ipad down on the table between them, and searched “Undead Kingdom”. The first result was “undeadkingdomtravel.com”. Looking at the website, they saw several dropdown menus such as “Travel”, “Business”, “Education”, “About”, etc. Near the bottom was a link for “Annual Halloween Celebration”. They clicked on it and looked at the resulting page. “It says so right here in the FAQ, safe for kids 12 and under, trick or treating in...over one HUNDRED neighborhoods? My god, a whole family couldn’t explore all of them”.

“Is there anything about the stuff in the candy?” He asked. Stacey picked up the ipad and handed it to him. “Hmm, ‘Due to mamono’s proclivity towards....many mamono will inject certain kinds of substances in the treats they provide at parties or other gatherings. However, treats provided to youth Trick-or-Treaters are all free of extra substances. But please be aware that a consequence of coming from the Undead Kingdom, all consumables contain latent demonic energy, which in greater quantities can speed up the transformation into a mamono or incubus?’ Stacey, do we really want our little girl to turn into some sort of sex crazed monster?”

“Well it said in greater quantities, right? How much would that be? If every kid who went for a year was being transformed, would people still be going?”

“Are you really thinking about this?”

“Well I don’t just want to tell her no to everything she asks for. Look, there’s a contact page, maybe we can ask them about it”. She tapped on the link, followed by the number. Putting the device on speaker, she listened for the dial tone. There was a sound, and a woman’s voice on the other end.

“Hello, my name is Alvira, and I’ll be taking your call this evening. How can I help?”

“Hi, my husband and I had a few questions about your Halloween celebrations for kids”.

“And if I may ask, can you tell me your and your husband’s species? We get a mixture of both human and mamono callers”. Stacey looked off put, but simply answered.

“We’re both human”.

“I see. And what did you want to know?”

“We were ahh, reading about how consuming something from the kingdom could result in a person’s transformation into a mamono? And we were concerned about what effect that might have on our uh, human daughter”.

“Yes, well, there is still a lot of research being conducted by a variety of individuals and organizations, about the effects and rates of change for demonic energy. But I can tell you that just by living in close proximity to mamono, and having nothing beyond occasional physical contact, creates an almost negligible amount of DE in a person”.

“Both of my kids go to a co-ed school”.

“Ah, then at that rate, they should have no worries about transformation for the majority of their lives. By comparison, if one were to visit the Undead Kingdom for a few hours, and consume pre-wrapped treats, the resulting DE your child might absorb isn’t much more than a few days. Perhaps a week at most. Nothing to worry about until she’s well into adulthood”.

“I see. And just how does one travel there?”

“Our website has a tool that allows you to find your nearest ticket distribution site. You can purchase both one-way and round-trip tickets”.

“Well I...think that’s all the questions we have”. She said, looking at George. He shrugged.

“Thank you for calling”, the speaker said, and hung up.

“Well?” Stacey asked.

“Seems like it could be fine. But I’m not taking her. I don’t like the sound of the place”.

“Oh George, you know I can’t go either, I have a meeting that I have to prepare for”. They sat in silence. Then, George looked up, as if he had an idea.

“What about Connor?”

---

Connor hung his shoulders low as he stepped off the school bus and towards the doors of his high school. In the building lobby, walking through the crowd of students, he saw his friends, Caden and Jarret.

“Yo Connor!” Caden called.

“Hey guys”, he replied glumly.

“What’s the matter man? You look like someone shot your dog”, Jarret said.

“I’ve never had a dog. But I do have another problem”. His friends looked expectantly.

“My mom asked me to take my sister to the Undead Kingdom on Halloween”.

“Uhhh, where’s that? I don’t remember any place like that in geography”.

“It’s the place full of undead mamono, you know?”

“Oh, huh, I might have heard of some place like that. Damn, we were going to look for a party that night. But it doesn’t seem so bad?”

“The place is like, crawling with zombies. She wanted to go two years ago, I looked up the place online, and they literally warn you that there are zombies everywhere and going there basically means you get a whole bunch of them trying to fuck you”. Jarret gave a weak chuckle.

“I guess that solves your uh, gf problem huh? Your sis gets a bunch of candy and you get a cute zombie girl?”

“You dumbass! If it’s that simple then why doesn’t every guy in our school have a zombie?”

“Uh, well, you know, there’s so many other mamono to choose from, and like, you gotta get a ticket, and-”

“And not everybody wants a girlfriend with one foot in the grave! Groaning and stupid and can’t do anything but look for some guy’s dick”.

“Did you tell your mom that you didn’t want to go?”

“Yeah, she doesn’t get it”, ‘well of course there’s zombies there, it’s called the Undead Kingdom, isn’t it Connor? I need you to do this for Kelsey, she really wants to go and your father and I are both busy’, he said, imitating his mother.

“Bro, I think you’re thinking about this all wrong”, Caden spoke up.

“Yeah? You got a solution, genius?”

“I sure do! “Where you see crisis, I see opportunity! What happens when one mamono wants a piece of man meat, but that man meat is already taken by another lady?”

“She smells the other girl on him or something?”

“Exactly. So what happens when you travel to the Undead Kingdom in the company of another lovely mamono?”

“The zombies don’t care, it says they’ll go after any man if he’s old enough”.

“Well if that’s what it says, but also, what if you have a big strong girl with you?”

“And who would that be?”

“Duh! Ask Sylvia”. Connor averted his eyes.

“I’m not talking to her”.

“Why not? You like her right?” Connor wouldn’t answer.

“I’m telling you, ask Sylvia, if she says yes she could be enough to ward those zombies off. Maybe. Might as well shoot your shot”. The bell chimed, signaling the start of the first period. The boys merged into the crowd, each of them heading in different directions, leaving Connor to think about his friend’s proposal.

---

“Mom? I wanted to ask you about something related to going trick or treating with Kelsey”.

“Yes?”

“Do you think I could bring a friend with me?”

“Who is that?”

“Well, it’s a girl from one of my classes”. His mother’s face lit up.

“Oh! My son is asking a girl out on a date, so what’s she like?”

“Well I, haven’t asked her yet”.

“What? Why not?”

“I had to ask you first to make sure you were even ok with me bringing someone else”.

“Mom! Can you help me with my costume?” Kelsey called from the other room.

“Tell you what. You talk to that girl, I’ll speak with her parents if I need to, and I’ll get your tickets”. She walked into the kitchen where Kelsey was. “Well I don’t know what kind of costume you should wear. Couldn’t you wear something simple like a ghost or skeleton?”

“Mom. I can’t dress up as that! There’s literal ghosts and skeletons in the kingdom. And other undead, I don’t wanna, I want to come up with something different”.

“How about a clown! You wouldn’t even need to change anything!” Connor said.

“Very funny!”

---

A few days since talking with his friends about the kingdom trip he was taking, Connor was lingering in the library, preparing to talk to Sylvia, as he had seen her walk to one of the tables to work on something. There had been a few false starts, but now he was ready to approach her.

“Um, excuse me? Sylvia?” She looked up from her papers, fixing him with a cold stare. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, all the appearance of a chubby, pretty human girl Connor’s age. When she entered the school, she had been asked by her teachers to leave her sealskin at home, despite both hers and her parents’ protests. Said it was “too distracting”, the way it covered her body, even though her mother had offered to sew it differently. So as a consequence, she was aloof with everyone she spoke to, even the teachers. She also wore extra layers of clothing regardless of the season. “I’m Connor, I’m in a couple of your classes?”

“I remember. Can I help you?”

“Yeah I, uh, was wondering if you were doing anything on Halloween?”

“I didn’t have any plans. Why do you ask?”

“Wellll, would you like to...come with me and my little sister? I’m taking her trick or treating in the Undead Kingdom”. He tried to breathe normally. The question was out. He looked into her eyes, but her expression had hardly changed. She sat silently, so long that he wondered if he should repeat the question. But finally she spoke.

“I need to think about it”. She turned back to her work as if he wasn’t there.

---

Sylvia walked through the door to her home, dropping her bag by the door, walking briskly through the house and up the stairs to her room. There, she immediately pulled on her sealskin, zipping up the costume in the front. The warmth of the furs sank into her skin, banishing the daily chill of being at school. She stood up, able to walk thanks to an additional zipper which her mother had put on the end of the suit, allowing her to walk around while wearing it but still being able to close it. She walked to her parents’ room, knocking on the door to see if they were busy. Hearing “come in '', she opened it, to see them both wrapped up in her mother’s sealskin, her father embracing her from behind.

“Hi sweetheart, how was school today?” Her father asked.

“It was fine”, she said, sitting on the bed. “There’s something I wanted to ask you about”.

“Go on”.

“A boy in my class asked me to go with him on Halloween”. Her mother, who was lying quietly, now had a big smile across her face.

“Honey, that’s wonderful to hear. Where is he going? Do you like him?”

“His name’s Connor, he’s taking his sister trick or treating in the Undead Kingdom, and he asked if I wanted to come with him”.

“Hmmm...I think if I were in that position, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. But it’s up to you who you want to be with. Is there anything that you’re worried about?”

“I don’t want to be all clingy with some guy all the time, it would be kind of embarrassing for kids to see me like that at school”. Her mother gave her another gentle smile, reaching out to hug her daughter. Sylvia rolled over so she could lie next to her mother.

“You know, when I was younger, I had the same attitude. I wanted to be confident in front of everyone. But then I met your father. When I got to spending more time with him, I realized that it wasn’t like I had to depend on him, but that it felt good to be close to him. It felt even better than in my own skin, and now I love to be close. It’s not like I can’t stay apart, we can be out in public, separate when we need to, but I just enjoy his company when I can. You can remain the same wonderful girl we’ve always known, but you might find yourself to have a different kind of happiness by meeting someone”. Sylvia thought about these words, as she looked at her parents, both laying on the bed, enjoying each other’s presence.

“I think I understand. Thanks mom, dad”.

The next day, Sylvia walked into the school lobby, looking around at the crowd of human and mamono students. She spotted Connor with two other boys. Walking over, she spoke up. “Connor?” He turned to look at her, almost jumping when he saw who was speaking to her.

“What’s up?”

“You asked me if I would go with you and your sister. I’ve decided I’ll go with you. Here’s my number, we can talk more about how to meet later on”. Connor tried to control his excitement, taking the slip of paper.

“Great!” Sylvia walked off before he could get another word in.

---

It was Halloween night, Kelsey and Connor sat in their father’s car as he drove them to Sylvia’s house. “Alright dad, I just want to make sure you know who you’re talking to when we get to Sylvia’s place. She’s a selkie, so she and her family look just like humans. Except they have this sealskin that they wear. She doesn’t wear it at school, so she appears a little...cold. But she’s not trying to be rude. We’ve hung out a little”.

“Alright. And you’re all going to be walking right over to the cemetery?”

“Yep”.

“Ok. Make sure you’re back with Kelsey by 8, that should give you a few hours. Oh, and you can stay out a little longer if you want with Sylvia, just make sure you call me and tell me where you’re going, ok?” Connor nodded.

“Thanks dad”. They pulled into the driveway of Sylvia’s house, and the door opened, Sylvia immediately showing up in the doorway. They barely had time to get out of the car.

“Hello sir, my parents are busy tonight, but they wanted to give their thanks for inviting me”.

“Oh sure, it’s nice to meet you Sylvia”, they shook hands. “I’m not too sure about this place, but their mother and I have read enough about it, seems like you’ll be fine for a few hours. Do you need any help getting there or…”

“No thank you, it will just be a short walk”.

“Then I guess I’ll take off. I told Connor to bring Kelsey back at 8 but you two can stay out a bit longer if you want”. He waved and got into the car, pulling out slowly and driving down the street.

“What were your parents so busy with?” Connor asked.

“You know. Business”. He decided to leave it at that.

“You look nice”.

“Thank you. She was dressed in some casual after school clothes, but had donned a big witch hat.

“Hi Sylvia!” Kelsey shouted. “Do you like my costume?” She twirled around. Sylvia managed a small smile.

“A ladybug! That costume looks very cute. Shall we get going?” Kelsey jumped up and ran ahead, as the other two followed behind her. Down the sidewalk, walking side by side as Kelsey ran ahead and back, bursting with excitement at finally being able to do what she’d been waiting for.

I feel a little out of place without any costume”, Connor said.

“I got you covered”. Sylvia produced another big pointed hat, blue with white stars. Connor donned the big wizard hat, as they followed Kelsey to the edge of the rows of houses, and up on a hill to the local cemetery. They opened the gate, walking past the gravestones until they reached the center. Connor pulled out the tickets, heavy slips of paper emblazoned with the kingdom’s logo, and a skull mark at the top. The instructions glowed faintly in the dark, making it easier to read them. ‘This ticket entitles an individual a round-trip to and from the Undead Kingdom. Travel will drop the bearer near the entry gate, and return the bearer to their point of origin upon exiting the kingdom. For smoother results, one should locate the nearest graveyard, cemetery, or other similar location. Read the incantation aloud, and allow for the ticket to burn completely. Enter the resulting portal. Groups of three or more should recite the incantation together to insure similar arrival times’. Connor scanned the ticket’s instructions. A line of text near the bottom flashed brightly. ‘Note for first time arrivals: The burning ticket exudes a strong odor, which is similar to the odor that one may smell upon first arriving in the kingdom. For more comfortable travel, it is advised to hold one’s breath during the incineration, as well as while entering the portal’.

“Do we really need to read this thing out loud?” Connor asked.

“Of course we do! That’s what lets us travel!” Kelsey exclaimed.

“My mom once told me that a lot of mamono have a flair for the dramatic”, Sylvia said quietly. They stood in a triangle shape, giving some space among themselves, and read the incantation together. Their tickets glowed a bright blue light, and when they finished speaking, they dropped them on the ground, as the slips burst into ghostly blue flames. They plugged their noses at the smell, not stinky, but a strange, strong scent. As the tickets incinerated into ashes, a portal opened up where they lay on the ground. It glowed with the same ghostly blue fire. They marveled at it, but Kelsey got their attention.

“Let’s go already! It said we should go together”.

“Hold your breath”, Sylvia said. They all took a deep gulp of air, then stepped forward, the flames rising high around them. Connor shut his eyes against the bright glow, there was no sound but that of a crackling fire that gave off no heat. The glow faded and he opened his eyes to see their surroundings had changed drastically. Instead of the clear night sky, a moon peeking through the cloudy skies and halfway through to full, there was a crescent moon in the sky, glowing a faint red, dyeing the night sky in an eerie hue. They were surrounded by barren, skeletal trees which looked like they were about to wither away. Ahead of them was a path, and a light shone from down the path, allowing them to see ahead. They could hear voices. The moon grinned down at the earth, almost as if it were looking right at Connor.

“What the fuck?” Connor muttered under his breath. “Hey Kelsey, two questions. One, I thought this place was underground? And two, what happened to the moon? It’s red and has a face?”

“I think there’s a part of the kingdom that’s like, above ground, to let people visit it easier? But most of the kingdom is underground. They just made the sky look like this with magic. The moon doesn’t usually have a face”. She started to skip down the path, but Connor stopped her.

“Wait. How do we get back?” There was a flicker behind them, and three tickets appeared on the ground, this time with a big red stamp across them that read ‘return trip’. Connor picked them up and followed the other two, as Sylvia had started to walk ahead with Kelsey.

“You seem to know a lot about this place”, Sylvia commented. “Mind telling me a little bit more about it?”

“Yeah, I’ve wanted to go here for years! It's one of the biggest settlements of undead mamono in the world. There’s basically every type of undead mamono you can find. Ghosts, skeleton, ghouls, zombies…” she started listing.

“Zombies?” Sylvia asked, looking concerned.

“I told you about those right? Apparently there’s zombies everywhere”.

“You did...Is she going to be ok?” She whispered.

“Yeah, they don’t bother little kids”.

“How about you? Aren’t they kind of...persistent?” Connor couldn’t think of anything that would assure her, so he shrugged. Ahead of them, Kelsey was talking to some people who had appeared on the trail ahead of them. There was a man, and a woman, who had thin wings that were buzzing as she hovered above the ground, red eyes and antenna sprouting from her head, and an insectoid thorax dangling behind her.

“You’re such a cute little bug!” She gushed, darting around to look at Kelsey’s costume. The man waved as he saw Connor and Sylvia approaching.

“Hi, name’s Victor, and this is Vanessa. She just had to get a look at your uh, this girl’s costume”.

“That’s my sister, Kelsey. I’m Connor. Sylvia is um. A friend”. They all greeted each other.

“Sounds like you’re going trick or treating tonight?” Victor asked.

“Yeah, she’s really excited. Uh, what are you going there for?”

“Oh, we’re in it for the celebrations. And looking to see some new faces. Or maybe they could be considered old faces”. He chuckled. The party reached the end of the trail and a great gate appeared before them, allowing for multiple lines of people to travel past the booths. The couple parted ahead of them, and the trio stepped up, looking into the booth at a somber lich.

“Welcome to the Undead Kingdom, do you have any questions before entering?”

“We’re looking for the trick or treating for 12 and under?”

“20 minutes down the main street, take a right past Haunted Boulevard and you’ll reach the youth neighborhoods which are participating in youth trick-or-treating”. As Kelsey walked ahead, followed by Sylvia, Connor lingered for another moment.

“Hey, can I ask you something a little more specific?”

“You may even ask me a second question”, the attendant replied with a smile.

“Any advice on how to avoid the zombies?” She tilted her head.

“I do not understand. If one wishes to avoid the single zombies that populate our kingdom, the best thing to do is not to visit”.

“Is there anything else?”

“Well, being married to any undead mamono which is not a zombie will keep them at bay. There are also a number of other species of mamono which can provide sufficient protection”.

“Look, let’s just say plan A and B both failed. I need a plan c”.

“Walking at a brisk pace will allow you to keep ahead of them, as they are slow moving. Avoid them in multiples. Be careful of enclosed spaces with one point of entry. Their population is smaller this time of year than we might have expected. Oh, and you will be safe in the youth neighborhoods. It’s one of the few places they are not allowed to roam. Was that helpful?”

“Yes, thank you”.

“I hope you all enjoy your visit, sir”. Connor jogged ahead to keep up with the two, now glad for Kelsey’s hurried pace. They passed through crowds of celebratory humans and mamono, many of them bearing the appearance of the undead, but many different species, too. Connor looked around nervously, but none of them appeared to have the slow, shambling gait of a zombie. But damn if it wasn’t hard to tell. Finally, they passed a long, wide street, with a sign that said ‘Haunted Boulevard’. And now they arrived at the hub of the youth trick or treat neighborhoods. It was bustling with people, many of them parents with kids of all kinds. A big building labeled ‘Information Center’ sat in front of them. Outside, were stands with pamphlets. Connor picked one up, flipping through it.

“Wow, there’s literally over a hundred neighborhoods to go to, do you know where you want to go?”

“Ugh, if I tried to decide we wouldn’t even make it inside! How about this one?” She pointed randomly at number 35 on the page. Whoosh! There was a sound of a breeze blowing and when they looked up, there was only one neighborhood, a sign welcoming them to ‘Youth Trick-or-Treat Neighborhood #35’.

“Convenient!” Kelsey said, looking at the smaller crowds of parents and kids walking down the street and up to the houses. “Well Kelsey, time to get your sweet tooth on”.

They walked down the sidewalk, and stopped at the first house. Kelsey ran up to the door and waited with a small group of kids. A man opened the door, and they all yelled “Trick-or-Treat!” He smiled and dropped a candy bar in all of their bags, waving them goodnight. Kelsey returned, and Sylvia pointed to one of the other kids. “Look, it’s a witch girl going with her mom dressed as another witch. How cute!” Connor nodded. and they walked down to the next house. Alongside Kelsey at the next house was a girl who was plainly on fire. Covered in flame-retardant bed sheets, dressed as a ghost. After they got their candy, Kelsey spoke up.

“I like your costume”.

“Thanks! I wanted to be a ghost, but it was hard to find something that wouldn’t burn. I’m going with my daddy”, she pointed, at a man at the end of the walkway, wearing a skeleton mask and standing next to a motorcycle. They parted, the man riding slowly down the street while following the ignis girl. As they continued on through more houses, Connor started to feel more at ease. It should be safe in this neighborhood, and there were so many kids and parents in costume, some going the extra mile. An ochimusha passed by, dressed in her full warrior’s outfit accompanied by a little boy in front of her, dressed as a samurai. They passed by a man carrying a girl on his shoulders, she was wearing a white hat and skeletal adornments on her dress, holding a sharp blade in her hand. He had a big smile on his face, and she was giggling as they looked at all the costumes. As they stopped at one of the houses, he snapped to attention at the sight of a small horse in front of the house’s doorstep. As he tried to look at the costume, as inconspicuous as possible, he realized it was a centaur child with sheets wrapped around her upper body. She was carrying two candy bags. Riding on her back was another girl, carrying her head under one arm. He pointed the kids’ costume to Sylvia.

“Looks like a pretty tough costume to coordinate”. As they stopped at the next house, Kelsey’s knock was answered by a lich wearing a cape over a black dress, carrying a book in her hand. She gave Kelsey a small smile, and gave her a glass vial with a cork. As Kelsey was looking at it, Connor stepped forward.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t just let my sister take that thing. What is even in that bottle?” The lich gave a small bow.

“I can assure you it’s nothing harmful. Just a hair color change potion. It lasts for a week. Husband?” She called into the house, and a man appeared in the doorway, with nothing looking amiss except for his dull green/blue hair. “Could you please try one of these potions? Another visitor wants to be sure they’re safe”.

“Certainly my dear. Don’t worry about this one folks, my wife has been testing them for a few weeks now”. He took one of the vials and drank it down, and after a moment, his hair started to gain a slight red hue. His wife made a note in her book.

“It looks like in higher quantities, the colors start to run together. But a single dose shouldn’t have the same problem”.

“Think I have to take another trip to the bathroom”, her husband commented, walking off.

“Maybe next year I’ll hand out those bone bracelets?” She mused. Connor looked at Kelsey, who was peering at the bottle of purple liquid.

“Hey sis”, he said carefully, “I still don’t think mom and dad are going to want you drinking that”. Her face fell, but she nodded, realizing that he was right.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but I can’t take this. Thank you anyway”.

“Would you like one? You could demonstrate its effects for your sister”, the lich said to Connor. He hesitated, still feeling wary of the strange vials of liquid, then changed his mind.

“You know what? Yeah, I will take one. It’ll be kind of fun to have dyed hair for a bit”. He took a vial of red liquid, and the both went back to Sylvia.

“What took you so long?”

“The lady was giving out hair dye, and we had to see how it worked. Connor got one so that he could show it to mom and dad so they’d let me use it too”.

“That was very sweet of you”, she said, giving Connor a rare smile. “What colors did you pick?”

“Purple! It’s my favorite color”.

“I got red. I thought it would look the best”.

“Hmm, I think you’d look nice with red hair”. Connor let the compliment sink in as they proceeded forward. Reaching the end of the street, there was what appeared to be a grove of more withered trees. Between them was a lantern lit path, and a sign that read ‘This way to the Countess’ Castle’.

“Is this part of the neighborhood?” Connor asked, as they stared down the path.

“Are you new here? A voice came from behind, and they turned around to see a dragon zombie escorting several boys and girls, including a ghost girl dressed as a pirate and another girl who seemed to have taken the exact appearance of a young cinderella. “This is the Countess’ Castle”, the woman explained, “she puts on a performance every year, you’re welcome to join us if you’d like to see it”. Connor and Sylvia nodded, following her as Kelsey had already mingled with the kids, everyone looking at each other’s costumes. Connor glanced at his phone to see the time was 7:00. After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at a great castle. The yard was well manicured, a stone path leading up some steps, across a bridge over a moat, and through an iron gate into the castle. In front of them was a small number of kikimora, ghouls and zombies, dressed in maid outfits. They bowed at the arrival of the group, as more families filed in behind them.

“Welcome to the Countess’ Castle”, said one of the maids. “I shall now lead you to my mistress’ chamber, where she is waiting to greet you”. The group followed her inside the castle, and into a great hall. On a throne in front of them sat a vampire, holding a glass of red liquid.

“Velcome, children, dear guests. I am The Countess, and I hope you have enjoyed your trip to this humble neighborhood. My servant will distribute the treats that have been prepared for guests. You may take one and leave through the door behind my throne, lots of other places to see in the kingdom tonight. But for the courageous, I have several rooms in my castle that have been prepared for guests. There are more treats...and tricks...to be found for those willing to look for them”. She swirled her drink, as a man emerged from a hallway, wheeling out a table full of baked sweets.

“Alright children, choose one, our older guests may have one as well. For those who wish to depart, the door behind my lady’s throne will lead you to the start of the path that you entered. For those who wish to explore the castle, there are 12 rooms labeled for guests. I will answer any further questions you may have”. Kelsey followed the other kids, taking a frosted cupcake from the table. Sylvia took a cookie, and before hesitating, Connor took a brownie. Then they stood off to the side of the room, looking at the people investigating the rooms on the first floor, and up the great staircase to the rooms on the second floor.

“Can we go into some of these rooms?” Kelsey asked,

“We can check them out if you want to. But it’s 7:00. If we stay here, we might have to pass up the houses on the other side of the street so we can get back home in time”. Kelsey looked at him in surprise.

“It’s already that late?”

“Yep. Time sure does fly?”

“Well, I guess I’d like to go to some more houses”. They walked past the Countess’ throne, and found a door, which led them down another winding path and out onto the street. Now they walked back down the other side, Connor watching Kelsey at the first house, as an entire family of mummies passed them. There was a woman and two girls, accompanied by a boy and a man whose bandages were of a noticeably different variety. At the next house Kelsey was greeted by an arachne woman.

“Trick-or-Treat!”

“Hello there, little ladybug”, she said, dropping a pack of gummy worms in her bag. Kelsey couldn’t help but notice the woman’s huge body and many legs.

“Are you…?”

“Oh yes, I’m an even bigger bug. It’s a shame my husband couldn’t be here to see all the visitors, he’s a little tied up at the moment”. She chuckled, waving at Kelsey and closing the door. Down the street, visiting more houses, and they were coming to the end. After this house, they would walk to the signpost which was pointing them to the visitor’s center. Kelsey walked up to the final stop, alongside a girl dressed as a werewolf. Behind them, her mother, an owl mage, waited with her father.

“Trick-or-Treat!” They said when the door opened. There was a man in the doorway, behind him stood a melancholic woman with pale skin and dressed in black garments.

“Nice to see so many kids, isn’t it sweetheart?” He said to his wife as he held out a candy bowl.

“Mhm. Young and full of life”, she murmured softly. She gave the girls a smile, and they returned to their respective escorts.

“Well, Kelsey, was this everything you had imagined?” Connor asked, with a big smile on his face.

“Uh-huh, everything and more! I can’t believe how many other places there are to go, I would never be able to see them all, even in my lifetime. It’s just too bad I won’t be able to come here next year”. They walked down the street, and emerged within the now smaller crowds of people in the neighborhood hub.

“Well...I think mom and dad started giving me more freedom when I was around 13. Going out later and things. Maybe next year you could see some of the other parts of the kingdom with your friends. Or I could go with you”.

“You’d do that?” She asked.

“I think so”.

“And would you invite me, too?” Sylvia asked.

“Oh sure, you can come with us”. She smiled at that, leaning closer and taking his arm in her own. She slipped her hand into his, and refused to let go/ Connor felt his heartbeat increase. He almost managed to forget the looming threat of the kingdom, as they walked back towards the entrance. But as they walked down the wide street, still busy with crowds of people, he glanced to the right and noticed a man laying on the ground, three zombies bearing down upon him. They were clutching him around his waist, grasping at his pants and leaning over to kiss his face, Connor’s stomach dropped and his grip tightened-

“Ow ow! Connor you’re squeezing too hard, what’s wrong?” Sylvia’s voice brought him to attention. He gestured toward the unfortunate fellow. “Oh. Yeah, we should get going. Come on Kelsey, we have to make sure you’re home in time”. They increased their pace, but Connor stopped when he realized they’d traveled down a different street.

“Hey. Where are we?” The girls looked up, realizing the crowd had thinned.

“We were just on the main street, how did we end up here?” Sylvia asked.

“I don’t know. I think we should head down that way, it looks like there’s an intersection, it might lead us back”.

“What are all those zombies doing?” Kelsey pointed in the same direction. Connor stared in horror as an entire horde of zombies slowly stumbling in the direction he’d pointed. They ignored the few men, already marked by another mamono. Many had their eyes fixed right on Connor. He tried to turn and run the other way, jerking Sylvia behind him, who now held his hand in an iron grip. He cursed, turned around and ran back to grab Kelsey.

“This way sis, hold on to that bag”.

“Do you know where you’re going?”

“Yes, we’ll take a slightly different route”. But as they reached the end of the street, the buildings and lights came to an end. All they saw before them were more of the withered trees, and a narrow path. The zombies had formed an impassable wall behind them, advancing further behind the trio but approaching steadily.

“This doesn’t look like the way out”, Kelsey said.

“Only way we can go”. Connor replied, stoically, inside him his heart racing, thinking about every single decision he had made that led him here tonight. They walked through the trees and down a path that led to a graveyard, a small fence surrounding a few headstones with a big open space in the center. Beyond the graveyard, there was nothing but trees, grown so close that passage seemed impossible. Connor realized his fate, and took a deep breath. “Kelsey, you go back the way we came. The zombies won’t bother you. Go right to the gate, take these tickets, back to the graveyard. Then go right home and tell mom and dad I’ll be back later.

“But aren’t you coming too?”

“I...can’t”. The zombies’ moans were growing louder.

“But how can she make it back by herself, we don’t even know where we are”, Sylvia said.

“Oh no, you’re going with her”.

“What! But I can’t just…leave you”.

“Look Sylvia, there’s a lot of things to be afraid of, but right now there’s not much you can do here. You can bring Kelsey back and tell them I’ll be a bit late, then maybe I won’t have to face them on top of everything else”. Sylvia stared into his eyes, a look of concern on her face. She was now almost glued to his side, and Kelsey looked at them, then back at the path, as the zombies were starting to emerge. “Come on, Sylvia”, he hissed. “It’s about to get really messy, you’ve gotta get Kelsey out of here”.

“Don’t talk like that! You sound like you’re about to die. I don’t want to just throw you to the wolves”.

“These wolves won’t bite nearly as bad as my parents if they hear about this from Kelsey. They probably won’t let her back into the kingdom as long as she lives. And I don’t think I want my sister to see what’s about to happen to me”. He reached for her hand and wrenched it away from his own, pushing her away.

“EEP! Watch it jerk!” She looked toward the crowd. “Um, alright Kelsey, let’s go, Connor will be fine, just a little late”. A shiver ran down her spine as she took Kelsey’s hand and practically dragged her out of the clearing. Kelsey got one last look before they reached the zombie crowd. The girls moaned and groaned, shifting and shuffling around the two bodies that had appeared in their midst. They barely took notice as the two girls passed through, and out to the brightly lit street. Sylvia hurried along, now holding Kelsey’s hand tightly, trying to put the zombies as far behind them as possible.

Connor watched the two go, and stood up straight, trying to slow his breathing. A million thoughts rushed through his head, fear, anger, most frighteningly, arousal at the thought of what was about to happen. He tried to tell himself everything he knew about zombies and other undead mamono, counting 15-20 zombies shambling closer, reaching out towards him. He found himself assessing them all like he would if he had looked at a pretty girl in his class, finding that all of the zombies were starting to look very pretty, even in their worn out rags and discolored skin. Revulsion clashed with his anticipation, he wondered if he should start taking his clothes off so they would be intact when it was time to go home, but as the closest zombie reached out almost as if to embrace him, the ground dropped out beneath his feet. He cried out in shock, the zombie grasping at him and missing, and plummeted downward, landing on something soft. He jumped with a start when he realized he was sitting in the lap of a ghoul, her red stained skin and chest showing, and a mischievous leer on her face.

“Well hi there cutie, awfully nice of you to drop in”. He stood up, looking around in confusion, his heart still pounding. Next to her was a wight, pale skin showing through her black dress, she placed a ghostly hand on the other woman’s shoulder.

“Clara my dear, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say this young man was looking forward to what he was about to experience. If you want to, the girls are still up there”, she pointed to the low ceiling, the sounds of the zombies moaning and shuffling around on the ground above him. As Connor managed to collect himself, taking note of the empty space they were standing in, surrounded by dirt walls, a ladder leading up to a trap door, he turned to the wight.

“What. The fuck! Is your problem? Is this some kind of joke, you, you assholes!” The wight covered her face.

“My, such vulgarity”.

“You think I’m going to be polite to someone who played such a shit prank on me? You know how scared my sister was? And how scared I was?” The ghoul stood up, reached out and smothered him in a hug, cutting him off from his rant. Connor stood there, letting her hold him for a minute, until she parted.

“Aww, my lady, I think you went too far with this one”. She stood behind him, arms still hanging over his shoulder.

“Perhaps you’re right. And keep your tongue to yourself or you’ll be the one taking it too far”. Connor jumped away. “My dear boy”, the wight said, looking him in the eyes, “I do apologize for this trick. I must have chosen the wrong person this year”. Connor looked at her, then nodded.

“I’m sorry I swore. But it was still a mean thing to do”.

“Yes, perhaps I rounded up too many zombies. Or picked someone who wasn’t so new to the kingdom. As a sign of my good will, I will tell you two things that I think you’ll find very helpful”.

“What’s that?”

“First, I will send you straight to the exit gate, where you can leave with the certainty that no zombies will be able to follow you beyond the boundaries of the kingdom. You have your return pass, I presume?”

“Yeah. But what else could you tell me?” The wight’s smile grew wider.

“You see my boy, when I watched you leave the neighborhood with your two companions, I noticed something about each of you. I noticed your sister was on the younger side, just eligible for trick or treating. Perhaps she will come back in the future, with a partner. Perhaps she will even join our ranks one day”.

“Did you do something?”

“No! I assure you, I was merely observing. I also noticed how at ease you seemed, perhaps that was why I wanted to give you a scare”. She went silent, her gaze fixed on Connor.

“And what else? You said you noticed something about each of us?” Her eyes lit up.

“I’m so glad to hear you’re paying attention. As for your second companion, quite the lovely girl she was. Clinging to your side, you were barely able to separate yourself from her. She’s become very interested in you, and I daresay that she’ll have a lot of things to say when you see her again. I just couldn’t let the zombies get you before she did”. Connor’s eyes widened. Both women grinned, and the wight waved her hand toward him. In an instant, his surroundings changed. He was standing in front of the gate! He jolted forward and sprinted the short distance, not even looking around. He rattled the turnstile and shouted into the booth.

“Let me out!” A different woman appeared before him.

“Please calm yourself sir, we have a repelling spell cast within 100 feet of the gates, Otherwise the zombies would all be waiting here”.

You really just let them roam around and attack whoever they want?”

“The warnings are written clearly in all our promotional materials. It seems as though you had an encounter with them, but you got out unscathed. Might I inquire how it went?”

“I was about to be mobbed, but some ladies saved me at the last moment. Some kind of prank”.

“Ah yes, many of the more powerful residents enjoy playing tricks on visitors. If it makes you feel any better, the average unmarried man leaves with no more than 2-4 partners, should he find himself under attack. The average married man with no more than 1”.

“Huh. Well, not sure whether I’m going to be back again. Did you happen to see my sister and a friend? They left ahead of me”.

“Yes, we heard from two visitors who left in a panic. I told them we would keep an eye out for you. Since you’re intact, I trust you can connect with them yourself?”

“Yeah, I can handle it”.

“Then I hope the rest of your night is pleasant, and that perhaps you can bring yourself to return to our kingdom one day”. She bid him farewell as Connor walked through the turnstile and out into the open. Down the path until he realized he wasn’t sure how far he had to go. But he wanted to get away from the entrance. Stopping in a spot which looked like the one he’d first arrived in, he pulled out his ticket and read the incantation, taking the portal. As the flames vanished, he looked up. The moon had returned to its normal form in the cloudy sky. He was in the same graveyard. As he made his way to the gate, something jumped out at him.

“AAAAAAAUUUUGHHHH!” He screamed at the top of his lungs as he was knocked to the ground, his heart leaping in terror.

“Connor! Connor it’s me, I didn’t mean to scare you”. He realized that it was Sylvia.

“Holy shit. Don’t do that”.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. But also you’re a big jerk! I didn’t want to leave you, but you made me go anyway. What happened?”

“It was like, a big prank. Some other mamono dropped me into a trap door underground, they just wanted to scare me. Hey, is Kelsey ok?”

“Yes, I brought her right back home. I didn’t know what to tell your parents, but Kelsey said that you had something you needed to take care of, so they said to call when you were back”.

“Man. That’s the nicest thing. I should go thank her and tell them I’m ok.

“Do you think you can call them and wait until tomorrow?”

“Huh? Tomorrow?”

“Yes, because right now, I don’t want to let go of you again”. Sylvia leaned over, wrapping her arms around his body and hugging him tightly. He could feel her shivering.

“Hey, how long has it been since you were wearing that skin?”

“I p-pp-put it on for a while after school. B-but my mom suggested I spend more time out of it before going out. I-um. Really want to be as close to you as I can”.

“Sylvia, I don’t know if I’m ready for…”

“We can wait. But I need you next to me. Call your parents. Come back home with me, my parents are expecting us. They’ll talk to yours if they need to”. Connor picked up his phone, hitting the contact for his mother.

“Hi mom, yeah, I’m fine. Yeah, I’m sorry I left Kelsey. But Sylvia was with her the whole time. Tonight was fine. Oh, don’t throw that out, it’s just hair dye. I have another one I can show you tomorrow. But listen, I’m uh...do you think it’s ok if I spend the night at Sylvia’s house? Yeah I know, we can pick up my stuff in the morning. I know. Sylvia said her parents can talk to you. Really? Yeah, I promise, I’ll be back as soon as school ends tomorrow. Thanks mom, I love you! Bye”. Hanging up, Connor managed to stand up with Sylvia on his side. He cautiously patted her on the back, as they walked across the green and on to their own street. They arrived on Sylvia’s doorstep, and she opened the door, leading him inside, as they took off their shoes, and walked through the dark rooms and to the staircase. At the top, Sylvia knocked on a door.

“Hi mom, dad, I’m back with Connor, can you call and talk to his parents? They said he could stay the night”. The door opened and they both appeared in the doorway.

“Hello dear, hello Connor, it’s lovely to meet you. You go on into Sylvia’s room, it’ll be much more comfortable. Can we have your parents’ number? We’ll sort things out for you, but you two make sure you get some rest, you both need to be up and early tomorrow for school”. Her mother said. Connor barely had time to thank her and give them the number, nodding to Sylvia’s father as she pulled him down the hall and into her bedroom. There was her sealskin cast on the floor, the zipper on the front opened to make it look like a big sleeping bag. The seal head faced Connor, almost like it was grinning at him.

“So how do we…?”

“Here, there should be room for both of us”. Sylvia picked it up and lay it on the bed, climbing in and motioning for him to join her. He hesitated but she clutched his arm. “Please Connor, it’s still not enough”. He crawled onto the bed. Awkwardly sliding his legs into the space next to hers, they fumbled a bit with their limbs and torsos, but finally, they found an arrangement that worked for both of them. Sylvia hugged him, pressing as close as she could, and sighed happily, as the chill slipped away to be replaced with Connor’s warmth. Connor held her, thinking about how glad he was to be with Sylvia compared to the zombies he’d encountered earlier. Something brushed against Sylvia’s leg. “Heh heh”, she laughed, looking directly into Connor’s eyes. He tried to look away but she reached up and pulled him into a kiss, caressing his back and shoulders as she pressed into his lips, sighing a little as he grew warmer. “Mmm. Much better. I’m more than ready to become closer with you if you like”. Sylvia murmured softly, giving him another kiss.

“I need a moment. Or a day. We have to, I have to go to school. And I still need to talk to my parents. I don’t know if I’m ready, after seeing those zombies. But hey, the weekend is coming up, so we’ll have time then, right?”

“Of course. I understand. I’ll look forward to it”.