taking them two at a time, motioning for me to follow.
As I made my way down, I saw bright, flashing lights, shadows dancing
over the wall. And I heard kids laughing and talking, shouting over the
steady boom of loud dance music.
51 At the bottom, I found myself in a large room, decorated for
Halloween, with grinning, cardboard jack-o’-lanterns on the walls and
orange and black crepe streamers hanging from the low ceiling.
The room was crowded with kids, at least thirty or forty boys and girls,
all in masks and costumes. Some girls were dancing in the center of the
room. Several boys watched, talking among themselves. Other kids
clustered in small groups, talking and laughing. A couple of kids were
wrapping themselves in orange crepe paper streamers.
“This is Brandon,” Norb announced to a tall, skinny kid in a skeleton
costume.
The skeleton nodded. “I’m Max.”
“Brandon is hungry,” Norb told him. Then he turned and started talking
to two girls in witch costumes.
“The refreshment table is over here,” Max said. He guided me past the
dancing kids to a long table with an orange tablecloth. I saw piles of
cookies and doughnuts, bowls of potato chips, and two half-eaten pumpkin
pies.
“Give Brandon a doughnut,” Norb instructed, suddenly appearing at the
table.
“You like doughnuts?” Max asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. Sure. I’m suddenly starving.”
He picked a doughnut off the top of the pile and handed it to me. He
gazed through his skeleton mask, studying me. “These are special,” he said.
52 “Thanks. Looks great,” I said. I pulled off my mask.
Norb and Max crowded next to me as I raised the doughnut to my mouth. It
was soft and doughy and covered with powdered sugar. My favorite.
I took a big bite. Chewed. Started to swallow.
And then groaned.
I felt something wet and warm on my tongue.
I raised the doughnut to examine it.
“Ohhhh.” What was wriggling inside the doughnut?
Brown-and-purple worms!
I spit the wormy gob out.
Worms poked out from the doughnut. One crawled onto my hand.
With a cry of disgust, I started to toss the doughnut down.
But Norb grabbed my arm. He forced the doughnut to my face.
“Eat it, Brandon,” he ordered. “Go on. Eat the whole thing.”
53 I struggled to pull my arm free.
But Max moved quickly to help Norb. The two of them held me in place -
and shoved the disgusting doughnut into my face.
They forced the doughnut into my mouth.
I felt worms wriggle over my tongue and tickle the roof of my mouth.
I started to choke. But they pushed the doughnut in even farther.
“Chew! Chew it!” Norb ordered.
I had no choice. I didn’t want to choke to death on a mouthful of worms.
So I started to chew.
The sick, sour taste made me choke again.
My eyes were watering. I felt sweat roll down my forehead.
54 I shut my eyes and tried to pretend I was eating something else.
Mashed potatoes.
But mashed potatoes don’t squirm in your mouth!
I held my breath and swallowed. A thick chunk of worms slid down my throat.
Finally, I ate the whole thing.
Norb and his friend let go.
I staggered back against the food table, my chest heaving, my whole body
shaking. The sour worm taste lingered in my mouth.
“Why?” I gasped. “Why did you do that?”
They both laughed behind their masks. “It’s Halloween, isn’t it?” Norb
asked. He slapped Max a high five.
“Don’t you like to do scary things on Halloween?” Max teased.
“That wasn’t scary. That was sick,” I grumbled angrily. “Bye. Thanks for
nothing. I’m out of here.”
I pushed past them and started toward the steps. But they grabbed me by
the shoulders and pulled me back.
“You just got here,” Norb said. His eyes flashed menacingly behind the
mask.
“The party hasn’t started yet,” Max chimed in.
“Let go,” I insisted. “Your party stinks.”
But they squeezed my arms in a tighter grip.
“Hey, everyone,” Norb shouted. “Hey, listen up! Brandon is going to bob
for apples now!”
55 “I am not!” I protested. I squirmed and tugged. But they were
stronger than me.
“Hey, everyone!” Norb shouted over the voices and the music. “Come
watch. He’s going to bob for apples!”
The two guys dragged me over to a big wooden barrel. I peered down. The
barrel was filled with murky water, too dark to see anything.
Four or five kids came over to watch.
“Let go of me!” I shouted angrily. “I’m not dipping my head in there!
There aren’t even any apples in there!”
“Sure there are,” Max replied. “Plenty of apples.”
Norb grabbed the back of my neck and shoved my head down to the barrel.
“Everyone bobs for apples at a Halloween party,” he said softly.
“What are you trying to prove?” I cried. “Get away from me! Are you
crazy? Let me go!”
I stared down at the dark water. “I don’t see any apples!”
“Look closer,” Norb replied.
They held me and pushed my head lower. My nose and cheeks splashed into
the disgusting water.
Sputtering, I forced my head up. “Why are you doing this?” I gasped.
“It’s a Halloween party,” Norb insisted.
“Go ahead, Brandon,” Max urged. “Grab an apple in your teeth, and you’re
finished.”
56 “I just want to get out - ” I started.
But they shoved my head into the barrel again.
They’re sick, I told myself. They’re totally messed up.
I’ll grab an apple. Then I’m out of here.
I opened my eyes. But I couldn’t see anything in the thick, murky water.
Something prickled my face. I felt something soft and wet crawl into my ear.
Sputtering, I tried to pull my head out. But Max and Norb held me down,
pushing me deeper into the barrel.
I felt something scrape against my cheek. The back of my neck tingled as
tiny creatures crawled over it. My whole face prickled.
With a surge of power, I forced my head up. I stared into the barrel.
The dark water churned and rolled. Alive!
The water was alive!
No. Not water … Not water …
I stared into a tossing, churning pile of cockroaches.
Before I could sputter a protest, they pushed my head back into the pile.
I gasped in horror as cockroaches scrabbled over my face, dug into my
hair, climbed into my nose and ears.
I struggled to pull away. But the boys held my arms down as they pressed
me into the barrel.
57 I opened my mouth to scream - and felt cockroaches slide into my
mouth, crawl over my tongue.
I - I swallowed them!
“That doesn’t count. Grab one!” I heard Norb urge behind me. “Bite it!
Bite it!”
“Grab one! Get one!” Max shouted.
I heard kids cheering and laughing.
My stomach lurched. I’m going to be sick, I realized.
Cockroaches swarmed
over my face, my hair.
“Grab one! Grab one!” kids chanted.
I can’t take this, I realized. I can’t take this anymore.
I’ve got to end it. Got to stop it …
No choice. I don’t have a choice.
I shut my eyes and opened my mouth wide.
And grabbed a bunch of cockroaches between my teeth.
58 I chomped down and raised my head. I could feel the sticky insects
between my teeth, on my tongue.
With a groan, I opened my mouth and began to spit. I spit the
cockroaches back into the barrel. I kept spitting after they were all
out of my mouth, trying to get rid of the sour taste, the horrible tickling.
Kids laughed and clapped. Norb slapped me hard on the back. “Scary
enough for you, Brandon?” he demanded. His eyes flashed gleefully behind
his mask.
“Let’s get scary!” someone called out. And the others began to chant:
“Let’s get scary! Let’s get scary!”
This is a nightmare I thought.
59 This can’t be happening to me. These kids are evil!
“Can I go now?” I asked Norb. My voice trembled. I pulled cockroach legs
off my tongue.
He didn’t answer, so I tried again. “I’m out of here,” I said. “You
can’t keep me here.”
“Sure, we can,” Norb replied. He motioned with both hands, and several
costumed kids circled me.
“Let’s get scary,” they chanted. “Let’s get scary!”
Norb squeezed my shoulder until I cried out. “Let’s play a game,” he
said. “Everyone plays games at a party - right, Brandon?”
“I want to go,” I said through gritted teeth. “You can’t keep me here.
It’s … kidnapping.”
For some reason, that got a big laugh from everyone.
“I mean it!” I screamed. “Let me out of here!”
“How about Twister?” Norb demanded, ignoring my pleas. “You like to play
Twister?”
“No!” I replied angrily. “No games. I want out!”
Norb dug his fingers into my shoulder. “Okay. Twister,” he said softly.
He pulled me into the center of the room. “Are you having fun, Brandon?
Is it scary enough for you?”
I tugged hard. Tried to break free.
But his hand clamped down on my shoulder, sending pain shooting through
my whole body. He
60 gave me a hard shove - and I stumbled forward to the edge of a
Twister mat on the floor.
“You go first,” he ordered.
“I won’t play!” I crushed my arms in front of my chest. “No way.”
Kids surrounded me. Norb’s dark eyes glared at me through the eyeholes
of his mask. “You’d better enjoy this part, Brandon,” he said softly.
“This is the fun part. After this, it gets really scary.”
“Huh? Why?” I cried. “What do you mean?”
He didn’t reply.
“What comes next?” I demanded. “What are you going to do to me?”
61 A few seconds later, I was down on my hands and knees on the mat. A
boy in a vampire costume was draped over my back, also on his hands and
knees.
Who are these kids? I wondered, my heart pounding.
Why are they doing this to me?
Is this just their idea of Halloween fun? Or are they really evil?
The boy in the vampire costume shifted his weight on top of me.
All around me, kids were chanting: “Let’s get scary! Let’s get scary!”
Their voices echoed off the basement walls, ringing louder and louder in
my ears.
“Let’s get scary! Let’s get scary!”
I shivered.
62 Were they going to let me go? Or did they plan to torture me all night?
I didn’t have long to think about it.
A girl in a monkey costume plopped down onto the mat beside me and
wrapped an arm around my arm.
“I don’t want to play,” I groaned. “Get off! Get off me!”
I felt another arm twist around my legs.
The boy on my back began to feel heavier. An arm twisted around my other
arm.
“I hate this game!” I shrieked. “Why are you doing this to me?”
The vampire boy suddenly felt lighter. Was he getting up?
I heard a loud HISSSSS, close to my ear.
Turning my head, I saw the arm tangled around my arm … saw it begin to
change … to grow slimmer … to curl itself tighter around me …
Another HISSSSS. So close. So close.
And then the SNAP of jaws.
Something coiled around my waist. And tightened … tightened.
Snakes.
The kids were shrinking … changing … changing into snakes.
They curled around me. Around my chest, my arms, my legs.
“Noooooo!” A moan of horror escaped my throat.
63 A loud SNAP at my ear made me gasp. Scratchy, warm skin slid around
my neck.
And now they were all hissing. Tightening themselves around my neck.
Hissing. Snapping.
I’m … suffocating, I realized.
Can’t breathe … Can’t breathe.
I dropped facedown, flat against the mat. With a desperate lunge, I
rolled onto my back.
I tossed one arm - and flung one snake off.
Then I reached up. Grabbed the snake around my neck - and pulled it off.
It twisted in my hand. Shot its head forward. Snapped its jaws close to
my face, so close I felt its hot breath on my cheek.
With a wild heave, I sent it flying into the crowd of chanting kids.
Then, pulling another snake from around an ankle, I jumped to my feet.
The room spun. I blinked several times, struggling to steady myself.
The kids stood in a circle around me, chanting, their voices muffled and
strange behind their masks. Clapping their hands in a slow, steady
rhythm. Repeating their frightening words over and over.
“Let’s get scary … Let’s get scary!”
I’ve got to get away from here, I told myself.
I have to escape. While I still can.
But how?
I glanced frantically around the room. The
64 orange and black streamers shimmered, twisting down from the ceiling
like snakes.
And beyond them … Beyond them, I saw the basement stairs. And the door
at the top of the stairs.
Open.
The door stood open.
Could I make a run for it? Could I reach the door and run out of this
house, away from these weird, chanting kids?
I knew I had to try.
I took a step. Then another.
And then Norb’s hand grasped my shoulder again. His eyes peered into
mine. “Are you ready for a real Halloween trick?” he asked. “I’m going
to make you disappear.”
65 “Noooo!” I let out an angry shriek. Then I grabbed Norb’s wrist with
both hands - and swung his hand off my shoulder.
Behind the ugly mask, his eyes bulged in surprise.
I didn’t give him a chance to grab me again. I spun away and dove into
the crowd of kids. Lowering my head like a fullback, I bulled right
through them.
The chanting stopped. Startled cries rang out.
My head down, I ran without looking back. Ran through the forest of
streamers. Ran to the stairs, my eyes on the open door.
“Owwww!”
I stumbled at the bottom step. Ban
ged my knee. Pain shot up my body.
66 But I grabbed the banister and pulled myself up.
Up the stairs, trying to ignore my throbbing knee. Up the stairs. The
open door so close now.
“Yes!” I uttered a happy cry as I reached the top and burst through the
doorway. I could hear the cries and shouts below, distant now.
I glanced down for a second. They weren’t chasing after me.
Breathing a long sigh, I spun away and plunged through the dark house.
Out the front door and down the front lawn to the street.
My shoes slid on the dew-covered grass.
I ran through total darkness. No moon. No stars. No street lamps or
lights from any houses.
Black trees swayed silently against a charcoal sky.
Nothing else moved. No cars rolled by. No one else out on the street.
I crossed a street and kept running. I had no idea what direction I was
headed. I had to get away, as far away from that house and those kids as
I could.
I ran till a sharp pain in my side slowed me to a trot.
The houses ended, and I found myself moving between heavily wooded lots.
As I followed the curve of the road, pale light washed over the ground,
over the sidewalk, over me.
I gazed up to see the moon slide out from behind
67 the clouds. The silvery moonlight made the tall trees shimmer, unreal
and ghostlike.
My shoes thudded the pavement. I was breathing hard as I jogged, my
heart pounding, my side still aching.
Where was everyone?
How could I be the only person out on Halloween night in this neighborhood?
I stopped when I saw something move in the grass of an empty lot. I
narrowed my eyes, struggling to see clearly.
A dog? A rabbit standing tall among the weeds?
I took a step closer.
Something poked up from the grass, moving slowly, waving like a small
tree, reaching toward the sky.
Something …
“Oh, no!” I moaned. “Oh, nooooo!”
68 A hand.
A human hand.
I swallowed hard, staring in disbelief. Beside it, another hand poked up
from beneath the ground. It shook itself, shaking dirt off.
Both hands reached up, making grasping motions, curling and uncurling
fingers.
Frozen in silence, I squinted into the eerie, pale light. And watched
more hands pop up from beneath the ground.
They shook off dirt and stretched. Bony arms stretched up from the
grass. The hands opened and closed. The fingers curled and made grabbing
motions.