Halloween Candy
Kevin stood on his porch, looking out across the quiet neighborhood and shaking his head disappointedly. He'd talked to the neighbors, and of course they had warned him what to expect, but he had still been shocked to see almost no Trick-or-Treaters out for Halloween. One family, that had been it; one family who had come by before heading off to a different neighborhood where the holiday was taken more seriously.
He and his wife Jill had moved in a few months earlier, and both considered Halloween their favorite holiday. They had decorated day one of October that year, as they always did. They had stocked up on candy and prepared their costumes with their annual zeal. Just like they'd done at their old house, they'd set up a small "Haunted Front Yard" for people to walk through; nothing huge, nothing too scary, but a small experience for people to get their candy, with a few things that made spooky sounds, one thing that popped out and surprised people, and a sugary reward at the end of the front walk.
One family, and they'd walked around most of the front yard to get to the candy anyway.
It wasn't hard to understand, of course: it was a much older neighborhood, with most households having long ago sent their kids to college and beyond. A few households had left the neighborhood to go to parties or see their grandchildren, but for the most part it was a normal, quiet night on Woodward Street.
"For the most part," because there were
some
other people out to try and gather candy: students from the small satellite Jaymes University campus up on the hill overlooking a major portion of Woodward Street.
They
had come out,
they
had walked through the Haunted Front Yard, and
they
had collected their candy. The college students brought a decent energy, but their costumes were lacking, and for the most part it was clear that they were stocking up on supplies to take back to whatever parties they would be throwing later that night up on the campus.
Kevin watched the latest collection of college students heading across the street, making straight for the only other house Kevin could see with its lights on that night. Josie Westgate lived in a house embedded in the woods that bordered the Jaymes campus, partway up the hill that the university sat on, at the end of a steep and slightly winding driveway that Kevin couldn't believe the little old woman that lived there could still climb.
But she did, on the rare occasions that Kevin saw her out of her house, moving with a surprising spryness that he assumed came from decades of making the climb up that same driveway. He had been just as surprised to see that almost all of the Jaymes students who had come up his driveway had bothered to make the climb up hers as well, imaging that it would present itself as a lot of effort for what must surely be a relatively disappointing offering waiting for them at the end of their efforts.
Sure enough, the three soccer players - almost certainly literally, seemingly using their usual uniforms as a crude excuse for a costume - stepped onto the end of her driveway and started the climb. With nothing else to do on such a poor Halloween night, Kevin watched their ascent. They didn't take very long to make it to the top -
Definitely soccer players -
and soon Kevin could see Ms. Westgate's silhouette standing in her front door.
A few moments later, all three of the soccer players went inside and the door shut behind them.
Strange
, Kevin thought, tilting his head and watching the door. Before he could think on things too long, however, Jill called down from the porch, "How's it looking out there?"
Kevin turned and smiled wryly; not that she could see it in the plague doctor outfit he wore, but surely she would hear it in his voice when he said, "Not looking good. You, however, look stunning."
Jill smiled and posed in her zombified plague victim costume, lifting one wound-painted arm seductively over her dark brown hair and shaking her hips briefly. "I do believe I will be needing a doctor this evening."
Kevin was about to respond when he heard giggles from behind him. Turning, he could see four college students coming their way, and decided to stay silent. He walked up the front walk toward Jill and waited beside the candy.
A few moments later, four prom queens were making their way through the front yard. He was thankful for the thick plague mask covering his whole face, as it allowed him to appreciate privately the low-cut tops, high slit skirts, tall heels, and tight fabric that counted as prom outfits for these four fit college girls. Matching tiaras sat on their heads, sparkling in the light from the house but doing little to detract from the athletic bodies underneath.
More athletes,
Kevin decided as the four girls quickly grabbed candy, complimented Kevin's and Jill's outfits, and hurried off into the night.
Straight to Josie Westgate's, hesitating only briefly at the bottom of the hill before starting up.
Talking to Jill about their disappointment, he could only keep half an eye on the Westgate house, but he saw that when the four women made it to the top, they too were invited in and had the door closed behind them.
Did those three soccer players leave? I had my back to the house for a bit, they might have. But... I don't think they did....
What the hell's going on up there?
"We should go check out Ms. Westgate's house," Kevin said suddenly, curiosity bringing the idea to his tongue before he could think about how he would explain why he wanted to make the mini-hike to her front door.
"Sure!" Jill said. "I think our house will be fine for a few minutes. I'm curious to see what the only other Halloween fan's got going on tonight."
