s1.e11

Time Trick

           Ms. Porter’s classroom was lightly decorated for Halloween, with cutout paper bats and pumpkins tangled up in fake spiderwebbing above the chalkboard. It was the last few minutes of the day, after the usual lessons were complete. She had scheduled a little bit of free time to talk about the holiday. This year, trick-or-treating would be had on a Tuesday—a boring day, not nearly as special as a weekend Halloween.

           But that didn’t matter to a group of kids determined to make their last elementary school costumed night out special. They spent all day, including recess, finalizing plans.  

           “And that’s why Halloween is yet another holiday stolen from the pagans, and altered drastically from its original incarnation,” Ms. Porter eccentrically concluded a long-winded explanation. “That was a good question, Spice.”

           “But…” Spice sighed. “I just wanted to know why we all dress up like freaks to get candy. Why can’t we wear a really nice gown, with expensive shoes instead?”

           “Becoming a ‘freak’ is part of the effort, duh,” Park replied from the back row. “You think adults wanna hand out candy to a bunch of plain kids knocking at the door? You wear a costume so that you make them laugh, or so they can call you cute first.”

           “Wish we could’a worn our costumes to school,” Wright moaned.

           “You know the principal stopped letting kids do that two years ago,” Ms. Porter reminded everyone. “Just be glad you got to do it at all—four times, in fact. You’ll always have those memories, won’t you?” She smiled nostalgically for a second.

           “Stupid Felicity…” Delilah muttered. “It’s her fault, because she had to wear that horrible costume with a shredded, bloody dress and fake knives all stuck in her…”

           Felicity grinned at the memory, but argued, “You can’t prove it was my fault.”

           “Oh, yeah? And what are you going as this time, to actually scare adults?”

           “Cannibal cabal priestess. It’s been a great project, for my favorite time of year.”

           “I have no idea what that is, and I don’t wanna know. Also, Ms. Porter, why does Robby get to wear his costume? That is a costume he’s wearing, teach’.”

           “Well, yes, your point has merit, but his is very… simple,” she explained.

           “I’m a Starfleet cadet!” he defended himself. “Red shirt, black pants, Star Trek pin. That’s all. It doesn’t interfere with learning.”

           “Dork!” Jared called out.

           “Hey, if Willa gets to wear cat ears every day, then this should be okay.”

           Willa made sure they were still there and exclaimed, “They’re part of who I am!”

           “Settle down, class. I nearly forgot to assign you some homework,” Ms. Porter said, resulting in groans. “Two hundred words on how you spent your Halloween. Even if you didn’t go trick-or-treating, or don’t celebrate at all. That’s not asking much, right?”

           “Hey, Jared, Wes—are you guys gonna tell us what you’re going as yet?” Arthur asked. “It’s the end of the day, and we’ll be meeting at the treehouse soon, so…”

           “I keep telling ya, man… it’s a surprise,” Wessy said.

           “Yeah, if one of us tells you, then it ruins it for the other guy, too,” Jared added.

           “I dunno about that, but still, I guess we both have something special this year. I mean, Zach always has the absolute best costume, but, you know, he gets so serious.”

           “Besides, Jason’s costume is still a secret, too. Chill. You’ll see them soon.”

           Jace looked back at Millie, taking notes again. He would have shared his costume deets, but not with her nearby; it was too risky. He actually only found out himself last night, and wasn’t sure if Wes had finished it. He had no backup costume, so there was a chance he wouldn’t be getting any candy. In any year, that would be disappointing.

           “Okay!” Ms. Porter shouted over the happy kid noises after the bell rang out. “Have a good Halloween, but don’t stay up too late! You still have school tomorrow.”

           The group of pals stepped out into the last few hours of bright daylight together to board their buses. Jace knew how much his uncle loved Halloween, and he had seen the anticipation build up over the day in the version that still dressed up and went out.

           “Don’t be late, Sadie,” Colin told her as she ran past them. “It’s seven, sharp.”

           “Wouldn’t miss it,” she promised. “It’ll be the best one we’ve ever had!”

           “Is this really the best Halloween you ever had?” Jace asked in the car a few hours later, as his uncle crossed Kettle on the way to dropping him off at Colin’s place.

           Wes checked the sky again, the colors shifting ever more into dusk’s oranges and pinks. “The night of ghouls approaches, kiddo… Yeah, like I’ve said over and over, this is the Halloween. The one we all remember most. First time Sadie’s friend Celeste joins us, too. Let Wessy and Jared lead, endure the walk, and you’ll have an awesome night.”

           Jace looked down at the new, second pair of sneakers Wes had gotten him, that were even better than his previous shoes. “And why do you like Halloween so much?”

           “It’s not just the costumes, Jace. I mean, I like the scary atmosphere of it all and it gives the night personality, but that was never my main thing. What I love is the idea that for a few hours, one night a year, the combined power of kids’ imaginations changes their neighborhood into this… it’s like a hyper-realistic, fantastical setting, you know? I mean, yeah, some kids just go to the houses on their block, get a little candy, and head home without feeling it. That’s not us. Nah, we made the neighborhood our playground.”

           “Does that mean you went around pranking people?”

           “Come on. No. We were fine with pillowcases full of candy. Well, me and Jared did throw toilet paper at a middle school jerk’s house in ’97, but he had it coming.”

           Jace readjusted his giant, puffy vest. It felt like it took up all the room his seat had to offer. Under it was a denim jacket that Wes had picked up during a Goodwill run, and below were Jace’s only pair of blue jeans. If he had to go as Marty McFly, then his uncle had to be Doc Brown. More appropriately, his getup was an attempt at the scientist’s Back to the Future II clothing, the fashion of the ‘future’ of 2015, and it featured a long yellow overcoat and off-color khakis; the closest to yellow he could find. Aside from a plain red shirt, Wes also had his pair of sunglasses wrapped in tinfoil hanging out on his forehead, which kind of, sort of, replicated Emmett’s futuristic metallic visor.

           “This thing looks like you ripped it straight off the Red Demon,” Jace said about his big orange life preserver. “Good thing Millie didn’t see us. And don’t let her see you!”

           “Why? Are you embarrassed? I thought I did a pretty good job.”

           “Dude, she already thinks we’re out of place. If she’s seen the movies, our outfits might make something go off in her head, and she’ll realize we’re time travelers.”

           “Hm. That’s actually a good point. Hopefully she doesn’t ask me for candy.”

           Wes pulled up to Colin’s house, which had a treehouse in the sideyard. The tree it sat in was young and short, so it wasn’t too impressive—but the lad was still proud of it.

           “Jace, I should’ve mentioned this earlier, but if tonight, or any night… if any of them ever ask to take a group picture, you should be the one that shoots it. We don’t want old photographs floating around with you in them when we get back.”

           “I’ll try to remember that.” He looked across the yard, into the treehouse where some of the others were already gathered. “So, what bad stuff happens tonight?”

           “Uh, hopefully nothing, bud. We never had problems with candy-stealing bullies in this neighborhood if that’s what you’re worried about. It’ll be all good. No conflicts.”

           “That’d be a nice change. And what are you going to do all night?”

           “I think Nick had this call-in thing where kids phoned the studio to try navigating some haunted house on the screen, or something like that. I could see if it was actually real. Or maybe I’ll check out the Unsolved Mysteries marathon. And when you’re done for the night, I rented Hocus Pocus. We’ll watch it with candy. It’s ’93 cheese about witches.”

           “Yeah. Okay.” Jace stepped out of the car with his pillowcase. “See ya.”

           “Get a lot of candy, Candle Jack!” Wes said before driving off.

           Jace easily noticed that his uncle still had that twinge in his smile, and a slight tremble in his voice. For a few weeks now, he had clearly been frightened or worried about something. Halloween didn’t seem to be the most important event on his mind.

           Not as fearful of screwing up around Wes’ friends as he used to be, Jace hurried across the yard and climbed the small nailed-plank ladder into the packed treehouse. The super-typical “NO GIRLS” sign near its door had been scratched out long ago, probably when Sadie came along. Standing between the two glassless windows were the boys of the group minus Jared, with barely enough room to move and show off their costumes.

           “Hey-hey!” Wessy greeted Jace. “There’s our… Oh, it’s Marty McFly! Heavy.”

           “Still waiting on J’ and the girls,” Arthur said as he tucked his arm into a sleeve covered with fake blood, near the laminated Jurassic Park ID badge on his striped shirt.

           “So… who are you supposed to be again?” Jace asked. “A guy who lost an arm?”

           “I’m Mr. Arnold from Jurassic Park. You know, the heavy smoker. Who got his arm chewed off by raptors when he tried to restart the park’s power?”

           “Right. That’s kind of a… secondary character, though.”

           “What are you talking about? Everyone remembers ‘hang onto your butts’ guy.”

           “He’s saying maybe no one will get it,” Colin replied, as he applied some white makeup and looked into the treehouse’s dusty, cracked mirror.

           “It’s supposed to be a joke, anyway. Anyone who saw the movie will get it. I’m gonna be all like, ‘they left me on the island!’ Because I’m still alive, you know?”

           “Not sure it’ll connect,” Wessy said as he pulled out a neon green wig with spiky hair and a bright orange vest that went over his purple shirt. “But I hope they like this.”

           He tossed on his stuff, and when combined with the pair of high-tops and blue jeans he already had on hand, he made for a pretty convincing 90s-era Wizard Rocker.

           “Check it out, dudes!” Wessy said and did the character’s ‘rad’ pose. “I got the wig and vest at the gift shop on my last visit to King Arcade. It’s official gear.”

           “Looks good,” Colin complimented, “but one of us has to actually be scary tonight to please the Halloween gods. And I guess that’ll be me this time.”

           Everyone watched as Colin put on a red wig with a white balding cap, a red clown nose, and then pulled up a yellow clown suit with green and purple collar flourish and orange cotton balls going down the center. He showed it off proudly.

           “It’s me, Pennywise. Buckos. Ya know, the It clown? My dad made the costume.”

           “Not bad at all,” Arthur said. “But your glasses kinda make it less scary,” he added, giving his own a nudge. “At least mine fit the character.”

           “Not much I can do about that, Arty. I would like to see tonight.”

           Jace felt a little tingle travel down his spine. If Colin hadn’t transformed right in front of him and he didn’t know who was in that clown suit, he might have flinched or even turned away in fright. He still had memories of the clown scare from 2016, and the trailers for the Hollywood remake of It had also given him some nightmares back when.

           “And where’s your costume, Zach?” Wessy inquired.

           Zach smiled, took out a pair of sunglasses, stylishly slid them on, and untucked the long red shirt under his denim jersey. After all that “costuming,” he used his natural talent in posing and struck one with his arms out, while also shaking his shoulders a bit.

           “Uh. Is that it?” Wessy asked. “You’re just, what, ‘cool bro’ or something?”

           Zach repeated the gesture, with more intensity. Wessy only raised an eyebrow.

           “He’s obviously Tom Cruise,” Colin said, rolling his eyes.

           “Yep,” Arthur added. “Don’t you see it? He even busted out the hair gel.”

           Jace didn’t get it, either, but he did his best to not appear confused like Wessy.

           “Anyway… the sun’s going down,” Wessy huffed, looking out of a treehouse window as the streetlights began to spring to life. “Where the heck are the others?”

           They heard the crunching of leaves and looked down to see Jared, in a Luigi costume, pulling up on his bike. Close by, walking through Colin’s painted styrofoam tombstones, were Sadie, Ash, and a girl with freckles, whose brown hair was in pigtails.

           “Hey, guys!” Sadie called up as Jared wrapped his bike chain around a small tree.

           “Hey, we ready?” Wessy shouted back. “We should get going.”

           He scooted off the side and jumped down. The others followed, using the rungs instead. After impact, Wessy looked at Jared and his Luigi suit and laughed.

           “What the crap, Wes?” Jared exclaimed and pressed on his fake mustache. “You were supposed to go as Mario! That was the plan! Why would Luigi be by himself?”

           “What’re you talking about? I told you a month ago I was switching to Wizzy-R!”

           “I don’t believe this…” Jared grumbled. “You idiot.”

           “Don’t fight,” Sadie urged them, and pulled at her outfit’s black sleeves. “Luigi can have an adventure without Mario. He should strike out on his own sometimes.”

           Jared sighed. “Thanks, Sadie… Your witch costume looks… nice.”

           “Enchantress,” she corrected. “Tom Cruise, Zach? That’s kind of low effort.”

           “Ah, c’mon, I put a lot of thought into it, Sade,” he defended his choices.

           “Ash,” Arthur said and examined his sister’s generic scientist getup, complete with white lab coat and bubbling food-colored soda test tubes. “That turned out nice, but I still think we should team up. You can be a dinosaur cloner, makin’ the dinos.”

           She tapped on the safety goggles that dwarfed her glasses underneath. “I told you, I’m not making stupid dinosaurs. I do real science, with chemicals and stuff.”

           “Hey, Celly,” Wessy said and waved to the freckle girl, who waved back. “Your mom could afford the full junior-sized Apple costume, huh? Lucky…”

           Indeed, it was a complete set. She had the steampunk goggles around her neck just like the character, the corduroy cap, the boots, and the clockwork print overalls.

           “You should’a gone as Tony, Wes,” she said in a ‘tough’ voice that caught Jace by surprise. “Then we could’a been a couple! But Wizard Rocker is cool, too.”

           A couple? Jace looked at Wessy, who shook his head in a “don’t ask” way. If some sort of history existed between the two, he likely wouldn’t be the one to spill it.

           Then again, Jace wasn’t the only one maybe feeling a little awkward. He was still at the age where, by and large, girls were “gross.” And yet, Ash was looking pretty smart as a scientist, and he… sort of liked? smart girls. Not that any had talked to him, yet.

           “Come on,” Wessy said and began leading the way. “Let’s hurry up and hit our neighborhood. I got plans! We’re gonna go far out tonight, more than ever before.”

           “What’re you making us do this time, Wes?” Sadie asked as they left Colin’s yard.

           “I’m tired of fun-sized scraps. Each year, Lucy gets bigger, better candy than us, all because she lives in the good part of Desert Tree. I scored a map off of Park that’ll show us how to get around and what houses handed out the good stuff last year.”

           “Wes, that part of Desert Tree is, like, a mile away,” Ash replied. “We’ll probably get lost, and tired, and it’ll get dark, and we’ll be really late, and our parents will yell—”

           “Don’t melt like a Kit Kat, Ash. I gave up five bucks for this thing,” Wessy said, taking out a folded local map covered in red pen marks. “So… it better not get us lost.”

           “I’m game,” Jared said. “What’s a little walking for big bars of chocolate?”

           “Same, man,” Zach added. “Yeah, like, I’ll do whatever. It’s me.”

           The nine adventurers stopped and looked around the street where Wessy lived. Parents were out with their small children, and other than a lit jack-o-lantern on most of the porches and doorsteps, the local décor was lacking in frights and effort.

           “I… I want some good candy, too,” Celeste said. “My side of Desert Tree isn’t that great, either. And whenever I trick-or-treat here, with Sadie and you guys, it’s pretty much the same. Don’t you still have, like, two old ladies that dish out apples?”

           Sadie sighed. “All right, all right. Let’s at least see Mrs. Calhuen first. She always gives big handfuls. We’ll need something to munch on if we’re having an expedition.”

           The others agreed with her, and Jace followed in the back as the gang went down the same sidewalk they’d traversed the past however many Halloweens. When they went by Wessy’s house, his Mom, waiting on the porch in her hippie costume with a bowl of candy, waved and called out to them. Her kid got to looking embarrassed pretty quickly.

           “Hi, everyone! Did you get started yet? Oh, you’re all so cute together.”

           “Mom…” Wessy grumbled back loudly. “You’re doing this on purpose.”

           She laughed shamelessly and sent them off with more waves.

           “You do look pretty cute, Wessy-Rocker,” Zach chimed.

           “Oh, shut up. I hope you only get Smarties.”

           Mrs. Calhuen lived on the corner of Wessy’s block, a few houses down from his own. The neighborhood development team ran out of room to put a full-sized home there, so her place was a small, ranch-style cottage. She made up for it with a plethora of decorations, including blow-up ghosts and a giant spiderweb on top of the roof. As they approached, a group of six younger kids were just leaving, looking happy about the visit.

           “She will give you a lot…” Jared said to everyone. “But you gotta put up with her trying to guess all of our costumes. She hasn’t been very good at that in the past.”

           “It’s no big deal,” Zach replied, with more of his ‘Cruise-cool’ mannerisms. “I’ll get it if she has no idea who I am. I mean, you guys are right. It is pretty basic.”

           They went up her brick path, and Colin was the one who rang the doorbell. She answered right away with a wide toothy smile on her face, which was somewhat youthful for a seventy-year-old—though it was balanced out by her thinning gray hair.

           “Oh, my! Look at this team-up. There’s so many of you!”

           She reached in to grab a bowl of candy, and Jace managed to get a peek and see the table that was home to at least another dozen bowls of assorted treats.

           Holy crap, he thought. She’s loaded.

           “Now, let’s see what we have here…” She held the bowl tantalizingly just out of reach, as most of the kids held their false smiles. “Oh, I love to guess all the characters.”

           And then she covered everybody, in a process that lasted nearly three agonizing minutes. Jace was a sailor. Wessy was a rock star. Sadie, of course, was a witch, while Luigi Jared became a train engineer. Celeste’s steampunk getup clearly made her some sort of pilot, Colin was Bozo the Clown, Arthur was a veterinarian that lost his arm to a mean dog—the contestant got a laugh out of that one—and Ash was a doctor.

           “And you must be Tom Cruise,” she finished, earning a big reactionary smile from Zach. “I loved him in Risky Business. Oh, but you’re probably too young for that.”

           Dividing the good stuff evenly, she dumped the entire bowl into the bags, wished the kids a happy holiday, and closed the door on them. They looked at each other for a moment before setting off, turning the corner and longing to leave the block.

           “Bozo? Really?” Colin moaned. “At least she didn’t say Ronald McDonald.”

           “You guys can complain, but she got my costume right!” Zach bragged.

           “Can we please start towards the good part of Desert Tree?” Wessy asked. “I want this night to be special. We gotta leave this Shrinky Dink burb and join the big league.”

           Ash eyed Sadie, conveying an expression of do you actually hang out with these boys?

           “All right, fine. Let’s go,” Sadie replied. “Any objections?”

           Jace made sure his head shake was prominent. He wanted to follow his uncle’s advice and not be a drag on whatever was about to go down. Just let the night happen.

           A while after they set sail to join other twilight explorers, most of them traveling the empty streets, they arrived at a house familiar to Jace. It was the one with a double garage, and again, someone was playing drums inside. This time, they competed with the scary ambient music blasting from a speaker in a window. The house also had a unique element: repurposed Christmas lights. Half were orange; the rest were a dark purple.

           “Whoa, maybe we should hit up this place,” Jared suggested. “Looks hardcore.”

           “I dunno,” Wes said, adjusting his green wig. “We’re still not at the good places.”

           “We could always use more backup candy,” Arthur argued, jostling his half-full bag. “Just in case this plan falls apart. At least we’d come home with our typical haul.”

           “Things aren’t gonna go wrong!” Wessy exclaimed. He then breathed, and added calmly, “Okay. We can take a quick vote. Stop here, or keep going?”

           “What if it’s a tie?” Jared wondered.

           “Dude. There are nine of us. Basic math, man.”

           Jared looked at Jace, floating around in the back. “Oh. Yeah.”

           “And if it was, we’d do a coin flip, just like always. So, let’s get it over with.”

           Pressed for time, most everyone made their decisions quickly. Arthur, Jared, Ash, and Colin wanted to stop. Sadie, Wes, Zach, and Celeste wanted to keep going. Jace was afraid of that. How was he supposed to decide? As the other eight looked at him, he felt his thoughts get scrambled. What am I supposed to do? I don’t know how this originally went!

           He closed his eyes and blurted out, “Let’s keep going!”

           I hope that was the right answer. The night is the journey, right?

           Wes declared, “That settles it. No stops until we’re in Luce’s neck of the woods.”

           The group had only taken a few steps onto the next road when Jace noticed a black shape in the corner of his eye. Right there—at the other end of the block, closer than usual. After a lack of sightings recently, there he was again. The Time Ninja. No one else noticed, but Jace had trained his eyes to spot any shadow shaped like a person.

           He was holding something small over his head. Before Jace could think about what it was, the ninja’s thumb clicked it. There was a rolling mechanical sound nearby. Jace turned and saw the right-side garage door going up, revealing the space beyond it. Of course, the ninja used this distraction to disappear before Jace looked back his way.

           “Huh?” Wessy turned around, after being allured by the richer, louder sound of drums that now pierced the early night air. “Did someone open that garage door?”

           “Yeah, it was totally one of us, man,” Jared scoffed.

           “Whatever. Let’s keep…” Wessy trailed off as the drummer came into view, who was fairly distinguishable even past forty or so feet of inclined driveway. “No way.”

           “Wes?” Sadie said as the others watched him steadily approach the garage, with an entranced, or perhaps determined look in his eye. “I thought we were in a hurry.”

           That clearly didn’t matter to him at the moment, so everyone gave in and tagged along. Upon getting a little closer, Jace—and Arthur, too—also recognized the musician.

           “The heck?” Arthur blurted out. “Is that Vanni? Wes, is that Vanni Patile?”

           Vanni looked up from her drums as they closed in, and was taken by surprise upon finding her garage door open and seeing she had visitors. There was room on the other side for a car, but both spots were empty. On her half, along with a washer and dryer and her kit, were shelves of CDs, album posters, and rock’n’roll memorabilia.

           She stopped wailing on her toms, took the cigarette out of her mouth, and welcomed her sudden guests. “Oh, hey. Door wiring must be crapping out… Or it’s haaaunted. You kids having a good… Wait, is that you, Wes? And, uh, Wes’ friend?”

           “Y-yeah,” Wessy squeaked. “Nice, um… Nice drumming.”

           “Just workin’ on a beat for my band’s new song. Got a killer rhythm goin’.”

           “You got a band? And… you smoke?” Arthur asked her.

           “Now and then. Did you think I just rock at video games all day? Gotta have some culture in your life, peeps. You got a lot of pals, Wes. They want some beers?”

           The kids looked at each other. Only Jared seemed to be considering it.

           “I’m kidding. I hate beer. But I got sodas. No idea why you’re all here, but I don’t mind an audience. Was just about to take a break, though. Wanna come in for a sec?”

           “We’re kind of trying to—” Sadie started, but Wessy shushed her with a gesture.

           “Sure, we got a few minutes,” he said for the entire group.

           “A’ight. Cool. Come on, I got somethin’ wicked to show ya.”

           She put out her cig in a Joe Camel ashtray and got up from her seat, revealing her bare midriff and her usual denim shorts and black tights. Wessy stared and felt strange.

           “You’re not… wearing a costume,” he observed.

           “She’s not wearing much of anything,” Sadie whispered. “Look at those legs.”

           “I used to go out,” Vanni said as they followed her into the kitchen. “Gavin still does it. He’s probably out there egging houses. Now I just…” She opened her run-down old fridge and looked in. “Shit. Thought I had more. Just one can of the doc left.” She took out a Dr. Pepper, cracked it open, sipped, and gave it to Sadie. “Share if you want.”

           Sadie reluctantly took it as Jared asked, “So you’re the chick that has high scores on all the arcade games, right? I thought Wes was your rival. But you’re being nice.”

           “Got nothin’ against being nice, at least when I’m not beating someone at a hot title. Anyway, I’m drumming tonight so that any kids who come knocking assume I can’t hear them, and then leave. I don’t have candy to pass out. Parents never buy any.”

           “Are your parents, like, ever here?” Colin wondered.

           “House give off that impression? Yeah, they’re usually gone. But I bet you guys don’t want to hang around. Ya wait all year for tonight, and then it lasts maybe an hour.”

           “Didn’t you want to show us something?” Wessy questioned and took his sip.

           “Yeah, sure. I mean, if you have time. I got nothin’ else to do.”

           “No cool teen parties, or…” Celeste murmured and took a big gulp.

           Vanni snickered and led them into the living room, where all the major consoles were hooked up to a big TV next to shelves full of games, from Atari to the newest hits.

           “What a cool family…” Wessy said as they followed his rival to her room.

           “Wes, what are we doing here, with this weird girl?” Sadie asked him.

           He didn’t answer, because he was suddenly too busy staring at the arcade cabinet in the corner of Vanni’s bedroom, resting amid unlit candles and more music posters.

           “Time for a quick game?” Vanni offered, by her prized cabinet of Double Dragon.

           Arthur checked his trusty watch. The game was thirty minutes in, and now the two martial artists were on the final boss after beating up half the city, just to rescue the girl. They were a team, but competed for a high score and had taken turns holding it. To keep the others entertained, Vanni also shared stories of her past trick-or-treat outings.

           “We really need to get going…” Arty said. “It’s for-real dark out now.”

           Jace looked to his right, where Ash was sitting. There were six kids using the side of Vanni’s bed as a seat, but she was the one next to him. Does that mean anything?

           “There we go!” Vanni shouted excitedly as they beat the game. “Ah, man, it’s good doing co-op. Had this thing for a year, and it was starting to gather dust.”

           “That was fun,” Wessy replied, and looked back at the others—most of them bored. “Sorry guys. Guess we got some time to make up. But don’t worry! This is, like, when the older kids are just getting started. There’s still plenty of candy out there.”

           Ash shot up and exclaimed, “I thought we were in a hurry, doofus!”

           “Wes is right. The night’s young,” Vanni said. “My drums call to me, anyway.”

           With Wessy practicing his kung-fu moves by punching the air as he walked, the nine followed their “strange” teenage game and story host back to her garage.

           “When was the last time you trick-or-treated?” Sadie asked Vanni. “Because usually, ya know… kids our age are out there instead of inside playing video games.”

           Vanni brushed off the passive-aggressiveness with a laugh. “I haven’t done it since I was ten, when Gavin was six and just became my stepbrother. So, we only got to do it once together. He was a ninja turtle. Not any one in particular; just… a turtle. And I was the fierce, independent reporter, April O’Neil. The outfit didn’t look great on me. I just ended up looking like a banana.” She opened the garage door, and noticed that the big one for cars was still open. “Oops. Forgot to close that. Ah, screw it. I’ll play for the night air. Thanks for stopping by, guys. You make me miss this night.”

           “You could join us,” Wessy offered. “Show us some houses from your stories.”

           “Aw, you’re a sweet kid, Wes. But I’m fine with just the memories. Besides, the 80s were the best years to do it, anyway. I’ll ruin your fun by bringing up the past.”

           She got back to banging on her drums. Wessy, satisfied, turned to his pals, more than eager to finally get going. He stood up straight to make himself look like a leader.

           And he proclaimed, “Vanni had some legendary Halloweens. Let’s go have ours.”

           “My feet are sore,” Sadie huffed. “I had to wear my crappy old black shoes to go with the costume, and Wes wasted so much time with his new girlfriend back there…”

           “She is not, and guys, I’m about to make up for it. I know it’s been a long walk, but around this next corner, you’ll see where kids get the ‘good stuff’ I promised.”

           Placing their faith in Wessy, the group hurried across the last few feet of the dark, broken sidewalk that separated the neighborhood’s middle and upper-class areas, and stopped to look in awe at the lit spectacle down the street ahead. Jace had seen this part of Desert Tree during the day when they returned Lucy’s shoe, and in his own time, but it was truly something else seeing it at night, especially on the best one of the year.

           Wow. When you got money, you can afford to put lights all over your house.

           The costumed crusaders hurried off into the night, with Jace in the back, to all the houses and mini-mansions with full second floors. There were dozens of kids about, most with more regal ensembles—but free candy did not discriminate. Every castle had a doorbell, or an ornate lion face knocker. The nobles were cultured, and they guessed their theatric portrayals correctly more often than not. One manor after the next, they got their pillowcases filled with ambrosia. No knock-off brands, no mini-sizes. A few estates even provided them with mythical full-sized candy bars, and their visit to the best residence on the block, which Jace knew well from his historical era, awarded them king-sized Hershey bars. Wessy came through for his friends, and their spoil bags were heavy.

           “But we’re not done yet,” he said, now holding his candy over his shoulder like Santa Claus. “There’s another block just like this. As long as we avoid Lucy’s house…”

           “Wes, I have enough candy to last until Easter,” Ash said as she dragged her bag.

           “Yeah, I think we can go home now, really,” Sadie added.

           “Are you girls serious? Wes says there’s more candy out there,” Zach argued.

           “Okay, okay. Two more houses. There are two good ones nearby,” Wessy replied.

           Jace looked back at a familiar street, with an entrance between two lampposts. Curiosity was nagging at him to partake on a small quest of his own, but it would have to be alone. He wasn’t sure if he’d get the chance tonight, but it might be cool to…

           “Wes? What the heck are you doing way out here at the good houses?”

           Jace turned to see that Lucy and three friends had walked up on them. They had put forth a group effort and were the girls from Rainbow Brite; Lucy the titular character.

           Wessy snorted and laughed. “Who are you supposed to be, Luce? You look like a five-year-old in a Skittles bag. And those rainbow boots! How much did those cost?”

           She sighed and glared at him, as her friends looked a little insulted. “Mom bought all of our costumes because she thought we’d be cute… I don’t even like Rainbow Brite.”

           “You heading home?” Wessy asked after noticing their full pumpkin pails.

           “Yeah, and switching to normal clothes. You should take your bags full of rich people candy and go home yourself. You’re lucky I won’t tell Dad about this.”

           “Tell him about what?! It’s a free neighborhood. I can go where I want.”

           As the siblings argued, Jace spoke up in the back, where only Colin and Jared heard him. “Hey. Hey, guys… I’m gonna go check something out. Be right back.”

           “Whatever,” Jared said with a shrug. “Don’t get lost.”

           Hauling his big goody bag, Jace headed off as Lucy’s friends got impatient with her need to have the last word. He went down that easily-missable and poorly-lit road that twisted and turned. It had no kids or even houses, but it was a shortcut that went to his own home, in a tiny corner between Desert Tree’s modest and luxurious sections.

           I’ll just give it a quick look, and see if it has any decorations up. I wonder who lives there.

           After the sights and sounds of children quieted behind him, Jace felt alone and isolated—but not lost. He knew this street well. It was timeless, and he already felt like he was back in the future again. Given his costume, the thought seemed appropriate.

           His block emerged, along with the houses that resided there. Trees and a few dozen meters of darkness separated it from the rest of the suburb, and he had always liked that hushed aspect about it. As he approached his address, he got excited.

           I bet someone really cool lives at my place right now.

           Once he saw his humble abode, he stopped to admire its presence. It was barely different. It had the same hedges, driveway, and blue façade. Two scary jack-o-lanterns guarded the door. He wanted to peek inside, just to see how the furniture was arranged.

           He was about to step closer, when suddenly the streetlight near his future home flickered, and a transformer buzzed. He stopped to ponder this, and heard leaves crunch behind him. A whooshing sound. And then a shadow passed by in the corner of his eye.

           He gulped and stayed still in the darkness, where the streetlights didn’t touch. A full minute passed. Then he heard kid chatter. He kept still and soundless and watched.

           Across the street, a girl dressed in a strange white and red robe and a black devil-horn helmet appeared with a teenage girl, who must have been her older sister.

           “Go in and get out of that thing, weirdo. And I’m not taking you out next year.”

           “Fine. I’ll be old enough to go out on my own, anyway. Besides, maybe I’ll actually get more candy without you. You didn’t even dress up.”

           “You didn’t get more candy because your costume freaks people out! God, no one wants to give a ‘cannibal priestess’ chocolate. Why are you so freaking weird?”

           No. There’s no way that creepy Felicity girl lived at my house. Please, tell me it’s not true.

           As the sisters insulted each other and Felicity complained that no one understood her, they went ahead and confirmed Jace’s fears by walking right up and going into his front door. With this disturbing revelation, he sighed a big one and stared at the ground.

           “Don’t say anything,” an odd, crackly voice abruptly ordered from straight ahead.

          Jace looked up. The ninja, cloaked in black, was right there, under a dim streetlight by the trees. He was maybe ten feet away; by far the closest he had ever been. Getting a good look for the first time, it was obvious he wasn’t wearing a cheap plastic costume.

           No, he had some serious hardware: glowing goggles and face mask, a mechanized frame around his right arm, and an actual sword at his side. It was rectangular, like a giant razor blade. Jace was certain he was from the future. The only basic part of his attire was the worn, undersized black hoodie over his head, its torn sleeves tied around his neck.

           “W-who—” Jace stammered, but was immediately shushed.

           “Shut up. No questions. We don’t have time. Just do exactly what I say. You… have no idea how many times we’ve had this talk. I can’t take it anymore.”

           His voice sounded like it was coming from a small set of speakers in his mask, after being digitized and disguised. And while Ninja’s ensemble hid his true height and age, it was becoming evident that he really couldn’t have been older than a teenager.

           “You’ve been following me around. At least tell me I’m not crazy,” Jace asked.

           “You’re not. Listen. A time storm is about to hit. Do what I say. When you go somewhere, stay there. Don’t go into any of the portals. Just stay there! I’ll find you.”

           “Find me? Portals? What? What the heck’s a time storm? Hey!”

           Ninja had taken a few steps back into the darkness and disappeared. As he did so, a constant thunder erupted from everywhere and became as loud as a jet engine.

           Jace covered his ears, and watched as the air around him distorted and tore open. Hundreds of dark rifts grew into portals all across the neighborhood, and in seconds it looked like the local spacetime itself, like his house, was being destroyed.

           He cried out in panic, dropped his candy, and covered his eyes, only for it all to end almost as soon as it began. He heard birds chirping, felt heat on his skin, and saw sunlight through his eyelids. Cautiously, he opened them and looked around. It was morning. So little time had passed for him that he was confident he hadn’t blacked out or fallen asleep. He must have suddenly been transported somewhere—or somewhen.

           He was still outside his house, but now it was maybe seven or eight in the morning. Specifically, after seeing that his house’s trees and hedges had been hit by a toilet paper attack, he figured that it must have been the morning following Halloween night. The sky was clear and blue, and a woman out for an early jog with her dog eyed the mess in Felicity’s yard as she passed by and muttered something about “darn teenagers.” Without thinking about it, Jace disobeyed Ninja and left his spot.

           Giving his house a closer inspection, he saw the word “FREAK” scrawled in what looked like lipstick on the outside wall near the front door. Teenagers used lipstick. Maybe it was someone who knew Felicity’s sister, and was taking shots at her younger sibling. Or perhaps it was personal. Either way, Jace also felt a little insulted himself, just seeing the word on his house. It almost felt like something that could happen to him.

           He wished he had brought his cell phone, but it didn’t fit in his costume’s tight jeans. If he had lost ten hours, Wes would be trying to call him, or out looking. This time skip was bad—not a disaster, but bad enough. Could he walk to Wessy’s, and try to come up with some reason why he disappeared the night before? And from there…

           “Damn it, you always move!” that digitized voice interrupted from behind.

           Jace turned to face the ninja, and was able to make out some more details of his suit in the bright light. The metal had scratches and dents, and he wore a utility belt of sorts with tools attached to it, alongside a durable, futuristic-looking water bottle.

           “Look, stupid. You can’t move around until I find you. Your dumb ass will probably just end up walking through a tear, and then I have to spend another few hours tracking you down. This is going to be a long enough night for me, chasing you around time like this. I’m trying to get you out of this storm and back home. Stupid.”

           Jace suddenly wasn’t quite as intimidated as he had been in the past, and even raised an eyebrow as he looked at the ninja in front of him. Was he really just swearing like that? And so poorly? He definitely couldn’t take him too seriously now, either. It was like Darth Vader or Kylo Ren, despite their frightening outfits and off-human speaker voices, suddenly began to spout off a bunch of bad words to try and sound badass.

           “You’re… not Park, are you?” Jace asked.

           “Who the hell is Park?” that computerized voice disguiser replied.

           “You’re so, uh… edgy. Is there an annoying punk teenager under all that gear?”

           “S-shut up. You got no idea how long I’ve been at this, trying to get you through the night, or preparing. All you do is ask the same questions. Over and over.” He looked around. “We need to find a tear. They’re unstable, and collapse after one person goes through it. I can follow you, but I have to find you first. That’s the annoying part.”

           “What about everyone else? Are they—”

           “Quantum stable people are unaffected. They don’t know this is happening.”

           “Quantum… stable?”

           He turned and looked at Jace through his red goggles. “Time travelers. Us.”

           “And, um, what makes you think I’m a time traveler?” Jace asked coyly.

           “Cut the crap. Why else would we both be here?”

           “Fine, but what is a time storm? Is it a scientific term, or did you make it up?”

           “Doesn’t matter what you call it! It’s a non-linear mess-up of spacetime, and if you don’t do what I say, you’ll get lost someplace and never reach the end. It’s not a problem for me, since I can go whenever I want, but you’re helpless on your own.”

           “Sure, whatever. Just tell me what to do, you… weird time ninja stalker.”

           “Time Ninja… Is that what you’ve been calling me?”

           Jace shrugged. His “helper” then looked around and pointed out a rip in space down the road, reflecting the nearby light but not showing anything on the other side.

           “Walk through that one,” he ordered. “And take your candy with you. Marty.”

           Jace grumbled and did as he was told. He didn’t expect the guy to be such a jerk. He hesitated a moment in front of the tear, but went in anyway without giving it too much thought. Just like going through his uncle’s pantry door, there was nothing to it, and it was a smooth transition—other than a change in temperature and lighting.

           It was night again. He was in the middle of the street, exactly where he had gone through. He looked at his house. It was definitely Halloween again—he saw a group of kids knocking at his door—but now there was just one jack-o-lantern. Is it a different year?

           “Oh, good, you stayed still this time,” Ninja said from behind him.

           “Could you stop sneaking up on me?” Jace groaned.

           “Let’s go. I don’t see any tears around here. We’ll have to find another one.”

           He turned and began walking, so Jace followed. It looked like they were heading back in the direction of Wessy’s house, opposite the one to the upscale residences.

           “Why do you need to help me from this point, anyway?” Jace asked. “I get the basic idea. I can just go through tears until I get back to the right time… right?”

           “There are others out there that may be investigating this storm. And, no, I can’t tell you more yet. But it’s also important that you trick-or-treat in the first place.”

           “There’s someone else to look out for? Great. What caused this storm, anyway?”

           “I have theories on the timing, but I can’t talk about that, either. Far as location goes, I’m sure it’s because that uncle of yours keeps interfering with people that live here. All his… childhood friends. Time doesn’t seem to like concentrated changes like that.”

           “So, this storm is happening because we’re screwing around too much, altering things? Is it like history here is fragile, or too tangled all of a sudden?”

           “Something like that. The spacetime around Wessy’s house is really bad, and full of tears. But that’s good for us. The more you go through, the better the chance you find one that takes you back, and then it’s over. Hey. Give me some of your candy.”

           Jace reached into his pillowcase and gave Ninja a handful. He turned around, ate a whole bunch hungrily, and then returned the wrappers, being careful not to leave them behind. After his meal, he drank thirstily, and covered his face again before facing Jace.

           “I get that you need to ‘forage,’ but where does the bottle’s water come from?”

           “It auto-refills. Draws in moisture from the air over time.”

           “You buy that from Sharper Image or something? My mom orders from there.”

           Ninja stayed quiet up to the arrival at Wessy’s, which was surrounded by thirty or so time tears. The kids leaving for the night were the same ones that had gone out with Jace, only in his place was a boy dressed as Kid Vid from the Burger King Kid’s Club.  

           “Is that Charlie?” Jace asked from behind the bushes where they were hiding.

           “Yes, but focus. That one,” he said, pointing at a tear once the coast was clear.

           Jace didn’t hesitate, and went through a portal near Wessy’s mailbox. He knew interacting with anyone during this particular event was more dangerous than usual.

           It was night again on the other side of the rift. There were more portals around the yard, and the car in the driveway looked like the kind his uncle drove in 1995, only newer and cleaner. The ninja appeared again, without any time-warping fanfare.

           “Is this, like, A Halloween Carol or something?” Jace asked him after noticing another set of decorations. “Are we seeing Octobers of past, present, and future?”

           “Yeah, sure. We got lucky that the storm chose today to happen. Makes it easy to blend in.” He grabbed more sweets for himself. “And gives me plenty of food.”

           Before Jace could use the portal by Wessy’s front door, they had to wait for two kids to ask for candy first—a boy in a cheap Ninja Turtle costume, and an older girl…

           Dressed as April O’Neil? Oh. It’s ten-year-old Vanni and little Gavin. This must be 1989?

           “Guess I’ll never think about this day the same way,” Jace murmured. “All these generations of kids, in costumes that change each year, having their night of fun…”

           “Cool and deep. See whatever you want in it. Just get in there,” Ninja ordered after the Patiles took a younger version of Wes’ mom’s candy and returned to the sidewalk.

           Jace ran and leapt through, forgetting that space didn’t change like time did. On the other side, he slammed into Wessy’s front door, on yet another night. He fell back onto the ground, and felt something heavy leave his grip. He quickly spotted his bag, but before he could grab it, the door began to open and he had to hide by some shrubs.

           “The hell?” a teenage goth Wessy said. “Hey, someone threw a bag at the door.”

           “Looks like free candy, buddy. Score!” Colin, dressed similarly, replied.

           Wessy grabbed it and tossed it into the house, and they set off. But only the two?

           “Good start to the night, huh? Makes up for the party,” Colin joked with his pal.

           “Losing that was bad,” Ninja chastised Jace after he had snuck away and met him at the side of the house. “You really screwed up. Just… get in the tear near me.”

           Jace was also upset that he had lost his candy, but knew that he probably couldn’t get it back. He stepped through the portal, and saw the light of sunset this time. As he looked around, Ninja walked up to him, with a McDonald’s bag and cup in his hand.

           “Had to do a food run,” he said and tossed them in the house’s dumpster.

           “What… what year is this?” Jace asked as they left the yard. “It feels familiar.”

           Ninja looked at something out of sight on his belt and replied, “2019.” He then watched Jace think for a second, before running off at full speed. “Hey! Come back!”

           It’s 2019, Jace thought as he ran home, avoiding rifts along the way. I’m so close!

           He could hear Ninja right behind him, barely keeping up. Nothing was going to stop him from seeing the house he knew. I just want to look through a window and see Mom!

           He stopped and took cover behind a big tree. Ahead, his year-younger self left happily with his own old friends as Marvel superheroes, Laurie in the lead. Before they headed out, ‘’Jacey’ stopped for a moment upon noticing the nearby streetlight flicker.

           “Strange…” ‘Big’ Jace told Ninja. “I suddenly remember the light doing that.”

           “Even just trying to see your mom is too risky. It’s dangerous being here.”

           “I… I figured. Hey. How do you get around time? Can you tell me that much?”

           It looked like Ninja was considering it—until suddenly, a nearby tear collapsed with a loud static burst. They turned and saw a small hovering robot fly out from it.

           “I was afraid of that,” Ninja said, and tapped something on his goggles that turned their lenses bright red. “Stay back. I think it’s already seen us.”

           It all happened in seconds. Jace watched as Ninja reached for his sword, only for it to come to him; it floated off the magnetic block that kept it in place, and attached to a strap in his right hand. This seemed to panic the little robot, and it took off towards a rift. Before it could make it, Ninja tossed his sword very precisely with his mechanized arm, sending it spinning through the air. It sliced through the bot and lodged itself into the tree in the corner of Jace’s front yard. Ninja then went over to gather up the halves of the robot, and used his magnetic hand strap to yank his blade out of the sycamore.

           Why is stuff getting so weird? Jace thought blankly. Isn’t doing what Wes wants enough?

           “Temporal probe,” Ninja explained as he met Jace at the tear it had wanted to go through. “Destroyed it before it could report back. I’ll dispose of it. You try this portal.”

           Jace looked at his house longingly, but didn’t want to argue with a guy who’d just thrown a massive sword with a robot arm. He went on in, and returned to the night.

           This time, the ninja was already there, waiting for him, with his arms crossed.

           “Thought there was a chance that was the one that would bring you back. I guess it all could’ve been worse… Not that I hadn’t been preparing for tonight for months.”

           “So… that’s it?” Jace asked tepidly. “All that craziness is over?”

           “Pretty much as soon as it began. Come on. I’ll walk you back to the others.”

           “Hey, Ninja,” Jace said as they went. “Vanni’s garage—what was that about?”

           “Separate issue. Needed Wes to meet her earlier. The less you know the better… Jace. I’ll keep watching from a distance, maybe let you know I’m there, like I’ve done in your past sometimes, and keep the probes away. You stay cool with your uncle’s friends. That’s part of all of this, too. Too bad about your candy. Wes would’ve appreciated it.”

           Jace wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but if the candy was that important, he wanted to get it back. I wonder. If just one last time… He closed his eyes and concentrated. That’s 1995 candy. It doesn’t belong in 1999. It’s mine. It belongs here. I’m a time traveler. I’m a…

           He wasn’t sure if his thoughts helped, but either way, he and the ninja were both surprised when the bag moved through time and space and reappeared in Jace’s waiting, open arms. The glitch lived, and returned candy to a boy now thoroughly living in 1995.

           “The glitch? That’s… impressive. Huh.” Ninja let the smallest of chuckles escape and rubbed his head with a sigh as Wessy’s group walked within earshot. “Here’s where we go our separate ways. You survived the night. So, happy time-skipping Halloween.”

           Jace nodded back, and instead of disappearing right in front of him, Ninja simply returned to the darkness with his thoughts. Nearby, over in the light, it looked like Wes had just finished his argument with Lucy and her group, who were heading off. Jace had been in the temporal storm for maybe twenty minutes, but here, only a few had passed.

           He ran up and rejoined them, unsure if they realized that he’d been gone. They were tired, but Jace was the most exhausted of all, and only wanted to get home safely.

           “Wes…” he breathed out. “It’s late, we all got more than enough, and I can’t go on any further. Can’t we just haul this stuff home and call it a night?”

           Sadie agreed. “Yeah, and your dumb argument with Lucy ruined the mood.”

           “Fine. My bag’s heavy enough anyway. But next year, we get even more!” Wessy declared, and began leading the group, maybe Desert Tree’s largest, back to his house.

           But to top things off, something unexpected and rather dangerous happened on the way. Wessy, his bag the chunkiest, had worn himself out and fallen to the rear of the group, so Jace kept looking back to check on him. And then suddenly, on the side of the neighborhood’s busiest road, Wessy walked right by the ninja.

           Maybe Wes didn’t see him, or figured he was just another passing kid. That didn’t stop the ninja from pushing him into the road, in front of an oncoming car. But he must have choreographed everything, as Wes only tripped and let go of his candy, which hit the asphalt. A blink later, the bag got ran over and exploded. The car screeched to a halt, Celeste was the first to cry out in worry, and during the commotion, Ninja disappeared.

           For Jace, the proceeding events happened in a blur, and little of their dialogue really entered into his memory. While the others were more concerned for him, Wessy only wanted to save his candy, and demanded to know who pushed him. They called him crazy, and so did the upset driver. Then Sadie tried to talk some sense into Wes, as did Colin and Arthur. Zach kept mostly chill, Jared ended up laughing, and Celeste and Ash, despite an initial fear of injury, were soon joking about how dumb boys were.

           With tears in his eyes after a close call and a ruined night, he ended up leaving his destroyed candy collection on the street, led the way home, and ran up to his room.

           Jace had no idea why the ninja would do such a thing… until something magical happened upstairs. Wessy’s friends all split up their loot and evenly divided the spoils. Soon, it was as if one of the bags hadn’t been lost, and he was smiling again. It made for quite a heartwarming snapshot. Somehow, they truly like him, Jace felt as he offered to take a group costume photo with Arty’s camera. And he did remember one thing Wessy said.

           “You guys are the best,” he told everyone, and smiled for a printable keepsake.

           Jace was still pondering the moment as his uncle picked him up an hour later.

           Wes asked in the car, “So, Hocus Pocus when we get back? How’d the night go?”

           “Did… anything weird happen at the apartment?” Jace questioned Doc Brown.

           “Sure. Kids kept coming by. Guess the seniors are known for giving out a lot.”

           Jace hugged his now smaller candy bag and thought, so that’s a no. The storm must’ve not hit the apartment. I won’t tell him what happened. He still doesn’t even believe that the ninja is real.

           “It was pretty epic,” Jace said. “Until a car ran over your candy, and we had to split up everyone else’s and share. But… that was okay. We had more than enough to go around. It was actually kind of a nice story that happened among friends, you know?”

           Wes looked at him. “That’s not how I remember it. I swore I called myself the ‘Candy King’ that night. Maybe I just wiped something like that from memory.”

           Yeah, you think that. Me, I gotta figure out how to write my homework tonight.