Blood Games

by Richard Laymon

  ‘You’ve made her night,’ Vivian told him.

  ‘Give them some candy,’ Abilene said.

  Cora gave a couple of Three Musketeers bars to each of the adults, then dropped a few more into the bags of the kids.

  On their way again, Vivian said, ‘Nice people.’

  ‘Smart, too,’ said Abilene.

  Next, they met up with a flock of eight or nine yelling, laughing kids being shepherded by three teenaged girls. While Cora handed out candy, a kid wearing a plastic Rambo chest looked Vivian in the eyes and grumbled, ‘I’m your worst nightmare.’ A vampire pranced around Helen chanting, ‘Fatty ghost, fatty ghost!’ Minnie Mouse, as high as Abilene’s waist, reached up and tugged the front of her sweatshirt and said, ‘I’m Susan and I’m four.’

  ‘Hi, Susan. I’m Abilene.’

  ‘That’s a pretty name.’

  ‘Why, thank you.’

  ‘I’m four.’

  ‘Are you getting lots of candy?’

  ‘Oh yes. Lots and lots.’

  The prancing, chanting vampire yelped and went down. He fell flat on the sidewalk and started to cry.

  Once they’d left the bunch behind, Abilene asked Helen if she’d tripped him.

  ‘Who you mean? “Fatty ghost, fatty ghost”? Naw. He was just a klutz, the little asshole.’

  ‘Have you noticed how some of these kids are such jerks?’ Vivian asked.

  ‘Did you see that little shit grab for my camera?’ Finley asked.

  Abilene hadn’t noticed.

  ‘Gives abortion a good name.’

  ‘Most of them are okay,’ Abilene said.

  ‘Here come some big ones,’ Cora announced.

  ‘Ohhh, boy,’ Helen muttered.

  ‘Hey, that guy’s not bad lookin’,’ Finley said. ‘The blond?’

  ‘Keep your panties on,’ Cora told her.

  ‘How can she?’ Abilene said. ‘She never wears ’em.’

  Finley popped open a couple of snaps at the top of her coveralls. Apparently, she didn’t want this group to make the same mistake as Batman regarding her gender.

  ‘Give it a break,’ Vivian muttered.

  ‘Awfully hot in this thing.’

  The four boys, who looked old enough to be high school seniors, were just leaving the sidewalk, ready to head for a house, when one of them noticed the approaching girls. He said something to his buddies.

  They returned to the sidewalk.

  They shambled forward like drunks, weaving and dragging their feet.

  ‘Night of the Living Dead,’ Helen said.

  Abilene realized she was right. They weren’t drunk; they were supposed to be zombies.

  The blond-haired guy who’d caught Finley’s fancy wore a business suit. A sleeve of his jacket was missing. His necktie hung loose. The hilt of a knife protruded from the chest of his bloody sport shirt.

  A stocky guy shuffling along beside him wore Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt. He must be freezing, Abilene thought. His face was dark with blood. A meat cleaver was buried in the top of his head.

  One was dressed in a plaid bathrobe over pale blue pajamas. His fidelity to the outfit, however, had been compromised by his footwear sneakers instead of slippers. Neither he nor the fourth member of the group, dressed in a baseball uniform, had attached phoney weapons to their bodies or smeared themselves with fake blood. Probably didn’t want to ruin their clothes, Abilene thought. But the pajama boy carried a rubber foot, which he pretended to munch as he approached. The baseball player staggered along swinging a bat with one hand. He looked as if he might like to bash in some heads with it.

  All four of the zombies had plastic shopping bags for their goodies.

  ‘Don’t anybody get cute,’ Vivian warned. ‘These guys could be trouble.’

  Finley walked right up to them. ‘Greetings. You guys look dead on your feet.’

  The one with the cleaver in his head moaned and swayed.

  The baseball player raised his Louisville Slugger overhead and said, ‘Trick or treat.’

  ‘Just so happens,’ Finley said, ‘we come bearing gifts. Cheery the Cheerleader has some Three Musketeers for you fellows.’

  ‘We just eat flesh,’ explained the pajama boy. He stuck the big toe of the rubber foot into his mouth and gnawed on it. He moaned with pleasure.

  ‘The really good part,’ Finley said, ‘must be the jam.’

  He laughed. So did Finley’s favorite in the tom suit. The one with the cleaver looked at Abilene and stopped swaying.

  Vivian groaned.

  Cora reached into her sack and took out a handful of candy bars. As she dropped them into the zombies’ bags, the one in the tom jacket asked in a very normal pleasant voice, ‘Are you gals on your way to a party, or something?’

  ‘We’re just going around spreading Halloween cheer,’ Finley said.

  ‘You’re from the university.’

  ‘We’ve been known to frequent its ivy halls.’

  ‘Same here.’

  The news surprised Abilene. Obviously, the boys were older than they looked.

  ‘First year?’ Cora asked.

  ‘It shows,’ said the one with the rubber foot.

  ‘Aren’t you kind of old to be trick-or-treating?’

  ‘Why should little kids be the only ones having fun?’

  ‘Our sentiments, too,’ Finley said, and plucked off her gorilla head. Smiling, she rubbed her mussed, shaggy hair. ‘I’m Finley,’ she said.

  ‘I’m Bill,’ said the one In the suit. ‘These three cretins are Gary, Chuck and my roomy, Harris.’

  Gary was the pajama boy with the foot. Chuck was the baseball player. Harris was the guy wearing the plastic meat cleaver. ‘We oughta get going,’ Abilene said.

  ‘I’ve seen you around,’ Harris said, looking into Abilene’s eyes.

  ‘That’s Hickok.’

  Thanks a heap, she thought.

  Harris frowned. ‘I thought it was Abilene.’

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  BELMORE GIRLS

  Abilene felt heat rush to her face.

  Christ, how does he know my name?

  ‘Whoooa,’ said Finley. ‘He knows ya! Do you know him?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘I’ve just seen you around,’ he said. ‘That’s all.’

  Bill suddenly looked startled. ‘Hey! She’s the one in the yearbook!’

  ‘She is not! Shut up!’

  ‘Oh, wow.’

  ‘He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,’ Harris said, his bloody face grimacing. ‘Come on. We’ve gotta get going.’ He didn’t wait for the others. Forgetting his zombie walk, he hurried past Abilene with his face turned away.

  ‘Geez, Harris!’ Bill called, and rushed after him.

  As the other two followed, Chuck the baseball player grinned at Abilene. ‘That guy’s got a major-league crash on you.’

  ‘No kidding,’ she muttered.

  She looked back in time to see Harris throw a punch into Bill’s shoulder.

  ‘Curiouser and curiouser,’ Finley said.

  ‘Maybe you oughta go after him,’ Cora said.

  ‘Give me a break.’

  ‘He was pretty cute under all that blood,’ Vivian said.

  ‘Yeah, sure thing.’ 'He must’ve gotten your name from the yearbook,’ Helen said.

  ‘Freshmen don’t even have yearbooks yet.’

  ‘Wouldn’t be hard to get your hands on one,’ Cora told her.

  ‘I’d be flattered,’ Helen said.

  ‘Well, I’m not.’

  She looked over her shoulder. The boys were half a block away. They weren’t walking like zombies. Harris seemed to be the center of attention. He’d taken the meat cleaver off his head. He was shaking it at the others, who shoved him and slapped his back and pointed toward Abilene.

  Really giving him the business, she thought.

  The poor guy was probably embarrassed half to death.

  Serves him right.

>   He looks at pictures of me in the yearbook?

  Turning away, she muttered, ‘What a creep.’

  ‘Just in love,’ Finley said.

  ‘Take a leap.’

  ‘Cut it out,’ Cora said. ‘Here come some more kids.’

  Abilene felt hot and shaky inside. In spite of the chilly wind, her skin seemed to be on fire. Sweat dribbled down her sides.

  A major-league crush.

  I don’t even know the guy.

  He knows my name. He looks at my picture.

  God, what else does he do? Follow me around?

  A freshman, no less.

  A moron going around wearing a toy meat cleaver like a hat and fake blood all over his face.

  He had nice eyes, though.

  A woman and two kids - another Freddie Krueger and a pirate - distracted Abilene from her thoughts about the zombie. Cora handed out candy bars. After the mother led her children away, Cora folded her empty bag and shoved it into Vivian’s. ‘That’s it for me,’ she said. ‘Your turn to do the honors.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’

  ‘How long are we planning to keep at this?’ Abilene asked.

  ‘Aren’t you having fun?’ Finley asked. ‘Not every night you bump into a secret admirer.’

  ‘Don’t remind me.’

  ‘Maybe they’ll come back,’ Helen said.

  ‘Oh, please.’

  Abilene found herself keeping watch, half-expecting the zombies to show up again, hoping they wouldn’t, but surprised and annoyed at herself when, some time later, she glimpsed a group of guys in the distance and felt a tremor of excitement. Which turned into disappointment when they approached and she saw they were a vampire, a hobo, a soldier and a Frankenstein monster. They were also younger than the zombies. And creeps. They blocked the sidewalk. The soldier raised his M-16 and ordered, ‘Halt.’

  ‘Oh, this is terrific,’ Finley said. Ignoring the soldier’s command, she stepped onto a neatly trimmed lawn, shouldered her video camera, and began to tape the episode by the light of the full moon and streedamps.

  ‘What’s she doing?’ asked the hobo.

  ‘Forget her,’ said the Frankenstein monster. ‘Look at these babes.’

  ‘I vahnt to suck your blood,’ said the vampire, leaning close to Vivian and wiggling his eyebrows.

  ‘Have a Three Musketeers bar,’ Vivian said. She reached into her bag.

  ‘Zee blood is zee life.’ His head darted toward the side of Vivian’s neck. She shoved him away. The soldier opened up, his M-16 clacking, spitting out bursts of water that splashed Vivian’s face.

  ‘Cut it out,’ Cora warned.

  ‘Oh yeah?’ He swung the muzzle of the automatic squirtgun toward her.

  ‘You shoot me with that, I’ll shove it up your wahzoo.’

  ‘Oooo, I’m trembling. I’m shaking.’

  Cora took,a step toward him, and he backed away.

  The Frankenstein monster, meanwhile, had wandered over to

  Helen’s side. ‘Look at this,’ he said. ‘This babe’s dressed up as a sheet.’

  ‘I’m a ghost,’ Helen said.

  ‘No such thing as ghosts.’ He lifted the sheet. ‘It’s not a ghost, it’s a blimp!’

  Abilene muttered, ‘Fuck you, Charlie,’ and shoved him off the sidewalk. He staggered backward, tripped on a lawn sprinkler and fell on his rump. The soldier opened fire on Abilene. Cold spurts of water hit her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks. Then the kid squirted her bare armpit and swept his weapon sideways. Her sweatshirt went cold and wet against her breasts.

  She heard laughter.

  Cora lunged forward. She ripped the M-16 out of the soldier’s hands and shoved its muzzle against his crotch.

  ‘Ow!’

  Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.

  The vampire rushed Cora. Vivian slipped the broom handle between his feet. He yelped, stumbled past Cora and slammed the lawn at Finley’s feet.

  The hobo whirled and ran.

  The Frankenstein monster scurried up and went after him.

  The soldier swatted the plastic gun barrel away. Clutching his sodden crotch, he staggered backward, blurting, ‘Leave me alone,’ as Cora pursued him. ‘Leave me… She stuck the muzzle into his mouth and pulled the trigger. He coughed as water flooded his mouth.

  The vampire fled, his black cape fluttering behind him.

  Cora shoved the M-16 into the hands of the choking, spluttering soldier. ‘Next time,’ she said, ‘be nice to people.’

  The soldier twisted around and raced after his friends.

  ‘Good show!’ Finley called out. ‘Bravo!’ Lowering her camera, she came back to the sidewalk.

  ‘You were sure a lot of help,’ Abilene said.

  ‘Didn’t look to me as if you guys needed any assistance. Sure gave them a Halloween to remember.’

  ‘Dirty rats,’ Helen muttered.

  ‘Kind of fun, actually,’ Cora said.

  ‘He didn’t shoot you,' Vivian pointed out.

  ‘I sure shot him, though.’ She laughed. ‘Poor kid.’

  ‘Poor kid, my butt,’ Abilene muttered. ‘He soaked me.’ Bending over, she swung her pendulum out of the way and lifted the lower part of her sweatshirt. She dried her face with it, then wiped her wet armpit and rubbed her breasts. Deciding she would prefer to have the chilly dampness against her back, she pulled her arms inside and twisted the sweatshirt around before struggling into its sleeves. That did feel better.

  Finley grinned at her. ‘Now you’re “The Other Pit and the Pendulum.” ’

  ‘A sequel,’ Vivian said.

  ‘Are we about ready to call it quits?’ she asked.

  ‘You don’t want to disappoint all the children who haven’t yet had the opportunity to enjoy the Merry Halloween Team, do you?’ Finley asked.

  ‘I could live with it.’

  ‘Most of the little ones ought to be heading for home before much longer,’ Cora said. ‘Why don’t we stick it out for a while?’

  ‘Those creeps’ll probably come back and egg us.’

  ‘They wouldn’t dare,’ Finley said.

  ‘Let’s give it a few more minutes,’ Cora said, and started walking.

  As everyone followed, Helen laughed through her sheet. ‘Yeah, just a few more minutes. That’ll give us a chance to run into some real trouble.’

  ‘We should’ve gone to your all-night Shock Festival at the Elsinore.’

  ‘We’d gone to the movies, Hickok, you wouldn’t have met the love of your life.’

  ‘You and the horse you rode in on.’

  Abilene discovered that, by walking with her spine arched and her shoulders back, she was able to keep the wet fabric from touching her skin.

  They continued along the street, pausing each time they met kids. Block after block, Vivian handed out candy bars. When her bag was empty, Helen took over.

  Though they came upon teenagers as well as little kids, nobody gave them much trouble. A few smart-alecks, but most of the trick-or-treaters were nice and none assaulted them with squirtguns or other weapons. Abilene found herself enjoying the encounters and was a little disappointed when she realized that they’d walked a full block without meeting any more kids.

  ‘I guess they’ve mosdy gone home,’ she said.

  ‘I’m getting low, anyway,’ Helen said, and shook her sack. She was carrying the last of the candy. ‘Should we start back?’

  ‘Let’s try one more block,’ Abilene suggested.

  Cora grinned back at her. ‘You’re the one who wanted to quit.’

  ‘That’s when I was wet.’

  They crossed a street. And Abilene saw, near the far end of the block, a group of three small kids run from a lighted porch, laughing, their treat bags bouncing and swinging. The children joined a woman waiting on the sidewalk. They hurried ahead of her and scampered toward the next house.

  ‘Hey, one’s a ghost,’ Helen said. She sounded very pleased.

  Soon, they were close enough for Abilene to see t
hat the other two were dressed as a kitten and a gremlin. From their size, she guessed that they were no older than five or six.

  They were off at a house when Finley strode up to the woman and announced, ‘Hi! We’re the Merry Halloween Team!’

  The woman laughed and shook her head. She had red hair and freckles. She didn’t look old enough to have three kids.

  Maybe just one is hers, Abilene thought.

  ‘We’ve been going around giving stuff to the kids,’ Helen said.

  ‘Hey, that’s a great idea. Sort of like trick-or-treating in reverse.’

  ‘Just an excuse to get out and see what’s happening,’ Abilene told her.

  The ghost, kitten and gremlin came running across the lawn.

  They slowed down near the sidewalk. Then stopped on the grass. And stared.

  ‘It’s all right, kids. This is the Merry Halloween Team.’

  ‘With treats!’ Helen said. She bent over and reached into her sack. ‘It’s so nice to meet a fellow ghost,’ she said, smiling at the spook.

  ‘I’m not really a ghost. I’m Heather.’

  ‘Nice to meet you, Heather. I’m Helen. But I’m a real ghost.’

  ‘Oh, I bet you aren’t really. There’s no such thing. Is there. Mommy?’

  ‘If she says she’s a ghost, I guess she is.’

  ‘But I’m a very friendly ghost,’ Helen explained, and dropped a couple of Three Musketeer bars into Heather’s bag.

  The girl said, ‘Thank you very much.’

  ‘You’re a very pretty kitty,’ Helen said as she gave treats to the kitten.

  ‘Meeeeooooow. ’

  Abilene grinned. ‘They’re really cute kids.’

  ‘I’m Gizmo,’ said the gremlin.

  ‘Here you go, Gizmo.’

  The candy bars no sooner hit the bottom of Gizmo’s bag than all three girls rushed on down the sidewalk.

  ‘Don’t run,’ the mother called. Then, ‘Thanks a lot. Happy Halloween.’

  ‘You, too,’ Finley said.

  The mother hurried after the girls. ‘Wait,’ she called. ‘Forget that place.’ Over her shoulder, she said, ‘I told them, only houses with lighted porches or pumpkins.’

  The girls were running toward a dark porch.

  ‘You heard me,’ she called.

  ‘Oh, Mom.’

  ‘Probably no one’s home, anyway,’ Finley said.