by T. S. Hall
Jenny stormed off in the opposite direction, followed by Nancy and Tanya.
Allora stomped over to Tanner. “You’re unbelievable,” she said, forcefully jerking the Diet Coke from his hand. Then she took off toward the door, pushing Dax out of the way.
Tanner just stood there dumbfounded, completely confused.
“What just happened?” Dax asked, stopping next to his friend, who was just as confused. “I always miss the good stuff.”
“I’ve got no idea. One minute I was getting a soda for Allora, and the next thing I knew, I was being kissed by the new girl, then yelled at by everyone else.”
“Wow. Tough life, bro.”
Allora was fuming outside, though she wondered why she was so upset. Tanner wasn’t her boyfriend, and she knew he was allowed to kiss anyone he wanted to. Maybe I’m just angry because he had the nerve to kiss that little witch while Jenny’s in the room. How rude! Then again, it didn’t make sense that she would care about Jenny getting hurt. She had apologized, but one apology certainly couldn’t erase all her evil deeds from over the years. Her inner debate raged on, taking so much of her attention that she stepped right off the edge of the porch, only to land on the side of the house, next to a rose bush.
“Pssst!”
Allora jumped back.
A furry head popped out of the top of the bush.
“Sas!” Allora exclaimed, putting her hand to her chest, relieved it was a friend. “What are you doing? You scared me half to death.”
“How does someone get scared half to death?” Sas asked.
Allora could only stand there staring at him, and she wasn’t laughing.
“Sorry,” Sas said, coming out from behind the bush.
“Why are you here? All these people might see you.”
“I was going to be asking you the same,” Sas replied, raising his eyebrow.
“Please don’t tell my mother,” Allora responded, realizing that she was caught.
“You four need to be leaving here now,” Sas said, looking stern. “I’m tracking a wraith of some kind, and I don’t think that he be friendly.”
“A wraith? Do they happen to have red eyes?”
“How do you know that?” Sas asked. “Have you seen one before, or did Aunt May or your mother tell you?”
Before she could answer, a figure moved out from behind Sas. When the shadow moved into the light, Allora blinked her eyes at the sight of another hairy being, a much shorter sasquatch that didn’t look quite as authentic.
The hairy thing took off its head. “Hey, Allora,” Brandon said, moving closer and stopping next to Sas. Brandon looked down at Sas’s huge feet, then at his own. “Am I seeing double?” he asked, slurring a bit. He pulled his head upward but had no other reaction to the creature standing next to him.
“Uh…” Allora faltered, not sure what to say.
“Cool costume, dude! We’re like twins,” Brandon mumbled.
Sas looked very uncomfortable, as if he wasn’t sure what to say. “Yeah, well, I got it on the Interweb,” he mustered, unsure if he’d used the right term.
“Well, it’s awesome. It’s so much better than mine,” Brandon said, pulling strands of hair from the creature’s leg. “It looks and feels so real, man. Is it made of yak hair or something?”
Sas winced at the pain, obviously agitated by the pesky human.
Brandon began swaying from side to side. “I’m heading to the barn to find more plastic cups. You guys need anything?”
“Nope,” Allora said as he walked off. “Don’t you need a flashl—” Allora started to say, but she couldn’t get the words out before Brandon stumbled inside.
The sound of crashing garden tools, pots, and broken glass followed.
“Ouch!” Allora said. “You think he’s all right?”
“I’m sure he is,” Sas said, but then he froze as if he’d heard something else. “I gotta go. Be careful, Allora,” he cautioned before he ran off toward the woods.
Kim came hopping down the porch steps just as Sas disappeared behind the trees. She looked around suspiciously. “I thought I heard you talking to someone out here.”
“Uh, yeah, well, I was just talking to—”
Brandon fell out of the tool shed. “I’m okay,” he said, getting to his knees.
Allora turned to Kim. “Brandon. That’s it. I was talking to Brandon.” She walked across the lawn and helped Brandon to his feet. She put his arm around her shoulder and dragged him back to the house.
“I’m hungry,” Brandon mumbled.
“Let’s go get some candy corn,” Allora said, dragging Brandon past Kim, who stood by with her arms crossed. Allora left Brandon in the kitchen to gorge on Halloween treats and met back up with Katie in the game room. “I think we need to go,” she said quietly to the other three, who were playing pool.
From the urgent, horrified look on her face, they all could tell Allora needed to talk, so they said their goodbyes and left the house.
Tanner turned the key in his car ignition, but it wouldn’t start. No matter how many times he turned the key, nothing happened.
Dax jumped out of the car to look under the hood. A few minutes later, he came back to Tanner’s window, scratching his head. “Man, you aren’t gonna believe this, but your spark plug is just… gone,” Dax said.
Tanner jumped out, furious that someone had tampered with his car. He stared down at where the missing spark plug should have been and slammed the hood, causing both girls to exit the car.
“Check the other cars,” Tanner said, lifting the hood of a sedan. Dax did the same.
“They’re all gone,” Dax said, slamming down the car hood.
“What now?” Allora asked.
“Obviously, someone is trying to keep us at the party,” Dax said. “I guess we should just walk.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I just spoke to Sas, and he told me a wraith is on the prowl, looking for us,” Allora said.
Everyone just stared back as if they didn’t know what she was talking about.
“You know, the red-eyed monster thing in the woods.”
“When did you talk to Sas?” Katie asked.
“That’s why I asked you guys to leave,” Allora explained. “Sas found me outside and told me he’s been tracking it. He came here to warn us, and said that we need to get out of here now.”
They stood in silence, wondering what they should do. No one wanted to meet the wraith on their way home, but they had no other choice but to walk. Their parents didn’t know they were at a party by themselves, and if they got picked up at Mondrach’s house, everyone’s parents would know they had lied about where they were going.
“We’ve gotta hoof it. I have my sword, Dax has his staff, and Allora has her throwing knives,” Tanner said, taking off his metal costume and putting it in his car. The noise alone would have attracted attention. “We should be all right.”
Allora hiked up her black skirt a little to reveal the leg band she’d hidden, where six small knives were hanging in sheaths along her thigh. When she noticed Tanner looking at her leg hungrily, she quickly pulled her skirt down.
As they hiked along the dark, eerie road, Allora pulled a knife from the band and held it in her sleeve. Tanner gallantly moved ahead, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword. Dax followed closely, holding his staff in front. Allora’s house was two miles away, which seemed much farther in the cold, black night. They walked in silence, periodically glancing at the dark woods on either side. Whenever Tanner heard a noise, he stopped to scan the murky area. Allora tried to peer through the trees, but visibility was poor. The moon was absent, and with no streetlights, the walk home was dark and ominous.
Every step was one closer to her home, but each step felt wrong, as if they were walking into a trap. Allora felt the woods watching their every move. Her intuition pleaded against moving forward. A chill ran up her spine, causing a spasm. Something just didn’t feel right.
Tann
er stopped suddenly and held his hand up for the others to stop behind him.
Allora pulled out her knife. “What is it?” she whispered.
“I thought I saw something move up ahead. It was weird, like a shadow without a body.”
Dax walked up to the front. “What’s the holdup?”
“I don’t have a very good feeling about this,” Tanner replied.
“Now you say that,” Katie complained loudly.
Allora watched as Tanner’s eyes opened wide. His terrified expression caused Allora to quickly jerk around, just in time to see two red eyes speeding toward them. Allora pulled the knife behind her head, then moved her arm forward, but the dark figure was too quick. It hit her side, tossing her into the ditch. Tanner and Dax ran forward, leaping to attack. Katie tried to spin around but tripped over her own feet and fell backward into the ditch, alongside Allora. The wraith pulled out two swords from sheaths attached to its back and caught both boys’ downward swings. The boys stumbled back, finally able to get a good glimpse of the creature.
The wraith was the same height as Tanner and Dax, with human-like characteristics, except for its jet-black skin. It had muscular features and long, pitch-black hair, pulled back in a tight ponytail that flowed in the wind like mist in the night. It wore a tight, military-type black jump suit, with a utility belt, and a gun holster on its thigh.
The wraith pulled back, stepped sideways, and encircled the boys while they mimicked the creature’s motions. “Well, well, well. Looks like we have ourselves a couple of warriors,” the dark creature said in a deep, condescending voice. “This should be fun.”
With that, the boys launched themselves at the creature, swinging their weapons aggressively. Every attack was blocked and thrown off by the black crystal swords wielded by the wraith. As Allora picked herself up, Tanner was able to knock one sword from the creature’s hand, but it motioned its arm forward, sending Tanner flying through the air, as if an invisible force had struck him. Dax pushed forward, swinging his staff as well as his body. He hit the wraith solidly in the side, knocking it to one knee. Dax pulled the staff over his head for a downward thrust, but the creature pulled his sword up just in time to block it. Then, the wraith punched forward, launching Dax into a tree.
Allora had just enough room with Dax out of the way. She held up her knife, and as she did, her body began to tingle. Warm electricity flowed, absorbing into her hand. The weapon glowed purple as she hurled it, and it streaked through the air, leaving a magical trail behind to illuminate the darkness. Seeing the purple streak, the wraith put up his hands, but only in time to create a hadron energy field to block the attack. The knife hit the invisible field and exploded, showering the wraith with purple sparks and knocking it into the trees.
“Gotta go,” Katie said, grabbing Allora’s wrist and dragging her into the trees as they boys followed.
The adrenaline pumped through their veins, along with the hadrons slowly growing inside. They ran as fast as their sore legs would carry them. The woods were dark, but their eyes adjusted quickly, and the fact that they could hear the wraith behind them in fast pursuit egged them on. The sound of crunching leaves and breaking twigs grew louder as they ran. Finally, they exited the woods into a large, grassy field.
“It’s gaining on us!” Tanner yelled.
They all stopped, not sure what to do. Allora pulled out another knife, Tanner unsheathed his sword, and they stood side by side, preparing for an attack.
“Guys, we’re in trouble,” Katie said.
“Yeah, and he doesn’t look happy,” Dax observed, watching the wraith as he sprinted through the woods, exploding every small tree that dared to stand in his path. His eyes bobbed up and down as he leapt over a log.
“What’s that?” Allora asked when she caught sight of a dark figure moving toward them from across the field. She could barely see through squinted eyes, but the figure was covered in fur and moving quickly.
“It’s Sas!” Tanner yelled, recognizing the familiar features of their friend.
Sas leapt over the four and struck the oncoming red-eyed creature as the wraith exited the woods. The impact sent both creatures crashing into a large tree, shattering the trunk, and the huge Douglas fir began to fall toward where the four teens stood.
“Move!” Dax yelled.
The four Sonorans ran in opposite directions to avoid the deadly falling evergreen. Allora rolled along the grass just as the trunk crashed into the ground. The branches smashed her into the grass, covering her body. Sharp branches cut into her skin, and pain pierced her body as she pulled herself from the cocoon of needles. Frantically, she scanned the dark for signs of life. A hand reached upward from the ground. Allora grabbed it and pulled Dax out of the tree. In the dark of the night, Allora could see black streaks of blood on his face, neck, and arms.
“Where are the others?” he asked.
“I-I don’t know,” she said. “C’mon.”
Without saying anything, the bruised, broken, and worried duo trudged through the fallen tree, climbing over the trunk to where they assumed their friends would be. They swam through the sea of branches, searching for a hand or foot or any sign of life.
Tanner was barely able to stumble from an avalanche of evergreen branches, and he moaned as he got to his feet, bruised and visibly bloodied.
“Where’s Katie?” Allora asked with a fearful pitch in her voice.
A muffled yell came from a few feet away, and the three ran to the area and began sifting violently through the thick undergrowth. When they pulled back a large branch, Katie’s face appeared.
“Took ya long enough,” Katie said softly. The foliage had slammed her into the ground, leaving her breathless from the impact.
Simultaneous sighs of relief came from everyone.
“My leg is pinned,” Katie said, pointing down her body.
With an admirable group effort, they were able to pull her out. Everyone had been hurt, but they were content, knowing things could have been worse. The sound of snapping twigs echoed from across the field. They had almost forgotten about the wraith.
“I lost my sword,” Tanner said.
“My staff’s gone too,” Dax added. “We’ll have to come back for them later.”
Nevertheless, they bravely stood, ready for whatever might spring from the woods. A figure jumped out and landed firmly in front of them, but it was only Sas.
“Where is the wraith?” Allora asked.
Sas looked disheveled and a bit disoriented. It was obvious that he’d been in battle.
“I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon,” Sas said proudly, “but we shouldn’t wait around to find out.”
He moved his hands in an extravagant circle. Green sparks swirled into his arms, focusing at his palms, and he suddenly slammed his hands into the ground. A shockwave of earth flowed outward from the impact point, causing the dirt to push upward. The wave of dirt raised the four momentarily, then dissipated through the field.
Sas stood over a swirling circle of dirt. “Time to go!” he said, motioning to the portal.
“Can’t it still track us?” Katie asked.
“Not through this type of portal,” Sas explained. “Now please hurry up.”
Without hesitating further, they followed his orders and quickly jumped through. Allora tightened her muscles, trying to stay rigid as she shot through the streaking gray portal. When she landed on two feet, she reveled in the successful port. A grandiose cave, sparkling knickknacks, and the sounds of multiple waterfalls gave away their location. Sas had ported them to his cave, and he arrived only seconds after they did.
After landing next to the portal, Sas pulled hadrons from the ground and stuck his arm into the portal. Suddenly, the ground stopped swirling and froze. As he pulled his arms from the cement-like ground, a green light escaped the closing portal.
“What was that all about?” Allora asked.
“Just locking the door,” he said, smiling. “It will inhibit
anyone from tracing the exit point.”
“We learn something new every day,” Dax said, shaking his head.
Sas grinned. “We guardians be having abilities that other Sonorans are not privy to,” he said proudly. Sas moved around a large pile of pots and pans and took a drink from the natural underground spring.
Following his lead, the other four gulped the fresh liquid as if they’d been lost in the Sahara Desert for weeks. The fight with the wraith had drained most of their energy.
“We need to get you four home and tell Milly what happened tonight,” Sas said.
Allora nearly choked on a mouthful of water. She knew she’d be placed under house arrest if her overprotective mother found out about the wraith, and a life of imprisonment would be far worse than any attack from a Sonoran assassin. “Wait!” Allora grabbed Sas’s arm before he was able to create a portal to her house. “You can’t! My mother will never let me out of the house again.”
“Allora, Milly must know. We cannot keep this a secret.”
Allora was desperate and decided a guilt trip might work. “Sas, we were in that situation because you told us to leave that house.” While slightly underhanded, she intended to make sure Milly never found out about their evening. “Do you really want my mother to know that you were the one who led us toward the wraith?”
“That’s not fair, Allora,” Sas said, flooded with guilt. She kept a thoughtful stare, glaring mercilessly. Writhing uncomfortably, Sas gave in. “Fine, but if that wraith comes back, I’m afraid I’ll be forced to spill the peas.”
“Beans,” Dax corrected.
“Sorry. I don’t have any, but there might be a deer leg around if you’re hungry,” Sas said, not realizing the error of his words.
“Never mind,” Dax said, shaking his head and laughing.
Allora smiled overtly, wrapping her arms around the reluctant creature.
They all called their parents to see if they could stay with Sas for the night. Sas showed them a large pile of sleeping bags, which made for decent beds, and they all settled in and talked quietly about the fight that almost cost them their lives. After a short while, they fell asleep, exhausted from the tumultuous Halloween they would never forget.