Chapter 12: Season of The Witch
She knew she was overdressed.
Katrina viewed her reflection in the vanity mirror, sighing as she wiped the black makeup off her eyes. The small lamp on top of the dresser illuminated the room with an orange glow.
"What was wrong with that?"
She turned to see her brother leaning against her door frame, a wide grin on his face as he spoke.
"I just don't feel like wearing that much makeup. It's not that fancy of a party.
Besides, I don't even know if I'm wearing this all through the night."
She stood to show off her long white dress, the bell sleeves swayed through the air as she waved her arms.
"Alright, nice. What's it supposed to be?"
She picked up a white top hat that matched the dress perfectly.
"It's inspired by Stevie Nicks," she walked over to the mirror, the white fabric twirling as she spun.
The room remained silent as Chris didn't reply.
"Y'know, from Fleetwood Mac?"
He made a quiet 'oh' sound and shrugged,
"Well, since you'll be gone, and mom's at work, Monica and I'll stay here and deal with trick or treaters."
"Make sure the Morris twins don't come by and egg our house like they did last year."
"Hm, noted." He glanced over at the wall clock, the hands formed together to read 6:54.
"Hey, you might want to head out to avoid being late."
"Oh, is it time already?"
Katrina sighed as she hurried to put on her boots.
"Are you sure you want to go?" A mellow tone sounded from Chris' voice.
"Yeah. Absolutely." She smiled.
"Alright well, like always, be careful."
"Like always, I will."
She collected her bag and headed out the front door.
The sky appeared to be overcast with a dark charcoal shade,
A slight gust of wind whispered through the trees as she hopped off the porch.
Since Thrasher Woods wasn't too far, she decided to go on foot.
Sounds of children's laughter filled the atmosphere,
Kids of all ages ran through the neighborhood, dressed in costumes of different pop culture.
She laughed as two kids in superhero costumes ran past her, carrying half full bags of candy.
A soft rumble in the sky made her walk a little faster. She continued down to the end of the street until something caught her eye;
A soft blue light glowed in the trees behind a house,
She was curious until she remembered what the invitation said.
Katrina smiled, heading toward the glow.
Leaves and dried grass crunched beneath her boots as she approached
A wooden pole, a blue light bulb hung from the end of it.
She gasped as she looked into the dark trail leading in the woods, rows of blue lights lit up the trail, forming a tunnel-like pathway.
A hesitating feeling came over her as she stepped into the blue-lit path,
The ground became muddy to where her boots almost sank.
Sounds of children's laughter and other human life began to fade as Katrina descended through the tunnel. She would've liked it a lot better if it wasn't for the unbearing silence that surrounded the place.
A rustling noise in the trees made her stop in her tracks,
She clenched her dress as she looked around, unable to move.
It sounded again, this time closer.
She let out a scream as a masked man lunged towards her, pointing a knife.
He mumbled something which made her stumble to the ground,
Her eyes widened as the man began to laugh.
He peeled off his mask to reveal a thin pale face, dark hair covered his eyes as he gripped his knees, howling with laughter.
"Dude, I got another one!" He shouted, turning to a figure dressed as a sheet ghost, walking towards them.
"Donovan, get out of here, obviously she hated that."
A familiar voice sounded from under the sheet.
"Oh what, is she your girlfriend? You protecting her or something?"
"Shut up. You want me to go tell dad what you and Wendy did to his car last week?" Adrian took off his costume, frustration seemed to show with the look on
his face. The dark circles around his eyes appeared to have gotten darker since she last saw him.
Donovan became silent as he looked around, a strange guttural sounding chuckle escaped his throat.
"Y'know, you used to be more fun." He shoved Adrian aside as he walked away, chuckling as he disappeared into the trees.
Adrian rolled his eyes as he approached Katrina,
"Sorry about that," he outstretched his hand and helped her off the ground.
"My brother can be a dick sometimes, just ignore him."
"That's your brother?"
"Yeah, and that's only a preview of what you'll be seeing tonight.
My family always shows their… strange side once parties are involved."
"Oh, can't wait." She chuckled as she brushed off her mud stained dress.
"Sorry 'bout your costume." Adrian frowned.
"Eh, it's alright, I didn't really like it anyway." She took off the dress. Faded jeans and a red sweater she wore underneath.
"It was pretty cool though. Let me guess, Stevie Nicks?"
"Yeah, exactly." Katrina smiled.
A few moments of awkward silence aroused as they looked at each other.
Another rumble in the sky appeared as the wind began to blow a bit harder.
"Well, shall we?" He extended his elbow to her, a sly grin tugging at his lips.
Katrina smiled, "yes we shall." She wrapped her arm around his as they began walking through the tunnel.
"Oh, just so you know, these aren't Thrasher Woods. That's past the neighborhood."
"I knew something didn't feel right when I did the invitations."