The Game

It was a windy, rainy Halloween night and the seven teenagers were disappointed that their plans had been ruined. They had planned to have a cookout down by the lake and enjoy the warm fall evening. But a severe thunderstorm rolled in that afternoon, forcing the partygoers to find an alternative in celebrating the day.

Now, they were seated in the living room at Crabapple Farm watching horror movies and eating junk food, from popcorn to pretzels, from potato chips to chocolate and a variety of carbonated beverages.

They each had picked a horror flick to watch through the night and were currently on the third movie.

As the credits appeared on the screen, Dan Mangan got up from his place on the floor. “That was a great movie,” he said. “I am so glad you picked ‘Frankenstein’, Trixie.”

“I love a good horror movie,” Trixie Belden said, a grin filling her face.

“I have a feeling there are a couple people who would disagree with you,” said her eldest brother, Brian, who was looking at the couch.

Trixie looked at the couch and saw Honey Wheeler and Di Lynch had themselves pressed into the back of the couch, holding pillows tightly to their chests.

“You two weren’t scared, were you?” Trixie asked.

“Nah,” Honey said with a shaky voice as she shook her head. Her eyes were wide as if she had just had a bad fright.

“Why don’t we take a break before we start the next one?” Jim Frayne suggested as he stood up and ran a hand through his thick red hair.

“Sounds good to me,” Mart said, picking up one of the empty bowls from the floor. “If we are to continue with our nocturnal festivities, we are going to need more sustenance to partake in the horrors of Halloween.”

“Just go get more snacks,” Di said tiredly as she climbed off the couch. “I need to get more soda if I plan to stay awake for the rest of the movies.”

“Anyone else need a refill?” Brian asked.

“I could use one,” Trixie said,

“Me too,” Jim said.

“I’ll help you get them,” Honey said, also getting off the couch.

Brian and Honey grabbed the glasses and then followed Mart, Di and Dan into the kitchen.

“Should we set out all the sleeping bags and blankets before the next movie?” Jim asked.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Trixie said. “I have a feeling a few people won’t last through another one.”

“Anyone in particular you are thinking of?” Jim asked with a grin.

“Not really,” Trixie said, returning the grin. “But I can tell you this, I won’t be one of the ones caught sleeping tonight. Anything can happen on all Hallow’s Eve.”

“Hmm,” Jim said. “You have piqued my interest. What dastardly plan have you concocted?”

“I haven’t concocted anything,” Trixie said vehemently. “Although I wouldn’t put it past my brother to try something.”

“He’s up to something, is he?”

“He was locked away in his room this morning for two hours,” Trixie explained. “When I knocked on the door, he said he would be out in a little bit, but it was a whole lot longer.”

“Any idea what he was doing?”

“None,” Trixie admitted.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of lightening and a boom of thunder. All the lights in the living room went dark.

“AHHHHHH!” came a scream from the kitchen.

“Stay put!” Brian yelled.

Trixie and Jim stayed where they were. A moment later, the other Bob-Whites came into the living room, each carrying a flashlight. Several candles were lit around the room.

“Who screamed?” Jim asked once they were all together.

“It was me,” Di said. “I was startled when the lights went out.”

“Well, I guess this ruins our plans,” Honey said sadly.

“Actually, we could continue the fun,” Mart said.

“What? Do you have a generator that we can hook up the TV and DVD player to hidden in the woods out back?” Trixie asked.

“Nah,” Mart said with a smile on his face in the glow of the flashlight. “It’s actually a game.” He looked around at the group. “It’ll be fun.”

Before anyone could say anything, Mart had left the room and was heading upstairs.

“Why do I get the feeling we should be worried,” Brian said.

“It’s Mart,” Dan said.

“And from what Trixie said, it seems as if he’s been concocting a plan all day,” Jim said.

“This can’t be good,” Brian said. “This can’t be good.”

A few minutes later Mart returned to the living room with a notebook and several old food containers. He settled on the floor and looked at all of them in the candlelight. “Are we ready for some fun?”

“We might as well,” Dan said. “We don’t have anything else to do.”

“I’m in,” Di said.

“Excellent,” Mart said. “Everyone have a seat on the floor making a circle.”

The others quickly settled on the floor and looked at Mart who held a flashlight under his chin, making him look scary.

Mart began in a soft voice. “Poor Joe. He should have stayed home on that Halloween night. But out he went in the dark, dark night. A goblin was watching Joe walk cross the land. He swooped down beside him, and snatched off his hand. Poor Joe.”

Mart turned off the light and slowly passed something along to all of them. It was cold and stiff. It was a hand.

When they passed the hand back to Mart, he continued with the light.

“He shivered and shook and grew oh so cold,” Mart said. “He fell when he ran ‘cause he lost all his toes. Poor Joe.”

The light was turned off and a container was passed around.

“Ewwww! Gross!” Di said.

The light clicked back on and Mart resumed the tale. “A black cat crossed his path, giving Joe such a scare. He threw back his head and off came his hair. Poor Joe!”

The light was extinguished and they all felt the curly hair of Joe’s as it was passed to each of them.

“This is freaky,” Honey said.

“Hobbling along, one hand on a cane, Joe tried hard to think, but – oops! – no more brain. Poor Joe!”

“What is this?” Jim asked as he pulled his hand out of the container after feeling something slimy inside.

“Oh no, I can’t think, but at least I can hear, if witches or goblins should now reappear. So Joe kept on going – laden with fear, but he shook as he walked, and off fell his ear. Poor Joe.”

“I can’t touch this,” Honey said passing the container along without reaching inside.

Mart continued when the “ear” reached him. “And there in the distance his house he could spy, but just for a second…for out popped his eyes. Poor Joe.”

“That’s sick, man,” Dan said. “Giving us eyes to touch is sick.”

They heard an evil laugh coming from Mart’s direction.

“I’m going to be sick,” Di said.

Mart spoke softly. “He yelled and he screamed, and he screamed and he yelled, hoping that someone would be there to tell. So he took a deep breath, his patience was wrung, but no sound was uttered for out fell his tongue! Poor Joe!”

 

“Ewww!!!” Honey said.

A moment later they heard footsteps leaving the room and knew Honey had enough of the game.

“Ah, what a shame! What a pity! What a fright! That Joe ventured out on that Halloween night,” Mart said. “He lay there alone…nothing left, not a part. And all you could hear was the beat of his heart. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.”

Mart turned off the light that he held under his chin.

“THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.”

“AHHHHHHH!” came a bloodcurdling scream from the kitchen.

The six of them scrambled to their feet grabbing a couple flashlights and hurried to the other room to find Honey leaning her back up against the refrigerator. Her eyes were wide and her face pale in the glow of the flashlight.

“What is it?” Brian asked.

“There…there was…a face in the window,” Honey stammered. “The person had no hair and just black holes for eyes.” She turned her frightened eyes toward the Bob-Whites. “It was the guy from the story.”

“It was just a game,” Mart said. “The story isn’t real.”

“There was someone out there,” Honey insisted. “I’m not lying.”

“Come on, Jim,” Brian said. “Let’s go check it out.”

Brian took the flashlight and, after they had pulled on coats and hats, the two of them headed outside through the kitchen door.

From where they stood, they could see the beam of the flashlight scanning the grounds of Crabapple Farm. As they minutes dragged by, they gained more courage and moved to the door and window to watch the older boys’ progress.

“It doesn’t look like they’ve found anything,” Dan said.

“They probably want to be thorough,” Trixie said. “It is Halloween and there are always reports of damage in Sleepyside thanks to pranksters.”

“But in this weather?” Honey asked.

“What better time?” Trixie asked. “There are less people out and a slimmer chance of being caught.”

“Do you think Trixie’s right, Mart?” Di asked.

There was silence.

The four of them turned from the window.

“Mart?” Dan asked.

“This isn’t funny, Mart,” Di said.

Trixie felt uneasy that they weren’t getting response a from him. She said, “Maybe we should look for him.”

“I’m not going anywhere by myself,” Honey said.

“Me either,” Di said.

“We’ll all go together,” Dan said.

Trixie and Dan led the way with Honey and Di very close behind. The four of them moved slowly, shining the light in every direction trying to catch some sight of Mart. But there was none.

They went into the living room and saw the remains of Mart’s game on the floor where he had been sitting. Trixie moved her light about the bedding and stopped when she saw a lump in one of the sleeping bags.

“I’m going to kill him if he thinks he’s going to jump up and scare us,” Trixie said making her way to the lump. “Mart, this isn’t funny.” She nudged the lump, but there was no response.

“Is he sleeping?” Dan asked.

“If he is, I’m getting all the ice and pouring it down his back,” Trixie said angrily.

She reached for the sleeping bag and pulled it open.

“AHHHHHHHH!” Honey and Di screamed simultaneously.

Trixie dropped the sleeping bag and covered her mouth, trying not to be sick at the sight before her.

Mart was face up in the sleeping bag, but his hair was gone, along with his eyes, which were just black holes. His right arm rested on his chest, but his hand was missing. There appeared to be blood all over his shirt.

“Is he…?” Trixie couldn’t finish her question.

They heard the kitchen door slam shut and two pairs of feet hurrying in their direction.

“What’s going on?” Brian asked as he stepped into the room.

“We heard the screams from outside,” Jim said.

“The story is true,” Honey said moving to Jim and burying her face in his chest.

“It’s just a story,” Brian said.

“Look at Mart,” Di said tearfully.

Trixie watched as her eldest brother slowly moved toward the still form. She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat as he knelt beside the bedding. She really didn’t want it to be true.

She watched Brian’s shaking hand as he reached for his brother’s neck to check for a pulse.

A flash of lightening and a boom of thunder shook the house.

“AHHH!” Mart screamed as he sat up, pulled the eyeless mask from his face.

“MART!” Brian scolded. “That wasn’t funny.”

Trixie grabbed a pillow and smacked him in the head. “How dare you pull this stunt?”

“It was a joke,” Mart protested.

“It wasn’t funny,” Di said angrily.

“Especially not now,” Jim said, keeping a tight hold on Honey.

Trixie shifted her gaze from Brian to Jim and back again. “What do you mean?”

Brian stood up. “We found something when we were outside.”

“What?” Dan asked.

Brian looked at all of them. “We found footprints outside in the mud. Honey was telling the truth. Someone was out there.”

“No one was out there,” Mart said.

“We saw the footprints,” Jim said. “Someone is outside.”

“Any idea who it was?” Trixie asked.

Brian shook his head. “We saw the footprints, but with it being so dark, it was hard to tell.”

“Then whoever I saw could still be lurking around,” Honey said, moving closer to Jim.

“That’s what we were thinking,” Jim said.

“Do you think we should go up to the Manor House?” Honey asked. “There are more people around and that would probably deter anyone from trying to harm us.”

“I think that may be a good idea,” Jim said.

“So do I,” Brian said.

“Do you expect us to fall for this?” Mart asked. “I mean, yeah, I played a practical joke for Halloween, but I think you two are taking this a little far.”

“If you want to stay here, then fine,” Brian said. “But I’m thinking about everyone else and their safety.” He looked at the others. “Grab your coats and we’ll go.”

As they gathered their coats and made sure the doors and windows were secure, Mart kept telling them that going to the Manor House was unnecessary.

“I saw that face,” Honey insisted. “I don’t want to stay here if there’s a lunatic on the loose. This is the best move for all of us.”

“Are we ready?” Jim asked.

“Let’s go,” Di said, sticking close to Dan.

Brian looked at Mart. “Are you coming with us?”

“I’m coming.”

The seven of them left the house and Brian locked the door behind them. They began the trek up the hill, staying close together as a light drizzle fell. Each one of them kept scanning the area for fear of what could be lurking in the shadows.

Jim led the way with Honey at his side. Trixie, Di and Dan came next with the two Belden brothers coming up last.

“This was not how I expected our Halloween to turn out,” Mart said.

“But you’re getting what you deserve,” a male voice said to the right of them.

Honey and Di screamed.

“RUN!” Jim yelled.

At that moment a dark shadow charged at them. The shadow made a beeline for Mart, who took off running up the hill toward the Manor House. He never looked back, but he could hear the footsteps coming up behind him.

Mart was suddenly knocked to he ground and he began fighting to get away. “Let me go!”

The others watched as the figure released Mart and stood up. The person looked at them and said, “I think things are over.”

“I think so,” Brian said. “Jim?”

“I have to agree,” Jim said.

“Wait a second,” Trixie said, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Did you set this up?”

A grin filled the two older boys’ faces and they all knew the answer.

“Why?” Mart asked, having moved around to a sitting position.

“Let me just say, ‘I have the best prank ever’ Mart,” Brian said.

Everyone saw Mart’s eyes go wide and they knew Mart’s prank had been found out.

Jim offered Mart a hand and pulled him to his feet. “Come on,” Jim said. “Let’s go up to the Manor House.”

“Cook has some cocoa waiting on the stove,” the figure said and that’s when Trixie realized who it was.

“Regan?”

“It’s me,” he admitted. “Come on. Brian will explain everything once we’re inside.”

They made their way to the Manor House and Jim offered Mart some dry clothes. They gathered in the living room in front of the blazing fireplace and waited for Mart and Brian to start explaining.

“Mart, why don’t you go first,” Dan suggested.

“All right,” Mart said. “A few weeks ago I was talking with some friends online and one of them told me about the game. I thought it was intriguing, so I put everything together figuring it could be added to our evening festivities.”

“And after you had the game set, you decided to take it up a notch,” Trixie said.

“It was a Halloween joke,” Mart said. “And yes, I did take it up a notch, but I didn’t expect it to go as far as it did.”

“You completely terrified me,” Honey said. “I may not sleep for weeks.”

“I didn’t think it was funny,” Di said. “That scene is not one I will ever forget. You really made it look like you’d been killed.”

A smile appeared on Mart’s face. “Yeah, it seemed real lifelike.”

Trixie grabbed one of the sofa cushions and smacked Mart in the head again. “What would have happened if Moms and Dad would’ve walked in?”

“Well,” Mart began.

“It would have killed them,” Trixie continued. “What were you thinking?”

Mart spun to look at Trixie. “It was a joke, Trixie! It’s Halloween! What was I supposed to do? Put a sign on my chest saying this was a prank? Give me a break.”

“Oh, I’ll break something,” Trixie countered.

“Knock it off, you two,” Brian said.

“Mart, why did you do this after the story?” Dan asked.

“I hadn’t planned to do it after the story,” Mart admitted. “I also hadn’t expected that we’d lose power at the farm. But after Honey screamed, I figured it was the perfect time.”

“And that leads us to why you two played your prank,” Trixie said.

“Well, I knew Mart was up to something,” Brian said. “When he took a break from our room, I went in and saw his prank was all set out. I was able to put things together knowing he was going to try and scare all of us.”

“So, Brian let me know what was going on and decided to see if we could come up with something to top him,” Jim said.

“And we had a great plan set, including a face appearing in the kitchen,” Brian said.

“I told you I saw someone,” Honey insisted.

“Was that you at the door, Regan?” Trixie asked.

“It was,” Regan said. “I didn’t mean to startle anyone. I was just checking to see what was going on.”

 

“And when we went outside, we found Regan and solidified the plan,” Jim said.

“You did get me,” Mart said.

“It was a good one,” Trixie said. “And you definitely deserved it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mart said. “I got you guys and you got me in the end.”

“They sure did,” Trixie said.

“I think this has turned out to be a great Halloween, even if the weather was lousy,” Di said.

“I have to agree,” Honey said. “I just don’t want to get scared like that again.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” Jim said. “I think everyone has learned a valuable lesson.”

“I have,” Mart said.

“So, what do we do now?” Dan asked.

Jim looked at his watch. “It’s late and we left the rest of the movies down at the farm. I suggest we call it a night.”

“I agree,” Brian said. “And after all these festivities, I’m ready to sleep.”

“Then off you go,” Regan said. “I’ll lock up.”

“Night, Regan,” Brian said. “And thanks for the help.”

“You’re welcome,” Regan said. “Night all.”

“Night,” they all chorused as he left the living room.

As they headed upstairs to get some sleep, there were several minds thinking about pranks for future Halloweens. And they all knew there wouldn’t be one quite like this.

But out in the shadows on the ground of Manor House, a figure slowly breathed in the cool night air, as the heart beat in the chest.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

-The End-

Author’s Notes: I need to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Amy for her editing help and creating the most beautiful page for this Halloween story. This was fun to write and I love the Halloween game. It’s a fun game to play, especially with children. Happy Halloween everyone!

The Game

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Graphics by Cathie Designs; the site is no longer active, so I removed the link, but left the logo in place in order to honor the original source.