Once Upon a Halloween Read Online Free

asked.
        "I don't know. A whole bunch."
        "Five or six?"
        "More. Maybe eleven, twelve. Maybe even more than that. It was hard to tell. They were all sorta clumped together and wearing these dark robes."
        Laura grimaced. "Dark robes?"
        "Yeah. With their hoods up."
        Shannon scowled at the boy. "You're kidding, right? Hooded robes? Gimme a break."
        "They were."
        "Okay, whatever. Go on. What happened next?"
        "Me and Connie, we just sat on that bench and didn't move a muscle. I was hoping they 'd keep on walking. But what they did was go over to the Kneeling Girl. They made a circle around and held hands. Then one of them started to chant something. She sounded like a woman. I guess she was probably their leader. Anyway, she wasn't very loud but we were close enough so I could hear her. Thing is, the words didn't make any sense. They were like in a foreign language."
        "Spectacular," Shannon muttered.
        "It was all really quiet except for the chanting. Well, it was windy, too. The wind was making a lot of noise sometimes. But not enough, and it sort of came and went. If we'd tried to make a run for it, they probably would've heard us. You know, all those dry leaves everywhere. So I thought we'd better just sit still and wait. Maybe they'd start making some noise... or they'd get done and go home.
        "Pretty soon, they all started chanting. It still wasn't very loud. They did it like they were whispering... it was sort of spooky, the way it sounded. I mean, I got goosebumps. I was about ready for me and Connie to head for the hills, but all of a sudden they didn't have their robes on anymore. The robes were down on the ground by their feet. And nobody had anything on."
        "Trick or treat," Shannon muttered.
        "They were all naked? " Laura asked.
        "Yeah. Except for... like shoes or boots or whatever. And equipment. The moon was really bright over where they were... We could see them really well. They didn't all have the same things... like a couple of them, I think they had coils of rope hanging around their necks. Most of them, though, they wore belts around their waists. And stuff was attached to the belts. Like hatchet cases and sheaths for knifes, like that.
        "Holy shit," Shannon muttered.
        Hunter nodded. "They had all kinds of knives and swords and hatchets."
        "You've gotta be kidding," said Laura.
        "I saw them with my own eyes."
        "Did they have guns?" Shannon asked.
        Hunter slowly shook his head. "I didn't see any."
        "Well, that's good news."
        "They must like to be silent when they kill," Hunter said. The doorbell rang. Shannon jumped. Laura flinched and squeaked.
        Hunter gasped, then whispered, "Don't open it again. Please."
        Shannon's eyes locked with Laura's.
        Laura slowly shook her head from side to side. "I don't know," she whispered. "Maybe we'd better not..."
        "Who's there?" Shannon called out.
         "Trick or treat!" shouted a chorus of child voices.
        "Your graveyard people," Shannon said. "They were adults, weren't they?"
        He nodded.
        "No kids?"
        "I don't think so."
        "Stay put," Shannon said, and opened the door.
        

CHAPTER FIVE
        
        Shannon stood by the door, ready to slam it, while Laura opened the screen door and passed out candy to the children. "Here you go," Laura said. And, "Here's one for you." And, "Oh, aren't you scary!" After each quiet thump of a candy bar landing in a bag or plastic pumpkin, a little kid voice said, "Thank you." Then the children ran off, calling out, "Happy Halloween!"
        Laura stepped out onto the porch.
        "What's she doing?" Hunter asked.
        "Wants to make sure they get away all right."
        "She wouldn't be able to save them anyway."
        Shannon called out, "Hey, Laura, why don't you come