#scaretober

Effie: ...

Effie's Nurse: Were you having a bad dream?

Effie: I was, but Mr. Devil got rid of it for me!

Effie's Nurse:

“So that’s why you’re so scared of spiders,” Enzo commented as Kai blew out his flame.

“Well yeah! You would be too!”

“Mm…maybe.”

“‘Maybe’ my ass!!”

Clarissa’s body trembled. “Well, you get the award for the second creepiest story…”

“I agree…” Alina added.

Lilith’s lips curled into a smile. “Heehee, I think Cedric thinks so too~”

They all looked his way. Though his expression was still mostly stable, there was a distinct hint of disgust in it, along with an obvious tension in his posture. “It was… quite frightening, yes.”

“Scaredy cat~”

“Lilith…”

Effie’s head tilted. “You’re scared of spiders?”

He finally broke down, hiding his face with a hand. “...Too many legs…”

“Ahaha! Centipedes must be mortifying then!” Lilith sang.

“Leave me alone…”

Incited by the eldest among them, the group burst into little chuckles.

“Lorelai, please continue with a story of your own.”

“...I had a new one come to mind because of Kai’s story, but I don't remember all the details.”

“Please continue.”

“Okay.”

***

I was in the forest, resting on some rocks in a clearing. I don’t remember what I was doing, just that I was resting there.

There was a sense of fear within me, but I didn’t know why. It was peaceful, but it was hazy beyond the healthy greens of the trees. There was a light breeze carrying the scent of morning dew, blood, and death. I don’t think the smell is what bothered me, not entirely.

Distant cries echoed beyond the branches. I had a feeling there was something I needed to do, or a person I needed to speak to, but I had a sudden rush of terror. I could sense the movement of something close to me.

It was the time of year when feathers were twirling from the sky as the birds shed. I remember those distinctly.

It was then I was overcome with the fact that I was all alone. I was deep in the forest with no one around me, and there was nothing I could do to protect myself from bad things.

A bright blur passed me by, then another and another. I rose from my place and sprinted for safety, but I was knocked off my feet and crashed face-first into the dirt.

When I pushed myself upright, I looked behind me, and bright white feathers filled my vision. A deep pain punctured my throat, and that beautiful white dissipated into black.

A puff, and Evie's candle flame vanished.

"I remember that!" Daisy said.

Enzo huffed, muttering, "Whoa…the student council is serious…"

“Darn right!” Ayan chimed in, knowing Miss President purposely left out particular details for the sake of the gathering.

“How did you know what kind of curse it was?” Fuyuki asked.

“I had already investigated other possibilities, and I’m familiar with these sorts of things,” Evie answered.

“How so?”

“I’ve dealt with them in the past. And, teachings from my mother’s side.”

Intrigued, Fuyuki spared further questions for later and nodded.

“Well, that’s my tale. I believe it’s your turn now, Kai.”

“Alrighty.”

***

Crisp October air chilled a young Kai Hale’s exposed skin. It was a good day for a walk—perfect for the always hoodie-clad freshman.

Since his enrollment in RVS, he had yet to check out the forest beyond the lake. There were all sorts of rumours amongst the upperclassmen, from ghosts of the people murdered there to cryptids to literal demons running amok.

So, of course, he had to check it out. It's not like that shit was real, so what was the big deal?

Sauntering past the serene lake waters, he continued somewhat with a purpose. Part of him wanted to find something horrifying (“Ooooohh, I’m aloooone! Whatcha gonna do about it?” kinda thing), but another just wanted to enjoy the nice early-evening out. Leave thine tricks for a later dumbass walking all alone in the dark, secluded woods.

His eyelid twitched, and he paused. He dug at his eyelashes for the offending thing, and removed what looked and felt like a small, fine string. Spiderweb, huh? It was that time of the year, so the little hatchlings would likely be out.

Is that the best this forest ‘s got?

A tsk, and he shook the web free.

Far enough in the forest, it grew more and more difficult to see. Which…he found weird. Despite the falling sun, there should still be enough open space for it to be illuminated a little more.

He found himself squinting a short distance further. Which, was a good thing, because a large, sticky string smacked him in the face not long later. His body recoiled, arms flailing to get the junk off of him. 

Wait, why was that string of web so huge?

He furiously shook the clingy crap still on his arms, instinctively searching for the offender.

…Nothin’.

In the pit of his gut, an uneasiness welled up, but he shoved it back down. His feet took off across the dirt again.

Until another web snared him. In another fit of spasms, he managed to shake the stuff off, but not without itching to smash the dumb bug (pardon, arachnid) responsible for this.

His head whizzed around. Where was it? Where was it?

He took another step.

And that was all he needed to find it.

Looming above him, its abdomen larger than an SUV and legs stretching probably the length of a charter bus. The hairy demon sat atop a large, well-made web shielding the sky.

His eyes searched literally anywhere else. Dangling spider threads guided his eyes to even more large webs, and even more gargantuan spiders.

A scream caught in his throat. He turned to run back, but one of the beasts had already blocked his way, and was spinning a new web across the path.

The minute he found another opening, he bolted that way.

You’d think that’d be the end of it, right? But no. You’d be dead wrong.

Once he found a clear-enough route, he believed himself to be on the path to freedom. But, with the area rapidly growing darker and darker, he hardly noticed the wall of webbing until he crashed right through it.

A growl-yelp escaped his mouth as he skid to a stop, twirling in violent circles to rid the webbing from his hair, his mouth, his eyelashes, scraping around his neck. In the midst of his flailing, the spider he must have disturbed slowly emerged atop the branches, squeezing through an opening and skittering his way.

Fuck the stupid webs! He finally screamed and sprinted away through the blackness, hurtling through trees until he finally saw those serene lake waters in the dim light again.

He collapsed onto his knees and gasped for air. Then, like a fool, he glanced behind him.

Whereas there was nothing but a regular forest before, webs upon webs now claimed the space beyond the water. Hairy legs and fangs shifted amongst the sheets of webbing. Octads of sinister eyes peered at him just out of their reach.

He raced back to his dorm.

Ayan snuffed her candle, then chuckled apologetically. “Actually, that last part didn’t happen, don’t worry! I just thought I’d end it on a scarier note.”

“That was quite horrifying enough…” Maggie commented.

“Ahaha, sorry!”

“I think I remember that,” Ginger said.

“Oh! You lived in that area?”

“Close to it. Enough that I saw the posters and the increased police presence,” she explained. “I never saw the guy, but I was bombarded with warnings about him, especially from the folks at home.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. And, I’m glad I never accepted that stuff. Aunty really saved me that day.” She hesitated, then added, “I hope those kids were found at some point…”

The atmosphere collapsed on the group.

“Well, we can look into it later,” Evie spoke. “For now, let’s continue with what we arrived to do.”

“Yeah…I agree.”

“My story isn’t very comforting, but everyone is safe in the end at least.”

“Hey, spoilers!” Daisy joked.

The girl smiled. “My apologies.”

***

When the first spears of light breach the horizon, the student council president will rise from her mermaid-ombré sheets. She’ll stretch, wriggle out those tight muscles, and find the window to greet the morning.

BAM

She flinched. Locked on her, between two ghastly-dark hands, were a pair of bloodshot, yellow-orange eyes. They were perfectly round, boring into her from beyond the glass.

Without investigation, Evie kept her lips sealed. Throwing the covers to the side, she slipped out of bed and set to her usual morning duties. Her roommate was away for the week, but she brought her uniform into the tiny dorm bathroom for some privacy from the voyeur.

With each clack of her heel on the paved way, her ears were vigilant for other noise; her eyes and senses were vigilant for company.

A sensation of sorts did well up from behind her, but she merely increased her pace, ignoring the looks from the students surrounding.

Evie brushed her ashen-violet hair over her shoulder as she stepped before her classmates. Not a whisper was uttered as she took the proverbial stage. A tap of her papers on the podium, and a deep breath corrected her body into Speech posture. “In 1934—”

BAM

She jumped, gasping aloud. Pressed against the window with wide-open, bloodshot eyes was the semi-transparent figure once again.

The students followed her gaze, then traded expressions of confusion amongst each other. Taking note, she announced, “My apologies. I caught two drones crashing into one another. My reaction was dramatic, but I saw pieces flying, and was concerned about the safety of any students below.” She bowed, and stated before continuing with her speech, “Forgive me. I won’t let it happen again.”

At the ringing bell for lunch time, those eyes pierced through her from the hall windows.

During 4th period, it returned.

During 5th period, it creeped into view.

During 6th period, she had the displeasure of having a window seat, and was once again frightened by the damn thing’s banging.

While reclining in the student council room for Daisy to arrive, she captured it in her gaze to prevent it from making any noise. But, consequently, was locked into a staring contest until her 3rd chair burst into the room.

“I’m heee-eeeere!”

“You’re late.”

“Ack! Sorryyyy. Niko wouldn’t stop being all lovey-dovey and go to his club meeting~”

“...Well, let’s get on with our meeting.”

“Okay!”

Through the following day, that figure plagued her again, with its merciless golden-eyed gaze at her displeasing service during the most inconvenient times.

The day after, however, it got a little more daring. Its noisy fists were pounding on the glass more often; keen nails clawed at the surface, eliciting sharp noises that pushed waves of frustration through her body.

When Daisy strolled in for their meeting in the curtain-drawn room, Evie stopped the girl short. “...I have a task for you.”

“Oh?”

She crossed her arms. “I need you to find something for me. It’s probably somewhere outside the building, but on school grounds.”

“Okay! But…why me? Pardon me, but you seem uncertain about it. Wouldn’t it be better if you found it yourself?”

“...I don’t believe I can leave the building right now. It should be safe for you to do this though.”

“Oh…” The pigtailed-girl furrowed a brow. “Is that why you’ve been sleeping in here for the past few days?”

“...Yes.”

She then slipped her concealed knife into her hand. “Do I…need to get serious?”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Awww, okay~” The weapon was stored back in place.

“It should be a small slip of white paper, likely in the shape of a human. I imagine it’s in no simple place to find, so you’ll have to put some effort into finding it. When you do, it should have my name on it.”

“Oh, like that one thing. Hito-...Hito-something.”

“‘Hitogata’, yes. It will likely be that.”

She nodded, committing each detail to memory. “Any clue on where to look?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know. Check under benches, in flower beds—any place where this paper could be placed without getting destroyed.”

“Gotcha! What should I do with it?”

“Burn it. If I can trouble you to make the hike, then throw the ashes into the nearest river.” She paused, then added, “The sewer could also suffice.”

“Will do!” Daisy whirled around.

“Wait. When you find it, don’t let anyone else see it.”

“Why not?”

The president singed her with a terse glare.

“Oh! Oh.” She nodded. “Gotcha. No letting others see! Be right back, then!”

Several hours later, Daisy returned mottled in dirt and accomplishment. “I'm dooooone!”

Upon seeing her, Evie sighed, removed a cloth from the desk, and rose from her seat. "I'm sorry. Was it difficult to find?"

The smaller girl handed over her glasses. "Sorta! You'll never guess where it was!"

"...Where was it?"

"It was—"

"No, nevermind. Keep it to yourself."

"Okie-dokie!"

She handed the glasses back. "I'll let you clean up now. After that, we have a new task to complete."

“That’s…” The circle was stunned into silence.

“And that’s how I escaped the clutches of the weird man at the counter of the acid-store!”

“Isn’t that your gamer handle?” Ginger asked.

“Yup!”

“That just sounds like,” Clarissa said, wading through that nonsense in a search for the right words, “like you exaggerated a trip to the café or something.”

“The café of doooooom~”

Alfie scoffed. “That wasn’t even a ghost story.”

“Yours wasn’t either.” She stuck her tongue out.

He stammered in protest.

With his eyes closed, Cedric gave a small smile. “It is accepted.”

“Woohoo!” She waved a hand, smacking her flame into oblivion. “Ayan’s turn!”

“...Right.”

***

This is a story from when I was little.

It was only a year or so after my family immigrated here. There's a long street at the edge of downtown that I walked to get home from school, which had a dark alleyway intersecting it. My parents had warned me of the potential dangers that could lurk there, but none of them ever really surfaced, or I was being safe enough to never find them, so it wasn't a big deal.

Then, one day, a strange man I'd never seen before was standing behind the closest streetlight with his arm outstretched. He had a scraggly beard around his wide grin, dry, unclean skin, and one eye tighter than the other. In his hand was a spherical object in pink wrapping. “Would you like some candy?”

I happened to be with a friend that day. He didn’t move when we passed by, only following us with his eyes, like a sentient statue.

“There’s only one! Rock paper scissors?” My friend recommended.

“..What?” I asked, unsure if we should simply walk away, but not wanting to just ignore a man trying to be nice.

“Oh, there’s two of you,” he said. His fingers balled around the piece of candy. A few seconds later, he reopened them to reveal two pieces—one for each of us.

We were amazed. This man just magically made candy appear in pristine pink wrappers with cute little polka dots! How can someone capable of such a wonderful feat be a bad person?

Right as we went to grab them, an Aunty nearby smacked our hands away. “What are you doing?!” She screamed. “School is over! Go home!!”

Aunty didn’t acknowledge the man, and we were scared we did something wrong, so we ended up running back home.

The next day, the man was still there. “Would you like some candy?” The same two pieces rested in his palm, undisturbed.

I apologized to him, and we put our heads down and kept walking.

The next day, the man was there again, the same as the day before.

And the next.

And the next.

And the next.

Even after a sudden snowstorm had hit, he remained in the same spot with icicles dripping from his nose. “Would you like some candy?”

Perhaps my friend pitied him, and wanted him to go seek shelter from the cold, but she ran up and swiped the candy from the man’s hand.

I told her that that was bad, and we were going to get in trouble, but she told me: “That woman isn’t here, so it’s no big deal!”

She offered me one of the two pieces, but I was scared of the consequences, so I declined.

When I arrived at school the next day, my friend hadn’t shown up. She never arrived the rest of the day either. I figured she got sick as karma for going against Aunty’s will, so I simply walked home alone.

The man was gone.

My friend was gone for the next several days. ‘That must have been a really bad deed for her to fall so ill,’ I thought at the time.

But the day after, as I was walking down that same road, there was a poster in the place where the man once stood. It was a missing poster, with my friend’s face plastered in the center.

I’m not sure I fully grasped the situation at the time, or maybe I was just too young to properly put the pieces together, but I remember wondering how that had happened when she had been home sick the whole time.

I started seeing policemen searching the area, but alongside that, more missing posters appeared on the wall of other children in the city. Some I even recognized from the hallways of my school.

Papers upon papers filled up the wall of that long road until one day, every single one disappeared. The wall was blank, no policemen patrolled that road any longer, and that strange man was never spotted again.

A week later, I woke up at the sound of a knock on my window. It was just like how my friend did it when she would sneak out so we could play together, so I knew for sure that she was okay and came to tell me about how she pulled the biggest mean prank on the adults in the area.

But when I turned around and opened the window, I was suddenly ripped outside, and the sugary spheres in those pristine pink wrappers were forced into my mouth.

“Would you like some candy?”

“Why did you never tell me this?” Cedric asked.

“You said you weren’t familiar with the cat, so I presumed it was all a dream.”

He shook his head. “Even dreams have meaning, especially ours. I need to know about these kinds of potential encounters.”

“I apologize…”

“Well…you were still a new apprentice of mine, so you wouldn’t have known better at the time regardless.”

“That’s his way of saying ‘apology accepted’~” His girlfriend, Lilith, winked, earning a side-eye from the older witch.

“...Thank you.” Hestia bowed as deeply as she could while seated.

"What do you believe it was?"

"It felt like…a powerful curse. As if it's been in place for hundreds of years."

"...I see. I'll look into that as well, if I find the time."

She blew out her flame. “I believe it’s your turn then, Shana.”

"Okay!"

***

With her short, blue pigtail extra curly this morning, a young Shana set out for one of her usual haunts—emphasis on “haunt”.

It was no ordinary day. The small bell was blasted by the glass door, but something was…off. The air was heavy with an acidic aroma, and standing on the other end of the counter was a foreign face with a wide smile. She entered upon his greeting, and while cautiously stepping closer, she could see something toxin-colored protruding from his back.

Her mouth opened for questions, but he cut her short, demanding payment before any action could be taken. She silently dug the change, bathed in the blood, sweat, and tears from rigorous part-time servitude, from her pocket, then slowly slid it across the counter.

The man chuckled at the sight of it, adding the numbers through his eyes alone, denying the meager offering without more of her few, precious morsels of silver. With a heavy heart and empty pocket, she placed the remainder alongside her initial pile.

His accepting hand laid claim to her sacrifice, dragging it to the realm forbidden to she, but a lowly human. It was dropped into a greedy, rusted maw.

His dark hair, laying past his shoulders, swayed as he walked her down the dim lights to a roaring creature that wracked her body with emotions. At the mere sight of it, she knew—she could no longer leave this place without enduring its nebulous temper.

Coaxing it to life, the man pressed, incurring the creature to vomit forth the very acid that billowed through the air, the liquid frothing and bubbling as it filled the indestructible container before it.

In a small voice, she begged the man for mercy from his concoction. But, she was met with his laughter and an order for a greater offering.

Swallowing her saliva to spare her throat from the dry torture, she proceeded to try bartering with the man, but to no avail. He was clever, craftty, and wouldn’t accept her pitiful attempts at outwitting the capitalistic demons and their hellish reign over the conditioned masses.

She had no other option. She knew in her heart that it must be done, if she ever wanted to leave that place alive.

Her fingers deftly removed a single coin from her other pocket—the only one within it. A large morsel of pure gold—a hard won prize from her tribulations.

His narrow eyes widened at the sight of it, as Shana graced the counter with it. Satisfaction filled his face, and she sighed with relief at having appeased the acid-dealing overlord.

This offering, he pocketed with a sly smile. Retrieving her poison, he then added a thick, sweet cream to lighten its effects and spare her from torment.

It was then he asked her name. But! Weak as she was, a great cleverness still hid within her definitely super-wrinkled brain. Huffing and puffing the noxious air with confidence, she announced, “I am LemmyLoaf35, Champion of Gargarion and Devourer of Gluten-Free Snacks!”

Amused at her response, he granted her freedom from her confinement and a blessing for a pleasant day, and she swiftly took her leave before she could be captured again.