Andy felt a chill run through him as he stepped out into the chilly wind. The brisk morning bought with it the smell of decaying leaves, the taste of autumn and the promise of mischief. It was the perfect Halloween morning. One of those days where anything can happen.
Andy swung his backpack over his shoulder and started on his journey towards school. The old, black and decrepit house sat on the same side of Monroe Street as his own. It was two blocks away but always in Andy’s view. Roof shingles were loose and shutters hanging loose. An attempt to hide the lawn behind a small wooden fence was made moot by the state of disrepair the fence was in. The house was only visually above the overgrown bushes and weeds that guard the front door. Two large pines grew wildly on either side of the house, framing the covered porch as if inviting the little Hansels and Gretels into the very oven that would be their death.
There were two legends that filled the halls of Hamilton High School. Andy had only been in high school a few months, but it didn’t take long to learn them. The first involved mysterious noises that came from the patch of woods on the outskirts of towns. Andy had been told those sounds were the results of everything from werewolves to the ghosts of the town’s founders. Andy thought it interesting that he had never heard of a natural cause for the howls, the grunts, the roars. It was never suggested to be a pack of wolves, teenagers playing pranks or even homeless people. Andy chalked it up to trying to make everything more interesting in a small Midwestern town.
The second legend involved the very house that kept Andy’s attention for the first five blocks of his walk to school every day. A woman had purchased the property a couple of years ago and proceeded to let it fall around on her. The lady who lived there looked the part. Her hair was disheveled. She muttered a lot and wore a lot of black. More than one person claimed she was cursing them.
“See something you like, dickweed?”
Andy jumped at the voice behind him. He spun around to see his friend, Steve, laughing. Andy gave him a strong but not forceful punch to his shoulder.
“You scared the shit out of me,” Andy said.
“Don’t make it so easy next time,” Steve said looking up at the old house. “Get a good look at it. We’ll be back.”
Steve continued to walk away from the house forcing Andy to keep up with him.
“What’s that mean?” Andy said. “Is that the challenge? I have to do something to the house?”
“You’ll find out when we get the group together,” Steve said. He laughed.
“What’s the plan for tonight?” Digs asked as he lit the cigarette hanging from his mouth.
“What makes you think there’s a plan?” Cass said. He leaned back on the window of his car.
“Come on,” Digs said. “Do you think I’m some kind of Kroski? It’s Halloween. You’re not staying in and watching It’s the Great Pumpkin.”
Cass laughed. Taking his cue, the other two teens that completed the circle also laughed.
“You know me too well, Digs,” Cass said. “We have a plan. Satchmo here knows some things that might work out in our favor. Ain’t that right, Satchmo?”
Satchmo smiled.
“That’s right, that’s right,” he said. “We are going to get fucked up tonight!”
“How’s that?” Digs asked. He took a drag off his cigarette
“Let’s just say I know someone who knows someone who is going to have the booze,” Satchmo said.
“And they are just going to give it to us?” Digs asked.
“If they’re smart,” Cass said. “If they’re not, then we’ll just take it.”
Andy was half a sandwich into his lunch, but still trailed the others, all of whom had come close to devouring their entire meal.
“Come on, just spill it,” he said looking at the three boys across the table.
“He’s waited long enough, Brad,” Steve said.
“You think?” Brad said. He took one of the last sips of his chocolate milkshake. “Alright.”
Brad put down the last bit of his cheeseburger and looked directly across the table at Andy.
“You want to know where the secret club is?”
Andy nodded. “You know I do.”
“Then you have to pass the test.”
“Yeah, I know,” Andy said. “What’s the test? I have streak or steal some kid’s bag of Halloween candy?”
“Quite the contrary,” Brad said. He sat full back in his chair. He was much taller than the other kids – especially when he sat up straight. “You won’t need to steal trick-or-treat candy because we’ll be trick-or-treating.”
The other three boys at the table started to laugh. Brad did not.
“Wait, are you serious?” Steve asked.
“As a heart attack,” Brad said.
“Dude,” Marvin said. “I haven’t trick-or-treated since grade school!”
“That was like two years ago,” Steve said. “Don’t act like you’re out of practice.”
“Well, you’re doing it tonight,” Brad said.
“What kind of costumes are we supposed to come up with?” Andy asked.
“There is no ‘we’ in this,” Brad said.
“I’m not going?” Andy asked.
“Oh, you’re going,” Brad said. “You just ain’t going with us.”
Andy smirked.
“You know that scary house over on Monroe that the witch lives in?”
“Of course I do,” Andy said. “You know I do.”
“We are going trick-or-treating there,” Brad said. He pointed to himself, Steve and Marvin. “And while we are, you are going to sneak in the house.”
“What?”
“I got it on good word that the old witch stocked up on some booze for Halloween,” Brad said. “While we keep her busy at the door, you sneak in and get us some of the drink.”
“Why should I risk getting arrested so you can get booze?” Andy asked.
“You want to know where the secret clubhouse is, right?” Brad asked. “Then we got to know if we can trust you.”
“It’s true,” Steve said. “If you can’t keep a secret, we can’t let you know our secrets.”
“Damn,” Andy said. “Seems like you got me between a rock and a hard place.”
The others said nothing. They stared at him from across the table.
“Damnit,” Andy said. “Alright. I’ll do it.”
