A Halloween Horror

“BOO!!” Nema shrieked, his voice as shrill as a ghoul, startling a woman so much she spilled an overflowing bucket of candy corn in an epic cascade of orange and yellow. Nema was from the planet Gorgi, where they celebrated Halloween, a tradition brought by early immigrants from Earth. However, on Gorgi, there were arekas, shadowy, transparent creatures with an equally shadowy past. When the Gorgians of planet Gorgi heard about Halloween, with stories of terrifying creatures lurking in the murky depths of the unknown, they instantly welcomed the holiday.

“Nema, you made me spill the candy! What are we going to give the children for the Halloween festival today?” his mother scolded. “Besides, you know that boy from Earth, Mark, who keeps saying that Gorgi is ‘an uncivilized planet’? What is he going to say? And to think he is only 17 days older than you, and both of you are only 10 years old!”

Nema lowered his head to hide his grin. “I’m sooo sorry, mother dearest. Since I ACCIDENTALLY spilled the candy, I definitely deserve to be confined to my room,” he said sweetly. His mother, knowing full well Nema’s intentions were to play video games on his computer, refused and decided to actually punish Nema for a change. So he was told to spend the rest of the morning sweeping fallen leaves—despite their sweeper robot being able to  complete the task faster.

Nema forced himself to work faster despite the injustice of it all, his breath billowing into flowing shapes on the chilly autumn morning. It was so cold that crystal droplets of dew still stubbornly clung to blades of crimson grass, refusing to be chased away by light. That was one way Gorgi differed from Earth, Nema thought. The grass was red.

Nema was so focused on his work that he didn’t notice his eleven-year-old sister, Willow, until she tapped him on the shoulder. “Mother told you to come back. I convinced her by telling her that the fog and lack of light are the perfect conditions for an areka attack.” Nema smiled to show his gratitude, and then headed back to the comfort of his traditional Gorgian egg-shaped abode with his sister.

Little did they know that they were not alone. Mark, the bully of Nema’s school, leaped out of the tree. Even though Nema and Mark were the same age, Mark, the sole Earthling in 5th grade, acted superior to everyone. 

“Were you sweeping leaves, Nema? How quaint.” The loathing glare on Nema’s face told Mark the answer. “Really, Nema, is your planet this uncivilized? I mean, don’t you use your sweeper robots? Well, I guess I’ll see you at the Halloween festival,” Mark drawled, and swept away dramatically, directly into Willow.

Willow had her arms crossed, and her expression was as hard and unreadable as stone. Oh no, Nema thought. He knew that look. “Mark, I am afraid I have to report you for trespassing on private property and invading privacy,” Willow said smoothly. She paused. “Unless…you apologize to my mother and bring us candy every day of this week.”

“Fine,” Mark muttered, and followed Nema and Willow to the house. After offering a stiff apology, he stormed off, looking like he was about to explode. Aside from that small skirmish with Mark, the rest of the morning passed in a dull, dreary blur of autumn colors. That evening, Nema and Willow joined the other trick-or-treaters. One home had a particularly breathtaking display. Something about the design looked a bit familiar, though. Nema and Willow did not connect the pieces until they saw that the figure handing out candy at the house was Mark.

“Ugh, it's Mark’s house. Well, he definitely won’t give us candy,” Nema groaned, pulling Willow in the opposite direction. “Come on, it's not worth it.”

Mark finally looked up and spotted them. He laughed, then stood up, brushing invisible dirt off his immaculate pants. “Hi, how are you?” he said as if they were old friends, maintaining a calm facade in front of the other trick-or-treaters collecting candy at his house. “Come on, let’s go. I’ve been waiting for you, like, forever!” Mark shooed Willow away with a sweep of his hand. Despite Willow casting suspicious glances at Mark, she reluctantly walked away.

The moment Willow was out of sight, Mark dragged Nema to a solitary pine tree in the distance. Given the fact that Mark was tall and athletic, Nema did not resist. At the tree, he found Mark’s muscular 12-year-old friends waiting for them. Nema regretted that he had not tried to slip away when he had the chance, and his pupils dilated with fear.

Mark’s friends pinned him to the tree and blindfolded him. With his flailing arms, Nema knew he probably looked like an idiot. There was a blinding flash, and Nema was dropped. Grinning, Mark showed him pictures of Nema flailing and twisting. “We’re part of the Yearbook Club,” Mark said, grinning.  “And guess what? You’re going to be the star of the Comedy section unless you agree to let us publish these photos.” Nema felt his stomach churn. He knew he was being manipulated, but he agreed, knowing the extremes Mark would go to just to get his way. He even allowed Mark to take his candy without a complaint. 

“Good boy, Nema,” Mark sneered, petting Nema condescendingly like a dog. Nema tried to struggle to his feet, but just as he gained footing Mark pushed him back to the ground. “Sit, Nema. Maybe I'll even give you a treat!” His friends hooted with laughter, enjoying Nema’s humiliation with gloating satisfaction. 

“Wait, there’s just one more picture we want,” Liam, the tallest of Mark’s friends, said. Mark was caught by surprise for a moment, then nodded as if it was his plan all along. Liam strung Nema with colored lights and rope. Now completely tied up, they took off Nema’s blindfold. Then, to Nema’s horror, Liam yelled out, “We’re going to use you for a little project. We’ll leave you out here. You will be such an easy target for the arekas!” Mark and his friends laughed and sang silly songs, praising Liam for his idea.  

Nema saw a lithe form dart through the trees. He glanced back, but there was nothing. Was it merely a twisted branch? Or…perhaps it was something far worse. 

As Nema glimpsed the shadow again, he knew only one creature was capable of moving so swiftly and silently. Nema twisted and clawed at the ropes binding him, in a desperate attempt to escape. When he found out he was helpless, Nema started hyperventilating in absolute terror. The areka glided out of the trees, without Mark’s detection. Nema tried to scream a warning, but Mark cut him off. “What’s the matter, are you scared?” he mocked. 

Without warning, the temperature dropped ten degrees. The areka stretched out its clawed limbs. Then, with a deadly touch, it sucked the life from Mark and his friends. Nema watched as Mark’s eyes grew blank and devoid of life until he was a withered husk. The same result was mirrored with each of Mark’s friends as they crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The areka glided toward Nema, and…smiled? 

It morphed into the shape of a girl, who dropped Nema’s bag of candy into his hand, along with a glowing, ghostly piece of candy. The areka girl waved, then vanished into the shadows, leaving Nema with her haunting memory. Sometimes in the morning Nema would wake up and glimpse her slim silhouette at his window, leaving only the special candy. 

As for Mark, he woke up in his bed the next morning, just as the last of the dew kissed the red grass, and never was mean to Nema again.