"Why can't I go trick or treating, Mom? Just for an hour? Please?"
"We already discussed this, Luke. I don't feel comfortable letting you go out alone at night, before I get a feel for the new place. And I have to work tonight, so I can't go with you."
"But I wouldn't be alone. I'd be with other kids from school. And whoever you get to watch me..." Luke replied sullenly.
"No. I would be worried the whole time. You will stay in the house, understood? When I get home, we will binge on hot cocoa and make caramel apples!" said the stressed but upbeat single mother.
"Yes, Mom..." he replied grudgingly.
"Luke! Come meet Dinah. She'll be watching you tonight."
"Coming, Mom." replied Luke unenthusiastically, as he emerged from the other room.
"Hello, Luke! I've heard so much about you. We're going to have so much fun tonight. How would you like to have a Halloween party for two?" asked the tall, thin, brunette teen. Luke noted that she was awfully old for a babysitter. Probably seventeen or eighteen.
"Thanks so much for watching him tonight, Dinah. I hope you aren't missing out on anything special." Mom said gratefully.
"Not at all, Mrs. Calles. My boyfriend is... Not here. It just wouldn't be the same. No, this is perfect." she said, smiling sadly.
"I understand." replied Mom sympathetically, grasping her hands.
"May I go to my room, please?" asked Luke when he saw an opening. Adults always liked to be alone when the topic was serious anyway.
"Of course Luke, I'll get everything ready." replied Dinah kindly.
"And it's time that I get going. Luke, listen to Dinah, and have fun. I love you." she said, kissing him on top of the head.
"Love you too." he replied quickly, before making his exit.
"You have my number if you need anything?" double checked Mom.
"Yes Mrs. Calles. Thanks for letting me watch Luke tonight, it's just what I need. I'll make sure he has fun."
"Great! Unless you have any questions, I'll just let myself out, so you can get this party on the road!" she exclaimed, feeling much better about having to work on Halloween.
"I think we covered everything on the phone, Mrs. Calles. You have a good evening." smiled the young lady.
As soon as Mrs. Calles left, Dinah ran for the kitchen. She scoured the cupboards, and found several jumbo sized bags of candy, as well as the makings for cookies and other baked treats. The fridge contained eggs and milk. The table had a huge bowl of fruit, including apples.
She quickly grabbed the apples, and put them in another large bowl, which she filled with water. Then she stirred up a cookie batter, and shaped them roughly into pumpkins and witches hats. Not perfect, but it would do.
After popping them in the oven, Dinah looked around the house. On the coffee table sat some crepe paper decorations. She carefully opened the package, and hung them up. Bringing in the bowl of apples, she sniffed the air. The cookies were ready!
"Luke! The party is about to start!" she called out. Not getting any response, she followed her ears to his room.
Knock. Knock. Knock. She lightly tapped. Nothing. So she tried a little louder. Still not a peep.
"Luke! If you don't answer, I'm going to have to open the door." she said, somewhat worried. He had seemed too polite to ignore a request.
Trying the knob, she found it didn't have a lock. She opened it, and the room appeared empty. "Luke! Are you in here?!?!" She almost shrieked. Mrs. Calles had told her that he had taken the news about staying home particularly hard. Had he decided to go without permission?
Before she could pull out her phone, she heard a whimper. It was coming from the closet. She opened it, to find Luke huddled in the very back. His face was streaked with tears.
"What's wrong?" asked Dinah. Now she was really scared - no way this kid was that good of an actor!
All he could do was shake, and babble something about the window. She decided to leave him there for a minute, and make sure the place was safe.
Indeed, the window was open. After she closed it, she noticed a ring on the windowsill. It was gold. Inside, she felt an inscription. Dinah held it to the light, then fell to her knees.
"Impossible... I put this on his finger right before he was buried..." she whispered, reliving the funeral of her boyfriend.
Dinah missed him dearly. She regretted not going with him to Jamaica, where he had suddenly passed away. At first the doctors thought he contracted a mysterious disease, but all tests came up clean. The cause of death was never found.
Shaking off the shock, she went back to the child. "Luke? Let's go in the kitchen." she suggested. He didn't respond, so she helped him up and led him.
After half a mug of hot cocoa, he was ready to talk. "I saw him... He wasn't a kid, he was a big guy. Like a wrestler or football player. And his skin was all gross. I don't think it was a mask." he shuddered.
"I'll call the police. Exactly what did he look like, other than big?" she asked. When he told her, the blood in her veins turned to ice. He described her boyfriend right down to what he had been buried in. Either someone was pulling a cruel prank, or evil was lurking outside.
"He said something too. Just one word, over and over. It was like listening to a robot. Or a zombie..."
"What did he say, Luke?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
"Conversion. What does that mean, Dinah?"
"It means change. Like if you have dollars, and you trade them for pounds so you can spend them in England. That is one example of conversion." she replied, keeping the more probable interpretation to herself.
"So he wanted me to help him with money?" asked Luke, confused.
"I don't know what he wanted." she said truthfully, despite the dark guesses she had. She then took her phone out of her pocket. She had snapped it in two when she had fallen on her knees earlier, without even noticing.
"Do you have a phone?" she asked the child hopefully.
"No. Mom says I'm not old enough. If I ever need her, I can use the teacher or babysitter's phone."
Dinah held up the two pieces. "I don't think we can use this. Unless there's another phone in the house, we are going to have to go for help, or stay here until your mom comes back. In six hours."
"I am not going back in my room until he's caught. And I really don't want to stay here right now." declared Luke seriously.
"Alright... Let's make this seem like a normal outing though. I'll turn on the porch light, and put out the Jack O Lantern. You get out last year's costume, and find something for me. When some kids come to the door, we will leave with them."
The two quickly dressed, and waited. It wasn't ten minutes before a large group of children, chaperoned by three adults knocked. Dinah slipped candy from her own bag into theirs, then locked the door. She noted with satisfaction that she and Luke blended in perfectly.
The mob of ghosts, ghouls, princesses, and vampires went from door to door. As Dinah didn't know any of the people in the neighborhood, and Luke had just moved there, she didn't want to go in a strange house. That may very well have been trading one nightmare for another.
No, she would wait, and ask one of the chaperones for help. No need to ruin the children's Halloween though. Surprisingly Luke was having fun, despite the situation.
On their way to a large, well lit home, she saw him. He looked exactly like she remembered, except for the red skin hanging off of his hands and face.
Dinah grabbed Luke's hand, and pulled him into the middle of the group. He followed her gaze, and quickly put several fluffy princesses between him and the monster.
She didn't dare to look. Did he know it was them? Of course, if he found her at a babysitting job, he could track her anywhere. That did it. This home looked welcoming enough. They would go in, and call the police.
She and Luke slipped in uninvited, to the surprise of all. "Well. Won't you come in?" said a middle aged lady stiffly. Her husband looked on, but let the lady of the house handle things.
"Yes, please. I'm sorry. Someone was creeping around our house, and I broke my phone. We slipped out with these trick or treaters. May I please call the police?" she asked, pulling out her phone as proof.
"Of course. You must have had quite a fright." the lady replied warmly, as she handed Dinah her phone. She quickly called, and gave both Luke's address and their own location.
"Thanks so much, Ma'am. An officer will be here to pick us up soon." Dinah said gratefully.
Curiousity led the trick or treaters to stay. Or perhaps a sense of responsibility.
Seconds later, they heard a tapping on the window. Dinah edged over to look, and saw him. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed.
"Ma'am, I think it's best if I go now. Luke can stay."
"With that psycho out there?!?! Why?"
"Because I know him. He's dangerous. I don't want to put your lives at risk." she said, almost in a panic. She couldn't tell them that they probably wouldn't be able to protect her anyway.
"Well at least take the phone, if you insist on leaving." said the woman, thinking better of facing off with the would be intruder.
Dinah grabbed the phone, and ran. Luke was at her heels. She didn't have time to argue, but she gave him a glare. He just grinned.
They slipped out the back, and sprinted across yards. With the phone, she was more confident. The police would be tracking it, and find them eventually. She didn't dare keep calling, they would think it was a prank. Surely the authorities could deal with the undead, if anyone could. Once they believed...
After several blocks of hard running, they were winded. Gasping for air, they stopped. "Hey Dinah, there's music coming from that house. And it's all decorated. I bet they're having a party. Maybe we can hide there?
"It's worth a try... But stay close, and be ready to run. You really should have stayed back there with those nice people." she said, trying unsuccessfully to sound stern.
"Mom told me to listen to you. I can't do that unless I stay with you." he replied, grinning again.
"You know, that logic of yours is going to get you in trouble! Probably tonight." she said, laughing despite the situation.
"I think Mom will understand." he said confidently.
"It's not your mom I'm worried about. Let's get inside." she said, serious again.
"Wow... This is the most boring party I've ever seen." whispered Luke.
"You won't think so in another eight years." she whispered back.
"If Mrs. Calles ever finds out that I took her son to a place like this, she really might kill me!" thought Dinah to herself. With that, she located a plate of cookies, and went in the kitchen for clean glasses and some juice from the fridge. The beverages being offered were definitely unsuitable for both of them.
As they sat munching, a young man of perhaps twenty walked in. "Hey Babe, what's with the rugrat?"
"Oh, hey. I have to watch him, I hope it's not a problem?" she replied, batting her eyelashes a little.
"It's not a problem for me. How about we get back to the party? Want to dance?" he asked, extending his hand.
"Sure! Luke, come along. And don't eat or drink anything out there." she warned.
He nodded. Once he was seated, Dinah and the stranger danced. The party was as boring as it had first looked. After what seemed like forever, he heard a loud banging on the door.
Luke ran over to Dinah, who was chatting with yet another young man. "Unless that's the police, we better run." he whispered.
She nodded. Without so much as a goodbye, she took off for the back door.
Again, they ran as far as they could. When they had to stop, they found themselves close to a cemetery. "Let's keep going." suggested Luke.
"Wait... This is hallowed ground. Zombies and other creepy things aren't supposed to be able to hurt us there. I think we should be safe." she replied, as she glanced at the phone. It would be midnight in ten minutes! What if she didn't get Luke home before one? Poor Mrs. Calles would be frantic.
"I never thought I would be sitting in a graveyard on Halloween night..." she thought out loud.
"Neither did I. This is a much cooler adventure than trick or treating with the other kids." declared Luke.
She looked at him, surprised. They had both been terrified most of the time, and yet the kid saw it as an adventure. If he could have such a positive attitude, shouldn't she try to as well?
"There he is." whispered Luke, pointing across the street. They hid behind a tombstone, watching him stride swiftly towards the unlocked gate.
Once he reached it, it was as if he met an invisible force field. Dinah stepped out from her hiding place.
"Carl? Is that you?" she asked, hoping he was in there somewhere.
"Conversion." Conversion. Conversion." said the mindless zombie.
"No. No conversion, ever." she declared firmly.
Seconds later, he began to fade, all the while repeating the only thing he seemed capable of saying.
As she looked at the phone, a single tear fell on the screen. It was midnight.
"Let's get a cab. It's past time to get you home." she said, swiftly finding the appropriate number.
"Thanks so much for watching him!" gushed Mrs. Calles.
"It was my pleasure, Ma'am."
"Is he still up? I promised him we'd have a little party when I got home. I thought maybe that and staying up super late might make up for my having to work."
"He's waiting in the living room. " Dinah said, brightly.
When they walked in, he was curled up on the couch, sound asleep. But when his mother scooped him up, his eyes opened.
"I promise, next year, I'll let you go trick or treating." she said, trying to comfort him.
"Would it be alright if I party with Dinah again instead?" he asked sleepily.
She looked at Dinah, who nodded yes, grinning from ear to ear.
"I guess so, as long as she isn't busy. My, she must have made an impression!"
He smiled sleepily. "She throws the best parties."
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