“Ooh! Look at all those pretty lights, Riese. Come on, let’s go get a closer look!” Ispheria shouted as she dragged her friend towards a house decorated with bright colors and comical props.
Ace watched his two friends for a brief moment before turning towards Alverost and Zero300. “Where did you say the haunted house contest was?”
“According to our sources, it’s the last three blocks of this neighborhood.” Zero300 replied as Alverost pointed down the street and into the distance.
Ace followed Alverost’s finger and shook his head slightly at the distance, barely making out a few figures of haunted houses. “Okay, no rush. We have all the time we need. Let’s first check out these other attractions.”
“Alright.” Zero300 nodded as he left to look after his old friends while Alverost walked up to Steelz and Graspier.
“Hey, you guys decided on where to check out first? Me and a couple of others will be heading over there in about thirty minutes.” Alverost pointed towards the haunted houses in the distance.
“Um, I’m going to check out some things with Joyheal first. You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up with you later.” Steelz responded as he shifted warily at the haunted houses.
Meanwhile, Graspier nodded happily as his interests sparked. “Count me in! I’m here for the haunted houses anyways!”
“Great, Steelz…I’ll see you soon then. Graspier, do you want join us now or in thirty minutes?” Alverost asked.
Graspier pinched his smooth chin and chirped. “I’ll join you then. The people I came with earlier had left to see the street stalls.”
“Great! Welcome aboard!” Alverost nodded as he directed Graspier towards the main group.
Alverost continued chatting with the other members of the large group to get an idea of what they wanted to do. After arranging them into a few more manageable groups, each group going towards a different destination but ultimately ending up at the haunted house contest part of the neighborhood, Alverost led his group towards the haunted houses.
Along the way, the group continued to check out the different attractions offered by the neighborhood. Once they arrived at where the haunted house contest was going to take place, the group decided to set up camp and wait for the contest to begin. A couple who didn’t want to wait for the main event decided to check out the decorations of each of the haunted houses around the block.
There were quite a few interesting and innovative houses. There was a house where the decorators completely changed the exterior so that eyes and teeth were added to the front entrance and brown furs were placed around the entire house, making it look like a monster.
In addition, there were houses that had many props arranged on the front yard. For instance, one house had a chained fence cut through the middle of the yard and zombie props were placed at one side of the fence. It genuinely looked as if the zombies were trying to get in.
Then, there were the really frightening ones like the witch prop that jumped up and screamed whenever a person got too close and the zombie hand props that pop out of the ground and grabbed an unsuspecting trick-or-treater. And then, there were the more technologically creative ones.
As the neighborhood was home to a number of engineers and decorators, there were quite a few innovative Halloween designs. For instance, one of the houses the Scribblers visited displayed a walled maze. Roaming inside the maze was a beastly construct that moved via remote control, kind of like the minotaur in King Minos’s labyrinth. Many people could not wait to try out the maze.
Soon, the contest began and the Scribblers quickly rushed off to try out the haunted houses of their choice. Most checked out the maze. People were allowed to enter in groups of three and given a ball of yarn in case they got lost. The owner of the house told the attendees that if they were caught by the construct, they shouldn’t resist and let the construct take them out of the maze. Anyone who successfully finished the maze received an expensive box of chocolates.
Ducky, Bluebery, and Nyanko were placed in a group. After hearing the screams of those who went before them and coupled with the number of people brought out by the scary construct, the trio shivered in excitement and nervousness. This was what they came to see – an event that could scare the lights out of them!
Finally, it was their turn. After receiving the ball of yarn, the trio descended into the dimly lit maze. As they wandered about the maze, Ducky suggested always turning left while Bluebery suggested always turning right. However, Nyanko thought that it would take too long and they could encounter the construct if they weren’t careful, so she decided to ‘cheat’ a little.
“You guys look around and cover me while I use my Creativity to transform a bit.” Nyanko replied as she steadied herself into a calm state.
Nyanko had the ability to transform into a cat warrior with the help of her Creativity. She didn’t really have to do a full body transformation as that would take too much of her Creativity. Not to mention, she didn’t want a normal person to catch her in full transformation either or she would have been treated as a freak.
While Ducky and Bluebery looked about for signs of another trio of people or of the construct, Nyanko sent a thread of Creativity to her nose, effectively transforming it into that of a cat’s nose. As a cat’s sense of smell is at least 14 times better than that of a human, she was able to pick up the faint but aromatic scent of expensive chocolate.
“I got it! That way!” Nyanko’s eyes lit up as she pointed down a pathway.
Ducky and Bluebery looked around once more before following Nyanko as she led the way. The trio turned left and right with little to no hesitation. However, right after turning around one corner, Nyanko stopped. Her face paled as she sniffed the air.
“What’s wrong?” Ducky asked as she saw Nyanko’s expression under the dim lights.
“I-Is it the scary construct?” Bluebery inquired.
“Yes, it is.” Nyanko nodded slowly as she pointed down the hallway. “It’s close. Let’s turn back and try another way.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Ducky agreed as they turned back.
However, before they could walk another step, Nyanko’s danger sense went off the charts. “Run!”
The trio hurriedly retraced their steps but the sounds of their pursuer grew ever so closer. Bluebery looked back just for a quick peek and instantly regretted it. With a yelp, she quickened her steps. However, the beastly contruct was still right on their tails.
KYAAH
A scream burst through the trio’s exhaustion as the beastly construct reached out and grabbed Ducky by the waist. Before Nyanko and Bluebery could react, the construct dragged Ducky through a secret passageway and disappeared from sight.
“Ducky!” Bluebery cried out as she turned towards Nyanko for help. “What should we do? It took Ducky! We must save her!”
“We can’t!” Nyanko squinted in frustration. “S-She’s out! Forget about her! Let’s find the exit and win this treacherous maze! For Ducky!”
“Un! For Ducky!” Bluebery nodded as she wiped away some tears.
The two girls continued down the pathway, searching for an alternate route to the end. However, it seemed the maze wasn’t as complex as they thought it would be. All of the other paths they tried were dead-ends. There was only one way out…and that was through that first pathway where they had encountered the monstrosity.
CLANK! CLANK! VRRROOOOMM!!
“It’s coming again!” Bluebery panicked as she fretted about.
Nyanko looked left and right for a way out before dragging Bluebery around a corner. “This way!”
BOOM!
Suddenly, the construct emerged from God knows where and grabbed Nyanko, dragging her into another secret passage. Bluebery collapsed where she stood. Without Nyanko or Ducky, her nerves got the better of her. She could not continue or hope to continue. Sounds of the construct coming for her approached. It was her turn.
Bluebery turned and looked at the construct with teary eyes. She closed her eyes as the construct grabbed her and carried her out of the maze. Like this, another trio of participants had lost. Since their loss, no one had completed the maze. But regardless of it, everyone enjoyed the attraction.
This was pretty much the highlight of the Scribblers’ visit. Everyone was set on voting for this house as the number one decorator in the neighborhood until someone mentioned about the haunted house at the end of the street.
“Ah yes, that haunted house. We almost forgot!” Ispheria facepalmed as she peered over at the last house. “Doesn’t seem like there’s many people over there. Maybe it’s a bust?”
“Let’s just check it out anyways. If it sucks, we can always leave.” Alverost remarked as he sized up the building.
“How’s everyone holding up? You got energy for one more house?” Riese glanced over her shoulder at her fellow Scribblers.
When she saw them nod, the young Scribbler smiled and exclaimed. “Okay then, let’s go!”
