Chapter 18 - Turning Eighteen

...When I was first with someone I loved. When we were together, and I could let go of the pain. But pain still found me.

The warmth of the moment and the warmth of the next nine months. Twice. A feeling I could never forget.

"I want it!" Riona dashed for my hands. I blocked her. Mark lunged too. I held them back like I always did.

"Riona. Mark." It was easy to speak their names just the right way when I needed to. The sounds stopped them like a high whistle.

I held them there and firmly told each, "Please apologize to our host for barging in and grabbing her food without permission."

Mark yelled, "YOU DID IT TOO!"

"We can all hear you, Mark. Please use your inside voice."

He scrunched his little mouth up as he put on a big pout. I leveled my eyes at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his cowboy outfit and responded, "But you ate one without asking. And! And she said take them!"

Turning to the blond lady, who locked eyes with us, I told her promptly, "Sorry for taking these candies without permission. And my children would like to apologize as well."

I shifted behind them. They seemed a little lost, looking back at me several times. I urged them both, "You know what I've told you about going into others' houses without asking first."

They both looked at the blond, who inquired, "Are you alright?"

With a light nod, I assured her, "Yes. That candy seems fine. Was there something about it you wanted to tell us?"

She shook her head and fussed with her locks whipping over her eyes. "I was...concerned about the color. Sorry. It's been a crazy night."

I had a lot on my mind about her using my children as guinea pigs for oddly-colored candy but at least it didn't seem to have upset our stomachs. It had made the two of them very hyper and I needed to cool them down.

Making sure the girl got back all the weird candy, I supported my kids as I reminded them of what they needed to do.

They seemed lost for what to say and I wanted to put as few words into their mouths as possible. Mark gave a little cough as he cleared his throat and said, "I don't get it. Can I have more candy?"

"Yeah! I want more," Riona demanded.

Despite the warmth in my belly, a fuming, venting heat also hit me. I spanked them both enough but that felt like giving in to the kind of mother I didn't want to be. I could use harsh words, but that was my mother. I had to be better.

The blond held out one candy for each of them. "You can have these. I guess it's just discolored. All those food chemicals and dyes the government puts in."

She didn't need to say any more than that as they snapped up another candy each and popped them in their mouths. I turned them around to face me.

"Riona. Mark. This young lady has been very polite and kind. You could've just asked her for more. No reason to burst into her home. As my children, you know what to say and how to behave for guests."

They locked eyes with me. I hoped that meant they were listening. My words had so many ways I could've said them better, but I did my best at that moment. Their mouths dangled a little, like the candy might've had some spice to it.

Instinctively, I watched to make sure they were okay. I could still dial emergency on my phone and get my kids out of here if something went bad. Mark spoke first, "Sorry, mom. It's just really good. And sorry, miss...lady. The candy was really good. Even if it looks weird."

Riona folded her arms and looked away, puffing a sigh. I remained with a hand on her little shoulder as she proclaimed, "Sorry for following my dumb brother in here."

She was probably first through the doorway, but I couldn't remember and it didn't matter. Mark turned to sock her, but I kept them apart. I brought back my calm words as Riona squirmed.

When I finally got them settled down, I noticed the blond wore an even paler expression with her eyes looking far off. Clearly, she wasn't keen on kids.

I could understand. The year my daughter interrupted pumpkin carving to see what faces she could make on her brother's hand with the knife, I wanted to scream, scold, and hit her immediately. But I wouldn't have control.

Instead, I sat her down to see her brother bleeding from the cut. It took some doing to keep him from striking out at her loudly, but he got to do fun stuff as she watched. And she saw him in pain from her actions.

I spoke to her about hurting others. She kept her head down. The best thing I tried was getting her back into helping with the carving and laying out exactly what would happen and what she would do to get out of the doghouse.

Being consistent and calm is so hard, but it's worked more than anything else.

I made sure Riona knew that she had to apologize to her brother and our guest. Other parents in the neighborhood sometimes asked me if something was weird about Riona. But people like to put kids into disorders to wave responsibility.

Riona knew what she was doing was wrong even though she acted this way. I noticed she squirmed when she saw how deep her brother's cut was. Her silence was pride.

Thinking on that, I whispered to her what I knew could be a better apology, a memorable one. She fussed but recited one that satisfied Mark and which our host nodded about.

All that settled, I introduced everyone. I said Mark was a singing cowboy with a lot of breath to spare, but I was right there to keep him from shouting.

I mentioned Riona was an "inspector" even though none of us could remember why she picked that. She tugged on the pink skirt underneath to show off the bright tone. And I introduced myself with a smile and handshake.

With her blond lashes twisting around, the girl bit into her lower lip and fussed with the candy she had left in her hands. "I'm well...it's rather...so well..."

She popped the lavender marshmallow in her mouth instead of saying anything else right then. The boost of sugar soon gave her a little bump of confidence as her eyes and body settled.

"Lina. I am Lina. Huh. Sorry, I guess I spaced out or just woke up after a long gaming session. And umm...oh boy. Could you excuse me for just a second?...Urgent things."

A moment ago, she looked uncertain, but her body language gained confidence. More herself? Whatever it was, she shuffled around the hall till she bolted through the nearest open bathroom and whipped the door closed behind her.

Mark, often the explorer, followed the open path around the corner. The room next to the kitchen had a spillover of old, lopsided boxes.

Aside from open energy drinks on the side, the black table filling most of the room was the most organization I could see. A printer/fax, several large monitors, and keyboards surrounded multiple all-black computers with "UFO" decals.

His sugar-crusted hands out, I aimed Mark towards the sink to wash up, along with Riona. As I kept an eye on them, I noticed some familiar things open, like the page of Frostwell Paranormalcy. A lot of computer stuff was showing up everywhere, but I gathered it wasn't working.

Bigger than that was the Ryan Bartlett Twitter, which was signed into. John had made a big deal of that. On the third monitor, something was written, half-finished.

After glancing over a little bit, I raised my phone and took two images without the flash. It turned out clear enough to read.

[Transcription]

[For my own records if nothing else. Incidents first observed at local groceries of purple bananas. Probable nanite construct. Spreads. Refresh notes on organic black helicopters birthed from cows in the 1970s. Banana tasted faintly warmed and perhaps pureed. My body completely changed within ten minutes to that of some cosplayer met at gaming con in Kalamazoo. Possible connection, acquired items of hers. Found second banana but what if it makes it worse? Felt strange in public but no noted mental side-effects. One guy watched me a lot but doubt he is related. I am terrified of them, the shadows that move like people.]

[Could be hallucinatory as a side effect. Some nearby electrical devices experienced power surges. Took site offline due to server issues. Internet still operational. So cold in places but they feel warm. I don't want to research them. It [sic] hear little noises when I do and it's like they KNOW I'm thinking about them and that summons them. Locking doors just locks you IN with them, but I feel safest inside. I have lights to keep them away. Shivers. This feels like a game of theirs and they're messing with me. Typing as a girl is so weird. I should record something. Gotta answer the door. Why on Halloween? I think]

That was all. I shook my head. This girl was Ryan from the forum? I knew bout the weird colored things, but they hadn't bothered my family. I couldn't make sense of it though.

I didn't have time to dwell as my kids were eager to go beyond just some looking around and opened up the house cupboard.

Calling their names and reminding them of their bags of candy left by my side was enough to turn them around. Riona jumped and dashed over to me when a bundle of plastic bottle shifted noisily. Mark jerked but tried to not let his surprise show.

I let them each eat one little candy from what they had gotten so far for a distraction. Blondie returned not long after with an obvious look of relief and a long sigh before remarking, "So...umm...kind of a weird night, huh?"

I had to agree although, aside from discolored food, it was at least a nice night. I noted this and she nodded. "Yeah! Too nice to stay in. I wanna get out there. Have some fun! Would you mind watching the door for a sec while I change?"

Scrunching my face up with a sigh, I had several questions. But this "Lina" had already bounded towards the pantry. Digging around, she pulled out a large bag of full-sized candy bars, and announced, "This should do."

Pouring it out into a bowl she found in one of the other cabinets, she held it in front of her with a hopeful smile. My kids looked eager to sample some for themselves.

I accepted the bowl from her and responded, "We'd be happy to give this candy to others who come to your door." Mark and Riona deflated like tired balloons. Clapping her hands, the girl was soon out of the room again.

We'd barely made it over to the front couch when I heard a knock on the door. Taking Riona with me, we answered it as I slipped the bowl into her little hands. She was surrounded by "trick or treat" cries.

Curling her lips into her mouth, my little detective inspected the candy and the crowd of pirates, mermaids, and clowns. I supported the bowl as she dug through for something in particular.

The first few handouts were careful, as though she were giving away her own candy. But she soon got into it, giving two huge ones to a little girl in a chicken costume with a large puff of red hair.

For the next round, I had Mark give out candy. Mostly, I restrained him from chucking them like missiles at everyone's bags. He threw on some "howdy"s to go with his outfit.

It didn't take too long before the blond reemerged from the other side of the house with an oversized hero costume bearing a spider theme. Releasing a long breath, she repeated, "Weird night."

I had plenty of questions about the thing on the computer clearly written by the guy who ran Frostwell Paranormalcy.

So, I asked the blond, "What's this?" I had my finger pointed at the screen. She approached it with a frown, rubbed her shoulders, and read through it with some faint noises. After a few seconds, her answer was, "Sleep typing? I sometimes dream about weird stuff and jot it down. Sorry about that. Also, this computer needs to have Steam downloaded."

I could see uncertainty in her eyes and feel a nervous wobble in her voice. She shut things down, then inspected a set of keys and a wallet on a side counter before stuffing both into a big plastic bag.

I led my kids out of the door first, but she had the front light off, was breathing visible breaths, and made her way to the sidewalk before we barely cleared the porch. The last we saw of her was a flutter of gold between the trees as she hugged the brightest parts of the road.

Riona and Mark seemed to understand something was weird, but they were eager to head to the next house to add to their candy haul.

I had my kids to worry about. What happened to the guy who ran a paranormal forum or what happened to some girl or whatever else wasn't really my concern.

At the next corner, I pulled my children close protectively, even though Mark squirmed and Riona tensed up. The bright, incandescent lamps of the main road bloomed over even the tallest house. We were almost as far as we could reasonably go.

I yawned towards the nearby park. What was I doing there earlier? It felt like months ago, even though it had been hours. I could use a long shower or an even longer soak in the tub after putting my little ones to bed.

That wouldn't be for a good while, especially with the effect of sugar blasting through their veins. As Mark scouted ahead for the next available house, Riona slowed and slipped her little fingers around my hand.

I looked over at her with concern. Her eyes dipped to the pavement as I asked her, "You alright, sweetie?"

"...I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I dunno. I'm just...sorry." She tightened her faint grip on my hand before she let it go to strangle her candy bag.

I wasn't sure what to say. My daughter so rarely spoke this way that it felt like a puff of dandelion seed on a breeze that a single wrong move might disturb. So, I just quietly walked beside her until she felt ready to hold my hand again.

A few houses after that, the bloom of the main road pressed at our eyes like an aching, artificial dawn. Mark dangled off my arm as though I were playground equipment he could put his whole weight on.

I gently reminded him I was a person and we would all fall down. He trailed away and also said, "I'm sorry..."

His words didn't have the shout-level energy or brashness I expected. They were as subdued as what Riona had told me. After taking a moment to puzzle over this serious shift, I told him it was fine.

They both held my hands as we walked back. The streets felt lonely along with the tiredness and discomfort spreading over me at this late hour. Then, all the nagging weird things. All the questions for myself and others.

I tried so hard for my kids, to protect them from so much out there and from themselves. Sometimes it felt like digging sideways through a well to get to the ground above. But then there were special moments like this.

As I enjoyed the peace and calm, I noticed another set of footsteps trailing behind me. It had to be an echo or Mark scuffing his boots roughly. But the sound had weight to it, a presence. It picked at me like raw skin demanding a scratch.

Pulling my children close, I turned to wield my phone and the harshest glare I could imagine.

No one was behind us. Still, I couldn't shake a stifling chill that I was gazing at something just out of sight. I urged my kids ahead without betraying my fear.

Bristling like a cat, I felt ready to claw the darkness when I heard a ringtone cut through the quiet with an old Elton John melody.

Checking the messages, the newest one read simply, "I am here. Where are you, girl?"