Chapter 2:

After school, Gwen and Nadia came over to get their costumes on. Gwen decided to be a wizard this year. She wore a vintage, black lace dress, a frilly pink and black ‘magician’s’ garb complete with flowy long sleeves, and a pointy hat to match. She even had a gnarled tree branch that she wrapped some wire around to look a like wand. I had to admit, it was a super cool costume. Nadia wore a white sheet dress with rips in it along with tufts of black gauze sown in various places. With white Uggs and white stockings, she looked the picture of a modern-day ghost. Finally, since I had to go out trick-or-treating, I figured I should try to put together a quality costume, for my friends, of course. I decided to go as a werewolf, so I dressed in a tan turtleneck, a brown skirt, caramel stockings, leather boots, and my mom’s animal fur vest. I also glued felt ears I had cut out onto a headband and used my mom’s eyeliner to paint some whiskers on my face. Once I had explained to Nadia that no animals were harmed in the making of my mom’s faux fur vest (she’s an animal rights’ enthusiast), we all grabbed our pillowcases and headed out for a night of ‘fun’.

The night was perfect for trick or treating, even if I had to go out against my better judgment. The air was warm with the hint of a cool, fall breeze. The wind blew through the red, orange, and yellow-leaved trees, filling the air with pleasant rustling sounds. As we started to collect candy from the first few houses on our street, I actually started to enjoy myself again. As Gwen, Nadia, and I all laughed and talked about our past Halloweens together, I began to feel that it was the right decision to go trick or treating instead of staying home after all. It was like old times…until we knocked on Mr. Cash’s house.

“Trick or Treat!” we all shouted joyfully.

Mr. Cash, a kind, elderly man used to teach at our old elementary school. He always decorated his house with the best Halloween decorations and gave out the full size candy bars. As my friends and I each took our favorite candy from his pumpkin-face bucket, he smiled playfully at us.

“Aren’t we a little too old to be trick or treating?” he said light-heartedly.

Nadia and Gwen laughed as we all sauntered down his driveway to the next house, but as my friends started talking about a project due for art class next week, I frowned. Mr. Cash’s comment still rang in my mind. Too old? I thought, too old for trick or treating? I knew it, I scolded myself, this whole thing is too childish. I should’ve never come out tonight.  I stopped walking before we got to the front door of the next house. Gwen and Nadia turned, concern on their faces.

“What’s wrong, Cass?” Gwen asked.

“He said we were too old to be trick or treating,” I reminded them as embarrassment colored my face.

“Ah, don’t listen to him, Cassie! He was just joking anyway. He loves it when we come to visit him each year,” Gwen consoled.

“Yea, he’s such a sweet old man.” Nadia agreed.

“I don’t know, maybe I should’ve stayed home…I think I’ll just turn around and head back.”

“No!” Gwen said, alarmed, “Come on, Cass! You promised Nadia and me that you would come trick or treating with us!”

“No, I don’t think I can do this.” I said. I never should have come. “Sorry, guys.” Just as I turned around, Nadia grabbed my arm.

“Just one more house, Cass, please…” she begged.

I stared at her for a moment.

“Alright,” I consented, “just one more. Then that’s it.”

Satisfied with my answer, Nadia and Gwen pranced off down the street. As I jogged toward them, I saw that they had stopped dead at the end of the street. Right in front of them was an old, very creepy, very dark house. It looked like it had once been a mansion, but now it was covered with cobwebs and surrounded with gnarly trees that looked like they were dying. Finally catching up with my friends, they turned their puzzled faces toward me.

“Has that creepy house always been there?” Gwen asked.

“I-I don’t remember seeing it here before.” Nadia stuttered.

“Do you think anybody’s inside?” I wondered aloud.

“I don’t know, but it sure looks like whoever lives there wants us to come to the door.” Gwen stated ominously, pointing to a dark hooded figure on the porch. It seemed to be beckoning us to join it.

“I don’t want to go up there!” Nadia said, starting to tremble. She was clearly freaked out. However, Gwen was never one to shy away from a chance to get more candy.

“Ah, don’t be a baby, Nadie,” she said, “What if she has, like, a whole bucket of candy, just waiting to be taken?” she goaded.

“I’m not a baby,” Nadia replied sternly.

“Well, then let’s go.” I decided as we all started up the narrow walkway.

When we arrived at the front door, a wrinkly old lady in a purple cloak approached us. Her skin seemed to glow and her white hair that looked like smoke in the autumn wind. It had a weird kind of shine to it that looked like tinsel was woven in between the strands. She held out a tin tray to us, and smiled, or at least she tried to; she didn’t have many teeth.

“Happy Halloween, children!” she cooed. “How would you young folks like a Halloween cookie?” she said as she offered the contents of the tray to us.

There were only three cookies on it. One was shaped like a wizard’s hat with purple frosting on it. The next one had white frosting on it and was shaped like a little ghost. Finally, there was a crescent shaped cookie with yellow frosting on it. Gwen reached out her hand to take a cookie when Nadia stopped her.

“Gwen…” she warned under her breath.

“Oh please, Nadie,” Gwen whispered back, “She’s just an old lady. What harm could she cause?” Gwen said as she grabbed the hat-shaped cookie and took a bite.

“Yum!” she exclaimed as the old lady smiled. “This cookie is delicious!”

Seeing that Gwen was okay, Nadia followed her example and took the ghost-shaped cookie. After Nadia had taken a bite out of her cookie, the old lady turned toward me and held out her tray.

“How about you, dearie?” she asked. “Wouldn’t you like a cookie, or are you too old for such things?” she said, as her eyes twinkled with mischief.

Slightly annoyed by the old lady’s remark, I snatch up the last cookie, the moon-shaped one, and gobbled it down.

“Well, thanks for the delicious cookies, ma’am but we have to get going. Houses to get to, candy to collect.” Gwen smiled.

“Oh, of course.” The old lady cooed. “Don’t let me get in the way of your adventure. Have fun trick or treating!” she said as she waved us on our way.

Once we had left the dark mansion, I started to taste something funny in my mouth. I think that Nadia and Gwen did too, because they were hunched over and making sour faces.

“Ugh, what is this taste?” Gwen asked, her face distorted in disgust.

“Could it be from those cookies we had?” Nadia asked.

“Ugh, I think so…it’s weird,” I said, “My mouth tastes like…fur…” I coughed.

Suddenly, the world started spinning and Gwen, Nadia, and I all fell to the ground. I think we might have blacked out for a while because when I woke up, it seemed to have gotten darker outside. I sat up, rubbing my head with my hands when I noticed that I wasn’t rubbing my head with my hands; I was rubbing my SNOUT with my PAWS.

I tried to stand up, but I was too dizzy so I crawled to the side of the street; I happened to gaze into a puddle nearby. My face was covered with fur. I had a long snout, real dog ears, whiskers that weren’t drawn on with eyeliner, paws, and a fluffy mane wear my curly, brown hair should have been. I had turned into a werewolf.

I started to scream when I realized that I was howling instead of screaming. Great, I thought. Either I am dreaming, or my parents forgot to tell me something. Just as I was processing my own transformation, I saw Gwen get up from the grass.

Oh boy. Her face…unlike mine wasn’t covered in fur. However, it was covered in…sparkles? Everytime she moved, her face glittered like a disco ball. Her hair was now a shiny, silver color; it took had streaks of sparkles in it. She locked eyes with me, and her face exploded in shock. I don’t think she knew that she looked like a magician…wizard…whatever.

“Cassie?!” she half whispered, half screamed. “What are you?!”

“I don’t know…” I murmured. “I think I might be a werewolf.” I was still trying to process everything when I remembered that Gwen thought she was still human. “Gwen, you have to see yourself. Come look.” I gestured to the puddle.

When she saw her reflection in the mirror, her eyes grew wide. She gasped as she clutched at her hair.

“I…I look like…that lady we saw…”

“Well, at least you’re not old.”

Gwen shot me a dark look. “Not helping, Cass.”

“Sorry.” I amended. I took a moment to regroup. “Ya know, I’m starting to think that that old lady wasn’t just an old lady.”

“No kidding.”

This time I gave Gwen a dark look. “I think she was…”

“A wizard?”

I nodded.

“Wait,” Gwen said, holding up her hands. “If she’s a wizard…”

“Wizardess.” I corrected.

“Whatever… then, she’d be able to cast a spell on us!”

“Possibly, or, cast a spell on something we ate…”

“The cookie!” Gwen exclaimed, realization dawning on her.

“Exactly! She cast a spell so that depending on the cookie we ate, that was the creature we became.”

“Okay, well if that’s true, what did Nadia turn into?” Gwen asked, starting look around her.

“I think a better question is: where is Nadia?” I said, starting to get worried. I didn’t see her anywhere, but I wasn’t sure if that was because it was dark out or she was really gone.

“Nadia!” Gwen bellowed. Nothing but silenced fill the air.

We both stood there for a few seconds until a chilling whisper spoke to us from a bush a little ways away.

“Oooooover, Heeeeere.” A wispy voice called to us.

It was Nadia, only she was transparent, and I don’t mean that she had a very light complexion; she was literally see through. To top it off, she was floating; she had become a ghost. Poor, Nadie. I could only imagine how scared she must be. I knew I was.

“Are you okay, Nadie?” I asked.

“Yessssss,” she moaned, “But I cannnnnn’t stoooooooop taaaaaalking like thisssss!”

“It’s because you’re a ghost, Nadie.” Gwen said matter of factly.

“Yea,” I backed her up. “I think that old lady was a wizard…”

“Wizardess.” Gwen interjected.

I stuck my tongue out at her. “A wizardess who gave us each a magic cookie that turned us into Halloween creatures.” I finished.

“But wwwwwwhyyyyyy?” Nadia asked.

“I don’t know!” Gwen said exasperatedly. “All I know is that we have to find that old lady and demand that she turns us back into humans asap!”

“But where do we start?” I asked our oh-so-fearless leader.

“What do you mean? It’s right over…oh.” She stopped when I pointed out that where the creepy mansion had stood just a couple of minutes before was now…gone; like it had completely vanished and all that was there was an empty yard covered with black trees.

“Wwwwwwwwooooooowwwww!” Nadia exclaimed. “Whhhhhatttt haaaaaappppenned to that hooooouseeeee?”

“It couldn’t have just disappeared. Could it?” Gwen mused.

“We are talking about a crazy old lady who turned you into a wizardess, Nadia into a ghost, and me into a werewolf!” I declared. “I think it’s safe to say that this lady is capable of some strange things.”

“Good point. So what’s the gameplan, then?”

“Well, um, wait!” I screamed in delight. “Gwen, if that lady has powers and she is a wizardess that means that since you are one too…”

“I might have powers too? I don’t think I could change us back though.”

“No, maybe not, but you might be able to use your magic to locate the old lady and her house.”

“Okay…I’ll try.” Gwen said reluctantly. She closed her eyes and held her breath.

When that didn’t work, she pulled out her ‘magic’ wand, held it out in front of her, and started spinning around in circles.

As she was concentrating, and circling, I started to sniff the air with my canine-like nose. There was definitely a strong scent leading out of the neighborhood. It was so strong in fact, that to my astonishment, I could physically see the scent. It was a bright orange streak of smoke bounding down and out of our street. I glanced back at Gwen. I may be able to point us in the right direction, I thought, but I don’t think I can pinpoint where exactly the house will end up. I hoped that Gwen would be able to find its location. Just as I was starting to lose hope, she suddenly stopped spinning and her eyes popped open.

“I’ve found her!” Gwen squealed excitedly, “She’s in the local cemetery! Let’s go!”

“But the cemetery is all the way on the other side of the neighborhood. It’ll take forever to get there,” I pointed out.

“Not for meeeeeee,” Nadia said meekly, “I can just floaaaaaat thereeeeee.”

“Great! Do you think you can carry us?” Gwen asked.

“I think sooooooo,” Nadia nodded as she grabbed onto the back of our collars. “Now, let’s gooooooooo before its toooooooo laaaaaate.”

To be continued…