Ghoul's Night Out

Ghouls' night out

  By Lynn A. Wade

  Copyright 2013 Lynn A. Wade

  Chapter 1: The awakening

  Angie and Chloe both awoke with a start.

  They'd napped longer than they had intended, and they'd have to hurry to get to the Halloween party in time.

  “It'll be dark, soon,” Angie said. Her voice sounded strange; hollow, as if it were somehow disconnected from her.

  Both girls rolled out of their beds, looking around the small dormitory room.

  The room was familiar; the surroundings were not.

  It was weird. Was it all some sort of Halloween prank?

  Yes, that was it. A Halloween prank.

  Were they, somehow, in another room?

  Could be. Angie pulled back the strange, purple curtain to reveal a view of the large brick building across the alley. That hadn't changed. Maybe someone had removed all of their belongings while they were sleeping, leaving the odd assortment that surrounded them.

  “Oh, this is a good one. I bet Hannah put a lot of work into this one,” Angie said aloud.

  “Where is all our stuff? How'd they get it done without waking us?” Chloe wondered.

  The two began surveying their surroundings, amazed at what they saw.

  Over the window was the familiar, ornate, arched window; but during the long afternoon someone had painted it a strange, new color.

  In place of the serviceable chair where Angie studied each night was an otherworldly chair made of metal and some kind of brightly-colored, shiny fabric.

  A desk sat in the opposite corner, but on top of it was a shiny box, its lid open. A mystical, magical glow came from the lid and the light swirled and gyrated with ghostly rhythm.

  Chloe reached out to touch the mystical object and Angie leaped to stop her. She was too late; but there seemed to be no harm done.

  Chloe recoiled as if she'd been stung. “It's cold!” she said. “What is this strange thing?”

  “I'm sure it's just something Hannah cooked up in the science lab. I'd bet it's electric. We're not supposed to be messing with chemicals or electricity. We'll have to hide it from the headmistress,” Angie said.

  She closed the odd box and its lights went out. Her heart pounded as she picked it up and hid it under the bed, hoping nothing else would happen.

  Chloe watched, more than a little fearful herself, then began to circle the room. All of their clothes were gone; and in their place were odd articles of clothing — mostly trousers and sweaters.

  “Let's try them on,” she said.

  “It's just clothes. But they're so strange. Look at this skirt! It's so short! Is it underwear?” asked Angie, holding a frilly, knee-length skirt to her waist.

  “I don't think so. I think we're supposed to wear them. You know, for the costume party,” said Chloe.

  “How scandalous! Nothing but trousers and skirts cut clear up to the knee!” said Angie.

  “It's what we have. If nothing else, we have to wear something until we get our clothes back.” Chloe said.

  Chloe was right, of course. She peeled off her long, linen nightgown and tried on the skirt and a pullover sweater. The clothes hugged her figure.

  Chloe pulled on a pair of denim trousers and a long-sleeved shirt, decorated with skulls and flowers.

  “How appropriate for Halloween!” she said.

  “Is it painted?” Angie asked.

  “I can't feel anything. But it must be,” Chloe said, shrugging.

  “This is so weird,” Angie said.

  “Look at these shoes!” Chloe exclaimed. Shoes lay scattered about the room. One pair, made of some sort of canvas, stuck out from under one of the beds. They were decorated with the same skull and flowers theme as the shirt she'd donned. She slipped her feet into them. “Hmm. Roomy, but comfortable,” Chloe said.

  Angie tried on three pairs before settling on a pair of strange boots that had a low heel and a buckle on them. They fit her snugly, but would do in a pinch.

  Both girls stood in front of a shiny closet door they'd assumed was a mirror, but saw no reflection in it.

  Weird.

  “Must be a painting,” Angie said, shrugging.

  “Come on. Let's go find the other girls,” added.

  They opened the door to find a hallway decorated with paper skeletons and hanging ghosts. Enormous cobwebs were everywhere.

  In unison, the two let out a gasp of surprise and horror. “Look what they've done! They must have worked nonstop!” Angie exclaimed.

  “Something's not right.” Chloe said, but Angie would have none of it.

  “It's great! I can't imagine where they got all this stuff!” Angie said. Their schoolmates would have had to work in secret for weeks; the headmistress would never have allowed such a thing.

  “I can't wait to see the rest!” she added.

  Chapter 2: A mystery unfolds

  With more bravado than she really felt, Angie led the way down the corridor toward the stairway.

  They could hear sounds, now. It sounded like the other girls were having a party. Two girls they didn't recognize passed them, going the opposite direction. They were both wearing trousers and sweaters, and small masks that covered their eyes.

  “Hi. You must be freshmen. You look familiar, though. Didn't you pick up your masks yet? They're next to the buffet if you need them,” one of the girls said as she walked past.

  “Thank you,” Chloe muttered.

  “I guess these weird clothes are part of the theme,” Angie said. “Let's see what's going on.”

  Three boys nodded at them as they entered the large dining room. Boys? Here?

  “Wow. The headmistress must be out of town,” Chloe whispered, nervously.

  The girls' school was known for its careful cloistering of its young, female charges.

  It was almost too much for the two students to comprehend.

  Another boy presented them both with masks as they approached what looked like a buffet table; steaming hot dishes rested on it. It was warm to the touch.

  “I haven't seen you ladies around here. You students?” he asked.

  “Yes, of course,” said Chloe. Such familiarity was shocking. Did he not have any manners?

  Eerie, pounding music filled her ears. A man was singing, “another one bites the dust. And another one's gone and another one's gone....”

  Chloe cringed visibly as Angie looked around for the musicians. Perhaps they were behind a curtain?

  “Hate this classic stuff, don't you?” a boy said. Handsome but sporting a longish haircut that never would have passed the headmistress's conservative scrutiny, he was boldly friendly. “But we might as well dance,” he said, grabbing Chloe's hand and tugging her toward the center of the room, where girls and boys were bouncing and shaking to the music.

  “But I don't know this dance,” she said.

  “Just move, you know?” he said. He put her hands on her hips and wiggled them back and forth. Stunned at the brazen touch, Chloe went along, but pulled back from his touch.

  “Hey, this is fun!” she exclaimed.

  “What?” he said.

  “It's fun.” she repeated.

  “Sure is.”

  Angie selected a plate and surveyed the food in front of her. A bowl overflowed with crackers and next to it was a spread she couldn't identify. She took a tentative bite and a boy next to her said, “Awful, isn't it?”

  “No, it's really good!” she said.

  “No, I mean the party. Let's go find something cool to do,” he said.

  “But the headmistress...” Angie began.

  “Headmistress? There hasn't been a headmistress in years. Not since the school
went coed back in the '50s. You're funny,” he said.

  “Don't be ridiculous. If you're sure...let me get my friend,” she said.

  Angie scanned the room for Chloe. Chloe! She was dancing, if you could call it that, in a manner similar to the boy who stood across from her. The boy took Chloe's hand and gyrated closer to her. They were almost touching!

  Alarmed, Angie ran forward.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  “Dancing. It's fun,” Chloe said.

  “It's...It's unseemly,” Angie said.

  Chloe didn't have time to respond.

  “I see you've met my wingman. I'm Ben. This is Derrick,” said the boy from the buffet line, as he caught up with Angie.

  Whispering to Derrick, Ben said, “We're checking out what else there is to do tonight. Coming with?”

  “Sure we won't cramp your style?” Derrick said.

  “I doubt it. She acts like she's from the dark ages. Even said the headmistress wouldn't approve,” said Ben.

  “Wow, that's priceless. At least she has a sense of humor,” Derrick said.

  “Let's go,” Ben said. He took Angie's hand and led her out, right through the front door. No one seemed to notice. Two girls had just come downstairs and were raising a ruckus on the other side of the room.

  “Whoever pulled that prank on us, it wasn't funny,” said Michaela. “I bet those two new girls were in on it! I thought somebody had stolen my computer! It was under the bed! And those weird clothes on the floor...and somebody opened the curtain. I swear it was closed before.”

  “Maybe it was a ghost,” chided her friend, Melissa.

  “Yeah, well, they took your favorite sweater; or didn't you notice. Your things were all messed up, too. And I know who it was. I thought that outfit looked familiar. It's those two new girls we saw in the hallway. See them anywhere? I'm gonna teach them you don't mess with Michaela!” Michaela said.

  “Hey, I saw two girls come down a minute ago. I think they left with Derrick and Ben,” said a girl by the buffet.

  “Hey, forget about them. We're telling ghost stories. Come tell the tale of the two students!” she added.

 

  Chapter 3: The revelation

  Outside the venerable old building both Chloe and Angie tried to stop — the street looked very different from the one they'd expected to enter. The two boys continued to walk toward the street — filled with cars in odd, shiny shapes, low to the ground and oh, so beautiful. There were no horses and buggies and none of those filthy, rumbling automobiles the girls had expected.

  “Ok,” said Chloe. “It's a dream. We're still asleep. Let's just go with it.”

  “We're both dreaming?” Angie said. “Nope. It's my dream. You're just in it.”

  Climbing into the surreal vehicle, painted blue and glowing in front and back with ghostly lights, the two friends embarked on their dream-like adventure.

  “It's Halloween. First stop, the Deep Ridge Cemetery. It's the day of the dead. Let's party with them?” said Ben.

  He guided the car into the driveway of the crowded cemetery, edging back into the area where the gravestones were worn and covered with moss.

  “I think it's back here,” Ben said to Derrick.

  “What,” said Chloe.

  “Oh, there's a local legend about ghosts you'll love,” he said.

  Derrick disappeared behind a big mausoleum and Chloe followed, but found no one behind it.

  “Boo,” he said from behind her.

  Chloe jumped, then laughed. He reached forward and embraced her. She felt oddly cold. It was an unseasonably warm night.

  “You want a jacket? I've got one in the car,” he said.

  “No. No thank you. I'm quite warm,” she said.

  Ben and Angie were walking amongst the gravestones. Suddenly, he stopped and shouted.

  “Hey, here it is! Ready for a ghost story?” he said.

  Sitting on the ground, Ben prepared to tell the story. Derrick seated himself as well, but Angie and Chloe hung back.

  “It was a dark and stormy Halloween, 1913. Several of the young ladies had gone to a gathering at the Senator's mansion. Everyone was having a great time, but two of the women — hey, they have the same names as you two, how cool is that?”

  The headmistress was feeling ill, and two of the women took it upon themselves to take her home in a borrowed buggy. The storm was increasing, and they had just crossed the bridge over Stoney Creek when they heard a loud, crashing sound accompanied by screams of terror. A man lay on the bank, unconscious, having hit his head on a rock. A woman desperately clung to a young child as the water churned around them, barely able to keep afloat. Chloe and Angie leaped from the buggy and into the water. They dragged the two victims to the edge of the water and pushed them onto the bank, but as they did the surging waters sucked them both down. They were rescued and brought back to their room in the dorm; but they died at the stroke of midnight. It's said that now, every year, they rise up to finish the fun Halloween evening they never got to enjoy. They have a good time — I've heard people blame everything from cow tipping to missing shoes or smashed pumpkins on them,” Ben finished. “No one has ever seen them, though.”

  The two young ladies stared at the gravestones in front of them. The names, the birth dates — everything was right.

  “Excuse us,” said Chloe, pulling Angie toward a small grove of trees.

  “Oh, you have to...oh, OK. We'll wait here,” said Derrick.

  “It's us!” Chloe whispered.

  “Don't be ridiculous. That would mean we're ghosts. They can see us; they can touch us. Aren't ghosts invisible?” said Angie.

  Her friend stared at her, eyes darting all around.

  “Where are you? How did you do that?” Chloe said.

  “Do what?” Angie said.

  “You disappeared. I want to know where you went,” Chloe said.

  “Uh, I don't know. I want you to see me,” Angie said, and immediately she reappeared, her face inches away from her friend's face.

  “Oh! Don't do that. You scared the life out of me. I wish I could be invisible, too,” Chloe said.

  Angie responded. “You are. I don't see a thing. That's it! We just have to think about it, and it happens!”

  “Oh, we could have such fun!” Chloe said.

  “I wonder if we could walk through walls, too? I'm trying it on the tree.” As she thought about the task, Angie became partially visible, but pushed slowly through the tree. On the other side, she said, “It felt — I don't know, weird. It's like I could feel sand flowing through me. But it was fun!”

  “Chloe.”

  “Yes.”

  “We're really ghosts.”

  “I know.”

  “If the legend is true, that means we only have until midnight to have a little fun,” Angie said.

  “Well, we'd better get started, then,” Chloe said.

  The best friends clasped hands and returned to the gravestones where Ben and Derrick waited.

  “So....we have a surprise for you,” Chloe said.

  “We're the ghosts you were talking about,” Angie announced.

  Both boys laughed, and Ben said, “Then how can I do this?” He grabbed Angie's hand and lifted it to his lips. To his amazement the hand seemed to dissolve in his grip and the kiss intended for her hand was applied instead to his own hand, which should have been beneath hers.

  Ben stood frozen in fear as Angie removed her hand.

  Derrick hadn't noticed that Chloe had disappeared, but suddenly she reappeared in front of him, arms raised above her head in a manner that mimicked an approaching monster. “Boo!” she said.

  Both boys ran from their newfound ghoulfriends, jumping into the car and speeding away.

  Angie crossed her arms and watched them go. “Well, that was rude,” she said.

  “What did you expect? But wasn't it worth it? Wasn't it fun? Did you see t
he looks on their faces? Chloe said.

  Angie slowly, mischievously smiled. It had been fun. And hours of frolicking lay ahead of them. Being invisible would be such fun! Walking through walls would mean they could go anywhere.

  Unfortunately, it looked like they'd be walking.

  Chapter 4: Night out on the town

  Out of the cemetery the two friends trudged; and it didn't take long to find their first opportunity to put their ghostly skills to use.

  Laughing and jumping, a half dozen boys were throwing rolls of toilet paper, entangling the long strips in the tree branches.

  “That's awful!” Chloe shouted. Wishing herself invisible, she ran up to one the boy who seemed to be the ringleader and grabbed a roll. It took three tries for Chloe to master holding the roll and being invisible at the same time. Guessing her friend's intention, Angie did the same, then the two quickly circled the boy, wrapping him quickly in the toilet paper. He flailed his arms to no avail as Angie and Chloe repeated the process until he was mummified from head to toe. The other boys dropped the rolls of toilet paper and ran as their leader stood alone, screaming and tearing at the flimsy white cloth.

  Concentrating hard on remaining invisible, Chloe and Angie walked on, laughing and shouting behind them, “Tell everyone it was Angie and Chloe! See you next year!”

  Remaining invisible was exhausting, so the two friends materialized as they walked. Passing by a clothing store, they stopped to peruse. beautiful dressed hung in the window.

  “Let's go in,” Angie urged.

  “Wouldn't that be breaking in, or stealing or something?” Chloe asked.

  “Don't be silly. We won't break anything. We won't take anything. Come on! Let's try on some of these new-fangled clothes!” Angie said. “If anyone comes, we'll go invisible.”

  Chloe had to admit it would be fun.

  Passing through the window was easier than passing through the tree had been. Angie was getting used to it; but Chloe, it seemed, would need a bit more practice. Her left foot had become stuck, halfway in and halfway out of the store window. A moment later she pulled it the rest of the way in, but not before a trick or treater had paused to comment on the fabulous Halloween window display of Chloe and Angie and wondered how they made it look so real. Both girls giggled. Fooling people was so much fun!

  And so, the two set about trying on clothes; only to find that the had no reflection in the mirror.

  “I've never heard of ghosts with no reflection. Only vampires,” Chloe said, disappointed.