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“Cole, promise you’ll keep an eye on your sister.”
Cole rolled his eyes, adjusting his plastic crown in the reflection of the car window. He looked over at his little sister, Victoria. She was dressed as a princess, a matching costume to his prince outfit. A cold gust of wind made him thankful for the cloak his costume had come with.
“Victoria, you should wear your coat over your dress.” he said, trying to sound aloof. Victoria hated being told what to do, a trait that definitely ran in their family.
Her eyes, which had been wandering down Main Street, taking in all the lights and decorations, snapped her head at him and stuck out her tongue. “I’m fine!”
“Colton!” His mom practically yelled, trying to get his attention again. “Promise me you’ll take care of her while you’re out trick-or-treating. You were the one who said how “ lame” it would be if I came with you this year. Can I trust you? ”
His eyes wandered back to his mom, dressed up as– you guessed it, a queen. While the children took to Main Street to collect their candy from the store owners, a town Halloween party was taking place at City Hall. His mom and dad had agreed to host the costume contest, his dad already down there directing the setup.
“We’re just going to go around the street…we’ll meet up with you and dad at the party when we’re done.”
His mom smiled, finally looking like she would leave them be. “Stick together and call me if there is trouble. Now, one more picture!”
Victoria and Cole groaned at the same time but knew their mom wouldn’t leave until the picture was taken. They scooted close together, Cole a solid foot taller than Victoria, wrapping his arm and cloak around her as they put on their practiced photo smiles. Their mom took a few, giving them the thumbs up before tucking her phone away.
“Be good, get lots of candy and I’ll see you soon!” she said. She rolled up her window and peeled off then, leaving the Hill siblings in front of the Eureka theater.
Cole had just turned twelve this last summer, finally able to convince his mom to let him go off on his own for Halloween. He should have known that alone was never truly alone when you had a younger sibling.
“Well, look at you two!” a voice sang out from behind them, making them both jump. Cole turned and saw a woman dressed as a bee in the ticket booth in front of the Eureka. He motioned to Victoria and they stepped up to the window together.
“Trick-or-treat!” Victoria said it more like a demand, sticking out her pink pillow case expectedly.
“Of course dear.” The woman said, leaning over to grab for her bucket of candy. “ King-size for the prince and princess of Kettle Springs!”
Cole smirked. He thought family costumes were corny as fuck but he had to admit how right he felt in his. He let his sister grab her bar first before grabbing one for himself, dropping it in his own pillow case, black with skulls.
“Happy Halloween you two! Be safe!” the woman said, before they scooted off to the side. Cole saw a group of kids approaching and grabbed Victoria’s free hand, pulling her towards the next stop. He knew the other kids would tease him for playing babysitter for the night and didn’t want to deal with the headache. As they walked, Victoria’s princess slippers clicking against the sidewalk, Cole took in the sights.
Jack o’ lanterns and hay bales were stacked all along the curb. There were orange and purple lights strung up in some of the trees, little orange flags blowing in the wind. Towering near the diner, Cole saw an old wood cutout of a witch that had probably been made before his parents were born, its paint faded. He could see it swaying uneasily in the wind on its stand from all the way up the street.
The siblings made quick work, managing to stay ahead of the other groups of kids making the rounds. Most of the shop owners complimented their costumes, Victoria throwing in a twirl of her dress in hopes of getting more candy, Cole flashing his cheesiest smiles and draping his cap as he bowed. They’d run off the second their candy made it inside their bags, avoiding the inevitable cheek pinching some of the older ladies were prone to.
Some townsfolk were not fans though, one of the older waitresses at the diner rolling her eyes when the two entered. Another server, dressed as a cat, greeted them with a wave. She was standing next to a large bucket of candy by the host stand. They walked over to her but Cole’s ears were tuned into the other, older woman’s voice, talking as she poured coffee for a customer.
“...just don’t think it’s smart to inflate a boy’s ego like that. Just feels like they’re rubbing it in our faces sometimes.”
Cole rolled his eyes, not even bothering grabbing from the candy bowl as he steered Victoria back towards the front door, much to her protest.
“Hey, she was gonna let me go for seconds and you didn’t even grab any!” Victoria whined once they were out on the street. She shivered, a huge gust of wind howling over them.
“Whatever, missing one stop isn’t going to kill us.” Cole said, eyeing him and his sisters bulky pillowcases. He flicked his phone out of his pocket, checking the time. “Besides, the party at City Hall just started. They’ll have plenty of candy for us there too.”
Victoria’s bottom lip was jutted out, arms pulled tight around her. “Can we at least go to the last few stores?”
“Yeah, let’s do it.” Cole made to turn around but ran smack into a tall figure that had come up behind them.
Cole fell back, nearly toppling over Victoria who yelped in surprise. The person wore a mask, a monster of some sort. They were laughing as they said, “Oh, that’s too funny. Cole Hill, prince of the SNOBS!”
Before Cole knew it, his bag was being ripped from his hands, everything happening so fast he hadn’t even put up a fight. He tried to move his arm defensively in front of Victoria, but the masked person easily shoved him aside. He made a grab for her bag of candy and she screamed, gripping it as tight as she could.
Cole, regaining his composure, slammed into the person’s side with his shoulder, trying to knock them down. The person stumbled, clutching both of their candy bags in their hands. Cole did it again, ramming into their sides as he yelled, “Give those back asshole!”
He was shocked no one was coming to their aid. Where were the adults? He figured this person was some teenager, just being a dick.
He felt his crown slip forward as he put all his weight against the stranger. They stumbled back another few feet, the wind blowing Cole’s cape behind him. The person grunted as they slammed into the base of the large witch cut-out.
A large crack sounded off as the worn wood of the decoration snapped the witch in two. As Victoria cried behind him, Cole realized that the top half of the witch was flying straight toward her.
Time slowed and Cole didn’t know if he had enough. But he knew he had to try.
He shoved himself off the stranger, falling back with his arms outstretched. He toppled into Victoria, both of them falling to the ground. Cole knew he should protect his head, lower his arms and shield himself but he felt frozen as he was, hands straight out in front of him as the hunk of wood came hurtling down.
He squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for impact. Then, some one thudded down in front of him, their body pressed up against Cole’s knees. There was a huge crack, a grunt from the person in front of him and Victoria crying out Cole’s name.
When Cole finally dared to open his eyes open, he found two staring back through the opening of a homemade knight helmet. Splintered wood scattered around them and Cole released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Time returned to him, Victoria burying her head into his back, sobbing. He fell backwards, Victoria curling into his side on her knees.
The person in front of him was another kid, dressed in a shitty cardboard knight costume. He was kneeling awkwardly, holding up a large not-so-shitty shield that was as big as he was. He was breathing heavily, eyes still on Cole as he shifted onto his knees, unstrapping the massive shield from his arm.
“Are you alright?” he asked and Cole recognized the voice instantly. Ruston Vance.
Cole shook his head, trying to find his words. His crown slipped over into his eyes and he heard Rust laugh. He pushed the piece of plastic up on his head, letting out a laugh of disbelief himself. “How did you—where did you—? You saved us, holy shit Rusty, you’re like an actual knight! What’s up with the big ass shield?” Cole exclaimed.
Rust used his free hand to remove his helmet, his curly hair stuck to his head with sweat. “My dad helped me make it…it ended up being a little big, but he says I’ll grow into it.”
Cole’s eyes landed on a tiny plastic sword strapped to Rust’s side. Rust noticed and flicked the handle, laughing. “My dad wanted to make me a real sword but mom was against that…”
Cole raised an eyebrow, holding back a laugh. Rust had always been an odd one. “Well, thanks man. What a fucking asshole!” Cole’s attention drifted behind Rust. The thief was gone which meant…
“Cole, all of our candy…” Victoria whimpered at his side. The asshole had taken off during the commotion. They all stood up, Cole’s eyes scanning over Victoria for any injuries. She was fine, besides the crying.
“I already told you, we can have candy when we get to the party. No way we can tell mom and dad what happened though…” Cole said, pushing his own irritation aside as he realized how close the two had been to serious injury.
He turned back to Rust, who was standing there, kicking pieces of broken wood with the tip of his boot. He said, voice low. “Just glad you two are okay. I was just about to use the diner’s phone to call my mom to pick me up and saw you slamming into that guy.”
“And you just threw yourself in front of us?”
Rust’s head snapped up and he blushed . “Sure, suppose I did.”
Cole laughed, throwing his arm around Victoria. “Crazy son of a bitch!”
Victoria yanked at his cape. “Cole, stop using the bad words!” She still had tears welled up in her eyes and she shivered against him.
Cole rolled his eyes, lifting his cloak to wrap the end around Victoria. “Let’s get you inside, we’ll head to the party and you can have all the candy you want, okay?”
He turned back to where Rust had been standing, but the boy had wandered over to the curb, bending down to pick something up. He walked back over silently, handing Victoria a worn, plaid pillowcase – filled with candy. He must have ditched it when he was running to save them.
Victoria sniffled, looking at the bag and then up at Rust. “Are you giving me your candy?”
Rust nodded, shifting the weight of his shield in his arm awkwardly. Victoria hesitated, before her tiny hand reached out and gripped the bag, Rust letting it drop from his own.
Cole’s eyebrows shot up to his forehead, smiling. “How about you come with us to the party!”
Rust’s brow furrowed. “No, thank you. I should probably call my mom and head home.”
“Oh, c’mon Rusty! We owe you, big time. What if we run into more trouble on the way?” Cole said, putting his hand on his hip.
“Yeah, we need a knight!” Victoria squeaked out, her tears finally drying now that she had a bag full of candy again.
Rust’s face was completely red now. Cute , Cole thought.
After a minute, both Cole and Victoria giving their best puppy dog faces, Rust finally agreed. Cole said he could use his cellphone to call his mom, Rust amazed that Cole had a cellphone. After the call had been made, the trio began to make their way up Main Street.
“So, what’s your favorite candy?” Cole asked, bumping shoulders against the other boy, Victoria tucked under his cape on the other side.
“Tootsie rolls.” Rust replied plainly.
“Yuck!” Both Cole and Victoria cried out.
Then they were all laughing, the sound being carried into the night air, the wind finally dying down to a gentle breeze.