Ghost Town
by Rob Warr
Chapter 1
As temperatures cool down and we head into Autumn, it's time once again to carve the pumpkins, hang up the ghosts and spread the spider webs around the house. Halloween is fast approaching, Spirit Halloween stores are popping up almost like magic all around the country, and all the stores are full of decorations and candy for this special holiday. So with that in mind I decided to try my hand once again at a Halloween story. The past two years I have given my readers 'Nightmare on Oak Street', and 'The Haunted Mansion', and this year I thought I'd try something a bit different. This story idea actually began when I was a young teen and I actually wrote a short story incorporating this theme, but alas, as did all my stories from that era, they have perished, may they rest in peace...or pieces...moo ha ha ha ha ah. And, so... without further ado, I give you my 2024 offering for Halloween, Ghost Town.
The cast:
Best friends, 16-year-old Doug Keaton. Blond, blue-eyed, and a real hunk. Tall, muscled, handsome, a star basketball player, and all around nice guy. The envy and lust of most boys and girls at Kennedy High School, he is currently unattached, and happy to stay that way.
16-year-old William Wilson, or Will, as his friends call him. Dark haired, an inch shorter than his friend Doug, well defined body, though not as muscular as his friend Doug. Piercing grey eyes and a cute pug nose with a spattering of freckles across it, give him that boy next door kind of appeal, which makes him attractive to both girls and boys alike.
14-year-old James (Jamie) Keaton, Doug's little brother, who is a carbon copy of his older brother, only reduced in size. Sweet and innocent by nature, he idolizes his older brother, and by default considers Will to be like a second brother to him.
And finally, 12-year-old Richard Wilson, or Dickie as his brother and friends call him. Dark haired like his brother, but with emerald eyes and carrying a few extra pounds that his mom lovingly refers to as 'baby fat'. He is nonetheless active, healthy, and strong. A genuinely nice kid, who loves practical jokes and is obsessed with monster movies and horror in general, a trait he shares with the other three boys.
Sixteen, what a magical age. Now midway through the terrible teens, and though not quite an adult, there were certain privileges associated with that age, such as getting a driver's license. Doug had been first to do so, having practiced driving with his uncle for a year with only a learner's permit, he was now a full-fledged, card (license) carrying driver.
Will, however, had flunked his first attempt at passing the driver's test, though he'd passed the written test with flying colors. It was parallel parking that had tripped him up, something he believed was an antiquated and useless skill since hardly any place in town still had curbside parking. However, he'd been practicing with Doug's help and was confident he would pass the next time.
All four boys came from upper middle class families, Doug's folks being a bit higher on the economic scale because of an inheritance from Mr. Keaton's late grandfather. However, the bulk of the money had been placed in a trust for the two boys to pay for their college and to give them a head start on life after graduation.
However, his dad had made one exception, and that was to use part of the money to buy Doug a decent reliable car. Not brand new, but gently used, and Doug had finally landed on a five-year-old Jeep Wrangler. He'd always wanted a Jeep, and this one was cherry, with both hard top and soft top and barely 50,000 miles on it. His dad had approved, holding his breath the whole time during the selection process and hoping Doug would not light on some dangerous muscle car. But he should have known better, Doug was level-headed, and though adventurous, he wasn't reckless or stupid.
Will was almost as excited by Doug's new ride as he was, for since they were best friends they shared everything, including the jeep. Since Will had a learner's permit, Doug allowed him to drive some of the time and to practice his parking skills so he could ace the next test.
Life was good, life was fine, and with the holiday season fast approaching, both boys, well, actually all four boys were looking forward to fall, and of course Halloween.
The holiday meant something different to each of them, however. For the two younger boys it was still about dressing up and trick-or-treating, but for the older boys it was more about partying and hanging out with friends or playing pranks on people, though nothing serious. Dressing up was still cool, but trick-or-treating was kid stuff and they'd left that behind when they were 14.
The boys' families loved the holiday as well and always decorated to the ninths outside and inside. And since their houses were so attractive to the hordes of children in costume, they gave out gobs of candy Halloween Night.
The older boys loved giving out candy to the little ones, but occasionally they'd open the door to some kid their age or even older, and if they knew the kid they'd make sarcastic comments before grudgingly handing over a smaller amount of candy than the younger kids got.
This year, however, the two older boys had made tentative plans to go to a party at the rec center, then wing it from there. Little did they know their plans would suddenly change and their Halloween night turn into a night of terror.
Halloween Night at last
"Moommmm...we're leaving now," Doug shouted to his mom, who was the only one home at the moment.
It was 6:30 Halloween night, and though darkness hadn't fallen yet, the sky was overcast and what little sun was left was absorbed by dark clouds.
"Have fun," his mom said popping out of the laundry room, "but be careful, and no getting into trouble or you'll be walking to school the rest of the year," she warned, though she knew such warnings were unnecessary, she loved getting a rise out of her oldest son.
"If I wind up in jail, will you bale me out?" Doug said looking serious.
His mother did a double-take then realized she was being put on, she frowned, "I don't know. It depends on the severity of your crimes."
Doug laughed at last, "Oh, mom, you know us. We won't get into trouble. We just want to have some fun, hang out, get some eats, drive around and shoot the breeze with other kids."
"I know, son. Come give me a hug. You may be nearly grown, but I still worry about you. But at least that beast you drive has a roll bar," she chuckled.
"Beast indeed," Doug chuckled, "it's not about fast with my baby, it's about being able to go places most cars can't."
"Nice, I guess," his mother said as they hugged.
Suddenly, the patio door slid open and Jamie came bounding in, his hair a mess, his clothes rumpled, and sporting a shiner. Further investigation revealed a torn shirt and bit of blood on the boy's nose, and suddenly Mrs. Keaton went into Ninja-mom mode.
"What happened to you dear?" she said practically pushing Doug away as the mother hen headed toward her 'baby chick'.
"Nothing, I'm okay," Jamie sniffed.
It was obvious now that he'd been crying, but the tears had dried up, though there was still a hitch in his voice.
"Let me guess," Doug said through gritted teeth, "Bruce Thompson, again."
Jamie shrugged, "I can't say."
"You can say, and you will say," his mother insisted.
"Mom, let me handle this, okay?" Doug said stepping forward to place a protective arm around his little brother. He stared at his mom with a look that said, 'this is a guy thing', and she finally relaxed and gave in. She knew if anyone could fix things it would be her oldest son, even if that meant his finding the person who had harmed her baby and beating his brakes off.
"What about Will?" his mom reminded him, "should I call him for you?"
"Good idea, tell him I'll be a little late picking him up, or he can walk over if he wants."
So, while Doug led his younger brother off to the upstairs bathroom they shared, Mrs. Keaton made the call and delivered what little news she had. Will thanked her and decided to walk over to save time, and anyway, he wanted to see how his little bro was for himself.
"Where ya going?" Dickie said as he paused outside the open door of Will's bedroom.
"Where do you think?" Will said rolling his eyes, "to Doug's."
"Why isn't he driving you?"
"Cause he's busy. Don't you have a costume to put on or something?"
The younger boy frowned, "Nah, me and Jamie decided not to go trick-or-treating this year."
"Why? I can sorta understand Jamie, he's 14, even if he looks younger, but you ain't got many more trick-or-treating years to go. So why aren't you going this year?"
"I can't say," the boy said studying his feet and avoiding eye-contact.
"Hold on, hold on. What's going on here? Has someone threatened to take your candy or something if you go?"
"I can't say," the boy said again.
"Is that like taking the fifth?" Will laughed, causing the younger boy to give him a puzzled look.
"I don't drink," the boy said, causing Will to burst into belly shaking laughter.
"Not that fifth," he said between guffaws, "the fifth is like...I can't answer cause it would incriminate me...oh, never mind," he said giving up that line of questioning.
"Anyway, I'm gonna help mom and dad pass out candy."
"Instead of being out having fun?" Will said shaking his head, "that's crazy. Look, I have a little time, come sit with me and let's talk, man to man." Dickie liked being called a man, and he loved and trusted his big brother, so without hesitation he walked over and sat down on his messy bed.
"Okay, who was it?" Will began immediately, "no bullshit, was it Bruce and his gang?"
Dickie nodded, "They said they'd beat me up if I went trick-or-treating, and Jamie too. So...we both decided not to go."
"This is bullshit," Will said hopping up and pacing around the floor, then suddenly he made a decision that he hoped both he and Doug could live with, "get dressed, you're coming with me."
"Uh, where?" the boy said looking surprised and nervous.
"Just put on some jeans, a tee and grab a jacket. I'm gonna go talk to mom. Meet me downstairs in five minutes."
"Okay," the boy said still looking confused, but he dared not disobey his idol and he practically ran off to his room to get dressed.
"Mom, I'm taking Dickie with me, is that okay?"
"What...but why...isn't he going trick-or-treating...?"
"I can't explain right now, but something happened and he doesn't want to go, so I promised him he could go with me and Doug."
His mother was as confused as her youngest son, but she knew Will's motives had to be good and she was all for the two spending quality time together, even if there was some underlying reason there that she didn't understand.
"I suppose, is he allowed at that party?"
"Yes, mom, it's for all ages. Kids bring their little brothers and sisters all the time. I figure when we leave there we can get some pizza or something and just drive around. I haven't talked to Doug yet, but I'm hoping Jamie can go with us too."
"What's going on?" his mother asked then, suddenly feeling the need for some sort of reassurance that there wasn't some danger here that she was unaware of.
However, the arrival of her younger son gave Will a way out and he simply said, "Do you trust me, mom? If you do, then say it's okay, and I'll explain later, I promise."
Mrs. Wilson sighed, "All right," then reaching for her purse, she pulled out two twenty dollar bills and handed them to Will, "be sure to feed him," she chuckled.
"Thanks mom, I will," then to his brother, "You ready, squirt?"
"Yep, all ready," he said grinning, his worry and confusion turned to excitement now.
"Be careful, you two," his mom said delivering hugs all around, "I guess I better get ready for the little monsters who will soon be knocking on the door."
"Yeah, save some candy for me though," Dickie said, then he and Doug were out the door.
They arrived ten minutes later at Doug's house and Mrs. Keaton let them in.
"Oh, hi boys, go on up, they're in Doug's room," she said, seemingly not surprised by Dickie's presence.
"Knock, knock," Will said tapping on Doug's door, "the Calvary has arrived."
"Come on in," Doug's voice said from the other side of the door.
Jamie looked better now, his tears and the blood wiped away and he'd changed into fresh clothes. He was surprised but pleased to see Dickie, for despite their age difference they were close friends.
"Hi," Dickie said giving both boys a wave.
"We need to talk," both older boys blurted out at once, then they laughed and said in unison, "Jinx," before locking pinkies.
"You two rug rats go down and grab a soda, we'll come get you in a little while."
"Okay," Jamie said enthusiastically, "Come on Dickie, we got Mt Dew and Pepsi."
The two older boys compared notes and finally came to the same conclusion. They had to teach Bruce a lesson, but tonight wasn't the night. They then considered their options, they could accompany the boys while they trick-or-treated, or they could take them with them to the party and tone down their evening's activities a bit.
"I really wanted to go to the party," Doug admitted, "anyway. we could do both?"
"Me too. I say that's what we do. Our little bros will probably find some friends there to hang out with and we can do our thing."
"Okay, so that's the plan. Then tomorrow, operation 'Neutralize Bruce' begins."
"Did you say neuter?" Will laughed.
"Only if necessary," Doug laughed, "let's go find our bros and fill mom in."
The party was a drag, and it wasn't because of their little brothers. First of all, the attendance was way down that year, with only a handful of the really cool kids and hardly any cute girls (or boys) at all. In fact, the four brothers seemed to be the best looking, most popular group there, and the few kids who were there seemed to spend most of their time watching them. Most were even too timid to approach, and the boys had to practically beg the girls to dance when it came time to hit the floor.
Of course Jamie and Dickie had no desire to dance, but both Doug and Will considered themselves to be good dancers and loved the music. They were able to talk several girls into dancing with them, but none seemed that enthusiastic, and in fact seemed suspicious that these two gorgeous boys would grace them with their presence. Such were the preconceived notions of teenagers, and they could not have been more wrong. Both Doug and Will were open-minded, kind, and friendly boys who basically liked everyone, that is unless that person gave them reason not to, as Bruce had.
Finally, Doug and Will decided they'd had enough and Jamie and Dickie were relieved as well when they finally left around 8:30.
"Now what?" Will wondered.
"Pizza? Doug suggested by way of a question.
The resounding chorus of yeses caused him to chuckle as he headed for their favorite pizza place, his mind churning with ideas as to what to do next.
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