“Why do we have to do this again, Evelyn?”
“Because, Judith, it is a proud tradition upheld amongst generations of Sullivan youths.” Evelyn responded. She crossed her arms and fixed her two friends with a glare. She had donned a costume for the holiday which detracted from her blue-eyed glare just a smidge, if her friends were wholly honest. She wore a torn and stained cheerleader uniform, exposing grey-tinged skin and suture scars and marks.
“You know, some people just watch scary movies, Evelyn, or read spooky books,” Judith said.
“And Sullivan kids do this.”
“Sure, but Judith and I aren’t Sullivan’s, Evie,” Marcus added.
Evelyn sighed. “Come on, guys. Please. I mean, none of my cousins are in town this year so I’d just be going alone. This is the only time of year I can leave the compound without wearing layers and caking on makeup.”
Marcus and Judith sighed and shared a look. “Fine,” Marcus said, “Fine, we’ll do it with you.”
Evelyn squealed and pulled her two friends into a hug. “Trust me, you will have so much fun!”
Judith grunted and desperately tapped the arm around her neck. “I believe you,” she wheezed. “Now let me breath, please.”
Marcus was in a similar situation. “Some people need oxygen, Evie.”
“Oh right,” Evelyn said, releasing the other two. “You don’t even have to scrounge up anything to wear. I have the perfect costumes for you two!” She sped to her closet and pulled out two black garment bags. She handed one to each of them.
They unzipped their bags. Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Is this a wolfman costume?”
Evelyn grinned, pleased as can be at her cleverness. “Yep!”
Judith snorted. “I mean, it works for you. You already got the beard and burly going.”
He held the bag out to Judith. “Wanna trade, Judy?”
She shook her head and glanced at her own costume. She smirked. “You know what, sure. Let’s trade, Marcus.”
She handed him her bag and he nodded. “I think I could pull this off.” He held up the bag to his chin and turned to Evelyn. “What do you think? Does the green set off my eyes?”
Evelyn giggled. “I think it does. You’ll have to shave your legs, but the dress could work for you. Your head might be too big for the white wig, though.”
Marcus snorted and handed the bag back to Judith. “Nah, I’ll stick with wolfman,” he said. “All Judy’s gotta do is take out her contacts and she’ll be golden.”
“Okay, quick! Go change so we can head out!” Evelyn shooed them out to the bathrooms.
— Four Hours Later —
“Oh no…” Judith whispered. She felt the pressure growing in her head the longer she stared at the body. The girl who had once been Agnes Callaghan sprawled in the alley, milky-eyed and pale. Her flaming red hair now near black and matted against her face; grey matter and white bone peeked through the darkened hair. She had been wearing a white peasant blouse with a brown skirt, now torn and stained with a rusty shade of red.
“Judy, just hold on.” Marcus whispered in her ear and turned her face away from the corpse. “We’ll get you away from here.”
“It won’t help matters any,” she shook her head, her throat already ached. “I don’t think I can hold it back much longer.”
“Ah crap.” Evelyn said, her eyes going wide. She cast a look around, desperately searching around Judith. “Her contacts fell out. Look at her eyes, Marcus – she’s losing it.”
Judith’s irises, normally covered by lenses in a nice warm brown, had turned a bright, cold silver, the veins in her eyes bulged making her sclera a bright and visceral red. She groaned as another wave of pain and pressure assaulted her head. Something warm and wet dripped over her lips. Reaching up she pulled away fingers stained red. “Guys, you need to get out of here. Please,” she begged, her voice growing more strained with every word. “I can’t hold it back.”
Marcus growled and stood, lifting Judith in his arms. “Evie, take us to the Cemetery.”
Evelyn slowly turned around. “You mean the cemetery, right? Not the Cemetery, with a big ‘C’?” She asked, emphasizing the last word. Judith wheezed and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head against his shoulder. Marcus gave Evelyn a pointed look. She sighed, then nodded. “Alright, alright. Follow me, but Marcus?” She said, “Tread carefully. Folks there won’t appreciate people like you in their territory. Judith and I have our own birthrights to be there. You don’t.”
Marcus nodded.
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