The following story is a fictional Halloween tale.
Bobby had just turned 12, finally old enough for his parents to let him go trick or treating on his own this year. He was so excited about going around Manning and scoring loads of candy on Halloween night. He had no idea what was in store for him.
The school day felt like it lasted an eternity, but Bobby was finally free to bike home and change into his robot costume and grab his candy bucket.
“Remember, stay in our neighborhood. And be home by 8,” his mom reminded him.
“I sure will, Mom.”
“Score some good candy for me while you’re out there,” she joked, tousling his hair.
Bobby promised he would and set off on what would turn into a Halloween adventure he would never forget.
Bobby decided to ride his bike to make better time and get more candy. He stopped at every house that had the porch light on, said ‘trick or treat’, and watched with excitement as his candy bucket got more and more full. By the time he made it to the last house, it was filled to the brim with yummy chocolate bars, squiggly sour gummy worms, and even a couple homemade spooky cookies.
Anxious to return home and dig in, he hopped back on his bike and headed towards his house. “Maybe I can even make it home before it gets dark,” he said to himself.
As he approached a newspaper rack on the sidewalk, he was pedaling as fast as he could and thinking of only one thing: candy. He was so distracted, he almost didn’t see the small kitten that had wandered into the middle of the sidewalk, in front of the newspaper rack. Thankfully, he was able to come to a stop in time.
“Well, hey little guy,” Bobby said, dismounting his bike and picking up the little kitten.
He glanced around hopefully, and spotted a mama cat with a litter tucked into her side in a nearby bush. He walked over to them and gently sat the misplaced kitty down close to its mom, and smiled when it hobbled over on clumsy legs and nestled in closely with its relieved-looking mama.
Good deed of the day complete, Bobby noticed that darkness had fallen while he was occupied, so he headed back to his bike. He had leaned it against the newspaper rack because his kickstand was broken. Except when he returned, his bike had toppled over.
“That’s weird,” he said, “I could have sworn I was careful with how I propped it up.”
But he shrugged and bent to pick it up so he could hurry home in the now-dark. However, as he placed his hands on the handlebars to pick the bike up, the door to the nearby newspaper rack popped open and whacked him on the head.
“OW!” He exclaimed, shocked and slightly embarrassed. After a pause and a glance at the offending newspaper rack, he hopped on his bike and took off once again. He dared one last look over his shoulder before the rack was out of sight because he wanted to make sure nobody had been around to see a newspaper rack beat him up. What he saw made his blood turn cold. The newspaper rack had turned to face him, and he could have sworn it was several dozen feet further down the road than it had been! Was it chasing him? Was he losing his mind?
Bobby decided to ignore it and drive faster. He wasn’t too far from home now. If he could just make it there, he could go inside, get under his covers, and pretend none of it ever happened. But, as he turned onto his street, he saw a terrifying sight. He had forgotten there was a newspaper rack there too!
He chugged his legs as hard as he could in an effort to pass in front of the second newspaper rack as quickly as possible and without incident. No such luck. The newspaper rack’s door opened and it started hurling newspapers at him. One hit him in the leg, and he was surprised at how badly it stung. “These newspaper racks have some serious throwing power,” he exclaimed aloud, continuing his ride home.
Another newspaper came hurling towards his head, but he sensed the air moving as it got close and he was able to duck and avoid it, but he was now so panicked and worried about what was behind him, his steering was all over the place. Bobby didn’t see the tree coming. He ran smack into it and toppled from his bike, the candy bucket in his bike basket flying into the air and spilling candy everywhere. While he was gathering himself, he heard a bonechilling noise. The noise of a metal newspaper rack scraping across pavement. It was chasing him just like the other one had, and gaining on him quickly. Before he knew it, it was only a couple of feet away.
Still shaken from the bike crash and shocked to his core, Bobby could think of nothing to do except press himself as close to the tree as he could get and await the inevitable.
The newspaper rack was tilting forward, as if it planned to crush him to death. He let out a scared whimper and squeezed his eyes shut, thinking about how he was going to die before he could even have a single piece of his Halloween candy.
Just as he thought it was all over, the porch light on the house to high right blinked on, and the newspaper rack went motionless and inanimate. The door slammed open. It was his neighbor, Mrs. Maynard. “What is going on out here?” she demanded, shocked by the odd scene that greeted her.
Unsure how he could explain the situation, Bobby just laughed awkwardly and said, “Oh nothing, Mrs. Maynard. Just playing a Halloween trick.” He stood and got back on his bike that thankfully, was still in working order. He rode off and was in his own yard before Mrs. Maynard could even form a response.
After telling his mom he lost his candy in a bike crash but that he was okay, Bobby wanted to go straight to bed. But his dad called out “Hey, Bobby, I have some exciting news. I know you are trying to save up to buy a new bike, so I got you a small part time job.”
“Really? Where?”
“At The Manning Times. Delivering papers and refilling the newspaper racks!”
Bobby just swallowed nervously and looked out the window. Three newspaper racks were on the sidewalk outside his house, watching him.
Happy Halloween!