Part of a short story.

I don't know where I was going with this. Too bad I didn't finish it. And I have no idea what I did with the notes. It flips around in tense a little, past to present, which is distracting. I usually clean that up on the second and third drafts though. Oh well, enjoy.


Halloween Commandos
By: L. Serrett

“In the neighborhoods edged around Seattle’s heart, Halloween is more than just a night for costumes and candy. There is a tradition in this community that dates back to the early days of the city; to the settlers of the region and their first encounter with the natives’ primitive gods. Back then, ignoring the old ways would have you buried to the neck on the Puget’s rocky shore, watching as the tide rolled in to take you. You could scream as long and loud as you had breath, until the salt water flooded your lungs and your life was lost to the brine. Anyone listening knew why you were there. The tribute must not be ignored.

Now, in our more civilized time, the practice of this corporal punishment is lost. Few even remember the old gods’ names, let alone think to offer the tribute they require. And though it seems our role on this holiest of nights is that of irksome prankster and deviant artist, we know the truth. It is us, and us alone, who appease the gods and save this city from its own foolish progress.”

“That’s wonderful, Ian, really, but can we go egg some houses now?”

With an annoyed twitch of his bony shoulders, Ian Morgan turns to review his men—youths, male and female, dressed in the all black attire of comic book ninjas and manga warriors. They stand before him in a line of twelve; their masks pushed back to reveal teen faces teetering on the cusp of adulthood. Hand picked over ten years of hard searching, they are ranked by skill, commitment, and their ability to stay out late on a school night.

Ian inhales deeply and nods. “We’re ready. Bandito, you and Latina take 4th. Make sure to mark green anyone who shuts off their lights before nine pm.”

The pudgy Mexican kid—Jose, to his parents—salutes and jogs toward the door, the colorful neckties fluttering from his belt like a tattered tutu. Bandito’s partner for the evening is Nina, a sharp-featured Latina who thinks this will probably be her last year in the Commandos. At Bandito’s salute, she rolls her eyes and heads out after him, snapping bubble gum.

“Hanging, Matey, Silent Cheese, I want you to take the streets closest to the school,” Ian said, and held up his hands to still their excited chattered. “It’s gonna be packed with people we know, you’ve got to be careful. Keep your mask on, keep your cells on vibrate. Don’t address each other by anything but code names, clear?” With their nods of understanding, Ian ordered, “Then head out.”

Hanging Chad Monroe bent to tie his boot laces before leaving the garage. Despite the obvious connotations of his code moniker, he was so named because of his tendency to hang out at his friends’ homes without being asked. His partners for the evening were Katie Matey (named for her rabid fandom of Johnny Depp), and Jason Silent Cheese Dulap. That last one is self explanatory.

“Blue and Fiesta, take 152. Remember you’ll be in the retail district. That means cops. Stick to the shadows. Buddha, take 6th and hit the library hard.” The two girls slapped hands and headed toward the door at a sprint, excited to begin the night’s work. Buddha, had to be home by 10, since it was a school night and his family didn’t celebrate Halloween. He got the easiest job.

With everyone else gone, Ian turned to face the Jade Cat and the Shadow Thief. The three of them had been at this the longest, hitting houses and business since sixth grade. They were the real Halloween Commandos; the dedicated trio who was hell bent on saving the holiday for generations to come.

“You’re doing it again,” Rio (the Shadow Thief) stated in his flat, void voice. He was taller than Ian, and built along rougher lines, hardened by sports and martial arts. Ever since early childhood, he’d been the kid keeping Ian, the Crazy Celt, from doing anything too psycho. Except the fire, but Rio was visiting relatives in New Orleans at the time. Besides, everyone lived.

“Doing what?” Ian demands, setting his cell phone to vibrate. Nothing could be aloud to clue the public in on their true identities. Personalize ring tones were the bane of the HC.

“Inner monologue,” Jade replies, wiggling her fingers in her new gloves to loosen up the leather. “You get way to into this.” She’d met the two when her family moved to Seattle in her seventh grade year. She’d missed that Halloween, but thanks to her blond hair, big green eyes and long legs, Ian and Rio had adopted her into the HC in time for the fall. They claimed, at the time, they needed someone tall.

“It’s important work,” Ian insists in what is becoming his mantra. “We’re saving Halloween for the kids of the future.”

The Shadow Thief and the Jade Cat share a look. Then the Thief sighs. “First, Halloween didn’t have anything to do with Native Americans and their Gods. It was first celebrated in the Celtic Region as their new year. You should know that, being that you’re a Celt.

“Second, I believe when you said ‘corporal punishment is lost’ you probably meant ‘capital punishment.’”

“What the hell does it matter?” He demands. “Like anyone but you would fucking know that.” Ian sneers at his best friend and yanks down his all black face mask. All the Commandos wear them and all are identical. Jade bought them at Michaels—basic white masks that she’d spray painted flat black. It helped them really blend into the shadows. Ian loved it.

The Shadow Thief dropped his own mask, blending into the dark as perfectly as a phantom. “Lets go scare some locals.”