4.1
Halloween - 6:49 PM
Halloween was Hoodsdale's favorite holiday.
It was the time when they were allowed to push their outfits to the extreme, dressing up as zombies, angels, dogs, ghosts, or any other creature they could dream of.
And as the sun got lower, the bustling streets of Hoodsdale began to look like a true fantasy town.
Practically every civilian was dressed up. There were face painting stalls open for those looking for the finishing touch on their costumes, and the costume stores were still open even now, last-minute customers dashing in while there was still time.
In a world where resource efficiency was paramount, Halloween didn't make sense. It didn't make sense for them to dump so much effort into the holiday, but it made the people happy.
To Hoodsdale, Halloween meant a lot.
– – – – –
Jelani scrambled through the forest, not caring for anything but the ground beneath his feet and the trees that stood in his way.
He carried Nikki on his shoulder, and her weight made his boots slip on pine needles every third step he took.
Gasping for air, he shoved branches aside and pounded forward.
The air was cool, but sweat dripped off his body as if he was sprinting through a desert.
His eyes were wide, straining to see everything between the shadowed trees.
The forest was growing dark, but they were almost there.
Nikki whimpered.
Jelani spared a glance behind him.
He saw nothing, but the forest was thick. Under that shadow, anything could be hiding.
"Agggh!"
Jelani gritted his teeth and turned his gaze forward again, forcing his body to squeeze out just a little more.
The trees broke, and the wall appeared.
The wall of thick wooden tree trunks that guarded the city of Hoodsdale.
Jelani didn't slow down–in fact, he sped up.
His arms and legs flew so desperately that he was practically falling on his face.
At the wall's foot, he staggered to a stop.
"Nikki… Piggyback," he huffed.
Nikki, whose face was chalk white and shiny with sweat, leapt off of Jelani's shoulder and onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck as tightly as she possibly could.
Jelani leapt upward and dug the blades of his knuckle dusters deep into the wood.
With massive lunges upward, he hauled both Nikki and himself up the wall, one steel handhold after another.
At the barrier's summit, they were faced with the coiled barbed wire. It was electric, as Jelani was well aware, and with Nikki on his back, there was no way he could vault over it untouched.
Realizing his mistake, he stabbed into the wood.
With his left hand anchoring them to the wall, he swung his right down repeatedly, chipping away at a frantic speed.
Finally, his fist broke through the trunk, and the little top section toppled down into the city.
The coiled wire sprung back as it snapped away from its wooden anchor, and through the tiny gap beneath its reach, Jelani slipped in with Nikki on his back.
They flew downward much more quickly, dropping feet at a time before Jelani dug into the wood and caught their fall.
Their feet hit the ground, and Nikki released him.
"Whe–"
Jelani coughed and spluttered, unable to get even a single word out.
"F-f-f-f-follow me," Nikki stammered, turning her back and willing her shaking legs to hold her own weight.
They ran down one street then another, finally pressing into the heart of Hoodsdale and its Halloween celebrations.
Jelani's scarred face was now known throughout the entire city, but amidst all the costumed civilians, perhaps he would go unnoticed for a little while.
But he didn't care, because it didn't matter.
And soon enough, everyone in Hoodsdale would understand too–there were bigger things to be concerned about.
Much bigger.
The two rebels weaved between the crowds, shoving people out of the way when they had to.
They pressed onward, caring for nothing but their target.
Nikki clutched a hand to her mouth and vomited as she ran.
She staggered, but she didn't stop.
Her fear was outweighed by her desire to do good.
But once she'd turned left, leading Jelani onto a darker, sparsely populated street, her feet wouldn't go any farther.
"Ah… Uh… uh… u-up there." She raised a shaking finger, pointing down the left side of the narrow street.
Jelani stopped.
He took a deep breath, and then another.
His body wasn't in good shape. He knew that, but he had no choice.
Be careful, he told himself. be careful…
He put one foot in front of another, not bothering to lower his face as he passed the civilians by.
They were smiling, surrounded by their friends, happy just to be celebrating Halloween. Danger wasn't on their minds. Jelani's face wasn't on their minds.
Even the trivial worries of daily life didn't bother them. Tonight, they allowed themselves to live without care for the world around them.
"Oh my god, Julie, I can't get over how cute your costume is."
A girl, dressed in a cat costume and surrounded by her three best friends, giggled.
"Oh, stop it! If my costume's cute, then yours is gorgeous!"
They all laughed, passing by a dark alley on their left.
"Hey, wait," one of the other girls said, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Is there someone down there?"
"I think… yeah… Yeah! Woahh, they have a cool costume! Maybe they're doing a photoshoot down there??"
"Oh yeah! They probably wanted the dimly lit vibe!"
They giggled.
"Hey!" one of them called out into the alley. "We love your costume!"
Jelani was close enough to hear everything the girls said, and he crept forward more cautiously than ever. He could see nothing suspicious on the street, but something told him that those girls didn't truly understand what was lurking in the alley.
The gap between buildings that the girls were peering into was thin, and it was lit by a single flickering light.
Deep along the alley and still shrouded in shadow, the costumed figure stood.
But it stepped forward.
It stepped forward, and the rays from that little white light shined down onto its shoes, then its pants, then its shirt, and then its head.
Fully illuminated, the figure stepped forward, and the girls stepped back.
Jelani narrowed his eyes and strode forward to the alley's entrance.
The girls didn't notice his arrival. They were too busy questioning their judgement–questioning whether people usually used guns in their costumes.
Jelani's breath faltered at the sight.
"Get out of here," he hissed.
He grabbed the nearest girl by the arm and looked her in the eyes.
"Get out of here."
She nodded, and she ran.
All four girls ran, and Jelani stole one last glance down the alley.
If it could see through that mask, it was looking right at him.
Ahh, shit, Jelani thought as he stepped behind the corner and out of sight. I hope that gun's made of plastic.