Chapter 3-Interlude 1: Halloween in the Tower

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Hello, all, and Happy Halloween! I had this chapter pop into my head when I was on a walk the other day and had to write something. I also imposed a deadline by the end of today, because if I uploaded the Halloween chapter the day after Halloween, it would feel wrong. So much has happened over the last couple of days in my personal life that has definitely delayed this chapter from existing, and it had nearly gotten to the point that I would have no time!

BUT!

I did it! It isn't so much as a horror chapter, as it is another glimpse at the life of those in the Tower. I... do not like horror writing, as my imagination is too vivid at times, and even the start of Book 2 was a push for me. That said, Happy Halloween, everyone!

Cecilia

Today was finally the day I had been most anxious for, yet my children were bouncing off the walls in excitement and anticipation, so I plastered a smile upon my face to hide my feelings. Vinny, my youngest daughter, was dressed as a knight in her cloth armor and soft foam sword, while Hutton was a green dragon. Thankfully not actually a dragon-kin, as gene editing was restricted to those above the age of twenty-one or for medical necessity reasons.

I shook my head slightly to realign my thoughts. Today was the day when my two youngest would take me through the haunted house set up at their school. Conceptually, this was a wonderful event for the younger children who were too young to attend either of the two more mature haunted forest mazes set up in the plazas, yet even this might be nearly too much for me. I hated all things horror, as I had seen too much from my previous job, not to mention that my ex-husband and his gang were nearly horror movie monsters in their own right.

Heather, bless her heart, had been given time off to go with us before she goes to the other two with her friends. We were waiting for her to arrive before going to the school, much to the excitement and dismay of her siblings. They were excited to see her again, yet they also desperately wanted to go now! Thankfully, her last message said she had just gotten to the elevator banks, so she should be home any-

The door opened and Heather walked in, giving me a slight fright as my children shouted in joy upon seeing her. They rushed past me and leapt into her arms. She easily caught them and hoisted them into the air, spinning around while laughing with them. As she placed them back down, I took in her outfit for the day.

She was not in her training uniform nor was she in her usual casual civilian clothes, as she called them. No, she decided to also be in costume, keeping the theme from the two younger ones and arriving in a full white gown with plenty of sparkles and even a tiara.

Heather approached me and gave me a hug, giving me a perfect obstacle to hide my tears that were forming. I never thought I would see her in a dress, let alone one so feminine.

“Glad you liked the surprise, Mom.” She whispered in my ear, causing me to laugh.

“Yes, yes. What wonderful children I have. Now, all you need is a partner and to give me a few grandchildren, and I will be more than satisfied.” I said jokingly, causing her to bluster out a “Mom!” at me.

I knew that she had a few people in her unit that she liked, but they were all focused on finalizing their graduation training to see who would get the highest honors that none of them were interested in such conversations. Heather mentioned that she was in the running for that spot a while ago and that the reward was not only a nice pay bonus but also the ability to create and lead her own squad with members she could handpick from any company.

Vinny pulled me out of my thoughts with a short tug on my sleeve. “Mom! Its time to go! Come on, come on, come on!”

I laughed once more at her insistence, knowing that pointing out the fact that her friends will wait for her at the school would do nothing to dampen her excitement.

“Alright, Vinny. Hutton-” and before I could say anything further, my sweet little boy handed me my purse with a smile. There was not a lot in it, of course. A couple of bottles of water, a few snacks, and some makeup to do touch-ups on Hutton’s face paint for when it inevitably smudges. A far cry from what I once carried not four months ago, as there was not even a single weapon on my person.

As we stepped out of our home, the sounds of the floor became more noticeable. The halls were filled with people in various costumes or normal clothes, there were projections of simple ghosts, pumpkins, cats, ravens, and moths on the walls and ceiling in blacks and oranges, as well as the scents of various cookouts happening at a dozen different neighbors' homes. I wasn’t even planning on cooking tonight, as Mrs. Yang had made sure to invite us over to her place for dinner. Cynthia and her wife had been up since four AM working on a smoker with some assortment of meats in it, and I would feel horrible if I didn’t let my children experience something that magical.

As we made our way to the elevator banks, we ended up passing by one of the two parks on the floor, the one that was supposed to hold the family-friendly haunted maze but was still restricted to those above the age of twelve. The committee in charge of this event made it absolutely clear that, while this maze was safe, it did contain actors and some decently realistic costumes that would give younger children nightmares. The school one, on the other hand, held no actors and was designed to look, well, faker, I suppose was the correct descriptor.

Vinny and Hutton had gone on for hours over the last week talking about it, even if they didn’t say anything more than “It sounds like fun!”

I tried my best not to peer into my favorite park as we passed it, yet I could still hear the muffled sounds of screams emanating from it. As Vinny and Hutton dashed ahead to the elevators, Heather stayed by my side and held my hand, keeping me calmer than I would have been on my own.

Vinny was waving us to hurry as she stood in one of the dozen elevators with a few other kids her age. I recognized Alma, her best friend, at a glance, as she was the only child on our floor with pure platinum blond hair with a single streak of electric blue on her left side. She was wearing a fishtail and cat ears with a flowy sundress-type thing which was a strange combination, to be sure, but if it made her happy…

Heather and I entered the elevator, saying hello to Alma’s parents and engaging in some smalltalk.

“Did you see the notice from President Morrigan?” Ikora asked. “The one about the Mesh node events.”

I shook my head slightly while smiling softly. “No, Ikora. You know that I have no interest in the Mesh. The park, my crafting, and the weekly get-together are enough for me.”

Her husband, Danathanel, clicked his tongue at me playfully. “Even if you have no interest yourself, you should at least be aware for your children’s sake.”

Heather glared slightly at him, offended by the unintentional insult he gave me, before huffing and nodding as he didn’t understand that she was glaring at him. “It is good info though, Mom. Every event that the Tower has had and will have will be available on the Mesh for residents to access or create private rooms with for a small fee for basically ever.”

I tilted my head slightly as I processed this new information before the elevator dinged and opened onto the school floor. I would have time to check on why the Mesh thing would be an issue later as we were all but chased out of the elevator by our children.

The school floor was designed to accommodate children of all ages as both a form of daycare and a proper K through Twelve schooling experience. It was apparently modeled after some old game school, danga- something or another. There were three buildings on this floor, each identical, yet subtly different in their designs.

I knew a number of residents on my floor alone that were basically orphans, as their eldest sibling or guardian was a member of the Monster Box in some capacity, and that they spent most of their time either doing odd jobs for neighbors or were here for eight to twelve hours a day. Some of the elderly neighbors tried to be guardians for them, but too many were from the lower wards and held trust issues towards those considerably older than them.

The current decorations of the schoolyard were simple, much to my relief. Fake spiderwebs on the trees and benches, sheet ghosts floated overhead on simple obvious fishingline pulleys, and even a few black cats and Ravens wandered the area. The sky-screens were a lovely shade of orange with a few clouds projected in different Halloween-themed shapes.

As my two youngest dashed ahead with Alma to meet up with their friends, I exhaled some tension I didn’t realize I was holding. Thankfully, the spookyness of the floor really was childish in nature, meaning I would not have to relive the horrors that were my old home.

As Heather, Ikora, Danathanel, and I arrived at the gaggle of children in various costumes, I saw Hutton’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Baker, who was wearing a baker’s hat and apron, holding a sign.

2 PM haunted tunnel viewing, gather here!

I glanced at my clock app and saw that it was nearly time, and yet instead of dread or foreboding, I was looking forward to this.