They walked back to the house. I could see from the outside my mom and her friends were having drinks and were talking loudly. We moved into the living room. People I have never seen before were sitting on the couches holding glasses of drinks. My mom was talking to a tall sandy haired man and she was touching the man's arm.
My mom saw us and seemed startled as if she was caught doing something wrong. "Oh hi, I thought you would be out longer."
Joyce said, "We want to borrow the car."
My mom hesitated for a brief second and looked at the man next to her. "Go ahead. Don't be late for your curfew."
"Ok," Joyce said.
I looked at Joyce and we both knew their curfew is a joke. I felt Jake stirring behind me. Joyce left to get the keys and Jake and I walked toward the front door. My mind was racing and I wondered about the tall man standing close to my mom. I wanted to go to the man and asked him if he was dating my mom. I didn't like it. Joyce skipped toward us and we left the house.
Walking through the front walkway, more kids came to the front door. They looked at us but I pointed for them to knock at the front door.
I said, "Hey, did you see that guy next to mom?"
"So," Joyce said, "she can date who she wants. Dad is not coming back."
"I know but we should tell dad."
Jake said, "Come on. How cares about that? The party should be started already."
"Why didn't you tell us about this first?" I said.
Joyce said, "It doesn't matter. We wanted to trick and treat. Also, we needs costumes for the party."
"Ok," I said nonplussed. None of this made sensed. Why do we have to do baby stuff. I was getting older and was thinking about going to college. They entered my mom's car. It was a white BMW car. Joyce got into the drivers seat. I wanted to drive but I only had my drivers permit and nobody was eighteen yet, but I have drove several times before. I sat in the front and Jake was in the back.
Joyce checked if anybody was behind and slowly drove the car out of the driveway. I sensed something it felt like freedom. When Joyce got the car in the street, she moved forward into the night. Then I saw her. The Donne ghost girl. The cars headlight shone on her for a minute and then we passed right through her. Images shot into my head of a tall thin man staring at ghost girl through a window. Was this the killer I thought.
I saw a large group of flies milling around a dark forest then the visions stopped. I have never felt anything so strongly. It was as if my body and mind was been stretched into impossible areas.
Suddenly, I was thrusted back into my seat and I took a deep breathe. The BMW car moved through the street and then stopped at a traffic light. I lost almost ten minutes lost in the vision. The radio was playing a song I knew but for some reason I was slight confused and out of focus.
Jake said, "Hey, are you guys ok? You haven't spoken since we started driving."
"I don't know," Joyce said. "It's just that..."
She couldn't speak more because I was feeling the same way. My family had been broken and cannot be repaired. Even though Joyce pretended that she was happy that mom was dating somebody she was also mad.
She said, "This sucks. My dad should be home."
Nobody said anything for awhile. She turned the BMW down a large street were cars with people also dressed in costume flooded down the lane. It seemed everybody was going toward the same direction they were heading. She maneuver the vehicle down a two lane residential area with cars all parked next to the home. Lookout point was located a block from where they drove and I saw people walking down the block moving in almost long lines.
Joyce said, "What's happening here?"
"It's the party. It's down a block from Lookout point," Jake said.
Joyce stopped the car and luckily found parking next to a large two story mansion. They all got out of the car and I heard the sound of music , loud dance music combining with the nocturnal noise of people walking by and an excitement filled the air. It was electrifying. And I realized this feeling was fleeting and could only be experienced by the young or old when something new was coming. I felt it and looking at my sister and Jake they felt it too.
They waited and followed the line of people toward the party. The people around us were dressed in elaborate costumes ranging from full 1920 regalia to sci-fi monsters in masks and makeup. I felt a little out of place and wished I dressed up more. I almost wanted to turn back but Joyce and Jake kept walking forward.
I saw the pathway toward the Lookout Point. A few people milled around the front and then I noticed a few of the people were not alive. They were ghosts and they stared straight at me. My body shook as I past them trying not to look at the gruesome people. One lady had a limb missing and had cuts along her throat.
I wondered why this night of all nights I have seen more ghosts than I have seen in years. And I also smelt something as I past the specters. It was the scent of the grave and viscous blood. I almost vomited right then and there but other people were next to me and I didn't want to alarm them.
Joyce turned to me. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," I said. I held my mask in my right hand and I didn't want to place it on head. My mind and body were queasy. "Just keep going. Maybe, I ate something wrong."
She nodded and Jake walked next to him and stayed next to him. "You don't look good. Hey, I lied to you. I promised Stacy that I would bring you to the party."
"What?" I said. I wasn't really mad.
"I think it's cute," Joyce said.
"But she's," I stammered.
Joyce said, "What? She's a cheerleader. She blond. What?"
I really didn't know what I was saying. Stacy was popular and gorgeous and I was a nobody. "I just don't understand why she would like me."
Jake lightly socked him on the shoulder. "Hey, she likes you. Let's get to the party."
They walked the rest of the blocked toward a house with orange and purple lights on the roof. Also, the house was decorated with ghost and ghouls flying around the roof and the trees in the front. A song he recognized as "Dead Mens Party" from Oingo Bongo was playing. The house was twice as large as my mom's house and the front was gated with an ornate gate.
A man dressed as a vampire was talking to a few people in the front. He saw us and said, "Hey Jake is that you."
"Yes."
Jake shook the vampire's hand. The vampire turned to them. He looked at me up and down. I was about to say something.
The vampire held out his hand. "My name is Brad. I'm Stacy's brother. I like your outfit."