As far as Shawn could tell, people spent a lot of time on their Halloween decorations, but it seemed like this year the adults had really out did themselves. They spared no expense in gathering all the materials they needed to successfully creep out children and other adults alike. Anyone who ventured in the neighborhood at this time of night would have thought that it had gone a little bit crazy.

And by all accounts there were plenty of people out in the neighborhood tonight. Children ducked under thick cobwebs that were strung between naked trees. Driveways were dark and lit only by the jack-o-lanterns that sent out an orange flicker through their mouths and eyes. In shaggy grass that wet kids' costumes lie gravestones and severed body parts, hands and feet. From the doorway of one house, a witch stood shrieking and casting spells as she waved her wand up and down in a jilted, robotic animation.

Up ahead at Ralph's neighbor's house, the front door was open and from the inside came horror movie music. Children passing by poked their heads into the gloom to see if there was anyone to give out candy.

And in the middle of the neighborhood was Ralph's house. There were no decorations and no sounds. Not even a sign of activity or a light that indicated anyone was home.

"It could be that no one is home." Michael said. "Or that everyone is in the basement like Leonard said." He suggested in a flat tone.

Shawn kept on his toes as they approached Ralph's house, shooting glances at it, but trying not to seem too openly interested. "I don't see anyone. But we should be extra careful and check before we get too close. Look for anything unusual about the house."

He led Michael past Ralph's house, relatively slowly and casually like they were any other trick or treater. Once Shawn was sure Michael was watching the house, he switched his own attention to the other people out trick-or-treating, looking for anyone who was acting like a robot.

"Look at that."  Michael pointed at the chimney. A thin plume of smoke was coming out of the chimney at Ralph's house.

Shawn looked around. There didn't seem to be any robots about. A couple of kids were just now fumbling up towards the front door of Ralph's house, ready to push the door bell to Trick or Treat. They were dressed as WWF superstars. Cheap plastic masks of Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior.

Shawn slowed his pace a little as the other kids approached the front door. It seemed like there was someone home, at least, but his strategy would change quite a bit depending on whether it was Ralph or Ralph's "mom" who answered the door. "All right, keep watching. We gotta know what we're getting into."

Somewhere in the darkness from one of the houses nearby, there was a rattling sound from up above, like an old window being opened.

"You kids! Get out of here! Go back home! It's not safe outside." An old, adult voice shouted at the two trick or treaters.

"I thought he was talking to us for a second." Michael said with all the enthusiasm of an empty sink.

The two kids ran past again, this time fleeing the house and the adult voice, their plastic, WWF masks bobbing up an down as the cut through the front yard, leaves crunching under their feet.

Shawn watched the kids flee as he continued to pretend he was just out trick-or-treating normally. While it was probably safer for those two kids that they never rang the doorbell, it didn't help him and Michael all that much. He glanced towards Ralph's house's back yard - was it fenced off? Did it back onto woods or another house's back yard?

Michael appeared to be already ahead of Shawn's thoughts.

"Look." He said, pointing towards the fence on the side of the house. The rotted wooden door of the fence stood out as a black outline against the night sky.

"We could just walk right in back there." Michael suggested, as if walking straight into the backyard of an evil robot's house was a normal, everyday, boring occurrence.

Shawn saw the opening, but it still worried him. “It might be too easy, though. What if there’s a trap?” He spent a moment in thought before looking to either side of the house. “What if we sneak into a neighbour’s back yard and look over the fence first? Then we might be able to see if anyone’s home.”

If Shawn had been looking for some kind of feedback from Michael then he would have been disappointing. The boy just stared at him for a long while without answering, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight, dark hollows under his cheeks hidden by the shadows of the bushes.

"Could be." Michael said. The words came out flat. Did it mean that Michael thought going into the neighbor's backyard would be a good idea? Did it mean that he thought there would be a trap? Did he care at all?

Michael's response didn't seem to answer any of these questions.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 00:32, Thu 07 Jan 2021.

Shawn looked between the two neighboring houses on either side of Ralph's house, trying to gauge if either of their backyards looked easy to sneak into. It was two main things he was looking for - whether the backyard looked accessible, and how easy it would be to avoid being seen. He knew at least one of the neighbors was watching for kids, judging by what happened to the ones wearing wrestling masks.

Shawn peered into the darkness. The house to the right had a large backyard with no fence. A large spotlight beamed down into the neatly trimmed grass and there was a sign that read:

BEWARE OF DOG.

The house on the left was cast in shadows, a short, chain-link fence was a barely visible form standing out in the inky darkness.

"What are we waiting for?" Michael asked.

"All right, follow me and be careful." Shawn glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and then started moving towards the house on the left. He definitely didn't want to have to worry about a spotlight or a dog.

Michael shrugged. He got up and followed Shawn, his thin, stringing body hunching low to the ground. A great breeze blew through the air, rustling the leaves across the lawn and bringing a stinging chill to Shawn's face.

The got to the chain link fence. It was clear that it would have to be climbed in order to access the backyard, but it wasn't as tall as a normal fence.

"You first." Michael said, looking one way, and then the other to make sure no one was watching. It didn't seem like anyone was.

Shawn looked up at the fence. Before he even went into the backyard, he might be able to see more from the top of the fence. Of course, he’d have to climb it first. He looked down at Mr. Clayton. “I’m going to need both hands to climb, so Michael’s going to hold you for a minute. Will you be good?”

"Yucka! Yucka!" Mr. Clayton bobbed his head, almost shouting the words and nearly making Michael wince.

Michael took hold of the Puppet as Shawn got ready to climb the fence.

"The police are investigating us." He said with nonchalant affect, just as if he was commenting about the weather. "For what we did in the forest." He added, in an equally bored tone. "They stopped by my house the other day to ask me questions."

This message was last edited by the player at 19:53, Thu 14 Jan 2021.

"Be careful not to put your hand in Mr. Clayton's back." Shawn made sure to warn Michael before handing the dummy over - after what had happened to Leonard, he wanted to be extra careful.

Michael's other comment stopped him short as he was about to start climbing. "Did you tell them anything?" Shawn was more worried about the 'Robot King', but if he somehow made it through this, that could be another problem. Then again, the body in the woods was his own...he couldn't get in trouble for that, could he? He decided to put it aside for now and start climbing. To begin with, he wasn't trying to climb over the fence, just up to the top of it so hopefully he could see into Ralph's backyard.

Just then, a chill breeze blew, crackling the leaves across the lawn. Michael shrugged.

"No. But that policeman asked me about you. He said he was going to stop by your house and ask you about the forest and if you knew there was a body back there."

Shawn felt relieved Michael hadn't said anything, though it looked like there'd be something else for him to worry about if he made it through all of this. "Thanks for keeping quiet about it. We'll figure it all out later." Carefully, quietly, he started to climb the fence, intending to stop at the top.

Michael was right behind Shawn, climbing gingerly up the chain link fence. Shawn's feet crunched down onto a bed of leaves, the backyard completely shrouded in darkness.

It wasn't clear whether or not anyone was home at the house. Turning around an looking at Ralph's house, there appeared to be  strange, red glow coming from the basement. Light leaked out through the small windows on the side of the house.

Shawn glanced down at Michael. "Careful. And make sure not to go over the top. We're just scouting right now." He saw the glow from the basement, and knew that had to be where the danger was. But he was also searching for where Ralph might be - if there were any other rooms that showed signs of habitation from the outside.

Shawn could see the side of Michael's face in the darkness, one eye catching the glint of the moon for an instant. The boy didn't say anything, just sat there in complete silence.

It didn't look like there was any sign of activity in Ralph's house. The windows on the upstairs were shrouded with curtains. The lower ones showing no signs of moment or light. The house looked like it was abandoned. Yet there was a single Dodge dart parked in the driveway and the eerie, red basement glow that could only be seen from this vantage-point.

"Did you kill my sister?" Michael asked in a flat tone, the words hanging between Shawn and himself for a long moment in the darkness.

Shawn was caught up in watching the house for movement or places they could break in, it took him a moment to realize the question that Michael was asking. It wasn't a happy question to answer, but at least it was one that he could answer honestly. "No, I didn't." He knew Michael well enough that he could just answer bluntly.

Michael didn't offer a response and the conversation ended just as abruptly as it started.

The focus turned back towards the house for the moment. It stood somehow towering and tall, a black outline against the dark sky. Shawn looked about, peering through the darkness and trying to look past the strange and somewhat distracting glow of emanating from the windows in the basement.

His eyes were drawn to the lattice work, once white but now even through the darkness it was faded and chipped. Ivy grew up the wood towards the second story of the house. There was a boarded up window - not part of the second story but more part of the attic. A small hole in the board showed signs that maybe an animal had been at work, perhaps a squirrel or some other suburban creature looking to create a home for itself inside the attic.

If there was a way in the house that might be the only way. And the only way to get there would be to climb somehow.