Page 117 of Trick or Stalk

The next morning, I wake up thinking about it.

Which is exactly why I don't do it.

It’s rash.

Dangerous.

Thrilling.

I replace another rotten board on the porch. Clean the gutters. Fix the kitchen faucet. Drive into town for groceries.

Normal, responsible shit.

I pass The Crooked Spine, but I don’t stop.

That's restraint.

Bramble & Bean comes into view.

I keep driving.

More restraint.

Then I see the temporary storefront three buildings down. Orange-and-black banners cover the windows. A plastic skeleton sits outside in a lawn chair.

The sign reads:

HOLLOW CREEK HALLOWEEN EMPORIUM

I stare at it as I drive past. “No.”

I continue another block and stop at a red light.

When it turns green, I make a right.

Another right.

Then another.

By the time I'm back on the same street, I'm irritated with myself. “This is fucking stupid.”

I find a parking space anyway.

The bell over the Halloween store door jingles when I walk inside.

Fake screams immediately erupt from somewhere to my left.

A motion-activated skeleton lunges toward me.

I stare at it. “Cute.”

A teenage employee behind the counter laughs. “Gets everybody.”

“Didn't get me.”

“You stopped.”

“Because something screamed at me.”