[TrickTreat] Something in the Shadows

A gaggle of young sophonts dressed in fantastical costumes traipsed down the street, yelling enthusiastically about all the sweet treats they’d collected that night. It was truly a haul for the ages, their plastic buckets stacked with chocolates, sour gummies, hard candies, and other sticky sweets that would keep them bouncing off the walls for weeks to come. The full negotiations had not begun yet, but already they were eyeing each other’s treasure troves and planning what to offer in swapsies to get their paws on their favorite snacks. There was only one thing to do before they could all head off home to divvy up the spoils.

They had to go see the witch.

The dwelling a short distance away from their stomping grounds, out by the edge of the woods, dark and gloomy and treacherous this late at night, was rumored to house a notorious witch who brewed her most devious potions on the night of the Reaper’s Revelry. The children of the town always paid her a visit, hoping to catch a glimpse of her horrifying visage and maybe interrupt her dastardly plans. As they began the trek, the conversation was all boisterous and braggadocious, but as they grew closer the laughter grew quieter and quavers in their voices began to betray their nerves. By the time the dark hut was in view, their voices had dropped to nearly a whisper, and they dared not laugh lest they dare the spirits of the night to scare them silly.

They were nearly to the door when a rustling from the garden made them pause. Heads turned in the direction of the noise, ears strained for another sound, and their tails flicked with nervous energy. The bravest of the bunch inched infinitesimally closer than the rest and craned her neck, trying to make out any shapes in the shadows. There was something… it was nearly impossible to tell, but one patch of darkness was oddly darker than the rest, like the dim light that touched it was swallowed immediately into nothingness. She swallowed hard, her breath coming shorter now. The impressive plastic armor she’d strapped on as part of her knight costume had made her confident early on, in the circles of streetlights as they pounded the block in search of sweets, but now the straps were digging into her sides. She couldn’t help but think that if she had to run, it might prevent her from taking a full breath. As the group murmured softly to themselves, one of them caught a dry branch underpaw, making a sudden snap! that seemed loud as a gunshot in the otherwise silent night.

A pair of searing white holes tore themselves open in the pitch-black shadows. One by one, six red glowing orbs lit in a semi circle above them. There was the sense of movement, something stirring awake and taking notice. The kids didn’t wait to learn what it was. They fled screaming, candy buckets dropping and skittering across the ground, spewing their sweet plastic-wrapped innards across the hard-packed dirt.

As the children’s wails faded into the distance, Vide rose from its napping place and stepped forward to inspect the scattered goods. It nosed at a full-size chocolate bar, then swallowed it whole, wrapper and all. It consumed a few more of the fallen offerings and slunk back to curl up in a ball, sated.