Terror-Fest: Zombie-Ville USA

Halloween had once again arrived for another year. Always it had been Amber's favourite holiday, a chance to be someone or something else entirely. In her past, life hadn't always been the best and she hadn't always wanted to be who she was. Halloween was a chance to escape all that, if only for a single night. This year, however, Halloween had an even more important role because this year was the first year in which she was a mutant and a visible mutant at that. For a single night, her eyes wouldn't matter because people would simply assume they were contacts. Nor would it matter that her naturally pale complexion was taking on a progressively more sickly appearance, her cheek bones becoming more sunken and the shadows under her eyes becoming darker. Her odd choice in clothing necessitated by her vulnerability to the sun wouldn't even matter for this one single night out of the year. For that one night, Amber Thirsis could be just like everyone else, with no need to worry about being a mutant and with no responsibilities other than to have a good time.

Costume was important and this year Amber put even more thought into it than usual. For once she actually had the money to spend on coming up with the best costume possible and, after much contemplation, decided that she was going to transform herself into Raistlin Majere from Dragonlance. The series was a favourite from her early teens and the character had always been the best in the series, in her opinion. Plus, she felt a certain kinship to him, the sickly black robed wizard who was misunderstood and constantly maligned for her ambitions. She felt like she understood him, both in terms of having to deal with a physical handicap, poor health and an inability to exert himself in his case and a sensitivity to sunlight in her case and in terms of his desire for power. She wasn't power hungry herself, not really, but her own mutant power allowed her some small amount of understanding. He was the perfect choice for the night.

For weeks Amber had been planning and putting together her costume. The robes were the easy part, having found an online site that specialized in medieval robes. She chose heavy black velvet ones, preferring his later black robed days to his earlier red robed ones. The robes came complete with large shadowy hood and many pockets for all her spell casting needs. Which, of course, being that she was on earth and not Krynn, amounted to no actual real spell casting needs at all. Next came the dragon staff, which was more of a challenge to come across. Thankfully, however, she lived in New York City and in that city one could find just about anything with enough persistent and she found a place to make one custom just for her. It was an oak staff with a carved dragon claw on top holding a clear quartz orb. The staff cost a bit, but money wasn't an issue for her any longer. Next came her skin although that part was easy, just a little gold body paint and she was good to go. Of course, her eyes weren't hourglasses like they should have been, but black pits would just have to do. Her hair, of course, was all ready appropriately long and white so there was no need at all for a wig.

The original plan was to have just herself and Kaitlyn go in the limo to the Halloween extravaganza but, as plans so often do, there were additions made at the last moment. Of course Amber didn't really mind the extra people, after all it was Halloween and Halloween was a time of fun and socializing. It just wouldn't be the same with only the two of them and more people certainly meant more fun. Hopefully. But at least she could be comfortable in the fact that everyone was from Sanctuary and thus everyone were mutants. Which meant no angry mobs. Much to her great relief.

Once everyone had arrived, Kaitlyn of course who Amber knew fairly well but also Lori, Isabel and Lenna who she didn't know nearly as well, the driver opened the door of the limo and let them all in. The limo was equipped with everything they could possibly want from refreshments (of the non-alcoholic variety since two of the members were underage) to various transportable morsels of food. The trip to the even didn't take long and once arrived the driver opened the door of the limo to let out its occupants, leaving them at the side of the graveyard.

"So, where do we g-go from here?" Amber asked Kaitlyn as the limo drove off, leaving them at the edge of the graveyard. She didn't even attempt to speak in Raistlin's dry raspy voice. Suddenly she wasn't quite so certain about the night or what it had in store. But at least she was here with a friend. Surely they would find others and that would be grand.

It was in sorts a taboo to not dress up for Halloween, the one day of the year where you could be something that you weren’t. It was more of a loss for ones self than a taboo though, if you didn’t partake in the festivities, you missed out on the modern design behind the concept after all. Everyday was Halloween for Rachel; unfortunately she was usually left as the only one celebrating it. Today was different though, the only day where she could be like everyone else, a monster, a demon, or an aberration of sorts. Or maybe it was a day where she could be human for once.

As the sun dropped below the jagged teeth of New York City, it painted the sky with its colorful blood of oranges and reds. It was at this time that Rachel entered the party, entering wearing nothing but the shadowy skin on her back. With no costume or attire one would usually be questioned, but she walked through the front entrance of the park as if it were any ordinary day. After paying admission she entered, looking left and right, admiring the scene around her as she stepped her way into the park. Full of excitement a large toothy grin ripped itself onto her jaws; she continued to move along entertaining herself with the notion of being herself as she worked her way into entering the closest zone of the park.

Zombie-Ville USA, she had memorized the names of all the zones weeks before the event had begun, being sure to enjoy her night as a human to the fullest. It was to be her first and last zone for the night as she was to enter and exit the park as herself. The large, gray skinned, van sized beast with eerie, glowing blue eyes. Rachel had entered alone and she would leave alone, but tonight she wouldn’t be alone as she enjoyed her night in the park.

To have people stare at her, yet not scream or run in terror, instead to be looked upon in admiration, admiration for having a ferociously admirable costume. It was a bit odd, but there was no time to think or ponder over such an irrelevant subject, tonight was a night to play. She admitted that she didn’t exactly fit in alongside the human sized costumes, but that didn’t stop her from gasping in fright and laughter as the undead swarmed around her in flesh eating mobs.

Rachel hadn’t eaten prior to disembarking to the party and so she craved food rather hastily after walking around for a short period of time. She instinctively headed toward the horrific food stand for a bite to eat, and without a thought ordered several dismembered armwiches. After waiting several minutes she pulled out cash from her tote bag and went off to an unoccupied part of the path to enjoy her meal. Rachel always loved hot sauce and made sure to lather her messy meal in it, giving it all the more a gory appearance. It took but a single sandwich for her to see horrified gazes toward her direction.

She had made the foolish mistake of eating. If she were in costume, the correct action to eat wouldn’t be to stuff food through the mouth hole of the outfit, but rather to remove it and eat as the person inside. What would be her excuse for this mess? She just gave an embarrassed grin to the slightly growing crowd, and pulled the scarlet arm out of her mouth. In a soft raspy voice she addressed those who were still watching, “Ah aye, silly me, i'll just go off ter take off me costume an' eat dees, no need fer eh commoshun folks.” Gradually the crowd thinned, but she could still see the look of disbelief in some of them as she ran off with her sandwiches to the dark shadowed trees of the park. Maybe she hadn’t thought her night through as well as she’d wished she had.

They got all the looks. All of them.

YeaH!

Shin had been looking forward to this night for a while, ever since Kealey had agreed to going with him dressed like his favoritest troll. They'd all done the assigned reading. They'd all picked the best costumes. Andrew was John, he was Karkat, and Kealey was Terezi. Their costumes had been a lot simpler than Andrews. Shin's was just gray face paint, candy-corn orange horns, yellow contacts, pointed ears, gray jeans and a long-sleeved black Karkat shirt of Kealey's own design. His hair was styled in typical Shin fashion. He had a set of handmade LARPing-grade lobster claw scythes ala Karkat. They were awesome! He hadn't even gotten yelled at by the bus driver. He'd only had to point out how fake they were, and he'd gotten a 'pass'. Kealey looked amazing, too.

They had to be careful tonight. He wasn't sure if the gray face paint was kiss-proof.

Halloween! Kealey couldn’t put words to how excited she was for the party that Shin was taking her to. Not only was it in Central Park, but they were going dressed as some of the coolest characters to ever grace the internet. Best of all, they had a third person in on the joke. Man this was going to be fun. It was also ironic. Maybe not as ironic as Dave’s bro…but Kealey figured it was pretty darn hard to be that ironic.

The reason for the irony was the simplicity of the costumes. It had taken hardly any time at all to come up with hers and Shin’s. They were simple. T-shirts, black pants…Kealey had simply bought the red shoes and the black wig that concealed her blond curls. It was fun having dark hair, at least for a night. It made her feel even less like herself on Halloween, that was amazing.

The glasses had been a little harder to find, it wasn’t every day that people made glasses like Terezi’s. It was Halloween though, and after several stores and lots of digging through various prop bins…she’d found the perfect glasses.

She was Terezi right down to the Lemonsnout plushie she had hanging from a noose attached to her belt loop.

Kealey glanced at Shin and couldn’t help but grin again at how awesome he looked, even in grey body paint. Thinking about it made Kealey twitch her nose, it itched a little bit, and the black lipstick felt funny. She sighed a bit, at least she hadn’t had to paint her arms. They’d found the perfect little grey shirt to go under her t-shirt. And her walking stick….oh man her walking stick was so cool…right down to the dragon head she’d fastidiously made from paper mache…any imps they came across were totally in for a beating.

Simple costumes.

Then there was Andrew’s.

That, had been significantly more complicated, and had meant a couple of long nights during the previous week. It had been worth it though…so worth it. Andrew made a great John. She squirmed a little on the bus seat. She couldn’t wait to get in character and pretend she could taste and smell colors.

”Have I mentioned lately that you have the best ideas ever?” she said with a quiet grin and reached over to grab Shin’s hand. ”We should win every first prize they have.”

As they'd entered, Shin couldn't have helped but notice another group costume by the gates near a ticket booth. Robot-Frog-Girl-Ghost Aradia and Vriska were getting something. Vriska-cosplayer was poking Frog-Girl. It seemed that she was 'making her pay'. A smirk had touched on Troll Shin's lips as they passed them, and then they were inside Central Park.

The place was busy. There were so many awesome costumes. Shin held tightly onto Kealey's hand, lest he lose her in the crowds. She'd wanted to win every prize the place had, and they couldn't well do that if they lost track of her, could they? He imagined it was difficult seeing in the dark with red shades. Shin was having some troubles himself. Not with the darkness, of course, but with the bright flashes. He had to avert his eyes from the rides and displays every now and then. It usually wasn't that difficult dealing with bright lights. Whenever he encountered them in his day-to-day, he merely looked away. He bowed his eyes (with what might have seemed reverence) and avoided staring at the sun at all costs. His mutation seemed to dislike bright lights, and he was not one to test how far that dislike went. It also hated it when lots of things moved quickly. He'd figured that out earlier in the month. It was strange. He wasn't able to control as many big shards all at once. If they flew around in a storm, it was possible they'd make him sick to his stomach. He'd peeled back his training to focus on controlling fewer shards, set up in specific arrangements so as to maximize his bang for his buck. The benefit to this was, of course, that it forced him to control his powers a bit more. With more control, his focus could he pulled inwards. It could be heightened. He didn't mind how it worked. It was still strange, though.

Had he mentioned that their costumes were the best, yet? Judging by the looks of all the others, they most certainly were. Shin was pleased with himself. He smiled at Kealey and Andrew. "Where to first, GC, Human John?" He poked the plushie as if it had a vote of its own. "Lemonsnout?"

Across the way, Robot-Aradia's eyes scanned the crowd, falling on two criss-crossed scythes fastened to a Karkat troll's back with holsters like a coat of arms. She was okay with this. She was okay with a lot of things. Tonight kicked ass... though it could use a bit of wanton destruction. Destruction was fun~

For many, Halloween is nothing more than a trivial pursuit, a jejune jubilee, a buoyed bonanza, a florid fete, a grandiose gala, a... well, you get the point. For others however, the occasion equates to something greater than a mere red letter day. Indeed for one soul in particular the commemoration of Allhallows eve was a recherché event with potential unequaled almost anywhere else. After all, when else is a country's populace provided, nay encouraged, to embrace the shroud of anonymity and the dissolution of inhibition such freedom inevitably evokes.

In short it was a night for the common sheep to display their darker sides and revel in that which they are all too often denied. For imaginations to expand beyond the quotidian lexicon of pathos and embrace a rather more morbid mien with which to manifest the inherent incubus within the mortal mind and thereby attain a new magnitude of self actualization.

There was also free candy which was, of course, far more important.

Sauntering through the crowds with the slightest hint of a skip in his step Hull's features twisted into morbid grin as an effervescent tune whistled forth from crimson painted lips, pausing occasionally to enjoy a solitary sour sweet summoned forth from seemingly empty fingers at odd intervals. At the same time, onyx ringed eyes swung gleefully back and forth beneath the generous brim of a rich violaceous cordobe styled hat which served to throw his freshly chalked features into shadow among the pools of light generated by the overhead lamps, thus leaving passersby with only a hint of pearly teeth and venomous emerald eyes.

In truth however, the purple silk suit and rich coral waistcoat combined with the polished obsidian cane and sinister sterling handle were far more likely to draw the eye than the Canadian killers own bleached features. They were after all a symbol; the motif of a truly unique and inspiring character whose origins and history had been woefully cast aside in this purportedly 'modern age'. Still, all was not lost, for as long as children were willing to accept candy from strangers there was hope; not of salvation, oh goodness no, but of entertainment, for example...

The sable cane flashed outwards and abruptly barred the path of two diminutive juveniles attired as a knight and ghost respectively. 'Well now what have we here?' The sinister slaughter inquired as he tilted his features into the light and greeted the adolescents with a demented grin. 'A pair of strapping young lads well on their way to mischief, mayhem and misery perhaps?... just nod boys.' This latter instruction was added with a slight frown after both youth's simply remained speechless before following the order causing Hull to beam at them once again.

'Wonderful, in that case take these, after all what is Halloween without tricks and treats? Come now don't be shy, they're full of sugar and other insalubrious chemicals, quite the treat I assure you.' The foreign fiend held out a pair of rainbow dyed, overly warm jawbreakers to the two diminutive children and his eyes danced with malevolent mirth as both youths suspiciously accepted the candies and developed pleased expressions of their own as they tasted the saccharine sweetness.

'Capital, now then I wonder if you two could do me a little favour?' Both boys were abruptly handed a pair of scissors and spun by their shoulders until they were pointed towards an innocuous group of costume goers. 'You see, I can't help but feel that a few individuals are a little overdressed, you might say and could use something of a trim don't you agree?'

A mere minute later Hull was once again on his way, whistling a new yet no less cheerful tune as he watched the youths set about the mutilation of a careless characters costume before idly pivoting away and losing himself amongst the meandering crowd. There would be screamingly shortly, of that there was little doubt, he'd nuked the jawbreakers himself after all and though he would have enjoyed observing the inevitable brouhaha which arose from the sweets molten cores, the night was still young and there was much left to do.

Trick or treat... whoever said you couldn't do both?