by Lance O. Redding -
(Click here to read Part I before beginning this half of the story!)
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David and Sally changed quickly and tromped down the stairs and into the kitchen. Monster David was a lumpy sort of dragon with red fuzzy fur, like the fuzz on a tennis ball. But red, not green. Monster Sally was taller and skinnier and had beautiful scaly wings. And she was blue.
“Your costumes look great, kids!” said their human mother with a wink. Not many humans knew about their secret, but mom and dad did.
“Now, you know the rules,” she continued. “If someone likes your costume, say ‘Thank You very much’. If they want to feel it, say, ‘No, Thank You. Our mother says it’s very fragile and will come apart easily.’ And if you see anyone looking at you too closely, just keep moving and go to the next house. Have fun trick-or-treating!”
And with that, they were off!
David was so excited that he ran down the driveway to the road, ran back to Sally, ran to the road and back five times before Sally was even down the stairs. David was a special Monster who could run faster and longer than most other monsters. Sally was jealous. Her special gift was flying. Not many Monsters had wings. And of the ones that did, only a few of them could actually fly. She loved flying, but it was a rare thing when she was able to get far enough away from humans that she could actually do it.
When they came to the first house, Mrs. Johnson opened the door with a big smile. “Hello, David and Sally! I knew it would be you! You’re always the first kids to come knocking, you know. My, your costumes look wonderful! It amazes me how your mother can make the same costumes bigger and bigger each year. But why don’t you try being superman next year, David? Or you could be a princess, Sally.”
David and Sally just nodded their heads. Mrs. Johnson was a talker, and the longer they could keep her talking, the more candy she would put in their bags.
Sally noticed a movement behind the hedges. She turned to look but couldn’t see anything. She also felt she was being watched, but couldn’t see anyone. Maybe it was one of the Knights? She told herself that must be it. Surely they would be extra protective tonight.
House after house, the comments were all the same. “My, what wonderful costumes! You look amazing! Where did you get those fantastic costumes?”
Sally tried to get into the spirit and tried to have fun, but the further they went, the more the feeling grew inside her that they were being watched. And the more she felt it, the more sure she was that they were not being watched by the Knights. If what David had said were true, the Knights had been watching over them for years and she had never felt it. But she felt it now, and it felt wrong. It felt dangerous!
“Why do the Hunters want us, anyway?” she blurted. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but now that she said it, she knew she really did want to know the answer.
David stopped mid-stride and looked at his sister. “I don’t know, Sis,” he said. He thought about leaving it at that, but his sister was obviously distressed and he knew something was bothering her. “At least, I’m not sure. When I ask that question to the Elders, all they tell me is a big pile of nothing. Which means that there really is a reason, and they know it. It had something to do with Mom and Dad, though. Our real ones. When the evil King kidnapped them and took them into the forest, he promised he’d come back and find us, too. Maybe it has something to do with our gifts; how we can do things that most other monsters can’t.”
Sally nodded. She knew that they were special – or, at least, that’s what other Monsters had said. Maybe the Evil King was jealous and wanted their special gifts for himself?
They rounded a corner to the next house when a lone figure walked up to them from the other direction. He must be a parent, thought Sally, but where are his kids? As they got closer, though, they recognized him.
“What are you doing here, Mr. Gorgonheim?” asked David.
“What beautiful costumes you have, children. But I’m afraid your trick-or-treating is over for the night. You forgot your detention for the day. Come with me.” He grabbed the children each by the wrist and forced them to walk with him.
“Huh?” said David. “We don’t have detention today. Let me go. You’re hurting me!”
Something feels very wrong here! Thought Sally. She jerked back and kicked Principal Gorgonheim in the shin.
“Ow!” growled the principal. The sound was a deep, guttural sound and a blueish smoke came out of his mouth. It smelled awful.
Suddenly, David knew what was happening! “Run!” he commanded Sally, as he grabbed her by the hand. But Mr. Gorgonheim was faster. He grabbed them both again and held tight.
“You’re not getting away that easily, you little Human kids.” (Which was really an insult in the dragon world, just like if someone called you a little monster!) He held onto them and sped up his pace as they walked away from the last house on the street and toward the corner. If they didn’t get away before going around that corner with the tall hedges, they would be out of sight of all the other trick-or-treaters and parents!
David knew he had to do something fast. His mind raced, but all he could think about was Principal Gorgenheim and the blue smoke. Somehow, Mr. Gorgonheim was a Hornathum Hunter in disguise! Only Hornathum Dragons could breathe a blue smoke. That, and the smell, was what gave it away. Why hadn’t he ever noticed it before, he wondered?
They got closer and closer to the tall hedges and as they rounded the corner, David knew they were out of hope.
Bang! Crash!
Mr. Gorgonheim ran straight into a group of trick-or-treaters. Buckets went flying, kids went sprawling, and candy fell out onto the sidewalk everywhere. And in particular, one chocolate candy bar that a child had been eating fell to the ground, unwrapped. The smell hit David, Sally and Mr. Gorgonheim at the same time. Sally plugged her nose, but David and Mr. Gorgonheim jumped for the candy and wrestled on the ground. Mr. Gorgonheim won and shoved it in his mouth. Sally grabbed David as Mr. Gorgonheim was transfixed in the Candy Spell.
They ran away as fast as Sally could run. David wished he could let her fly away, but it was still too light. Maybe Mr. Gorgonheim was alone? Maybe the other Hunters weren’t close by? Even as he thought it, he knew it wouldn’t be true. But where were the Knights?
They ran and ran, turning corners here and corners there, in a desperate attempt to get away from Mr. Gorgonheim and the other Hunters. Maybe no one had followed them. Maybe no one knew where they went. They even cut through a couple of backyards just to make sure.
David could have kept running, but he knew his sister couldn’t keep it up. She was panting hard and needed a rest. He slowed to a walk, and just then, they heard a voice from behind that made them jump.
“David, Sally! Hey guys, wait up!” It was their friend, Roger. And it looked like the whole gang of friends was with him. David cringed. He didn’t want anyone calling out their names and bringing attention to them. If only they could find some other costumes to put on!
Meanwhile, Sally was also formulating a different plan.
As their friends got closer, Roger realized something was wrong. “Hey guys, what’s going on? Why are you panting so hard? Is everything okay?”
“No,” said Sally, before David could stop her from talking. “We’re being chased. We need your help!”
Roger nodded. He and the other kids all gathered in a huddle. Sally laid out the plan, and though their friends didn’t understand all of it, they trusted David and Sally and were determined to help them.
Marcy piped up and said, “Let’s go to my house. It’s closest and my mom has a lot of candy. She hasn’t even started giving it out yet. She always waits until dark.”
“Perfect,” said David.
“And we’ll go get some more candy,” said Joey.
They split up, with David, Sally and Marcy going to her house, and the other kids going after more candy.
Where are those Knights? David wondered, again.
They got to Marcy’s house, and the other kids showed up just ten minutes later, each with big bags or buckets of candy. David was sure there were a lot of mad parents out there right about now (the only place they could get that much candy on such short notice was by taking it from all the kids and houses… but this was more important, and right now they needed the candy a lot more than human kids did. Still, David felt sad for all the kids who had just had their candy taken away!)
All the candy got dumped into the middle of the floor. David knew the hardest part was coming. The candy had to get unwrapped now. Could he resist the smell? Just that one chocolate bar on the sidewalk had been too much to resist. How could he do it now?
Sally handed him an onion. “Bite it,” she commanded.
“Awww,” David groaned. “Do I have to?”
Just then they heard a loud bang outside the house. A kid peeked out and shouted, “Hey, there’s a battle going on in the front yard!”
They rushed to the windows, and sure enough, there was what looked to be hundreds of Hornathum Hunters approaching the house. And finally, David got to see his warriors. There were twelve of them standing in circle around the house. They were a head taller than the Hornathum Dragons and they were much broader and wider. They looked like they were strong enough to stop a train! Each one carried a special club. Killing in the Realm was absolutely forbidden, so Monster Wars or fighting was always with a club. If the enemy was knocked unconscious, they could be captured and taken prisoner.
But David’s excitement in seeing the Knights soon turned to horror as he watched them being knocked unconscious, instead of the Hornathum Hunters. Oh, there were many Hunters who were also knocked unconscious. But for every Knight, there were ten or twenty hunters. There were just too many to fight, and the Knights fell one by one.
If the Knights couldn’t stop the Hunters, did David and Sally really have a chance? Could their plan work?
Sally took a bite of the onion and handed it to David. He took it and she nodded her head. The smell of the onion was already powerful, but he knew he had to take a bite, too. So he bit the onion and it crunched in his mouth. The powerful juices filled his mouth and the taste and smell overpowered his senses.
He nodded to the kids and they began unwrapping the candy as fast as they could.
BANG! Something crashed against the front door.
BANG! CRASH! SMASH!
A window somewhere upstairs shattered.
KAPOW! The front door burst in. Splinters and chunks of wood flew everywhere. Windows burst and even walls of the house broke down as the Hornathum Hunters forced their way into the house.
The children were frightened, but they watched David for his command.
As the Hornathum Hunters approached closer and closer, David yelled, “NOW!”
Roger flipped a switch and the lights came on. A huge pile of unwrapped candies and chocolates stood in the middle of the room. Marcy turned the fans on and the smell of the sweets wafted quickly through the air.
The effect was immediate. The Hunters froze in shock, and then ran together toward the large mound of candy. Roger and his friends pushed the candy down the stairs and into the basement and all the Hunters went tumbling over each other and down the stairs as they scrambled to be the first to taste of the wonderful sweets.
When the last one was down, Marcy swung the door shut and locked the deadbolt. The other kids pushed the couches and other large furniture in front of the door.
Sirens could be heard in the distance. The cops would be there any minute, and David knew these Hornathum Hunters were going to have a very difficult time explaining themselves to a bunch of policemen. They were all going to prison for trying to kidnap two kids!
A moan came from the front yard as one of the Knights pushed himself to a sitting position. He held a hand to his head and looked around. As his eyes focused on David and Sally, he immediately came to.
“Sire,” he said, speaking to David. “We have failed you. Please forgive us, Your Emminence.” And looking to Sally, he said, “I beg your pity and kindness, dear Lady of the Realm.” He knelt before them and bowed his head.
David looked at Sally and she looked back at him. What was this guy talking about, they wondered? He must have been hit a bit too hard on the head.
Roger, Marcy and all their friends gathered around in excitement. The girls hugged each other and the guys gave each other high-fives. And Roger pulled out a few extra candies he had saved and gave one to each of the kids in the circle. David and Sally laughed and ate their candy with delight! It was the only candy they got that Halloween, but it tasted sweeter than any they had ever eaten before.
The End.
At least, it’s the end of that episode in the Adventures of David and Sally! If you’re lucky, and you are a good girl or boy and brush your teeth, listen to your parents, and do all your chores, maybe you’ll get to hear some more of David and Sally’s adventures in the near future!
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