Spooktober Stories: Aaron Hyatte

It wasn't fair that he had to take Melissa around for the Eve of Krourin. It was a stupid holiday anyway. His parents hadn't done this when they were kids, he'd argued. But now everyone was, and she wanted to parade around the neighborhood dressed as a princess.
"Dekani doesn't have princesses! It's part of the reason we split from Brightland!"
"I'm glad to see you've been paying attention in your history class," his mother had said. "Now do this. For your sister."
His friends didn't care about the historical facts, but they did think it was stupid that his parents couldn't take her around the neighborhood. That's how the plan was hatched.
Aaron dressed as a Messenger. He did this because it was an easy costume--a hat, some gloves, a messenger bag. But his mother thought it was cute. "Aww, the Messengers used to protect travelers, and here you are, protecting your sister."
"I don't know," his dad said, "they say that when the Calistian gods found people pretending to messengers, he'd curse them with nightmares."
"That's only if they were bad," Melissa said. "They wouldn't do that to Aaron. He's the best big brother ever."
The first half of the night was uneventful. Melissa collected her candy, and they went on their merry way. When they reached Holly Street, he suggested they turn around. "No, we shouldn't go down there, Mel. Not tonight."
"Why not?" she asked, "Doesn't Jeremy live down there?"
"That's why we can't go." He knelt down to get level with her and, as earnestly as he could, said, "Jeremy is a werewolf. If we go down there, he might attack us. He's not the same like that."
"That's stupid." These were not the words he had expected from his sister's mouth. "There's no such thing as werewolves."
"I saw it!" Aaron insisted, "Last year! Trust me, I'm trying to keep you out of danger." He stood up and hut a hand out for hers, as if to turn her around.
"There are no wolves in Dekani," Mel said, as if speaking to a very stupid person.
"Well he's not from Dekani, originally, is he? He's from Brek. Why do you think his family is never around during Krourin?" The real reason was, of course, that they were Mun, and celebrating the actual Krourin holiday, not this commercialized crap. "Fine," he said, pretending exasperation, "We'll go down Holly Street. But if you get attacked, it's your own fault."
The first few houses were, again, uneventful. But as they drew close to Jeremy's house, one of the bushes rustled in the darkness. Melissa jumped. She paused, looking at it, and then at her brother. Aaron gave her his best I-told-you-so look. But Mel decided she wasn't scared. She kept walking. And then it happened.
From out of the bush came a snarling animal, at least as big as Aaron himself. Melissa froze, dropping her bag of candy. For a moment, the animal sat low to the ground, continuing to growl in its throat. Then it made a dash at Aaron's sister, who ran back the way they can come, screaming.
Aaron burst out laughing. This was not Jeremy, who was at temple with his parents. This was another friend who had devised a costume out of an old fur coat he had found in a store. It was surprisingly realistic, too."That was great, man." Aaron approached the fake werewolf, who did not stand.
"Hey, we scared her. It's over." His friend continued to crouch and was beginning to snarl again."Okay. I better go find her. Mom and dad will kill me if she gets home without me." He looked at the bag of candy on the ground. As he reached down to pick it up, his friend lunged at him, grabbing his arm. Aaron screamed in pain. "What the Hell?" He shook the other boy off. But he wasn't a boy. He was an actual wolf, yellow eyes flashing as it snarled at him, preparing to attack again. Aaron could see drops of blood on the street where it had bit him. But there were no wolves in Dekani.
Aaron ran. He didn't scream as Mel had, but he flew as quickly as he could to the corner. He would have gone all the way home, except she was sitting in the mud on the corner, crying. Her pants had been torn, and her crown was on the street a few feet away. She had probably fallen.
Aaron was about to grab her when he heard a familiar voice from Holly Street. "Hey man, where you going?" He looked up. There was no wolf, just his friend in a fur coat, with a mask perched on his head. Aaron's arm didn't hurt anymore. He looked down. No blood, no bite marks.
His sister stood up, wiping her face on her sleeve. "You're the worst big brother ever." As she yanked the candy bag from his hand, her eyes seemed to flash yellow, just for a moment, a moment that would give him nightmares for years to come.