To be read after "Fright Night 4"
Hooray! It was finally Halloween! Jacob loved the holiday. The costumes, the candy, the decorations, everything brought a smile to his face. He went around the neighborhoods with his three friends, Nina, John, and Kamal, dressed as characters from Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! Nina was Nova, of course, Kamal was Otto, Jacob was Gibson, and John was Sparx. Their personalities didn't match perfectly, but that didn't matter. What mattered was dressing up and representing their new favorite show. Jacob spent the whole week leading up to Halloween drawing the characters.
After two hours of collecting candy, the group went to a party. They weren't sure who's house it was, but they had the address and went. When they arrived, they got weird looks. No one else wore costumes from cartoons. Jacob felt out of place, and they soon left. They went to Jacob's house to trade candy instead. They sat on the floor and laid out their treats.
Partway through, thunder crackled outside, making them jump.
"That's weird," Jacob said. "The sky was clear."
"Should we check it out?" Nina asked.
The friends looked at each other. Before they made a move, Jo came screaming in from her bedroom wearing pajamas.
"What was that?" she asked shakily. She ran up to Jacob and clung to him.
"Just some thunder. Go back to bed," Jacob said, trying to push her off.
"Jo?" Mom said. She entered the room with Dad. "Are you okay?"
"Mommy!" Jo cried, running to Mom.
"It's nothing," Jacob said, but more thunder overpowered the sound of his words. Jo held Mom tighter.
"What was that, son?" Dad asked.
"It's nothing," Jacob repeated exasperatedly.
"We're going to check it out," Kamal said, standing. The others followed his lead to the door.
"I don't want you going outside," Mom said. "This storm sounds close."
"We'll be fine," Jacob said. He opened the door before she could object more.
Outside, the wind rushed by, making the Halloween banner whip wildly. The air had a green tinge, and radioactive green clouds filled the sky. It was a different green from strong storms, but it was unsettling nonetheless. Lightning flickered among the clouds. Was the lightning green, too?
"What's that?" John asked. He had to raise his voice over the wind.
Jacob looked where he pointed. In the distance, the clouds swirled downward in… not a tornado but a vortex.
"I'd say that's not good," Kamal said.
"Get back inside!" Nina yelled, pulling on Jacob and Kamal's sleeves. "Monster!"
"What are you talking about?" Jacob asked.
Nina pointed to the street. Jacob expected to see their garbage bin toppled over, but instead, a hairy creature stood on its hind legs. It glowed green and bared its teeth at them.
Jacob didn't need to see more. He rushed inside, along with his friends. John slammed the door closed and locked it.
"What?" Dad asked, peeking out the window. "Oh."
"Oh?" Jacob asked. "That's all you have to say? What do we do?"
"What is it?" Mom asked.
"A monster!" Nina said.
"Are you sure it's not someone in a costume?" Mom asked.
"Yeah, that's probably it," Dad said. He came away from the window. "They're just standing there. I think they're just playing a prank."
"No, it's a monster!" Nina insisted. "I saw it drooling!"
"You'd be surprised at the special effects you can make with costumes these days," Dad said.
Nina stared at him in disbelief. Jacob wasn't sure what to believe. It had looked a lot like a real werewolf. 'Course, werewolves weren't real, so how could that be it?
"It's probably a costume," he said. "Monsters aren't real."
"What about the meat monster two weeks ago?" John asked.
"What meat monster?" Dad asked suspiciously. "I thought you made that up, Jacob."
"I did!" Jacob said automatically. "Um, well, actually…"
"Actually," John picked up, "there was a monster made of meat at school two weeks ago. Now, there's a monster made of fur at the door!"
Dad looked out the window again. "It's not at the door," he said. "It's still just standing at the street."
Jacob went to the window to look. Sure enough, the werewolf wasn't moving from its spot. It appeared lost.
Another flash of lightning and clap of thunder made everyone jump.
"Come away from the window," Mom said.
Jacob and his friends went back to their places on the floor. Dad walked over to Mom and Jo.
"Let's go back to bed," Mom said, steering Jo to her room.
"I don't wanna!" Jo said. "It's too loud to sleep!"
Their voices faded as Mom closed Jo's bedroom door.
Dad turned to Jacob and his friends. "You kids stay here tonight. There's no telling how long this storm will last, and I don't think it's safe for you to walk home."
John, Kamal, and Nina groaned.
"Fine," Nina said.
"It's for your own good," Dad said.
They set up sleeping bags on the floor, and Dad called everyone's parents. By the time they were settled in for the night, the storm had stopped.
"So much for the storm," Nina whispered. "It's not even midnight."
"Who cares?" Jacob asked. "We get an impromptu sleepover!"
"Speak for yourself," Nina said. "You don't have to sleep in your costume."