Walpurgis Hallow

Night of the Living Jacks

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello?"

"Cindy? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Who is this?"

"Tori. Victoria Adore. You probably don't remember me from high school. I was going into grade 9 as you were graduating. I visited one day and saw you as cheer captain. I just...I need some help, and for whatever reason the cops won't, like, believe me or whatever."

Cindy sighed as she struggled to remember Tori. The image of a perky girl with long, flowing dyed blonde hair came to mind. She remembered that she had a bit of an attitude problem. Hopefully that had changed.

"Okay, so what is it, Tori? I mean, my dad is sheriff, if he won't help you, there must be a reason..."

"This crazy bitch from my school is trying to kill me. Her name is Jacklyn Cain. I swear she's part of that Sons of Jack street gang, because like...when I got to school today, there was this message spray-painted on the side of my locker room saying I was going to die on Halloween. And that's only a few weeks away. I know it's her, because she hates me. She's always looking weirdly at me. She's the only who has any problem with me. And the cops don't believe me because they think this is some massive prank."

Cindy sighed. I somehow doubt that, she thought. Something already stank about all of this. The Sons of Jack were a very real threat, if Jack was to be believed, but everything in Tori's tone suggested something very petty was going on. She had been a spoiled brat long enough to know when something was up.

"Come here today and I'll talk with you."

Tori sounded relieved.

"Oh thank you, Cindy! Thank you!"

"One more thing, Tori..."

"Yes, Cindy, anything!'

Cindy's tone turned to ice.

"If I find anything that stinks about this, you're on your own."

The gulp on the other end told Cindy everything she needed to know.

"Linnea? We're going to have a visitor. Be gentle with her mind, but if she's lying...be sure to let me know."

Linnea smiled warmly.

"I can already tell, Cindy, that this is going to be interesting..."

--

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Alice answered the phone.

"Hey, it's Alice!"

"Alice, it's Cindy. Can you come over?"

Cindy sounded worried about something, Alice noted, and tried to sound reassuring.

"I'm on my way, Cindy. You can tell me everything when I get there."

Alice strapped on her leathers and hopped on her jet-black motorcycle, speeding off for Cindy's house. Cindy rarely sounded worried; this was a sign she needed to get on her guard. Maybe it wasn't a supernatural threat, but anything that got Cindy concerned was a priority for her too. The streets became a blur around her, no cars even around. It was a quiet Monday afternoon, with nowhere to go and nothing to do. This allowed Alice a rare luxury of being able to speed a bit, though she was still careful to not do anything that would upset Lex Valentine. The sheriff was simply too nice to break the law around.