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CRANKYLAND HALLOWEEN SPECIAL
PART THREE
With the mention of Ender_666, the crowd became silent. The mysterious, eremitic Ender's legacy had terrified CU and Shadowculture CC students for decades...although no one really knew who he was. He was said to be so many things, until the stories had almost reached urban legend status.
"As you well know," Junky began, "Ender_666 himself is a real, living being. But who Ender actually *is* is not fully known. Some perpetrate him to be a harmless eccentric, prancing by the stream and playing his flute. Others portray him as an evil, sinister Troll who preys upon unsuspecting students, viciously murders them, and leave various body parts of them in the woods. One fact remains, however...that a young freshman by the name of Chica vanished at the hands of Ender_666...one year ago tonight."
Now the crowd was *really* quiet, as we all silently remember the petite, almost impish, little frosh with the short brown bob, who had arrived at Crankyland U last year. She quickly became popular in the first half of the term, and was very involved in campus activities--Student Government, Young Democrats, the Crankster Press, and was also trying to gain membership to the honorable Phi Mu sorority.
"On that ill-famed night, Chica and her friend were walking across campus after their night class. While cutting through the woods, Ender leapt down from the trees behind them. Before either girl could react, he firmly grasped Chica, crouched down and, with a bounce, flew back into the night like a bat, cackling, 'Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe..................plinky.................'
"Chica's friend ran screaming hysterically for the police, and although a feverish search ensued over the next six weeks, they failed to recover Chica or her kidnapper. Finally, just before Christmas, a hiker found entrails floating in the shallow stream that Ender frequented...with Chica's bookbag, coat, and hair ribbon nearby."
Suddenly, we heard a yelp and a shriek from the woods. The crowd screamed, but then we heard the yelper and the shrieker giggling in familiar voices, and we then realized it was just skilly and Mr. Wonderful, STILL going at it in the woods. We breathed a sigh of relief and turned our attention quickly back to Junky.
"A year to the day later, the mysterious disappearance of Chica and the legend of Ender remains unsolved," he continued. "But Ender's enigmatic nature and ghastly killing schemes will most certainly continue to horrify Crankylanders for centuries to come."
Boy. Was I glad I hadn't eaten much that night. The mental picture of little Chica's entrails floating in the same stream that I had been wading in last summer suddenly left me extremely nauseous. I hunched over, feeling my stomach twist and gnarl itself.
"Vi...are you all right?" Drew asked with great concern.
"Yeah....yeah, I'm all right," I mumbled, although I really wasn't convincing anyone, least of all myself.
"Bullshit. You look awful. Here, let's go get some hot chocolate," Red said, and hoisted me up. We walked over to the tables, and quietly sipped the hot, sweet liquid side by side. I began to feel a little bit better physically, but the macabre images still haunted me.
"It's just a ghost story, Vi," Red said. I felt hot tears burn my eyes, then my cheeks, and I shook my head.
"No, it's not," I managed to say in a whisper.
"They never actually proved he actually killed her," Red assured, as he put an arm around me and gently wiped my cheeks. "She very well may be alive and well somewhere."
"I sure hope so," I said softly. "I liked Chica."
"Yeah, " he agreed, and then asked, "Want to walk around for a bit?" I nodded, not quite ready yet for another one of JYD's stories. He was a magnificent storyteller, but the Ender story had really shaken me. We sauntered around through the groups as the music blared, spotting Jackal and Amok passed out on the grass at the edge of the crowd, and convenor lying nearby, his head propped over a trash can. geodesy, so far gone she could barely sit up, was doing a drunken striptease for a crowd of drooling, horny frat boys. Pvt_Gump and jen were frantically going at it under a sleeping bag, and making a considerable amount of noise, but they and those around them were so plastered no one noticed. Captain Smith, Veruca Salt and pRoDiGy were telling dirty jokes to each other and laughing uproariously, obviously a little more than tipsy themselves. pRoDiGy spotted us and gestured for us to come over.
"Hey Vi! Hey Red!" she exclaimed. "This suurrre is shome party! I'm sho glad ya got me ta come!"
"Glad you're having fun, pRoD," I smiled, downing the last of my second beer. "Meeting any hot guys?"
"Yeaaaahh..." pRoD beamed, "This one guy named Smitty Marine from Shadowculture asked ta be my date t'tha Halloween party tomorrow!"
"That's GREAT, pRoDiGy!" Red exclaimed. "And to think, you almost pooped out tonight."
"Yeah....but I am shtill madly in love with Davie," pRoD replied, falling a little off balance. Captain Smith was standing behind and caught her.
"Hey there....watch yourshelf, lass," Captain Smith grinned. The four of us continued on, and presently Drew and Emerald found us again and ran to catch up.
"Hey guys," Em said with a grin, "thought we'd join you. Junk Yard Dog left, and the storytelling group is getting pretty lame."
"Really?" I inquired incredulously.
"Yeah," Drew said. "They were passing around peeled grapes and cold spaghetti and telling everyone that Ray Bradbury story, then Fat Jeff spoiled it by eating the props."
"AAAAAAAaaaaaaoooooooohhhhh!!!!" we all said, laughing.
"Oh, well, let's call it a night," I said. "We've got the party to arrange tomorrow anyhow." The group expressed their agreement, and we headed up the hill into the woods to fetch skilly from the arms of Mr. W and head back to our dorms.
"skilly!!!!......skilly!!!!.....C'mon, the train's leaving!...." Red called, as we scanned the dark woods with our flashlights. There was no trace of skilly or Mr. W anywhere.
"skilly....c'mon now, you've had your fun....let's go!..." Veruca yelled out. We were all getting a bit impatient now; it was almost 2 a.m. and everyone (except Redundant, of course), was pretty darn tired.
Just then, I heard a strange rustle in the trees above us. "Hey, guys," I said suddenly. "Did you hear that?" They all stopped, and listened hard. The tree limbs above us rustled again.
"Could....just be...a squirrel or something..." Em said hesitantly.
"At 2 a.m.?" pRoDiGy asked skeptically.
"Ummm......probably not...." Em replied with an ever-so-slight grin, and we all looked around, getting uneasy.
"SKILLY!!!!!!" Captain Smith bellowed. "Git yer ass oot 'eer, ya bloody fool!!!!!
A chilly wind blew against us all, and we shivered. Suddenly, a black, cloaked figure descended from the trees; slowly, gracefully, elegantly...almost as if it were going down an elevator. The towering creature gently touched its feet to the ground and stood before us with a sardonic grin. He had jet black hair, ghostly pale skin, and bulging red eyes. As he grinned, I could spot that his incisors were pointed and stained crimson red.
"Good evening," the figure said. "I am Grundula."
TO BE CONTINUED...
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