Missing--Nya

 On All Hallows Eve when the moon was round children all dressed in their costumes, one by one they made sure to go to every house getting as much candy as they could that night. As the last jack-o-lantern light flickered out the children were pleased with how much candy they received. They went home in glee to see no one was there where could their parents be. As they inched into the house there was no soul in sight, they called out for their mother and father. To their prevail no answer looking high and low they could not find any trace of them. Where could have their parents gone? The children went to go count how much candy they got. Fighting for their favorites the snickers, sour patch kids, and reeses as the 100 gram and tootsie rolls were left at the bottom of their buckets. In a complete candy coma, they drifted to sleep. 

Bang! Bang! Appalled the children woke up still in their costumes to the sound of knocking on the door. It was their neighbor little Timmy. His parents were gone but he didn’t know where and one by one down the neighborhood children came out of their homes in a panic with no parents in sight. All the adults in Twisted Hollow were gone as if they had vanished out of thin air. The children grouped worried and wondering where their parents have gone. Out came a witch emerging from the thick dark fog she told the children“to find your parents you must complete these tasks collect the spider kings crown, the whisker of a wild black cat and the spirit of All Hallows Eve, bring all these things to me, children, before midnight tomorrow and I will assure your parents will be back. If these items are not brought to me on time you will never see your parents again.” She vanished into a cloud of smoke and the children were on a mission to get their parents back. 

The children of Twisted Hollow were set on a quest to get their parents back. With an old map of the town, the children have all heard the legend of the spider king. He lives in the deepest cave in Twisted Hollow coming out only to pray on lost children in the woods. Everyone in Twisted Hollow knows not to go into the woods alone at night If you heard screeching in the woods you know he was near. Following the map and the legend, the group traveled into the woods in a line one by one assuring no one would get lost. Traveling for what seemed like hours through marshes and thick brush they approached the entrance of the cave. “We must all stay together we’ll not make it out alive to complete this quest we all know the story of the spider king we have to work together,” one of the children said before entering the cave with the rest of the group. As they entered the murky cavern they began to hear the faint screeching of the king. Entangled in webs they went deeper and deeper down, no light was able to reach this part of the cave. Tripping over one another they entered the room within the tunnel, hidden in the darkness from the king they edged around the room. Sleeping in the center of a giant web was the king and lye upon his head was the crown. The children knew one movement of the fine silk would wake the king. At that point the legends were true “the spider king is real” one of the children faintly whispered to the group. “ how are we going to get the crown” another child asked. The children soon decided they would take some spare web from the ground and try and lasso the crown from the king’s head, they knew they would have only one chance to get this right. Collecting all the loose spider silk they could find they created a lasso, managing to perfectly take the crown off the spider king’s head. As the crown dropped from the web hitting the floor BOOM! The sound echoed off the walls of the cave waking the spider king. Frantically the children took the crown and made their way out of the cave being chased by a giant black widow. As the light started pouring into the tunnels the echo from the crown shook the unstable walls of the cavern. Once the children escaped a boulder fell from the cave top crushing the spider king. 

Exhausted and amazed that they escaped in the nick of time, the children began to catch their breath again realizing that they had the first item they needed to get their parents back. Now to find a wild black cat which hasn’t been seen in this area for the past 100 years. Searching throughout the woods with no prevail they made their way to Shadow Lake about a mile out of town. Walking around the bank of the lake searching for signs of a wild black cat. “Look over there,” one of the children said as they all turned they saw the first wild black cat that has been seen in years in this part of the world. This large majestic silky creature was taking a drink from the lake when spotted by the children. As they inched towards the cat it took off and the children followed swiftly behind. Weaving in and out of the trees through the thick jungle-like forest. Racing after the cat the children could not keep up and the rarest creature of the area was lost forever. Sorrowful the children made their way back to the lake. As they walked back through the forest shimmering upon a tree was a whisker. The whisker of the wild black cat that they chased through the forest. They found the second item they needed to get their parents back. The last thing the children needed to find was the spirit of Halloween, which stumped them. They all thought where do you find the spirit of a holiday? Night had fallen and the children only had a few more hours to collect all the things they needed to get their parents back. As these children came together they started to think of an idea for what they could do to find and capture the spirit of Halloween. 

It was approaching the time that the children were going to need to finish their quest when they heard a faint screaming sound coming from the air above them, in the distance, they could see the outline of a ghost. As the figure got closer they realized it was the haunting spirit of All Hallows Eve. They found a jar to capture the spirit, but they needed to know how they were going to get the ghost close enough to capture it. The children gathered all the Halloween candy they collected and made a pile in the street. Hiding behinds rocks they could see the figure inquisitively approaching the pile of candy. One child jumped out and captured the spirit within a jar. Hooray! They all shouted triumphantly. They have completed all the tasks just in time. All the children called out for the witch but she was nowhere in sight. Wandering through the town they found the witch conjuring in the town square “have you children found all of the items I have requested?” “Yes, all the children said in unison.” they gave the witch all the items she asked for. She threw them into the pot and whispered a spell under her breath. A purple mist escaped from the cauldron and began to cover the town. Bang! Bang! the children woke up still in their costumes from Halloween to find their parents sound asleep in their room. It was all a dream the children said in unison, they were overjoyed with happiness to see their parents again they continued on as the rest of the people of Twisted Hollow did, and in the distance, the witch lurked over the town as she returned home to the forest. “What a fun game to play on All Hallows Eve, I can’t wait for next year’s challenge….”

The End