Trick or Treat?

"I double..... no triple..... no I Quadruple Double Dog Dare you TO!" Marissa challenged in her shrill snooty teenage voice, looking directly in my direction as she slapped her hand at mine, stopping the bragging I was previously doing and knocking my gauntlet from my knight in shining armour costume to the ground....

A hush fell over the ragtag group of teenage friends all clad in an array of different ghoulish, heroic, or ironic attire in spirit of the halloween tradition....

I stood quietly in the middle of the foggy road underneath the dim street light as I took in the challenge that had just been thrown in my direction. A moment ago I was claiming that nothing about halloween was scary, and it was a kid's holiday. Marissa being a year younger than me, and an avid lover of all things halloween was enfuriated and decided to lob the challenge among all challenges in my direction.... and that was to go to the cottage at the end of the dirt road....

The cottage was known by everyone in town, and nobody would go past the dirt road... I'd imagine even the mailman would leave all packages and deliveries at the end of it if anything was ever delivered there.... The cottage would be assumed to be abandoned if not for the fact that every halloween, a single orange glow would illuminate the porch. The light was spewed from the mouth of a single enormous jack-o-lantern which served as a lighthouse to trick or treators in the distance...although nobody knew if it was to draw ships to or away from the rocks.

"Well?! Are you afraid or not...?" She spewed with words like daggers in my direction. The group looked at me awaiting a response.

"Alright fine... Fine I'm not scared..... I'll go... " The beta males in the group smiled as I reassumed the leadership role once again making them feel as though their past servitude and admiration was not done in vein. 

I started to walk towards the dirt path. As I got to the start of it I took a deep breath that nobody could hear beneath my knight's helmet...."Come on James you can do this..." I said quietly... and took my first step towards the house.

I turned to my friends and issued my own challenge "You guys better come behind me as well, I don't want to hear ANY excuses about me not going all the way to the house or something!" The group paused for a minute, but then thought it was fair.... they started to trudge behind... keeping a good distance behind me at all times as I strode down the path. My boots caught on untended roots of weeds only a few times, but for the most part the path seemed to be clear as if someone tended to it from time to time. That was weird to me... but my foot ran into the riser of the first step up onto the porch and it interrupted my train of thought. I turned to make sure the group was still following. I then gulped and started up the steps...my steel knight's boot caught on the nosing of the first step... I hadn't realized it but the distance between steps was near 24 inches... "Wow these are tall." I thought to myself as I lifted my leg higher, placed the palms of my hands on my thigh and heaved the remainder of my body up to the step. I repeated the process until I arrived on the porch... A blinding white and orange light spewed from a jack - o - lantern that was taller than me... but it looked to scale next to the large door beside it... "I didn't realize the cottage was so large? but I suppose we just thought it was closer to the village than we thought." I reasoned.... My friends waited at the base of the steps....

"Alright alright fine nothing scares you James let's go I'm sorry I challenged you..." Marissa said in a loud whisper to me.

I looked at her feeling my cheeks warm with the sweet sense of victory... but my personality was one of great ego and it wasn't enough "No no no..... we have to go all the way..." I said with a loud whisper and a smirk on my face... I then took my steel gauntlet and rapped on the door hard....*

*The group was still... and nothing happened for a moment..... but then we heard a loud Screeeeeeeeeech as if a massive chair was being scooted backwards against the floor..... we all were frozen... nobody even breathed.... all that could be heard was the sound of my own beatin heart in my ears.... then THUD ....creak........ THUD ..creak...THUD...creaaaaaak..THUD followed... dwarfing the pounding in my ears with the all too real noise of pouding of something huge walked across the moaning wooden floorboards and heading to the door..... 

I wanted to turn and run but for some reason my armour felt like it was now thousands of pounds on me... and I just waited... The thudding stopped... and it was replaced with the sound of a latch turning... as the large wooden door swung open.... a silouette of a giant

woman stood where the door once did..... she stepped forward .... the giantess dawned a midnight black outfit which seemed to cry out as it was stretched one way and then the next by her outrageous curves .... None of us said a word...... 

She looked at me directly in the eyes and bent down slightly bringing her face close to mine....... and said "Trick....... or Treat......?"