Awesome Force 10: White Tombie Part 5

 

 

Sylvia's eyes were closed as she tried to meditate. The pain was searing in her skull and the five bites around her body weren't helping. She couldn't help but wonder what the transformation would feel like. Would she be able to remember who she was? Or would she become in every possible way Thomas.

She started to quiet her sobs and decided to open her eyes. She could see her arms and hands first, and they looked like they always had. She started to push herself up off the floor and found that she was still the tallest person in the house. She looked over at the mirrored wall of the dining room and saw her reflection. She looked awful with her hair a mess. Her face was glistening from the tears that she had shed, but Sylvia looked like Sylvia.

She turned her attention to Morder who was standing in the doorway between the living room and the dining room. He was holding his head and glaring at her. Morder slowly moved forward and stopped in front of Thomas, the original little boy who had started this entire evening. He picked him up, and brought him face to face. "You should have pierced the skin. You fool!" he yelled at the mesmerized toddler. With that, Morder threw Thomas as hard as he could.

Sylvia dove forward and reached out with her arms. She caught Thomas, turned and landed loudly with a thud onto her back. She placed Thomas down and made it back to her feet. Her right arm came up and with the back of her hand she dried her face. She lifted her left hand and pointed at Morder.

"Now you're gonna pay. Put everything back the way it was, or else," she said.

Sylvia pointed her left finger at Morder when she said this. A flash of light burst from her finger, followed by a puff of smoke. Morder turned and ran. Sylvia gave chase.

He turned down the hallway and sprinted as fast as he could. Sylvia's long legs gave her the edge, as she galloped like a gazelle and launched herself. She jumped up, leaned back, and stuck her leg forward. "Converse kick!" she yelled as her foot made contact with the square of Morder's back. Morder was thrust forward as though an explosion had shot him. He slammed hard into kitchen rack and landed hard upon the floor.

Sylvia landed on the balls of her feet. She stood up and walked over to Morder. A gash of blood opened up on his forehead as he grimaced from the pain. "Turn the Thomases back into their regular selves, " said Sylvia.

Morder gazed up at her and said, "If even I could, I would not."

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be," she said.

Morder rolled over and began to get up. He lifted a hand up and said, "Wait. Give me a moment to catch my breath."

He stood up and looked as Sylvia. Before she could recognize what was happening Morder's left hand shot up and threw a white powder into her face. Sylvia covered her eyes but it was too late. The powder had entered her eyes and began to burn. She wiped at her eyes but it wasn't helping. She started to tear up again.

Sylvia reached out with her hands and clumsily fumbled her way to the kitchen sink. She turned the water on and stuck her head into the sink. She rinsed as much as she could but the water shut off. She stood up and squinted to see Morder next to her. She jumped back but not far enough. The meat tenderizer in his hand caught her flush on the cheek. She spun back into the corner and fell.

Morder started to laugh. He genuinely found this funny. "I believe there was a little morsel of meat on it," he said as he roared out louder with laughter. Sylvia shook her head and composed herself. She used her sleeves to wipe her eyes again. She licked her dry lips and they tasted like sugar.

"Very well," Sylvia thought to herself. "Two can play this game."

Sylvia stood up and threw her hands out. "Sparkle!" she yelled. Tiny dots of light started to form and flew threw the air like confetti. They hit Morder dead in his puzzled looking face. It was now the madman who was blinded as he started to stumble back. He clumsily made his way through the dining room feeling the walls. He made it through and stopped just past the doorway to the living room. He leaned left and tried to grab for the doorknob to make his way out.

A thunderous boom erupted as the front door came flying in. Morder was shot backwards cracking hard onto the wooden staircase that leads upstairs.

Calliope was outside having used his hind legs to kick the door open to Anna and Matt's house in New Mitten. The horse took a second to turn around and came charging in. "We're here for you Sylvia! Are you OK?!" he yelled out.

Sylvia called from the kitchen, "I'm hurting, but I'm here."

Calliope turned and saw her. He smiled and neighed and trotted over to her. He looked at all the Thomases standing in the dining room all in a trance. "What's going on with them?"

"I'll explain later Cal. Where's Nathaniel?"

"I left him across the street," replied Calliope.

"Oh. You said we were here. I thought he was with you."

"Oh, no. It's me and Tempopo."

"Where is he?"

"He's trying to get out of his costume. It's very intricate. He's dressed like a jack-o-lantern, and he's attached to the arm of the makeshift body we made out of plaster. I couldn't wait any more. I had to make sure you're ok," said Calliope.

"Thanks. Keep an eye on things while I wash my eyes out some more."

"Sure thing," said Calliope. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at keeping an eye out when he was in new places. Calliope had never been to Anna and Matt's house. He was distracted by everything new. What most caught his attention was the mirrored wall in the dining room. He walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. He started to hum Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to himself, and to the best of his horsey ability he did the dance made famous by the song.

Tempopo came waddling in and looked all around. "Poyo, poyo?" he asked. Tempopo noticed that Calliope was dancing and went to join him. The two in unison looked like the worst backup dancers ever seen, and that's ok. They were more than happy to live life like no one was watching.

Sylvia finished washing her eyes and grabbed some paper towels to dry up. She walked into the dining room and looked at Calliope and Tempopo dancing. She smiled for the first time in a long time on this Halloween. She made her way over to the two, and stood just to the right of Calliope so that the horse was in the middle. She shimmied a bit as she started to get ready and join them in their dance.

Sylvia decided to take a look and see what the Thomases were doing. She looked in the mirror and couldn't see any of them. She spun around but they weren't there. Sylvia walked quickly into the living room. The front door was somehow still on the hinge, but Morder wasn't on the stairs.

"You guys! They're gone!" She yelled. Sylvia ran outside and saw Morder crawling on the ground. The Thomases were all behind him walking in a trance. She yelled "Stop!" and gave chase.

Morder did stop. He rolled over onto his butt and sat on the grass. The Thomases moved over to him and stood circling him. "If you want to harm me, you will first have to harm them," he said.

Sylvia walked forward meaning to end this once and for all. Morder grabbed the closest Thomas and put a hand around his neck. "Come any closer and I will snap his neck."

Sylvia paused unsure what to do. Calliope and Tempopo came out after her. Sylvia turned her head to the side and said, "We have to get the Thomases to safety."

Calliope looked on not sure what he could. There was too much distance to cover. Morder would hurt the boy before he ever reached him. Tempopo stepped out and said, "Poyo poyo poyo."

Unfortunately, the only one Sylvia knew of who could understand what Tempopo said was Nathaniel. He was somewhere in Morder's house looking for clues on how to fix the Thomas situation.

Morder pointed with his free hand. "What is that monstrosity? And why must he insist on having a yo-yo?"

Tempopo opened up his mouth and started to suck in the air. One of the Thomases came flying over and into Tempopo's mouth. Morder looked even more puzzled. One by one four of the five were swept up into the air and sucked into Tempopo's mouth.

"Please don't swallow them," Sylvia said. Tempopo nodded back at her.

There was still one Thomas left, and Morder had him tightly by the neck. His gaze was still fixed on Tempopo. He clearly had no idea what was going on. "Why is there an orange ball that eats children running around? Surely the constables must be aware of this atrocity," he said.

Sylvia reached into her pockets hoping to have something she could throw at Morder. All she could find was the piece of Morder's candy that Matt had given her earlier in the evening. She pulled it out and showed Morder. "If you let him go, I'll eat your candy," she said.

Morder looked at her troubled. He didn't believe her. "Eat it first, and prove that you have swallowed it. Or the boy dies," he replied.

"Ok, let me come closer so you can see."

"Not too close!"

Sylvia moved a foot away from Morder. She unwrapped the candy and placed it on her tongue. She closed her mouth and started to chew. Morder's eyes grew large and he thought about finally being done with fighting Sylvia.

"Now swallow," he commanded.

Sylvia gulped. Morder let Thomas go and stood up. He clasped his hands together and put that stupid look on his face. Sylvia's face turned blank and lifeless. She stepped forward slowly, first on one foot and then the other. Morder leaned forward and peered. Sylvia opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out. Morder was still skeptical. His eyes widened and Sylvia lifted her tongue.

There,  sitting rolled in a wad on the floor of her mouth was the chewy candy. Morder went to grab Thomas again. Sylvia lunged forward and grabbed his arm. She reached up with her hand and pressed a finger to his forehead. "Mildly annoying poke," she said.

Morder grabbed his head and screamed. "It feels as though I have eaten ice cream too quickly. May the devil curse you!" Morder called out.

He turned to his left and stumbled unable to see where he was going. Anna and Matt's house was located just about atop a hill. The neighbors who lived on the side of them in the direction Morder was heading had a yard that was lower than theirs. Their property line was a retaining wall a few feet high that kept the soil from collapsing onto their driveway when it rained.

Morder moved one foot after the other unaware he was about to fall off. When at last his foot stepped off the edge and he found no ground beneath him, Morder's arms went flailing into the sky. Sylvia and the others watched as he disappeared from sight.

Thomas giggled and said, "Boo boo".

Sylvia realized that he was no longer in a trance. She spit out the candy and ran over to pick him up. Tempopo began spitting out the other Thomases. They landed one by one in a pile and all started giggling.

"You should have waited until you were inside to do that. Come on, help me get everyone inside," she said.

The trio rounded up all five Thomases and brought them back into the house. They managed to put the baby gates up on both sides of the dining room and keep all the toddlers corralled for the time being. "Can you guys stay here and watch them? I'm going over to see if Nathaniel is ok."

Calliope shook his head. "I don't know how to watch kids. I'm a horse remember? We don't make for good baby sitters".

Tempopo looked up at him and then to Sylvia. "Poyo poyo," he said.

Sylvia turned to leave but jumped back in shock. Nathaniel was standing in the doorway at the front of the house.

"Guys! I think I found it!" he shouted.

Sylvia hugged him and said, "Boy am I glad to see you. What have you got?"

"Well, it was tough at first. I thought he might have a secret lab somewhere in the house. I looked everywhere but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I was about to give up when I walked into his kitchen and saw that it was a mess. There were several canvas sacks of sugar. Some of them were open and spilling everywhere. Seriously, this man is about to have an ant problem."

"Nathaniel, what did you find?" asked Sylvia.

"He had his kitchenwares out on the counter. There was a pot boiling on the stove. Right there, smack dab in the middle of the counter was a book. I almost walked out but realized it had to be his instructions. Sure enough, it was labelled a cook book."

"Nathaniel! Focus on the problem, "Sylvia said as she motioned to the five Thomases who were in various positions staring up at Nathaniel.

"Ok, ok. So he was working on a new formula. He is used to making potions, but according to the notes when he tried to convert the potions into candy he was having problems. Somehow he was able to fix the formula so that the sugar would bond with it. His potion could turn people into zombies that he could control with his mind. He was hoping to sell his candy and convert the local community into his mindless minions."

"Nathaniel, how do we fix this?"

"Well, apparently if you knock him unconscious he'll lose his control of the zombies. That aspect is tied somehow to his consciousness."

"Nathaniel, focus again. How do we turn the Thomases back into who they were before?"

"Well, I'm not sure. There is a small section in the book here," he said as he opened to a page and pointed. "It seems like he was concerned his experiments might go awry. If this is correct, and he hasn't finished the formula, then he made it so that salt would break the effects."

"Salt?" asked Sylvia. She shrugged and walked over to the kitchen. She searched through the cabinets until she found a container of salt. "Maybe we better do this one at a time out of sight of the others so that they don't fight us on this."

Nathaniel nodded, and with that Sylvia grabbed the salt, a spoon, and stepping into the dining room, one of the Thomases. She picked up the one dressed as the Incredible Hulk. She took him into one of the rooms off the hallway, sat him down and tickled him. When his mouth opened to giggle, she slid a spoonful of salt into his mouth. He immediately shrieked and tried to spit it out. Fortunately, some of it had already mixed with his saliva.

Sylvia and Nathaniel watched as the Thomas threw a fit. They waited and waited but nothing seemed to be happening. "You know his mask is still on," said Nathaniel.

"Oh yeah," said Sylvia. She took his mask off but he still looked like Thomas. "What now?" Sylvia asked.

"I don't know. Let's go back. Maybe there's something else in the book," answered Nathaniel.

Sylvia put his mask back on and picked up the Thomas to take him back to the dining room. She turned around and started step over the baby gate. She heard a crying voice say, "Why did you do that? Where's my daddy?"

She turned back around and snatched the mask off. The boy who had been trick or treating didn't look like Thomas anymore. "Hold on!" She yelled. "It's going to be ok. We'll get your daddy. Hang on."

She looked at the other Thomases in the room. She wanted some backup in case the child's father got out of hand. She tried to remember which Thomas had been Matt but she couldn't remember. She grabbed one and hoped for the best.

In similar fashion to the last time they tried this, the Thomas threw a fit after being given the salt. Sylvia realized that no matter who this Thomas was they would be naked. She ran back to the living room and grabbed all the clothes she could see. She came charging back into the room to see Nathaniel turned facing the wall and a naked Anna standing there. Sylvia dropped the clothes and said, "Let me try to explain."

Anna listened and sorted through the pile of clothes. She found what was hers but wouldn't put it on. "I'm not wearing these clothes. I'm going to take a shower and get dressed. We'll talk about this when I get back."

Sylvia grabbed another Thomas and repeated the salt trick. This Thomas eventually became Matt. Nathaniel and Sylvia turned around and started to explain everything that happened. Matt rummaged through the clothes and found his. They were wet. "Why are my clothes wet?" he asked as he brought them closer to his nose. "Agh, never mind. They smell like pee." He tossed the clothes aside and said, "I'll be right back. I need to get a change".

Sylvia looked at Nathaniel and said, "Well, I guess we have one left."

They grabbed the Thomas which would be the Hulk's father. She tickled the Thomas, fed him salt and stepped back to wait. Both she and Nathaniel turned to face the wall. After a few moments Sylva glanced back to see an adult getting dressed.

"Don't say a word. I remember the whole thing. I don't understand it, but I remember it. You fighting the guy with the candy. I mean, the guy who makes candy. Not that you were fighting him with candy. I was so relieved to see my little guy crying when you brought him back."

He gave a large sigh. "I have no idea what I'm going to tell him happened tonight. I appreciate you putting things right, but I hope I never see you freaks again," he said. With that he walked out of the room, picked his son up from the dining room, and left the house.

"We should give the last Thomas some salt as well. Just in case Morder tries to control his mind again," said Nathaniel.

"That's a good idea. Speaking of which, I'm going to go check on Morder."

Sylvia made her way outside and walked over to the retaining wall. She looked down, but there was no one there.

She ran across the street and burst into Morder's house. She ran from room to room turning all the lights on as she did. There was no sign of him. Morder was gone.

Sylvia made her way back to Anna and Matt's. Anna was still in the shower but Matt was dressed and downstairs. Thomas was not happy as Nathaniel had administered the salt. Matt went over and picked Thomas up. "I know, I know. Let's get you some proper candy to take that taste out of your mouth".

Matt stopped at the door and observed the damage. He was going to need to fix this in the morning. "Maybe we should just all call this an early night. Halloween is over this year. Perhaps we can try again next year. As long as no crazy people move in across the street. He's not still there is he?"

"I don't think so. He's gone from here, but there's no way he can stay living in that house. I think you guys have enough information to have him arrested," Sylvia said.

"Us? Sylvia, the man assaulted you several times," replied Matt.

"Yeah, but I hurt him pretty bad, too."

"All right. I'm not mad at you guys, but everybody out," said Matt.

Sylvia walked out saying bye. The others followed saying goodnight. Sylvia got into her car with Nathaniel and rolled her window down.

"We're gonna get back into our headless horseman costume. We'll make our way back to IMOQ and meet you there. You guys be safe, " said Calliope.

"You too," said Sylvia.

She started her car, reversed out into the street, stopped shortly to put the car in drive, and hit the gas pedal down the road.

"Are you ok?" asked Nathaniel.

Sylvia shook her head. "That was a lot harder than fighting Glittercheeks," she said.

"It's ok," said Nathaniel as he put his hand on hers. "What do you call a witch's garage?"

"What?" asked Sylvia puzzled.

"A broom closet," Nathaniel said.

It took Sylvia a moment, but she realized it was a joke. They both started laughing. Sylvia was glad she had a friend like Nathaniel.

Michael Jackson · Thriller (Steve Aoki Midnight Hour Remix)

<-- Awesome Force 9: White Tombie Part 4

Awesome Force 9: White Tombie Part 4

 

With no other choice, Sylvia started to push the Thomases away as gently as she could.  Swinging her right arm into Morder's leg, she was able to knock him off balance. Morder stumbled back freeing her to move. The Thomases had all fallen down and began to stand back up without any tears or shrieks. They moved forward again in Sylvia's direction with their arms out ahead of them and mouths opened. Sylvia began to move on the backs of her elbows trying to slide away from them.

She needed to get away and fast, so she rolled over onto her left shoulder and crawled quickly on fours down towards the hallway. A Thomas had jumped onto her leg, but she quickly kicked him off with her other one. She threw out her hand and pulled herself into the hallway using the frame of the doorway. She then kicked off the walls to get back into the bathroom where she made it to her knees and slammed the door shut locking it. She sat down with her back to the door and tried to catch her breath.

On the other side she could hear little hands slamming against the door. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. There were still no messages or phone calls. She unlocked the screen, went to her call log and pressed send on Nathaniel's number. The phone began to ring and she held her breath hoping there would be an answer.

She felt something small brush against her butt, so she jumped forward. Her phone fell from her hands as she looked to see little fingers sliding under the door. Sylvia picked her phone up, stood, and moved to the toilet. She put the toilet cover down and took a seat. While this Halloween was the spookiest she had ever experienced, it was by far the worst as well.

She looked at her phone and saw that it was ringing. Nathaniel's name and picture were on the screen. She quickly accepted the call and brought the phone to her ear.

"Sylvia?! Are you o.k.?" asked Nathaniel.

"No, there are five Thomases now. And the neighbor from across the street is here. There's something very off about him, and he seems to be able to control the Thomases. He's freed them, and they're trying to bite me!"

"Slow down. I'm not understanding. Where did the other two Thomases come from?" Nathaniel asked.

"There was a trick-or-treater and a parent. They both got bitten, and now there are five," answered Sylvia.

"Ok, don't open the door anymore. Keep everyone inside," said Nathaniel.

"I wish I could do that. The neighbor is here. He kept trying to force me to eat his candy. And he's put the Thomases in a trance," said Sylvia.

"A trance? Where is the neighbor now?"

"He's in the house. I don't know where he is exactly. I've locked myself in the bathroom for now," answered Sylvia.

"Ok, I'm not sure what to tell you to do. There isn't enough information for me to figure this out. Text me your address. I'm going to do my best to track down Calliope and Tempopo."

"So you're coming to help?" asked Sylvia.

"Not right away. I'm going to break into the neighbor's house and see if I can't figure out what he's up to."

"I don't think that's a good idea. It could be booby trapped, or worse. I don't know if he's the only one who lives there," Sylvia said to him.

"Don't worry. I won't be alone. Whatever you do, don't let him leave the house. Keep him there."

"I'll do my best," replied Sylvia.

"And you're certain he lives right across the street? I don't want to break into the wrong house."

"You won't be able to miss it. He's got the brightest decorations on the street in front of it. Please hurry."

Sylvia hung up the phone and started to type the address of Anna and Matt's home on McFlintlock Road. She hit send and looked over to the door. The fingers were gone from underneath it, and everything was silent. She knew she'd have to go out and face Morder and the Thomases, but she wasn't sure how to go about it. Her Converse kick had hurt Morder, but poke did nothing at all.

It was all too much like her nightmares. She was battling Glittercheeks again in each of them. Only each night she dreamt of him her poke did nothing. She would wake up in a pool of sweat just after he tossed her into his mouth. While a chill would travel down her spine, she never quite experienced the icicle teeth digging into her.

She shook her head and got down on the floor. She crawled over to the door and pressed an ear against it. There was nothing to be heard through the wood of the door. She placed her head down on the ground and tried to look under the space between the door and the floor. She couldn't make anything out. Taking a deep breath, she slowly unlocked the door and opened it a crack. She leaned forward and listened.

In the living room away from her sight, Morder had the Thomases lined up and facing him. He stroked his chin and spoke softly to himself. "Something is wrong with the formula. They listen to my every beck and call as desired. But an army of toddlers will not suffice. However..."

Morder trailed off into a train of thought. The problem may not be that biting leads to replication. The problem may only be that the initial biter was a toddler. Morder began to devise a new plan. He needed a fresh subject. The last two people to come over to his house and try his candy were a father and his son in some green mask of a monster. Morder stood and watched them cross the street only to be bitten by a toddler and turned into exact replicas of that very toddler. Morder had to get back to his house and hand out more candy.

He made for the front door with the Thomases mindlessly following him. As he grabbed for the door he heard a voice behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sylvia asked him.

"My dear mademoiselle," replied Morder as he slowly turned towards her. "I do believe our evening here is done. I must bid you an early adieu." With that, he clasped his hands once again and made that stupid look on his face. The Thomases all turned and in a frenzy ran straight at Sylvia.

She jumped over them and ran straight at Morder. His eyes widened in shock. Sylvia slammed her shoulder hard into him, and he fell back hard hitting into the door. Morder slid down and found himself on the floor looking up at Sylvia.

Sylvia moved closer and made to pin him down with a foot. Just then, she felt something touching the back of her leg. She turned around in time to see a Thomas trying to bite her. She kicked out harder than she meant to and the little boy was launched back landing awkwardly onto the stairs. Sylvia's hand went to her opened mouth as she realized what she had done. She moved forward to pick up and console the child.

Before she could even realize that the Thomas made no cry, another Thomas had jumped onto her from her left side. He lunged at her neck with an open mouth, but she was able to put her right hand on his forehead and hold him at bay. She walked over to the sofa, and shoved him off so that he landed bouncing on the cushions.

She turned back in time to see the other three coming at her in unison. She stepped around the table to give herself more distance from them, and looked over to see Morder standing. He again had his hand on the door. Springing into action, Sylvia stood up on the table, took one step forward and launched herself at the madman.

Sylvia again slammed into Morder, both parties hitting hard into the door and landing in a pile on the floor. Morder shook his head and rolled on top of her. He held her down and called the Thomases over. As they began to move quickly Sylvia rolled onto her left side. She slipped free of Morder's grasp and sent him toppling over onto the Thomases. She stood as fast as she could, and kicked Morder as hard as possible in the stomach. The man groaned and clenched his teeth as he looked up at her. She stomped down on his head with her foot hoping to knock him out. But Sylvia couldn't bring herself to hurt Morder and there was only enough force to irritate him.

A Thomas had made his way to his feet and crawled over Morder. Sylvia started to lift her foot, but Morder reached out and grabbed it. She put her foot back down not to lose balance. She started to pull her leg to try and force it free, but Morder's grip was too strong. She reached down and grabbed the Thomas coming at her by the hair. She bent over, picked him up, and threw him at the other Thomases knocking all of them over.

Sylvia bent over, grabbed Morder's hand and bit. He shrieked, let go of her leg, and slashed out with his other hand at her face. Sylvia stepped back into the side of the baby gate. She fell again but rolled so she could land face down onto her arms and stomach. She rolled back over and slammed the gate shut. At least now the Thomases could not get over the gate and at her.

Morder stood up. "I can see that you are going to be nothing but trouble. It is quite unfortunate you would not try a piece of my candy. I assure you that your fate would be better if you had," he said.

The Thomases all stood up in line and stared blankly at Sylvia. Morder stepped back and turned his head to the right looking at the door. He then turned to his left and disappeared out of Sylvia's view. She turned and ran back into the kitchen turning left to head for the hallway.

As Morder appeared around the corner she stopped hard and froze. He glared at her as he moved away from her. Sylvia noticed the side door that leads from the kitchen outside and moved into action. She ran at Morder, but he sidestepped her and let her fall. He moved into the kitchen and went to the knife block on the kitchen counter. He pulled a knife out and turned back to Sylvia.

"You are not capable of cutting this nonsense out, so now I have no choice but to cut you up!" He yelled.

Sylvia stood in time to grab Morder's hand as he made to stab her. As the two struggled, Morder moved closer until he was face to face with her. Sylvia lifted her knee up and caught Morder between his legs. Grunting again, he bent over and moved back. Sylvia still had hold of his hand with the knife. She twisted it, and Morder dropped the knife. He smacked her in the face with his free hand and moved back into the corner of the kitchen.

Morder turned to his left towards the kitchen sink and had his back facing Sylvia. He turned the water on moving the handle to the hot water. He grabbed the spray nozzle and turned firing water into Sylvia's face. It wasn't hot as he had expected, but his aim was good enough to blind Sylvia for the moment. As she made to wipe the water from her eyes, Morder turned into the dining room and stumbled towards the far gate that was closed.

Sylvia moved after him and dove grabbing his legs. He kicked out behind him. Sylvia's hands went up to protect her face from the blows. Morder took the opportunity to slide closer to the gate. On the other side the Thomases had become irritated and were now pressed against the gate. They were shaking it and the gate was starting to come loose from the doorway.

Morder made it over to the gate. Reaching up he tried to open it, but just as earlier in the night he had trouble unlocking it. Sylvia stood up, grabbed one of his legs and yanked back. He slid away from the gate as the grip of his fingers gave way. He turned in time to see Sylvia's leg slamming down straight into his face. This time she did not hold back. The front and back of his head felt searing pain as Syliva's foot and floor seemed to play ping pong with Morder's noggin.

Sylvia paused for a split second. She had annihilated a giant, evil snowman. She had never hurt another human being before. Even someone as wicked as Morder she found difficult to cause pain to. Morder took this moment to kick up. This time he caught Sylvia between the legs. While the pain certainly wasn't the same Morder had experienced, it did enough of the trick to bend Sylvia over. With both her hands covering her groin, and her hair hanging down, Morder reached up grabbing a fistful of her locks and yanked down.

Sylvia hit the ground on her forehead with a resounding thud. Her sight went blank for a moment, and when she regained it the room had begun to spin. She never noticed that the agitated toddlers had finally succeeded in toppling the gate over. They came at her in a frenzy and she couldn't fend them off. It all felt so unreal as five sets of teeth came biting down into her flesh. Sylvia called out pain and agony as she feared what the transformation would feel like. She curled up into a ball on the ground and began to cry. Morder had won. There was nothing she could do about it.

 

Spyro Wins! · [♪♫] Super Evil Kaos - MIX - Skylanders SWAP Force Music

 

<-- Awesome Force 8: White Tombie Part 3

Awesome Force 10: White Tombie Part 5 

Awesome Force 8: White Tombie Part 3

 

 Sylvia found that she could not remove her gaze from Morder's stare. There was complete silence as the two were locked in a contest of not blinking. Her breathing was fast and erratic while Morder's was slow and steady. His hand was still firmly clasped around her arm.

Suddenly she noticed his left eye squint a bit as his brow furrowed. He let go of her arm and reached his hand into his pocket. The grin on his face softened to a smile that showed teeth. "Did your husband offer you a piece of my candy? I am a confectioner by trade, and would be absolutely delighted to know your opinion of my treats."

Sylvia blinked a few times as she tried to understand what he was saying. "My husband? I'm not married," she replied.

"Oh, forgive me my dear. Are you not the madame of the house?"

Sylvia shook her head. She began to speak slowly in a confused manner. "No. This is my...cousin's home. I only stopped by to visit."

Morder's hand came out from his black overcoat holding a lollipop. "Would you like a lolli? This one is cherry flavored. However, I am working on expanding the available flavors."

Sylvia shook her head again. "I'm vegan. I don't eat anything without knowing what's in it."

Morder looked confused. "Forgive me. I am not familiar with Veega or the customs of your culture. Unless, are you from Las Vegas?"

"No," said Sylvia. "I currently live here in New Mitten. Vegan means that I don't eat anything made from animals or an animal's work."

Morder broke out into laughter. "That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard of. Besides, this is only a mixture of melted sugar and cherry flavoring. Please, take it. When you find the time I would gratefully appreciate your feedback."

Sylvia began to back off into the living room. "I'm sorry. I'm just not interested. You need to go. Please leave."

"What is the hurry mademoiselle?  Is the man of the house free? I would very much like to speak with him. Perhaps I may even meet his dear wife?"

Sylvia looked past Morder into the dining room. The five Thomases were all standing and staring into the living room. They weren't entirely motionless, but seemed to be very calm for toddlers given the events of the evening. Morder noticed her looking behind him, so he turned and placed the lollipop back into his pocket.

"Ah, yes! The young master Thomas." He moved over to the baby gate. " I am certain you enjoyed my Halloween treat." He stopped and looked over at the other Thomases standing there. "My word. I did not realize that Thomas had identical siblings. This must be a very busy home indeed." He reached down with a hand to pat the closest Thomas on the head.

"I wouldn't do that. He has a tendency to bite," said Sylvia. No sooner had she finished speaking than the Thomas snapped out at Morder's hand. Morder was able to quickly pull his hand back and he began to glare at the little one.

He then clasped his hands once again the same way he did in the doorway. His gaze grew large and intense. All of the Thomases straightened right up and began to stand completely motionless with an empty look to their faces and eyes. Sylvia could not see what Morder was doing. She did notice that the children were all acting strangely and started to walk towards them.

Morder lifted a hand to his chin and said, "Most interesting. Most unexpected. I must rework the form-..."

He turned to his side and noticed Sylvia approaching. "They are all brothers, are they not?" he asked.

Sylvia didn't know what to say. If she lied he might see through it. If she told the truth he might think her crazy. The situation with people turning into Thomas from a bite of a Thomas was certainly difficult on its own. There was clearly something off about Morder. Trying to handle him was apparently going to be more difficult than asking someone to leave. If he knew about the Thomas situation, there's no way of knowing how he might use it to his advantage.

"It's hard to say," came out of Sylvia's mouth. She realized this answer would only lead to more questions. She winced wishing she could go back in time. Or at the least stop it dead in its tracks.

Morder looked confused. "How do you mean? They all look very alike. Which is strange, because when I asked the man of the house how many children he had, the reply was that Thomas was the one and only."

"Well," said Sylvia before running out of anything further to say. She lifted her arms up and shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. There isn't a clear answer."

Morder turned back to the toddlers in the dining room. He studied them some more before asking, "How did this happen?"

Sylvia stumbled her words for an answer. There was nothing that she should say to this man any more. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. There was no notification for missed calls or messages. "What is taking Nathaniel so long?" she wondered in her head.

Two quick, but soft, coughs came out as she tried to clear her throat. "I could use a drink of water. Would you like a drink of water? Right this way. Let's go to the kitchen," she said. Sylvia didn't wait for Morder to answer, but turned hoping he would follow her around the hallway and into the kitchen.

"I am very well. There is no need for a drink for me. I will wait here," replied Morder.

"Oh, great," thought Sylvia to herself. At least she had some space away from him. Hopefully this would give her time to come up with a plan.

As she rounded the corner and entered the kitchen she began to feel uneasy about leaving Morder with the Thomases. She walked over to the baby gate on her side of the entrance to the dining room. The Thomases were all standing facing Morder. His hands were once again clasped in that strange arrangement. The look on his face was again wide eyed and intense. Sylvia started to call this his stupid look, but only to herself.

Morder's eyes moved as he locked Sylvia in his sights. He smiled at her, and then returned to his stupid glare. The Thomases all at once turned around, each spinning slowly to the right until they faced her. Slowly but with intent, arms down at their sides, they walked over to the baby gate in front of Sylvia. They were clearly in a trance and Sylvia looked up at Morder realizing he had some sort of control over them.

"Hmmm," came out in wonderment from Morder. "And how exactly is it, that they all have turned into the young master?" he asked.

Sylvia turned and saw her bottle of water still standing on the island in the kitchen. She moved over to grab it and started to twist the cap off. "What was that?" she asked.

"Do not lie to me. I am aware something is very off here this evening. How is it that there are so many little boys who all look the same?"

Sylvia turned to face him and brought the bottle of water to her mouth. She poured slowly, taking even slower gulps as she looked out across at Morder. She swallowed one last gulp, lowered the bottle, and just stared at Morder.

"Where are the parents. I insist that I speak with them this very moment."

Sylvia smacked her lips as her mind raced. She couldn't think of what to do. The water bottle wasn't completely empty. She took hold of it and launched it through the air across the dining room at Morder. He knocked the bottle down from the air and turned to his left. Sylvia turned down the hallway and ran making the turn into the living room. Morder was no longer there.

She stepped back and looked down the hallway. All the doors were open. She crept and peeked into the first room on the left. She flipped the light switch on and made her way to the closet. Slowly she reached and while stepping back as far as she could without losing grip on the door, she slid it open quickly. There was nothing there. She peered in again to make sure, but Morder certainly wasn't there.

She stepped back out into the hallway. The bathroom was the next room on the left. The light was still on here and the shower curtain was pulled back. She walked over to the door that led to the deck in the back where the hot tub was. The door was locked, so if Morder came out this way he had locked himself out of the house.

She turned and made to leave when she noticed the door to the basement across the hall. She opened it slowly, but the basement was pitch black. He couldn't be down there. She turned left, back into the hallway after shutting the basement door.

There on the left was the final room. She turned the light on and stepped in. There was nowhere here for Morder to hide. She made her way back out into the hallway, turned left and entered the kitchen. He was nowhere to be seen. Just then, she heard a door upstairs shut.

Running down the hall she slammed her shoulder into the doorway as she turned into the living room. She grabbed the railing to the stairs in the living room and swung around putting her front foot on the steps. She leapt three steps at a time up heading towards the shut door at the top of the stairs.

She stopped for a moment at the door. It had been a long time since she had been in a fight. Sylvia was trying to remember what she did the last time that worked. There weren't many options from what she remembered, and she wasn't sure that she was ready to potentially kill another human being. Even a human being as wicked as this Morder is.

She turned the knob and pushed through. There on the room to the right, where Anna and Matt slept, was Morder. He had opened the walk in closet and stepped in. "Come out if you are hiding! I may be able to help your son," said Morder.

He turned in time to see Sylvia and stepped out to confront her. "You need to leave. I'm not asking you. I'm telling you," she said.

Morder laughed and grabbed both her arms. "You can do nothing to stop me."

"I'll call the police," said Sylvia.

"That would be most ill advised," Morder replied.

Sylvia wasn't wearing her converse sneakers, but she kicked out with her right foot and caught Morder in his left shin. Morder let go of her arms and bent over in pain. He shrieked as he reached out with his hands and shoved Sylvia back. He started to limp quickly for the door.

Sylvia fell back onto the bed and forced her momentum to roll up onto her back and over with both feet landing on the floor. She ran over to Morder and grabbed his arm at the door. He turned and snarled at her. He reached back into his pocket. Sylvia had no idea what he might be pulling out. Panicked, she resorted to the only thing she could think of.

Her right pointer finger came out and pushed into Morder's chest. "Poke!" she called out.

Morder straightened up and looked at her. His face softened and Sylvia waited for his ultimate demise. She let go of his hand and stepped back hoping the damage to the roof wouldn't be too bad.

Nothing more happened. Morder was fine. He glared at her and said, "What is this?" He reached forward and poked her in the chest. "What is this poking? Do you take this all for a game?"

With that he shoved her back again. Sylvia tumbled once more and for the second time this evening the back of her head slammed hard into the ground. This time she took a little more time to get up as she rolled onto her knees. She shook her head but it wasn't helping. She'd be feeling this one for quite some time.

In the way that pain often does, the increased discomfort of her head reignited the still fresh throbbing of her shoulder. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. There were still no messages from Nathaniel. "I need to call him," thought Sylvia.

As she started to unlock her phone she looked up to see where Morder was. She stood up and made her way out of the bedroom. The bathroom on the right was small and she didn't see him in there. Across the hall was another bedroom, but the light was off. She turned to her left and opened the door down the stairs.

Morder was in front of the baby gate. He was bent down and started to fumble with latch. Sylvia jumped into action moving down the stairs as fast as her legs would take her. When she felt safe enough she launched herself off the steps and dove to tackle Morder. He stepped back and she slammed hard onto the ground.

She rolled onto her back and saw Morder grinning down at her. Sylvia turned to the baby gate and saw it swinging open. The Thomases were lined up and marching slowly through the gate. Morder placed a foot down upon her chest to hold her on the floor. Sylvia looked up at him to see his hands clasped in the manner he had several times before. She turned back the other way and saw the Thomases all fix their gaze on her. They moved forward with their arms out before them and their mouths open. Morder intended for them to bite her. "What am I going to do?" Sylvia thought to herself. 

Sm4sh Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Kornotex · Dungeon Of Dangers [Super Mario World Castle Fortress ULTIMATE Metal Remix]

 

Awesome Force 9: White Tombie Part 4 --> 

<-- Awesome Force 7, The New 5: White Tombie Part 2

Awesome Force 7, The New 5: White Tombie Part 2

 

 

Sylvia took a few steps back and looked around the living room rubbing her eyes. There were, for certain, three little Thomases where there should have only been one. The original was still jumping up and down on the sofa while the other two were on the floor covered in clothing that was much too large for them. The one in Anna's pile of clothes started crying and holding his arm where he had been bitten. The one in Matt's pile of clothes finally fought his way out and stood naked on the floor.

"Uh oh!" he shouted as a stream of urine started to hit the floor. "Sorry!".

Sylvia put her head in her heads and took a deep breath. She ran from room to room looking for some diapers when she found them in a room off the hallway. She had to go past the bathroom to get there which further reminded her that she needed to pee. There was no time for that right now. She grabbed two diapers and made her way as fast as possible back to the living room.

As she turned the corner she saw the Thomas on the sofa launching himself off of the sofa in an attempt tackle the other two on the floor. He didn't make it very far and crashed onto the coffee table, sliding forward across, and flipping off head over heels bowling over the others. There was now a pile of Thomases and clothing and urine.

Panicked, Sylvia ran to the group and started pulling bodies apart. One of the nude Thomases made a snap at her but she was quick enough to pull her hand away. She stood up and looked around spotting the dining room that sat between the living room and kitchen. Both entryways had baby gates that were currently open.

She ran through the dining room, which had been converted to a playroom for Thomas, dodging the toys and stuffed animals on the floor, and slammed the far gate shut. She then ran back and shut the one between the dining room and the living room. Quickly glancing over her shoulder, she saw that none of the Thomases were near her.

When Sylvia completely had turned around, there were only the two naked toddlers remaining.  The clothed Thomas had ran off somewhere in the house. Far off in a different room she heard loud crying. She ran over and grabbed one naked Thomas from behind under the armpits and stretched her arms out as far in front of her as she could. She made her way over to the baby gate and stepped inside the dining room. Laying the Thomas on the floor, which only lead to a struggle as the wormy body fought to stand up, Sylvia strapped on a diaper as fast as she could. It wasn't on as snug as it should be, but it would have to do.

Stepping back over the baby gate, she ran over to the other Thomas, snatching him up from behind and under the armpits, and laid him down on the coffee table. This Thomas gave just as much fight, but she was able to put the diaper on him. This diaper seemed to fit snugger which was quite the relief. She flipped this Thomas over, grabbed him under the armpits, and carried him over to the dining room where she placed him down over the baby gate.

She took a deep sigh and realized that she needed to clothe both the Thomases. Once again she turned down out of the living room and down the hallway. She was careful to look into each of the rooms to clear them before stepping in to look for clothes. The original Thomas had stopped crying and was nowhere to be seen. "Thomas! Are you in here? Are you ok?" called out Syliva.

She waited a moment, but there was no response that she could hear over the noise of the two Thomases in the dining room. The first room, to her left didn't turn up anything they could wear. She went back into the hallway past the bathroom, once again wishing she could stop and pee. She made her way into the second room on the left where there was another tv. This room was also empty of both the remaining Thomas and any clothes.

She turned back around and saw the washer and dryer in a closet across the hallway. Moving quickly, Sylvia opened the dryer door and was pleased to find that there was clothing in there. The first shirt she pulled out was small, and in the dark light she couldn't see what was on it. Given the size it had to be a piece of Thomas's clothing. She rummaged around until she found another shirt and two pairs of pants.

She turned into the kitchen, rounded the corner, and stepped over the gate into the dining room. Both of the Thomases ran at her and she stepped back tripping over the gate. Sylvia crashed down hard on the kitchen floor and let out a grunt. Looking up at the gate she saw the two Thomases reaching through the bars with clawing hands yelling "Grains! GRAINS!!".

Standing up and putting a hand on the back of her head, Sylvia looked around and saw various containers on the kitchen counter. She squinted and looked at a big, yellow box of cereal. The Cheerios box lid was up and the plastic bag inside was separated open. She grabbed the box of Cheerios and chucked it into the dining room. The two Thomases turned and ran for it giggling. They started to pick up little circles of oats and chew on them as they sat down on the ground.

Sylvia jumped back over the gate and grabbed one Thomas from behind. He immediately started to scream and wriggle in an attempt to get free. Snapping as his head shook back and forth, Sylvia kept him as far from her body as she could. She stepped over the baby gate back into the kitchen and placed Thomas down. She quickly threw the shirt over his head, pushed him gently back down onto the ground, and slipped a pair of pajama pants on. She picked him back up and dropped him gently on his feet on the other side of the gate.

His pants were inside out, and his shirt was inside out and backwards. "Oh, well" Sylvia thought to herself. "This will have to do." She jumped back over the gate and ran over to the other Thomas grabbing him from behind as well. This Thomas seemed to be calm and didn't make any fuss. She climbed over the gate, placed him down, and made a more careful effort to dress him appropriately. She then picked him up and placed him back over the gate into the dining room.

Sylvia leaned back against the counter and took a deep sigh. The dripping of water from the kitchen faucet caught her attention. She needed to pee, and holding it in wasn't going to be an option anymore. She moved forward, glanced around the corner of the kitchen into the hallway, and stopped to look and listen for anything.

It seemed safe enough to move, so she crept as quickly as she could trying to give herself some chance of running if the missing Thomas jumped out at her. Stopping at the door to the bathroom, Sylvia started to do the pee pee dance at the threshold. She reached in and turned the light on. She looked carefully into the room but didn't see Thomas there.

"Thomas. Are you in the bathroom?" she called out. There was no response, so she looked quickly to her left and her right. There was no movement or sound coming at her. She stepped in the bathroom, shut the door, and turned the lock. She had her pants unbuttoned and zipped in a flash and sat down on the toilet.

The relief she felt was great, as for the first time in she didn't know how long she felt a little safer and the tension ease. She put her head in her hand as she tried to process what was happening. She took slow, deliberately deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart. Listening to the sound of her breathing, her mind started to clear a little. She asked herself, "What do I know?"

Firstly, she knew that a bite from Thomas turned you into Thomas. Secondly, she knew absolutely nothing. Placing her hand down on her lap she felt her phone in her pocket. She pulled it out and stared at the screen. "What do I do," she thought to herself, "when I don't know something?"

An idea came to her mind. She unlocked her phone and opened up the internet. She turned, as many people do, to Google for the answer. Typing in "why does Thomas's bite turn you into Thomas" she hit enter. There were 1,115,000 search results in (0.66 seconds). The first result had a link that read "What would have happened if Thomas let Newt bite him...". This clearly wasn't going to work.

"Seriously," said Sylvia in despair.

Her Apple Watch chimed in with the response, "I'm listening."

Sylvia hadn't even said Siri, but she figured she'd make the most of it. "Siri, who is the smartest person I know?"

"That would Nathaniel Wilburn."

Of course, Nathaniel was the smartest person she knew. If anyone could help her figure out what was going on, it had to be Nathaniel. "Siri, call Nathaniel."

The phone rang several times before Nathaniel answered. "HEY SYLVIA!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?", he shouted. There was loud music and people talking in the background.

"Nathaniel! I need your help!" She yelled into the phone.

"WHAT!? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SELL YOU?!", came Nathaniel's voice loudly through.

"No, I don't need you to sell me anything! Can you go somewhere quieter?"

"YOU FOUND A SQUARE LIGHTER?! THAT'S GREAT! I'LL SEE YOU WHEN YOU GET TO THE IMOQ HALLOWEEN PARTY! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR SQUARE LIGHTER!" yelled Nahaniel. And then he hung up.

Sylvia let out a frustrated sigh and typed a text to Nathaniel saying "It's an emergency. I need your help!".

She wiped, pulled her pants and underwear up, flushed the toilet, and washed her hands. The phone started to ring and she answered. "Sylvia, what's wrong. Are you OK?"

"I'm ok, but I'm not. I don't know. It's crazy."

"What's going?"

"My nephew Thomas bit his dad. His dad turned into Thomas. Then the dad Thomas bit the mom and she became a Thomas, too. Are you following me?" asked Sylvia.

"Hold on. Thomas bit his dad, so his dad became Thomas's mom? And then Thomas's mom bit Thomas's mom, and she became Thomas's dad? Are you drunk? Because you're not old enough to drink and you shouldn't be doing that."

"No, Nathaniel. Thomas bit Matt. Matt turned into a second Thomas. Matt-Thomas then bit Anna and she turned into a Thomas. Now there are three little boys named Thomas. There is no Anna. There is no Matt. I don't understand what's going on. But I need to find a way to fix it.

"If I send you the address, do you think you could come help me?"

"I wish I could. I have no way to get there. I'm too young to drive and I don't have money for Uber."

"Where's Cal? Can't you ride him over?"

"No, he's out reenacting the headless horseman ride on Smarmington Ave with Tempopo. He's going to be a while. Can you come pick me up?"

"No, Nathaniel. How am I supposed to leave three toddlers all to themselves?"

"Can't you bring them with you?", asked Nathaniel.

"You want me to pack three toddlers who can bite people and turn them into toddlers into a car? I don't have three car seats. This isn't safe and I can't take that chance. I mean, I have no idea where the third Thomas is. Or the first Thomas, I guess. Please, help me!"

"This is confusing and crazy, Sylvia. Are you sure you're not on drugs?" asked Nathaniel.

"I'm positive! Please, just help me any way you can."

"Ok, Sylvia, hold on. Let me sit at my computer."

She heard clicking on a keyboard as Nathaniel's fast fingers went to work. "Ok, from what I see biting people and changing them is a common trope for vampires and zombies. It's quite possible that you're dealing with something related to one of the two."

"Ok, so what do I  do next?" pleaded Sylvia.

"That depends most likely on which of the two you are dealing with. If it's a vampire, then something like a stake to the heart, or garlic maybe will work. I'm not sure."

"I'm not going to kill toddlers, Nathaniel! What's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just processing audibly. Let me think some more."

There was silence on the phone. Sylvia stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes started to get irritated and tear up as she refused to blink. "Nathaniel! Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm trying to figure out which situation you are most likely dealing with. Is there any drinking of blood? Or shouts for brains?"

"No blood. They have been shouting for trains and grains. That sort of sounds like brains."

"Ok, and can you see any reflections in mirrors?"

"I don't know. Playing mirror time at this moment doesn't seem like a great idea. What should I do?"

"Go grab one, and hold them in front of the mirror."

"Nathaniel, is that even a real thing? Are vampires a scientifically proven thing?"

"I don't know. It's just a shot in the dark while I try to come up with something better. Ok, if they're calling for trains and grains that resembles brains. Let me see here." There was more clicking of keys on the keyboard. "Has Thomas undergone any kind of experiment?"

"I can't say for certain. Nobody mentioned it, and I have to think it's not likely."

"Ok, has Thomas been feeling ill?"

"I don't know that either. It wasn't mentioned, but he did seem fine. And we were supposed to go trick-or-treating. If he wasn't feeling well, I doubt we'd be going out tonight."

"Ok, I have to look some more into this. Let me get off the phone so you can focus on staying safe. I'll come back to you when I find something."

"Fine, Nathaniel. But please hurry!" begged Sylvia as she hung up and put the phone away. Looking back up into the mirror she tried to steady herself more. She noticed the shower curtain moving in the reflection of the mirror and turned quickly around. She lifted her left hand up and grabbed the curtain pulling it to the side. There was nothing there out of the ordinary shower items.

It was time to face her current dilemma so she unlocked the door and stepped back out into the hallway. The doorbell rang and she thought to herself "who could that be?". Then it occurred to her, it is Halloween. There will be trick-or-treaters.

She turned to her right and then back to the left. The candy bowl was next to the front door. All she had to do was place the bowl outside and shut the door to keep the problems inside the house from getting outside. When the front door came into view she was able to see that it was already opening.

Thomas, the one fully dressed, had ran over from wherever he had been hiding and turned the knob pulling it open. Outside was a man and his young child who was dressed as the Incredible Hulk with an angry green mask. Thomas was frightened and gave out a loud shriek. He then dove forward and bit the Hulk causing a commotion outside. The man stepped forward and tried to pull Thomas off of his child. Sylvia ran over to help.

"What's wrong with your kid, lady? Keep him on a leash!"

Sylvia started to apologize. Thomas looked up at the man who held his shirt clenched in a fist. A second bite came and the man yelled. Realizing the attention this would bring if anyone was watching, Sylvia grabbed Thomas and pushed him back in the house. She then grabbed the Hulk and did the same. Turning back around, the man was another Thomas now who was swimming in the man's clothing.

She grabbed this last Thomas up in the pile of clothes and stepped back inside slamming the door shut. She dropped the Thomas in her arms over the baby gate and turned in time to see the original Thomas running at her. She side stepped him, grabbed him from behind and placed him over the gate into the dining room. That left one more Thomas. She turned to see the Hulk sitting on the floor and ripping the mask off.

The clothing was a little too big for this Thomas, but not enough to completely engulf him. He was sitting on the floor crying. She snatched him up and placed him, too, over into the dining room.

Sylvia was in complete despair now. It was one thing to have Anna, Thomas, and Matt involved in this mess. It was quite another to have strangers getting involved. She pulled her phone out and checked to see if Nathaniel had called or written. There were no missed calls, and no new text messages.

Sylvia looked into the dining room at the growing number of Thomases. Thankfully, they were getting along and not fighting amongst themselves. She noticed the Thomas that was nestled in the pile of clothes of the man and realized she needed a diaper and clothes.

Heading back down the hallway she grabbed a diaper from the room they were kept in, and another set of clothes from the dryer. She threw everything down onto couch and made her way over to the baby gate. All five Thomases looked up at her. Some giggled. The others made no noise whatsoever. She realized she couldn't just walk in amongst them and dress the naked Thomas. Pointing to the center of the room where the box of Cheerios still lay she said, "Look. Grains."

They all turned and saw the Cheerios. The group moved in a frenzied pace and attacked the cereal. Sylvia stepped over the gate, grabbed the Thomas that was once a man, and stepped back over the gate into the living room. She laid the Thomas down on the coffee table, put the diaper on, and stood this Thomas up. She quickly grabbed the shirt and slid it over Thomas's head. She didn't pull it all the way down so that he couldn't see. She lifted him, and pulled the pants on. Then she slid his shirt the rest of the way down and moved quickly to drop him back over the baby gate.

She checked her phone again, but there was still no word from Nathaniel. The doorbell rang once again. "Oh great," she thought to herself. There were still trick-or-treaters to deal with. She walked over to the front door and picked up the bowl of candy. This time, she was going to place the bowl out onto the steps and let the people figure it out for themselves.

As she opened the door she startled and stepped back. There standing in the doorway was a man with bushy eyebrows, a short mustache just under either side of his nose, and two strips of hair coming down either side of his chin. His eyes stared intensely at her as he held his hands clasped one in the other, with his right hand palm and thumb pointing up while his left hand palm and thumb were pointing down.

"Good evening. My name is Morder Legenda. I just moved in across the street. I believe I met your husband and son earlier today. Is everything all right?" he asked.

Sylvia struggled to break her gaze away from the man. She tried to speak, but found herself only stuttering. He reached forward and grabbed her left arm with his right hand. Sylvia moved back but Morder stepped in after her, never breaking his hold. He used his foot to kick the door shut behind him.

"Aren't you a trifle afraid, madame?" he asked as a smirk grew on his face. His grip on Sylvia's arm tightened as all she could do was take a gulp. 

Joshua Aldama · Halloween Songs - Scary Music - Evil Theme

 

 

 <-- Awesome Force 6, The New 4: White Tombie Part 1

 

Awesome Force 8: White Tombie Part 3 --> 

 

 

Awesome Force 6, The New 4: White Tombie Part 1

A burly man with long black hair and a bushy beard looked down at the bowl of candy sitting by the front door. His eyes scanned the delicacies wrapped in Halloween themed wrappers looking for just the right morsel of sugar to feed his ever growing sweet tooth. A bright yellow wrapper containing two sour flavored Starburst chews became his target. Reaching down with his beefy right arm, he delicately plucked the small packet of candy with powerful fingers that in this motion looked more dressed for show than their usual work related action of heating and beating.

With a quick tear the innards of the packet were revealed. Two sour blue raspberry squares appeared and he gave out a sigh as the choice of two possible flavors was denied him by Urðr. Unwrapping the first square, he popped it into his mouth and turned into the living room, painted a dark red, where his toddler son named Thomas was jumping on the sofa. "Be careful so you don't fall", he said to the little blonde haired boy who could only giggle and jump harder.

Walking over to the fireplace, he stopped and looked at the small anvil seated on the mantel which brought back thoughts of his wedding day. The anvil had sat atop the altar during the ceremony as the blacksmithing tradition called for. Savoring the sour flavor in his mouth he called out to the kitchen with a smile on his face, "Hey Hon! You think I should start a fire? It'll be chilly by the time we get back!'

"No Matt," came a voice from afar. "We can start one when we come back. How are we gonna leave a fire when we'll be out trick-or-treating?"

"Good call. Not sure why I didn't think of that. What time is Sylvia going to be here?" he asked and resumed chewing.

"She should be here soon. She said she was fifteen minutes away. That had to be like ten minutes ago." Anna came walking into living room with a wad of paper towels to dry her hands. She looked over to Thomas and asked, "Are you excited? We're going to go trick-or-treating. And Sylvia made you a costume. You're going to be a train for Halloween."

"TRAINS!" screamed Thomas as loud as he could. He then moved in his mother's direction and made to jump off the couch and tackle her. Anna quickly moved forward and caught him.

"Thomas you can't do that! You're going to get hurt," she scolded him as he giggled loudly. Thomas mushed his face forward and bit his mother. "OUCH! Thomas, you can't bite people. It's not nice".

"Yeah, he's still doing that." said Matt. "Almost got me like three times tonight. He's quick, but you gotta be quicker."

Matt walked over and picked Thomas up. In a deeper grizzly voice he said "Biting is for food! Mommy is not food! GRRRRRR!"  He pressed his face into Thomas' stomach and made like he was biting into him.

Thomas giggled and said "Mommy, food!"

The doorbell rang and Anna moved to open the door. There on the front stoop was Sylvia holding Thomas' train costume in both her hands. She was taller now than when we last had heard of her at the end of the secret Snowman Wars. She looked down at Anna and apologetically said, "Sorry if I'm late. I was just making some final checks on the train costume".

"No problem, Sylvia. How are you doing? Come on in", said Anna and stepped aside to let her cousin in. Sylvia walked in and set the train costume on the floor. She looked over to Matt and Thomas and waved.

"Hi. How are you guys doing?" She asked.

"We're all right," replied Matt. "Thomas bit Anna, so be careful when you're near him. He's likely to snap at you."

"That's not good. Thanks for the heads up". Matt put Thomas down and Sylvia moved over to him. She bent down and looked at him. He stared back with a smile on his face. "Do you know what you're going to be for Halloween?" she asked him.

"Snowman!" shouted Thomas. Sylvia's face turned serious.

"No, not a snowman. That's too scary a costume for you just yet. I made you a train costume," she said.

Matt started to laugh ironically. "What's scary about a snowman?"

"Oh, I don't know," replied Sylvia quickly. "I've been having snowman nightmares lately. It's weird." She turned and walked away towards the kitchen. "Could I have something to drink?"

"Sure!" said Anna. The three others followed after Sylvia to join her. "You want some tea or juice?"

"No thanks. Water will be fine. So what's new with you guys?" asked Sylvia hoping to get off the subject of snowmen as quickly as possible.

"Not much. Just work and taking care of Thomas." replied Anna. They gathered around the small island in the kitchen with a metal rack hanging overhead to keep the pots and pans.  Sylvia stooped down so she could look at every one. She wondered if they were still thinking about her snowman comment. It wasn't the kind of thing she wanted to get into at the moment.

Anna moved over to the cabinets and pulled out a tall glass. She then moved over to the side door of the house which led out towards the garage. There on the floor was an opened 24 pack of water. She pulled out a bottle and moved back towards Sylvia. "Do you want a glass? Or just the bottle?"

Sylvia reached for the bottle and said, "The bottle's fine. Sorry, I should have told you not to grab the glass."

"No, I should have asked if you wanted a glass. So what's new with you?"

"Just work and school. I'm glad I could get the costume finished. I was worried I wouldn't have the time."

"We appreciate it. But by all means, focus on your schoolwork. That's more important," said Matt.

"I know," she replied. "School comes first. But I was really excited to get this done. I had been thinking about it for a while now."

Matt lifted his hand still holding the packet of Starburst now containing just the one chew. "Would you like a Starburst? It's sour blue raspberry."

"No, not right now. Thanks," answered Sylvia.

"Ok. There's a bowl of candy by the front door if you want something. Help yourself," said Matt as he unwrapped the chew and popped it into his mouth.

"Are there any Sour Patch Kids? I like those," said Sylvia.

Matt nodded his head and said, "Yeah, there are a lot of chewy candies. Not everyone likes chocolate so we tried to get a good selection of sweets."

Anna's face brightened up as she said, "Speaking of candy. Tell Sylvia about our new neighbor."

Matt's eyes got wide as he nodded again. "Talk about weird. Something just seems off about him."

Sylvia chuckled, glad that no one was asking her about snowmen. "What happened?"

"So, he was outside, just across the street. Thomas and I were out front making sure the lights work. We don't want anyone tripping on the way to the front door. Thomas started shouting and pointing towards the street. I look out, and this guy is just standing at the edge of his yard looking at us with this intense stare.

"He's got this pointy widow's peak. And these thick bushy eyes. They look like those drawings people make of birds flying, but it's just a line that curves for the wing. And the other side looks like it's mirrored. Then he has these two small sections of mustache. He trims it like that, and the same with his beard. Instead of a full goatee coming off his chin, he just has two patches on the ends of his chin. The middle is completely bare." Matt had demonstrated with his hands where the mustache and beard were as he described the neighbor. He touched one finger just above the right side of his lip, and then the left. He did the same tracing the right side of his chin, then the left. He placed his finger vertically in the center of his chin making sure to touch the bottom of his lip to demonstrate the bare patch.

"He's got a bit of an accent, so I didn't quite catch his name. I think he said it's Morty."

"Matt. You have to pay attention to people. What are you going to call him next time you see him?" asked Anna.

"I don't know. I'd be ok not speaking to him again. I got a weird vibe off of him.

"Anyways, he invites us over. So, I felt like I needed to go. I picked Thomas up and crossed the street to make our introductions. He's got some sweet decorations over there. The typical plastic and animatronic, motion activated decorations. But he also has some really good LED lights going on over there. A real light show with music."

"I saw that," said Sylvia. " I'll have to check it out when we go over".

"So," began Matt again, "he says he's really looking forward to this Halloween. He's new to the area. He makes candy and he hands it out for Halloween. When he moves to a new neighborhood he looks forward to seeing what people think of his candies. And this year he's got a new recipe he's trying. He offers me a piece so I take it. He gives one to Thomas, too. He then offers a few more and asks me to have my friends and family try it."

"I still can't believe you ate it. You don't know what's in it," said Anna.

"Well, I had to."

"What do you mean you had to?" asked Anna.

"I didn't want to tell you. Before I had a chance to take the candy away from Thomas, he had the wrapper off and ate it."

"MATT! You don't know what's in it. What if Thomas gets sick?"

"Well, that's why I opened a piece up and ate it, too. I figured if Thomas was in for a ride, then so was I."

Anna glared at Matt with her mouth open. She shook her head. He shuffled around in his pocket and pulled two flat, long sticks of candy. "Here, try one, too. What was I supposed to do? Thomas already ate one," he said. "They're kind of like the Softees your parents buy for him."

Apprehensively, Anna reach out and took one. Sylvia took one as well, "I'm not sure if it's Vegan, but I'll take it for now. I'll ask him about what's in it when I see him," Sylvia said.

Anna opened up her stick and took a small bite. She chewed it slowly and pondered. "It tastes very good. I just hope there's nothing weird in it. What if he's making weed candy?"

"I'm fine. So is Thomas. And this was well over an hour ago. If there were something off about the candy I'm sure we'd start seeing it by now. And who calls it weed candy?" He saw he couldn't win this argument so he picked Thomas up and turned. "Come on, let's get him dressed to go out".

Sylvia placed her candy in her pocket, and opened her bottle. She took a sip as Anna placed her opened candy down and turned to wash her hands in the sink. "You need to start paying better attention to Thomas. He can't be eating things when you're not looking," Anna said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know he would open it so soon. I won't let him have candy in his hands if he can't eat it from now on." Matt called back behind him.

"TRAINS!" yelled Thomas and started to giggle.

"I'll be right there. Let me finish washing my hands," called out Anna after them.

Sylvia cleared her throat and twisted the cap shut on her water bottle. "I don't know if he'll understand how to get down and hold the position to look like a train. It's kind of like a Transformers get-up, if you understand."

They heard a shout from the other room. "Ouch! Thomas! Stop biting people! It's not funny!" yelled Matt as Thomas giggled.

"We'll give it a shot. As long as we can keep him in it long enough to take some photos. That's what we really want," said Anna.

She started to head towards the living room. Sylvia called to her, "I'm just going to go to the bathroom. I'll be right there."

"Ok," said Anna as she walked off towards the living room and Sylvia started down the hall for the bathroom. "Thomas, it's not nice to bite. We're not going to do fun things like dress up for Halloween if you're going to bite people." Sylvia heard Anna's voice trail off as they moved in separate directions. Then there was another yell. This shriek was louder and different than Matt's when Thomas bit him.

Sylvia ran over to the living room and looked at Anna. She had backed up into the corner and was hyperventilating. Sylvia asked her "What's wrong?"

"Th-Tho-Thomas," she said and pointed. Sylvia looked to the couch and saw Thomas bouncing around on it. He looked fine. She was about to say so when she caught a movement in the corner of her eye. She turned and looked. There, swimming in the clothes Matt had been wearing, was another boy that looked just like Thomas. He was trying to move but kept falling over in the cumbersome pile of clothes he couldn't get out of.

"Where's Matt?" asked Sylvia. Her eyes grew wide as Anna pointed at the other Thomas.

"That has to be him." She moved over and picked up the second Thomas. "Look, he's even got a bite mark on his arm."

Sylvia moved closer to look. The second Thomas in Anna's arms yelled "TRAINS!" and bit her on the arm. Sylvia stopped dead in her tracks and blinked. She blinked again and again. There were now three Thomases standing in the living room. The original was bouncing on the couch. The other two were on the floor laughing. In unison all three turned towards Sylvia.

"TRAINS!!!!"

Diamond Music Trap · THIS IS HALLOWEEN (Trap Remix)

 

Awesome Force 7, The New 5: White Tombie Part 2 --> 

 

 <-- Awesome Force 5: The Battle for Joshua @^()wley! Part 2: Heavyweight and Still Undisputed

Awesome Force 5: The Battle for Joshua @^()wley! Part 2: Heavyweight and Still Undisputed

 
     Sylvia came walking up the steps to her home with Babcia in New Mitten. Her hands were full with all the supplies she would need for finals. Her Art History II teacher, required her class to write a paper on the evolution of squares through art. Her 2-Dimensional Studio teacher, wanted the class to finish a drawing of the most 2-Dimensional person that each student knew. Her Issues in Artmaking teacher required a paper be written describing the effect of banning red dye 2 on art. Her 3-D studio teacher wanted a 3-D work of your favorite Pokemon. Her Rhetoric and Writing 2 teacher wanted a paper about themes of Where's Waldo?.

    That sure was a heavy workload with only 10 days to complete all assignments, but Sylvia was ready to rock and roll. She placed her supplies on the top of the stairs and unlocked the door. Scooping up the bags, she moved forward, placed them down again, and opened the second door. She picked everything up, stepped in, kicked the door shut behind her, and made a dash for her bedroom. She dropped her things on the floor and looked towards her chinchilla in the cage.
   
    Onyx was hanging back in the shadows, which Sylvia knew meant that there was company. She turned around in time to see Sophie standing in the door. "Hi Sylvia, what's up?"

    Sylvia smiled and waved back answering, "Hi, not much. Just got all my stuff for finals."

    Sophie entered and began to chit-chat for a while before letting Sylvia know that a boy had been around asking about her. Sylvia's heart began to race as she asked who it was. Sophie told her it was some weird boy named Josh. Sylvia was trying to hide how excited she really was, but playing it cool said, "Oh, yeah. That guy. He's nice."

    At that point she stopped listening and began to think about Josh. He sure was dreamy with his dark eyes. The way is hair parted in the middle and fell to the sides was like cascading chocolate. Even vegans enjoyed chocolate given it was the real deal, and not tainted by milk or milk derived products.

    Sophie was busy was talking while looking at her phone, so she couldn't see that Sylvia wasn't paying attention. When she mentioned upon Josh's arrival that she thought he had brought a black octopus with him Sylvia never heard. She simply looked up and said, "Oh, that's weird."

    Sophie left and Sylvia turned back to Onyx who had finally come forward from the darkness. Sylvia opened the cage and pulled Onyx out. The female chinchilla jumped up onto Sylvia's shoulder. "What's the word, Legkilla'?" she asked.

    Sylvia laughed. "Why do you call me Legkilla?" Onxy glared deep into Sylvia's eyes and responded, "Why do you call me Chinchilla?" Syvlia went on to explain that Onyx was a chinchilla. Onyx didn't like this, she thought it was stupid word to call an animal. Not stupider than hoooman, like what Sylvia was, but pretty close.

    The two started to talk about Josh. Sylvia spilled the beans about how she liked him, but with all her schoolwork she just didn't have time for much of a social life. It had been several weeks since she got to hang out with the gang at I.M.O.Q. Her big plan was to have an end of the school year party there, but first she had to pass her finals.

    Only now there was this other thing. Josh was getting pretty serious about wanting to ask Sylvia out from what Onyx was saying. She was hoping it would wait until the next 10 days were over, but Sylvia knew that with boys you couldn't count on having the time you need. She was just hoping that he wouldn't do something stupid.

    The next town over from New Mitten was Cumberlin. That's where Sylvia's cousin Adam lived. Josh pulled up in his car in front of a white house. Inside he hoped to find Adam and convince him to give up his Czaskorek.

    The driveway was empty except for a green pickup truck. Josh hoped this meant someone was home. As he rang the doorway he stood in the sunshine and felt the warm air leaving drops of sweat on him. No one answered the door. He rang again, even beginning to pound on the door and windows he could reach. Still, no one answered.

    He made his way down the walkway to the driveway. He saw a fence that came up only a few feet, so he hopped it to the backyard. No one was out back, but he noticed the back door was open. His way in was barred only by a screen door. He walked over to it and began to knock. No one answered, but Josh could've sworn he heard someone whisper "Ky".

    He called out some more before grabbing the handle for the door, and pulling. It opened and he entered into a small hallway with walls that were green from the ground up to halfway, then became white up to the ceiling. It was dark but the air conditioner was on leaving the room cold. He called out some more but nobody responded.

    Turning to his right he saw a flight of six steps leading to a door. He climbed them slowly, then knocked calling out. Still no one answered, so he turned the knob and pushed the door open. He stepped through and found himself in a kitchen. He could see a dining room straight ahead. Shutting the door he saw a living room to his left as well as the front door. Again he called out, but no answer. He again thought he heard a voice whisper, but this time it said "Ay".

    Josh turned to his left as he stepped through to the living room. That's where he swore he heard the whisper. Again he called out without an answer. He flipped the switch and saw another flight of six steps. He made his way up and found himself in a corrider with five doors shut. There was a knock on the door straight ahead which caused him to jump. He called out again, but all he heard in return was the whispering voice say, "Gah".

    He moved forward and threw the door open. It was pitch black. He felt along the walls until he reached a window. There was a Roman blind covering it, so he fumbled around until he found the cord pulling it up. The sun illuminated the room and he saw a bed with a figure sleeping under the covers. He couldn't risk waking whomever it was sleeping, but maybe he could find the Czaskorek, take it, and settle up his debt later.

    As he looked around the room he couldn't find it. There were several items strewn about but none of them amounted to a ring. That's when he thought that it might be on the figure slepping, if it was Adam.

    He approached the bed and made his way to the left side. He pulled back the cover, and underneath he saw a man sleeping. His face was covered in a beard that looked soft and full. It was the finest fur he had ever seen. A sudden urge took him, forcing him to pet the beard. He then leaned over and slowly made to sniff the beard. He wanted to nibble on it for just a bit, but that's when he saw the Czaskorek on the middle finger of Adam's left hand.

    Josh gently grabbed the hand and opened it. He slid the ring off and dropped the hand. He was about to turn and leave, but he couldn't stop thinking about that beard. Slowly, he leaned forward again. Just a nibble, that's all he needed and then he could go back about his business. He stopped just short of the beard, and took a deep breath in. As he exhaled with his mouth open the beard rustled. Adam groaned as he started to wake.

    Josh turned scared, and ran for the door. He jumped the six steps and stumbled. Unsure if he was being chased or not, he crawled for the front door. He fumbled with the lock before pulling it open. He threw the screen door open and got to his feet running for his car. Getting in was easy, but pulling out his keys and sticking them in the ignition proved more difficult. He never looked back once the engine started. He slammed the gas and drove off.

Awesome Force 6, The New 4: White Tombie Part 1-->

<--Awesome Force 4: The Battle for Joshua @^()wley! Part 1: The Scientist