The Black Heart Crypt

Main Street was packed.

Zack saw vampires and zombies; a headless football player carrying a chainsaw; a cheerleader with an axe in her back; skeletons and ninjas; pirates, witches, and Tinker Bells; and one kid who had stuck two round pumpkins in the seat of his droopy jeans so he looked like he was mooning the world with a bright-orange plumber’s butt.

“This is awesome,” said Malik as they pulled into a parking spot in front of a funky little health food store called the Hedge Pig Emporium. Zack and Judy had gone in there once. They sold junk like wheatgrass drinks, vitamin pills, and sugarless, wheat-free, eco-friendly, vegan carob chip brownies that tasted like baked dirt.

“Did I mention there’s a one-hundred-dollar prize for best costume?” said Azalea. “So when we win it, we split it, deal?”

“Deal,” said Zack.

“Where’s the contest being held?” asked Malik.

“At the base of the clock tower,” said Azalea, gesturing up Main Street to the intersection where the town clock, a massive stone tower, stood. The wealthy Spratling family had erected the six-story fieldstone monument because they’d run a clock company. The clock up top, however, was busted. Its scrolled iron hands stood frozen at 9:52.

“I suggest we hit the candy shop first,” said Malik.

“I like the way you think,” said Azalea. “Hit ’em early before they’re totally cleaned out.”

“Exactly.”

“Um, do you guys need to come with us?” Zack asked his dad and Aunt Ginny, who were still sitting in the van.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” said Aunt Ginny. “None of these ghouls look all that … authentic.”

“Yeah,” said Zack.

“Why don’t you guys work your way up the block?” suggested his dad. “We’ll—you know—hang back.”

“Cool.”

“But if you see something …”

“I’ll say something.”

His dad gave him a loving smile. “Works for me.”

“Come on, you guys.” Zack led the charge up the sidewalk.

The owners of Main Street Sweets & Treats were giving everybody who walked through their door in costume a white bag filled with a half pound of their Halloween specialties: orange-and-yellow candy corn, those little orange pumpkins with the stubby green stems that taste just like candy corn, and Indian corn candy corn, which tasted like regular candy corn mixed with waxy chocolate. One girl who came into the store was dressed like a piece of candy corn. She got two little white bags.

After Main Street Sweets & Treats, the killer “Bs” and bumblebee Zipper (who was allowed into all the stores except the ones that sold meat) headed up the sidewalk toward Ickes & Son Hardware.

“Last year, the Ickeses gave out Almond Joys and Snickers, I heard,” said Malik. “We might want to skip the dentist’s office, however.”

“How come?” asked Zack.

“Last year, he gave out floss.”

“Was it at least spearmint-flavored floss?” asked Azalea.

Malik shook his head. “Plain. Unwaxed.”

“Lame,” said Azalea.

“Totally,” said Zack.

A Frankenstein and a Star Wars Stormtrooper brushed past them, followed by three kids in bedsheets.

“Killer bees!” shouted one of the bedsheets. “Awesome!”

“Thank you,” said Malik, pleased to have his wacky idea appreciated by a total stranger.

“So, Zack,” said Azalea, “were those real ghosts?”

Zack laughed. “Uh, no, Azalea. That was Sammie Smith. From history class?”

“Wow. You have X-ray vision, too?”

“Nope. I recognized her voice.”

“So what do ghosts wear on Halloween?” asked Malik, sounding genuinely interested.

“Well,” said Zack, “most of the ones I’ve met are usually wearing what they wore when they were alive. That’s one way you can tell they’re, you know, not from here or now. They look old-fashioned. Like the people you see in movies.”

The Ickes & Son Hardware store windows were illuminated by an impressive display of a dozen or more carved jack-o’-lanterns. Instead of candles, the hollowed-out pumpkins were lit up by low-wattage bulbs that flashed on and off in a random sequence.

“Pretty cool,” said Zack.

“Yeah,” said Malik. “I bet my buddy Norman rigged it up. Oh!” He reached into his Halloween sack and pulled out the black heart puzzle. “You’re sure it’s okay that I let Norman borrow this?”

“Yep. I don’t think Aunt Ginny wants to play with it tonight.”

“Come on, you guys,” said Azalea. “There’s loot to be had. Let’s go inside and score a few Snickers bars!”