THE MOMENT
"I could get used to this," Terry grinned to himself as a cool breeze washed over him. The sun was low, the sky was purple, and the neighborhood seemed active. It was going to be his first night in the new home, and he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of neighbors out and about on a random Thursday evening. At least, it was pleasant for just a brief moment until his gaze landed on a home across the street and two houses over. A cloaked figure with a mishapen head knocked on the door and when it opened, the creature rushed in while the homeowner let out a scream of fright, and the door slammed shut.
It was loud enough for him to hear the startled yell, but no one seemed concerned. And, on closer inspection, the faces of the people he could see looked wrong, and almost grotesque. Something wasn't right; then, someone spotted him and pointed with human laughter.
Terry wasn't a brave man, and he was inside his house two seconds after they noticed him. He braced himself against the door while Justice smiled at him. She'd been preparing things inside the house while he went to go look outside.
"Do not go outside." Terry explained as soon as she tilted her head at his odd behavior. He had his arms spread as if preventing the door from opening. He was sure the beings he saw were approaching the door. "I repeat, DO NOT GO OUTSIDE, no matter how human they sound." He tried waving Justice into action. "Barricade all doors, turn off the lights, stay in where nobody can find you, and pray," he said. He realized he didn't want to be standing right at the door without knowing what they could do. He bolted past Justice to hide in the den where there were no windows.
"What are you talking about?" Justice asked with a calm smile. She moved toward the door and Terry had to say something.
"Good luck, because that's the only thing keeping you from whatever's on the other side of the door," he said. Then, the doorbell rang as Justice reached the door.
"TRICK OR TREAT!" a chorus of young voices shouted from behind the door and Justice reached for the handle.
"DON'T!!!!!!" Terry tried to stop her without actually moving any closer.
"Awww, you guys are adorable!" Justice smiled as she opened the door. She pretended to reach for something behind the door with both hands, and came back with a bowl of candy. From Terry's point of view, he saw her reach into a black hole to retrieve the bowl, but that wasn't anything new anymore; he was technically in a different universe than the one he was born in. "One handful for each of you," she said as the children all reached into the bowl.
The scene lasted for several seconds as the children grabbed candy, then peeled off from the group until the last one, a small girl dressed as a vampire grabbed a handful.
"Thank you!" she said; she was the only one who did.
"Nice manners and small hands?" Justice smiled. "Go ahead and take another handful." she offered. The girl gladly accepted with another 'thank you' as she left. Justice closed the door and set the bowl of candy down to smile at Terry.
"So, you didn't have Halloween on your Earth, huh?" she asked.
"I don't know what that is...," he shook his head.
"You'll love it," she said. "It's a great night to meet your neighbors," she added as she opened a portal.
"Wait.. where are you going?" Terry asked.
"To get you a costume," she smiled. Then, the doorbell rang again.
"TRICK OR TREAT!" He looked at Justice with a panicked expression and she nodded.
"It's fine," she pointed at the bowl. "Just open the door and give them candy. I'll be back in a flash."
"Okay, I can do that...," Terry nodded to himself. He was planning to make a life in this alternate universe and he had to learn how to get along with their traditions. He grabbed the bowl, opened the door and almost fainted.
An adult werewolf was accompanying two werewolf children, a wolf boy dressed as a pirate and wolf girl dressed as a princess all smiled at him.
"Hey, welcome to the neighborhood, neighbor," the adult werewolf said with a gruff, gravelly voice while the children collected candy.
"Thanks," Terry nodded, still rather unsure. They looked like real-life werewolves more than just a cheap costume, but they'd been pleasnt. He was about to close the door when he spotted a family of vampires approaching. And again they were obviously vampires, but in costume as something else. The three vampiric children were a baseball player, a ninja, and a knight while the father was wearing a bulky mascot costume that resembled a head of garlic.
"Trick or treat!" the children said with glowing red eyes and bared fangs. Terry put on a smile, let them take the candy, and he was relieved when they finally left. He had a moment to close the door and catch his breath. "This is going to take some getting used to."