DISCLAIMER:
The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone alive or dead are purely coincidental. This work is intended for mature audiences 18+ and may contain language, references to sex, and other objectional material that may not be allowed in certain areas. You have been warned.
NOTICE:
This is the first story I have written for Nifty and the first story I have written by myself. My dear friend Tom and I would write together years ago, though to be fair, I would talk about the story directions and characters while Tom would bring my crude descriptions to Life.
Thanks Tom for your friendship and efforts. Hope you are having many adventures RIP. This story came to me a few days ago and hope you enjoy in spite of my many writing errors. Thanks - Dond
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Halloween for many is just a day to dress up, trick or treat, eat junk and hang with friends and family. For a select group however, it is a night of deadly fighting the evil in the world.
Jacob was puzzling what to wear this year for Halloween. His high school friends weren't usually into dressing up, but this year seemed different somehow. James, age 15, was going as an elf though he was a little taller than most of his classmates. Mira, age 15, was going as a race car driver with her lovely long blonde hair. Tom, also age 15, was going as an Ork. He is the shortest of the group and wanted to look tall and ugly, even though he is the handsomest of the group Jacob thought.
Jacob, age 15, was torn between going as a bad-ass nerd or a knight, but decided knight was best for him. Nerd was his usual day-to-day dress anyway, though bad-ass did have certain appeal. His mom could help with the costume, but this year he wanted to do more of it himself. He wanted a simple knight costume without a suit of armor, but with a cool looking helmet, chainmail to protect his shoulders and chest and a sword, though not sharp or dangerous. His mom would make the shirt and pants. Jacob found a cool rubber sword and even plastic chainmail at a pop-up Halloween store, but the helmet for sale was pretty lame looking and he decided to look elsewhere.
He happened to notice a store at the end of the strip mall he had never been to claiming to sell odds and ends. Jacob thought a knight's helmet seemed pretty odd and decided to enter the shop noticing a small sign in the window saying help wanted. An old man with a long white beard approached him and asks if he was there to help.
Jacob replied "no, I'm just a sophomore in high school kid".
The old man smiled and said quietly to himself "with a pure heart".
Jacob explained that he was dressing up for Halloween and needed a knight's helmet for the costume.
The old man said "of course, come this way".
The old man led him to the back of the store and opened a very old looking wardrobe cabinet. In the cabinet was mostly old nick knacks and such, but in the back corner was a cloth covered round shape. The old man extracted the article, removed the cloth and lo and behold there was a brown metal helmet that looked really old, but definitely bad-ass to Jacob.
Jacob said "cool!". The old man snickered.
Jacob asked if could try it on.
The old man said "sure".
Taking the helmet in his hands, it initially felt cold, but within seconds it seemed warm. Placing the helmet on his head, the helmet covered Jacob's head and was surprisingly light. It had a movable guard that protected his eyes, nose and mouth. The helmet fit perfectly and didn't smell funny, but Jacob thought he could hear a low humming initially or maybe an echo but it faded away. Jacob thought the helmet was perfect. Now could he afford it?
Jacob asked "how much?". The old man got a strange faraway look on his face and said "It is not mine to sell. It belongs to a friend who I have not seen in a long time".
Jacob thought "oh no, the guy is trying to justify a higher price by pretending he doesn't want to sell".
Jacob removed the helmet.
"However," the old man said looking more normal now,
"I will sell it to you for $20 plus you must make me a promise".
"What kind of promise " Jacob asked leerily.
The old man scratched his beard as if in deep thought and said " As a knight on Halloween you must perform at least one good deed that comes from your heart".
Jacob pondered only for a moment and said "sure"
and offered his hand to show it was a deal. The old man shook his hand and proceeded to box up the helmet and Jacob gave him the $20.
The old man said "good luck with your good deed and have a happy birthday"
as Jacob left the store, he thought the guy was weird and wondered how he knew about his upcoming birthday.
In a lavish hotel, surrounded by many layers of staff and security, The old man rested. The last two years plus had been tiring, but the end was in sight. If all went according to the boss's plan, he would reclaim his old job as promised and this time there would nothing holding him back. The old man never saw his boss, but the boss was always able to find him no matter where he was or what he was doing.
The boss had been in the old's man life for as long as he could remember except maybe when he was just a kid. The old man's father had initially introduced him to the boss when he was in college. Through the years the boss would call up and tell the old man who he should date, who he should marry or divorce, what investments to buy or sell. Some investments turned out bad, but others flourished. The old man had done pretty well in his life following the boss's advice. Sometimes the old man would wonder how life could have been if he had a conscious, but as honorable men go, he was near the bottom of the barrel.
Besides being a slimy business man, he has little respect for woman, using his power and money to attract woman and sexually assault them without little consequence. If the woman complained, he would deny any impropriety claiming he did not know them and they were just after his money and fame. Lawyers and a little money was always helpful in keeping them quiet.
A day before Halloween, the boss called and said don't go anywhere for the next two days".
The old man just exploded. He was planning on seeing a local mistress and hadn't had any sexy female company for a few days. The boss tried to explain it was really dangerous for him this time of year and to lay low. The old man could not believe it. Nobody could do anything to him and he had powerful friends who would help in a moment's notice. He thought the boss was just trying to control him just for the fun of it. Plus the old man liked going out in public and being admired. The boss also exploded and said how he had helped the old man all these years and owed him. The old man was the one who took the slings and arrows for what he did, not the boss. Who did the boss think he was and the old man hung up. Giving instructions to his staff not to forward any calls from the boss for the next two days. The old man would show him who was in charge.
Halloween morning and Jacob was awoken by his mom and sister Lori wishing him a happy birthday. He got up and showered then went into the kitchen where is mom had prepared his favorite breakfast of French toast and bacon. After breakfast his mom took off for work while he and Lori changed into their costumes and caught the bus to school. All the other kids on the bus were wearing their costumes as well. The school has a Halloween pageant in the afternoon with awards given for the best costumes and snacks are provided. This year the school announced that a special guest has been invited to speak to them and the costume award winners would get a chance to talk with the special guest.
Arriving at school, Jacob was amazed how fun his friend's costumes are. James looks so cool in his Elf costume including the pointed ears. Mira is wearing a blue jumpsuit plastered with car logos and has a dented crash car helmet completing her race car uniform. Tom's Orc is fantastic with the shredded dirty looking clothes, grayish looking makeup, horrible fake teeth and wearing boots making him taller. They like Jacob's knight costume and ask him to put the helmet on to complete his look. Jacob does and briefly feels dizzy and starts to hear the voices of his friends, but sees they are not talking. Just starring at him.
Jacob removes the helmet and they ask him if he is all right? They tell him when he put the helmet on his eyes briefly rolled up and he got pale looking. He said he felt fine. Weird, he didn't feel dizzy when he put the helmet on at the store he thought. The first school bell went off and the friends headed off to class. It was a bit odd Jacob thought because in each class not only were the students dressed up, but the teachers as well. Even his stern math teacher, Mr Marshal was dressed as a cute, but large Sponge Bob. Little real work was done in the classes given it was Halloween.
At lunch. Jacob and his friends gathered in their usual spot in the cafeteria. The lunch food was Halloween themed and actually tasted a little better than normal. A student named Sam, dressed as a mad professor with crazy hair, showed up at their table near the end of their lunch break. Jacob didn't know him well, but thought he was hot. Sam wanted to get a picture of Jacob and his friends. Jacob once again puts on the helmet, but did not feel dizzy. Instead he heard voices as everyone was posing for the camera. He was able to pick out Sam's voice and heard him say,
"Jacob sure is hot", but Sam wasn't speaking.
At the same time he heard Sam talk, he somehow saw himself through Sam's eyes in the PE shower room nude except for a towel wrapped around his waist walking back from the shower. This was too much for Jacob and took off the helmet and everything seemed normal again.
"Ok" he thought, this is beyond weird, but at least he knew that Sam found him attractive.
After two more classes it was time for the pageant in the gym. All the students and many of the teachers gathered to socialize and snack before the judging contests. Jacob thought the snacks were pretty tasty including cookies, brownies and even mini pizzas to snack on. After 30 minutes, the principle, Mr Cole, announced that it was time for the costume judging before the special guest showed up. There were a number of categories so you had a descent chance to win something. Judging was done by the teachers who first organized the students into small groups that posed and made sound effects or moves depending on the student when being judged.
Jacob and his friends were part of the first group and when Jacob put on the helmet for the pose he once again heard voices and could see more pictures. He wanted to see more, but the teachers moved on to another group and Jacob removed the helmet to talk with his friends. After 30 minutes of judging the results were announced and Jacob won for most realistic costume. Ten students in all won and each received a gift card for $25. Mr Cole announced that besides the gift cards the winners could each ask the special guest a question.
Twenty minutes later, the special guest arrived and it is the same guy the school is named for. The man is a millionaire and currently running for political office. Wow, Jacob is stunned, what question will he ask? The man spoke for 20 minutes and after the initial pleasantries the man talked about how bad everything is and blames everyone for the mess the country is in. The man is such a downer Jacob thought and the students are getting bored. Mr Cole could see what was happening in the room and interrupted the man saying that the school is honored to have him there today and ask the students to applaud the man.
Mr,Cole continued saying " I know you must be quite busy, and before you go please answer the questions from the winning students".
The man agrees and us student line up in a single line with a student at the head of the line facing the man to ask the first question. Once answered, the student leaves the line and next student asks his or her question. Soon there is only a single student between him and the man, Jacob puts on the helmet.
Jacobs hears many voices again and decides to focus on a single individual at a time. All of sudden the many voices substantially quiet and Jacob begins to actually hear that person's thoughts and even see pictures of what they are thinking. Not surprising the boys are thinking of sex multiple times per minute with some thinking about the porn they saw. Most of the porn is straight, a few show gay action. Jacob feels a little tightness in his pants and thinks he will have to remember those guys. Looking at his friend Mira, she is thinking about the afterschool Halloween party she is going to and wonders if Kip will be there?
"Who the hell is Kip," Jacob wonders and then sees his face in Mira's mind.
Looking at the man, Jacob is overwhelmed by the man's thoughts plus there seems to be a darkness that none of the students or even teachers seem to have when reading their thoughts. The man's thought include: he is bored, can't wait to leave, thinks us kids and staff are inferior since not a rich school. The man glances at Mira and her pretty blond hair. The man begins to imagine having sex with her even though she is under age. Then images and thoughts go to memories of the man's own teen daughters and him sexually molesting them. Telling them "This will be our secret between daddy and you".
It is Jacob's turn to ask his question. Jacob is disgusted. The man is a total perv and nobody knows what a true low life the man is. The man portrays himself as practically god's chosen one. At that moment Jacob realizes what his question will be.
Jacob clears his voice and faces the smiling man. Jacob notices many cell phones are pointed at him.
Jacob asks "When did you start sexually abusing your teen daughters?"
Stunned silence envelops the crowd. The old man's smile goes away replaced by a faraway look similar to what happened to the bearded man that sold him the helmet. The old man sighs and recounts a few of the times he molested his teen children. The old man does not apologize, and in fact blames the children for being so sexy looking.
After the old man finishes talking, the eyes, nose and mouth guard of the helmet close by itself and the helmet starts making a warning sound. Jacob's attention is drawn back to the old man. The old man is standing there and a dark shape begins emitting from the old man's chest and forms into a large creature with a body covered in fur with sharp claws attached to long arms and a head with glowing red eyes with a large mouth and nasty sharp teeth protruding from it. The creature growls loudly and starts moving towards Jacob, keeping it's eyes focused on him. Nobody else notices it and in fact nobody is moving or talking. It is though time has stopped except for Jacob and the creature rapidly getting closer. Jacob can hear an angry voice now,
"You can't fool me Altair, hiding in a kid's body. Time to die".
Jacob has never been so scared in his barely 16 years old self. There's no point in talking with this thing given it's thoughts are dark and murderous, but the only weapon he has to protect himself is a rubber sword. Jacob pulls the rubber sword from its scabbard at the last minute before the creature touches him to surrender, but in a shock to both him and the creature the rubber sword has turned into a real sword. As the creature reaches for Jacob, Jacob's hand somehow thrust the sword upwards and rotates into the creature's body.
The creature screams out in pain and says, "I am not the last!" and disappears. Time resumes.
Jacob removes the helmet and the old man's faraway look changes into an angry red face and begins yelling at everyone including Jacob. The old man complains it wasn't his fault, but the teen daughters. The old man's security team quickly removes him from the gym and into the waiting limousine and drive off. Teachers and classmates are running up to Jacob yelling at him and defending him. Jacob is overwhelmed and almost collapses, but his friends and even his bullies, surround him and get him out of the gym and into a car. They take Jacob home.
The videos from the many cell phones that recorded the school's question and answers starts hitting the news with most stations condemning the old man and who ever tries to defend him. By midnight, the old man has withdrawn from the political race and has gone into hiding. His followers abandoned him. Some angry adults showed up at Jacob's house wanting to see and hurt him if given the chance. Luckily the police had shown up earlier to protect Jacob and his family.
A few weeks after the end of the election, where the old man still got 10% of the vote, Jacob stops by the odd and ends store with helmet in hand and notices the help wanted sign is gone from the store front.
The old bearded man smiles at Jacob and says "I see you kept your promise and am very proud of you!".
Jacob smiles and thanks him. Jacob continues "I have a million questions and I think I'm lucky to be alive".
The bearded man replies " I will answer your questions shortly and yes you are lucky to be alive".
The bearded man spent the next few hours answering Jacob's questions including how the helmet is indeed magical, but requires someone with a pure heart to use it.
Finally, Jacob asks " Who are you?".
The bearded man replies, "You can call me M, and I would like to teach you more about the helmet and other tools you might find useful.
Would you like an after-school job and maybe some more adventures?"
Jacob says yes, hoping his mom approves.