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“SALLY!” yelled Bruce from the other room. “Are you sure about this?"

“Of course! It is going to be ok. I’m going to go dressed as a butterfly. You as that. And you can even chase me! Besides Gaia will be here any moment!”

“I feel like a fool!”

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“Don’t be silly! Get out here and let me see you.”

“Grumble, grumble.” Bruce came out of his room.

“Awww! You look so cute!”

“A lion?!?! Really! Cute????!!! Who does cute for Halloween?”

DING DONG!
“Ahh that must be Gaia!” Saved by the bell.

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“Gaia!” exclaimed Sally. “Thank you for coming tonight. You are the perfect match to this Halloween plot.”

“What kind of plot can this be? We are going to get laughed off the street and get no candy!” complained Bruce.

“Au contraire my friend. We are going to get even more. I have planned out the perfect neighbourhood we are going to. It is full of seniors who go gaga for cutsie. They wet themselves when they get scared! The cuter you are the more treats they give you!”

“But what about Gaia here? They aren’t even wearing a costume!”

“Ahhh those seniors. They take pity on the parents and escorts so they have stashes of extra special treats for them!. We are going to score big tonight!”

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“Gather round. I have this map here and it is perfect. We will just head to this neighbourhood here and hit all these houses I have marked. I have scouted it out for the last few months and know where all the seniors live. These will be where the best candy will be!”

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The gang headed out the door and stopped in their tracks.

“WOW! Look at that moon!” exclaimed Gaia. “It’s a perfect night for Halloween now!”

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The gang started walking down the street towards Sally’s targeted neighbourhood.

“See? There is nothing to be afraid of! Look at all the cute costume out here. Nobody wants to scare the seniors and have the door slammed in their faces. We are golden! We are going to get so much candy tonight!”

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“Look our first stop! See how sweet and innocent this house looks? Cute little pumpkins outside. Nothing spooky at all. These folks like cute! Our costumes are going to score!”

“Trick or treat!” they yelled in unison.

“Awww a cute lil butterfly and lion. How sweet. Here is a bunch of candy for you both. And you back there, step forward. You are going to be tired by the end of the night. Have a full size chocolate bar yourself.” Gaia’s eyes widened in surprise. Could Sally’s plot actually work?

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“Sally, are you sure about this cute thing? Its looking a little creepier here.” Asked Bruce. “I mean look at these pets among us. I'm not seeing rainbows and kittens anymore.”

“Don’t be silly Bruce! They are just going to get the door slammed in their faces”

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“Ahhh our next house!”

“This looks a little creepier Sally than the first one. I mean look at the tombstones in the front yard. And honestly I cannot shake the feeling that something is following us.”

“Oh stop being silly! Let’s go get our candy.”

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“TRICK OR TREAT!”

“Well well. What do we have here? A cute little butterfly and a little lion. Do you know what we do to cute around here?”

“Yes….” Sally trembled with anticipation.

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“FRUIT!!! All the apples and bananas you can eat.”

“Wait!?! What?!?!” sputtered Sally.

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“What was that Sally?!?! You said cute gets candy! Instead we got fruit! FRUIT! If I wanted fruit I would just ask mum and she would give me all the fruit and veggies I wanted. Halloween is for candy! Not fruit!”

“Yeah and I did not even get anything! What about the whole escorts getting special treats thing you promised?” asked Gaia.

“I’m certain it was an oversight. A one off. They were a different sort of person. Seniors love cute I tell ya. They don’t like to be spooked. They have no bladder control.”

“You sure about that? Just how many seniors do you know? Their house sure looked spooky and speaking of spooky I cannot shake the feeling that someone, or something is still following us!”

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The gang resumed walking down the sidewalk in search of their next house to hit. Looking around they noticed a change in costumes. It appeared that more and more pets were into scarier and spookier costumes and that they were the outsiders. Was Sally’s theory right that this neighbourhood of senior’s liked cute and cuddy? Or were they apt to get a bagful of fruit, and possibly rocks, by night’s end?

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“There! The perfect house! It’s large! It does not appear all too spooky or scary. And the lights are on! Let’s go!”

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“I dunno Sally.” Said Bruce. “I have a bad feeling about this. Look at this yard. It is really creepy! There are bones all over the place and those lights! How much scarier can you get?!?! And the pumpkins!!! And what is that hanging from that tree?”

“I agree.” Said Gaia. “This is getting spookier by the moment. And I too now feel like something has been following us.”

“Oh you two are such chickens! Remind me next year to get the inflatable chicken costume for you both! C’mon! Let’s go knock on the door. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

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The gang advanced to the door and finding no doorbell Sally bravely raised her fist to knock. With barely a tap….

CREEEEAAAAKKK…

The door opened on its own.

“Do you think we should leave?”

“Are you silly? What if someone needs our help!?!” exclaimed Sally. “We must go in. There could be a poor senior who has fallen and broken a hip. We could be heroes! Think of all the candy we would get then!”

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“Hello! Hello! Is anyone here?”

“Groan…”

“Did you hear that? We better go explore and see where it is coming from! Someone could be hurt!”
Sally pushed her way inside the entry hall and stopped short. The hall was lit by candles and was spookier than she ever thought it could be. And what was that? Was that motion she saw coming from the end of the hall? It could not be a ghost, could it? Nah. Bruce and Gaia had got into her head with all their talk about being followed. There was nothing there. Her imagination was going wild.

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. “Look at this cool mirror!” yelped Bruce. “It changes how you look!”

“What do you mean?”

“Well when I look into it I see someone else.”

“That cannot be! Let me look”

Scurry, scurry, scurry…

“Did you hear that?”

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“Who’s there? We can hear you! Do you need help?”

Rustle, rustle…

“Call out so we can find you!”

The gang advanced into what appeared to be a dining room set for a dinner feast. There were candles atop the table and place settings for many. Even the food was out but was that really food?

“Sally, this doesn’t feel right to me…”

“Is that brain salad atop that platter?!? With acorns??”

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Out of nowhere a disembodied voice began to speak, “Welcome to Hotel Squirrel. You may check in of your own free will but will you ever leave?”

Bruce and Gaia began to scream in terror while Sally felt a little woozy like she was going to pass out. Not be able to leave? Where did she go wrong?

Hyperventilating, “I knew something was up! This whole night has felt wrong!”

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Before the team could gather a clear thought they were swarmed by squirrels of all kinds. Seeing the squirrels was the final straw. Sally could no longer handle it and she passed right not.

“Sally! Sally! Wake up! We need to figure out how to get out of here! We need you! Sally wake up!” Bruce tried his hardest to awaken Sally.

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As Bruce and Gaia continued to try to awaken Sally while the squirrels watched on licking their lips there was another rustling sound from the hallway.

“Oh no! Not more squirrels! We are already outnumbered!” exclaimed Bruce.

Before the words were out of his mouth, a zombie squirrel appeared. Bruce thought he was going to join Sally on the floor.

“No fear I am here to help you foolish pets who could not leave best alone.” Said the new comer. “Leave your friend and gather your bags and come over to me.”

Bruce was feeling slightly skeptical at this. How could he trust yet another squirrel? Especially a zombie one?

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“I have been following you all night hoping to scare you off but your friend down on the ground there is too stubborn. She refused to relent and persisted coming into this neighbourhood. If you had just turned around when I first tried to scare you off you would have been fine.”

“I knew it!” stated both Gaia and Bruce in unison.

“Now come over here and let me see your treat bags. I’m certain you got some goodies we can use to buy off my relatives and get your escape here from Hotel Squirrel.” The zombie squirrel started rooting through the bags. “Perfect! Apples and bananas! Just what is missing from their feast. We will use these and buy your freedom!”

“Great cuz we wanted candy not fruit. But will it really work?”

“Trust me I know these guys. They are my crazy relatives.” And with some squirrel chatter back and forth the deal was made.

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“Oh look. It appears your friend has come around. Let’s head out I have a couple things for you three.”

The gang, now including a zombie squirrel, gathered in the spooky front yard.

“Nooo! Not another squirrel!” yelled Sally.
“It’s ok.” Said Gaia. “He helped get our freedom. I think this is the entity that has been following us all night.”

“You’re right. I tried to stop you from coming here but since you did not I had to step in and rescue you from Hotel Squirrel. Some place never safe for any pet to enter on a full moon. As a memory of this night I would like you, Gaia, to have this special house. It has 3 levels to remind you of the 3 places you have visited tonight.”

“Awww, thanks. I will be sure to treasure it.”

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Finally Gaia I want you to have this special magic egg. If you ever find yourself trapped at Hotel Squirrel again you just need crack it open and it will summon myself to your aid. Treasure it well and I hope you never find yourself there again on a full moon. Now get yourselves to a safe neighbourhood while the night is still young. There is a lot of candy for the taking!”
Gaia has eaten her fill of treats! Please select another pet as visitor, so it can scrounge lots of kookies!