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By the time April and Force had collected enough cornstalks to fill the Hessian, Briella and Scout had completed the hands and feet. They studied the interactions between Force and April which appeared friendly and awkward free. Scout sighed with relief.
“How did you get on, girls?” Force surveyed their work. “You’ve done well. Not too full, not to light. It will give the fingers and toes a chance to bend and move.”
“Why would they need to bend and move?” Briella squeaked.
“It will make it easier to pose him on the poles I bought this morning.”
“You went shopping for poles?” Scout asked.
“What did you think I was doing?”
“We weren’t sure. Catching up with some of the locals, perhaps?”
“Well, I was doing stuff for my girls.”
“You are going to continue to have a life outside of us right, Liam?” April asked.
“Of course, but there are no cases at the moment.”
“That is not what I meant. You are going to make friendships and seek other people’s company while you are living here. You aren’t going to rely on us to keep you entertained every second of the day.”
“Is that what you want, April?” he returned.
“I won’t be living here every second of the day. I probably won’t spend more than a couple of weeks a year here.”
“Who’s hungry?” Everyone’s eyes turned to Scout. She clasped her hands and smiled sweetly. April checked her watch and moved to the kitchen without a word. She gathered plates, glasses and cutlery.
April took some lettuce, cheese, tomato, and ham from the fridge. She collected eight slices of bread from the bread bin and a couple of small mushrooms from the bottom cupboard. In no time she had made sandwiches and poured sparkling grape juice into glasses. The fairies would be dining on mushrooms and daisies.
Their meal was taken in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts. While Force cleared away the dishes, April began stuffing the jeans. She was working on the second leg when Force picked up the t-shirt and started filling the sleeves.
The fairies sat on the bench and watched them work, swinging their legs over the side. Scout’s mind soon began to wander. “Oh, Briella. We forgot to create the invitations to the party,” she gasped.
Briella’s hands flew to her face. “What are we going to do?”
“Well, we’re not going to panic,” Scout began, drawing a moan from Briella.
“This is becoming a little repetitive, Scout.”
“What is?”
“Well, we’re not going to panic,” she replied in a mocking tone.
“Whatever,” Scout shook her hands to waive the interruption away. “Go and draw a template, something creepy. I’ll make copies and add names.”
“It’s too late for that, Scout. The party’s about a week away.”
“You’re right. That means we have less than a week to get the word out. Okay. New plan. Make a template for display in public places; school notice board, local church, the board downstairs, etc. We can get Force and April to pin them up and go from there.”
“We won’t know who is coming.”
“Are you kidding? It’s Force and April. Everyone will come.”
“You’re right.”
The girls flew to the studio. Their departure went unnoticed by the Gatherers who had become totally engrossed in creating the scarecrow. Briella sat at her easel and opened the sketchpad to a new page. After a few seconds of staring at the white paper, her mind began to see the finished product. She picked up her pencil and, with confident strokes, set about creating an invitation to rival all others.
Briella created the outline of a scroll across the top. Inside she wrote, ‘You are invited to Halloween Hollow’.
“Oh, that’s good,” Scout blurted.
“Sit quietly or help the others,” she was warned.
Scout zipped her lips and held up her hands. Briella smirked then returned to her project. In the bottom-right-hand-corner, she drew a reaper with a scythe. Along the blade, she wrote the date of the party. In the bottom-left-hand-corner, she outlined a werewolf with a speech bubble, ‘Come if you dare’. Between the two pictures, she drew a line of gravestones in all shapes and sizes. On them, she wrote their new address.
The middle of the invite showcased the main attraction: The House of Horrors. ‘Only the brave shall enter.’
From the bottom of the banner to the roof of the house, Briella drew vines with Jack-o-lanterns swinging from them. Once again, Scout was in awe of Briella’s ability. She sprinkled some magic on the page and whispered, “Times ten.”
The poster multiplied itself, stacking the copies beside the original in a neat pile.
“Thanks, Scout,” Briella wrapped her arms around Scout’s shoulders.
“Don’t sweat it. You’ll be back to using your magic soon.”
April called to Briella. The fairies flew back to the living area. “Where did you two go?”
“We made the invitations for the party. Can you stick them around the town later?”
“I can, but I don’t know if I will,” April huffed.
“Don’t be a nasty woman, April,” Briella scowled. “And stop correcting my grammar.”
April and Force shared a thought behind their smiles that couldn’t be read by the fairies. Scout narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.
“We’ll take care of it later, I promise,” April replied. “Now about the scarecrow. Where do you want his eyes and mouth?”
Briella looked at the plumped out cushion of Hessian. She pointed to the spots she wanted to be cut then held her breath. The holes appeared, one by one. Her breathing became more ragged with each snip of the scissors. By the time April had finished, Briella was almost on the verge of hyperventilating. Scout grabbed her by the back of the neck and forced her head between her legs.
“Deep breaths, Briella. Nice and slow. Good girl.”
“I’m sorry, Scout. I don’t know what came over me,” Briella stated, lifting herself slightly.
“The scarecrow is becoming more real with human-like features,” Scout replied. “In the bag of goodies that April brought home, I saw some orange eyes used by doll makers to create large teddy bears, and a pair of lips like those found on Mr Potato Head. Do you think that will make it harder or easier to look at him?”
“It’s gotta be easier than looking at holes with bits of plant poking out, don’t you think?”
“Let’s see,” Scout shrugged. “Put ‘em in, April,” Scout encouraged.
“Righty-o,” she said uncertainly, reaching for the packaging.
