Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Trick or Treat ❯ The Test of the Hobo ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own fairies, princesses, ninjas, pirates, pirate ninjas, schoolgirls of the killer or dead variety, foxes, fox-girls, hobos, or candy companies of any sort. I also do not own the idea of haunted houses or portals to other dimensions. And I definitely do not own Nancy, Katy, Sapphire, Jaci, April, or David, although I do own myself. I also own…you. Yeah, that's right. By reading this, you have granted me possession of your soul. Sucks to be you.

 

Trick or Treat

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Chapter Four

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© 2007 Ohne Sie

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David had tried his key on nearly twenty doors when he finally found the correct one. He opened it up and ran inside, where he was confronted by what seemed to be a busy train station. He frowned. “Welcome, David,” The Voice said. “This is a train station. As a bum—“

 

“Hobo,” David corrected.

 

“Hobo,” The Voice said, “You're probably used to traveling by train a lot.”

 

“Nope, never,” David said.

 

“Whatever. Anyway, you're at least used to begging people for money. So you're going to be doing a lot of that. I need you to raise one thousand, two hundred, forty-three dollars and sixteen cents before your time runs out. You can obtain that money however you want, but once you have it, you need to bring it to the pawn shop down the street, and find the item that costs exactly that amount. Once you do that, you'll have passed your test. You currently have one hour and fifty-six minutes to do everything I just told you. Go.”

 

David looked around. People were walking briskly past him. “I'm a hobo, not a bum,” he mumbled. “Hobos don't beg for money. They ride trains and eat from other people's trash and stuff like that.” He frowned, wondering what he could possibly do that would earn him enough money.

 

“Hey, everybody! Watch me dance!” He said, as he began to dance—badly. The truth was that David had never danced before in his life, except as a joke, or when nobody was looking. Because of his lack of experience and the fact that he was not very entertaining, just sad, in ten minutes he had only made about fifty cents. Disappointed, David stopped dancing. “What can I do to make money?” he wondered.

 

He picked up his hat, which he had used for people to drop money in, and put it back on his head. Then he realized what he could do. “Hey, people! Hey!” A few people looked at him, but most just walked by. He found a lighter on the ground. Beside it was a discarded bag of tortilla chips. “How much will you pay me to light this on fire and eat it?” he asked a man walking by.

 

“Five dollars?” the man said. He watched as David performed the trick, biting into the chip and swallowing it. The man paid David the money. Other people crowded around, offering him various amounts of money to do it again.

 

“Eat this worm I found crawling on the ground!” a young boy said, holding the worm up. It squirmed around as David grabbed it out of the boy's hand. “How much will you all pay if I eat this?”

 

“Ten dollars!”

 

“Five dollars!”

 

“Seven dollars and…fifteen cents!”

 

“Okay, here I go…” David put the worm in his mouth, chewing it up and swallowing it. Then he stuck out his tongue to prove he had eaten it.

 

“Ew!” the crowd chorused, but they all dropped money in his hat, which he had once again dropped on the ground.

 

“Run across the train tracks and back when the train is coming!” someone yelled.

 

David frowned. “I could die doing that!” He was counting the money. He only had about fifty dollars in the hat, and he had been performing tricks for about half an hour already.

 

“I'll pay you 1,193.16 if you do it!”

 

David froze. With that money, he would have enough to buy whatever The Voice wanted him to get. He wondered vaguely why that man was carrying around so much money. “Alright,” he said reluctantly. “How many seconds before the train comes do I have in order to do it?”

 

“Five. You should be able to get across the tracks and back in five seconds.”

 

David nodded. He took a deep breath, hearing the train whistle coming. “Go!” the man who had offered him the money shouted. David raced across the tracks and turned to run back. The train grew nearer. I'm not going to make it, David thought. I'm going to get hit by the train! He was so close to the edge of the tracks, but the train was only ten feet away. David felt as if some force pushed him forward, saving him from being squished under the train by a split-second.

 

The man was true to his word, and handed David the money he had promised. David thanked him, taking his hat and running down the street to the pawn shop The Voice had mentioned. He entered, looking around to find what could possibly cost exactly $1,243.16. He looked at guitars and drums, but there was no way they came close to the price he was looking for. Then he saw the jewelry display.

 

He ran toward it, scanning the items in search of a necklace, bracelet, or ring that cost over one thousand dollars. He found nothing. Just as he was giving up hope, something in the corner of his eye sparkled. He shifted his gaze toward it and found a diamond ring. He glanced at the price tag next to it, which read, “$1,243.16.” He excitedly got the salesperson's attention.

 

“Can I help you?” the salesperson asked.

 

“I want that ring!” David said, pointing.

 

“The diamond one? Are you sure? We have nice ones that are not so expensive…” She looked at David doubtfully. There was no way someone dressed the way he was dressed could afford a diamond ring. She doubted he could even afford lunch.

 

David pulled the money out of his hat and slapped it down on the table. “That's all of the money. Now give me that ring!”

 

The salesperson's eyes widened in surprise. “Alright, then.” She gingerly picked up the wad of bills and change and began marking the hundreds and fifties, to see if they were counterfeit. Finding nothing amiss, she rang up the sale, presenting David with the ring. As soon as David had it, he ran out of the shop.

 

“I've got it, Voice Thing! Now get me out of here!” Time seemed to freeze. People froze in place, as did the trains and the cars around him.

 

“Good. Walk through the door in front of you.” As The Voice said this, a door appeared. “Place the ring on the desk next to the candelabrum and exit through the next door. Sit on the sofa in there.”

 

David obeyed the voice, stepping through the door and placing the diamond ring next to the candelabrum already on the desk. He walked through the other door and saw Katy already sitting on a large sofa. He sat on the opposite end of the sofa, staring around the room silently. He couldn't help but wonder if they'd escape safely. He also worried about his sister, because if he got out of the house and she didn't, his parents would probably be upset. They might even kill him. “Come on,” he whispered, “Everyone, pass the tests.” He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in front of him. It was counting down the seconds left in everyone's tests. It currently read, “1:04:23.” David gulped. “We're screwed…”