A Map of the Dark. John Dixon

got tangled up with the kids on the sidewalk, and by the time he got free Omsted and the other guys were already at the end of the block. Old man Ford shook his fist and yelled, “I know your names, you little bastards!”

      The tall kid put his hands over the little girl’s ears; the other kids giggled.

      Rusch yelled, “We know yours, too, asshole!” and the three of them ran down a side street by the dentist’s office.

      Old man Ford cursed and went back into the store. The kids from the station wagon piled in after him. Chuck and Dale went in last and elbowed their way to the front. Casey Ford, the old man’s son, was sitting on the counter dressed as a vampire with red lipstick on his neck for blood and a plastic pumpkin filled with candy on his lap. The candy rack behind the counter had been tipped over and there was candy all over the floor.

      Old man Ford yelled at the kids not to step on anything. Then he yelled at Casey, “Are you just going to sit there and let hooligans take over the entire store?”

      Casey banged the pumpkin down on the counter and stormed into the back room, slamming the door behind him.

      Old man Ford looked at the kids, the floor, and the broken rack behind the counter. He pointed to the pumpkin and said, “Each of you take one piece of candy and get out of here.”

      The kids crowded around the pumpkin. Old man Ford yelled at them not to step on the candy on the floor unless they meant to pay for it; then he started kicking the candy into piles. There was a Slo Poke on the floor next to Chuck. He kicked it away from the rest of the candy and it slid across the floor and hit Dale’s foot.

      Old man Ford yelled, “I saw that.”

      Dale said, “I didn’t do nothing.”

      “He didn’t,” Chuck said. “I saw him. It was that guy there.”

      Chuck pointed at the tall guy in the Frankenstein mask.

      The tall kid said, “That’s a lie!”

      He was holding a Tootsie Roll he’d taken from the pumpkin. Old man Ford grabbed his hand, pulled the Tootsie Roll out of it and threw it back in the pumpkin.

      The tall kid shouted, “That’s not fair!”

      Old man Ford said, “I’ll give you fair. You’re too damn old to be trick-or-treating anyway.”

      The tall kid stared at old man Ford, breathing hard through his mask, then turned and went outside.

      Old man Ford said, “The rest of you get your candy and get out of here.”

      Casey came out of the back room wearing a white T-shirt, the blood washed off his neck. He pulled on his letter jacket and left the store without looking back. While old man Ford was watching Casey, Chuck grabbed two handfuls of candy from the pumpkin and walked out.

      Outside, the tall guy had taken off his mask and was smoking a cigarette. He had big ears and a pimply face. The girl in the pink dress dug a sucker out of her bag and offered it to him, but the tall guy shook his head. Dale was in the doorway eating a Dum-Dum. When he saw Chuck, the tall guy threw his cigarette down and began to lead the other kids away.

      Dale nodded at Chuck.

      Chuck said, “You lost Little Lee?”

      The girl in the pink dress turned and said, “Little Lee?” She came running back up the block, calling out, “Little Lee’s here!” When she got to Chuck she said, “Where’s Little Lee?”

      Chuck said, “He’s dead.”

      The tall kid hollered, “Deena, get back here.”

      The little girl’s lip started to shake.

      “A cow ate him,” Chuck said.

      The girl started bawling and ran back down the block towards the others. The tall kid came to meet her, picked her up, and carried her to the corner where the skinny guy was waiting in the station wagon.

      Dale stared at Chuck and rolled the Dum-Dum around in his mouth.

      Chuck said, “So where’s your friend?”

      Dale said, “I guess he’s afraid of stores.”

      Two small mice ran past them into the store. Old man Ford yelled, “We’re closed! Get the hell out!” and they ran off screaming down the block.

      Chuck said, “I bet the drugstore’s giving out chocolate pumpkins again.”

      Dale said, “You want to go see?”

      Chuck shrugged. They began walking together down the block.

      Danen’s Bakery was closed; so was Hansen’s Hardware. The dummies in the dress shop window were all wearing Lone Ranger masks and funny hats, but the store was closed. The dentist’s office was open and so was the De Pere Theater. Kids were running back and forth across the street between them.

      The station wagon went by. The little girl was sitting on the tall kid’s lap. The guy who was driving pointed his finger across the seat at the tall guy and yelled at him.

      Chuck asked Dale if he wanted to see what the theater was ­giving out.

      Dale said, “It’s probably Jujubes.”

      “It might be popcorn,” Chuck said, and dodged between the cars over to the theater. Dale followed. They got Milk Duds, then ran back across the street to the drugstore.

      There was a party at the bar next to the drugstore on the corner. They had a jack-o’-lantern in the window and leaf dummies with beer bottles hanging by their necks on either side of it. A song about dancing monsters blared out through the doorway.

      A woman in a swimsuit ran out of the bar with a champagne glass in her hand. When she saw Chuck and Dale she screamed, “Oh my God, monsters!” and ran back inside.

      A woman inside the bar shouted, “Happy New Year!”

      Chuck said, “You think they’re giving anything?”

      Dale said, “Probably cigarettes.”

      “Maybe beer.” Chuck cupped his hands to the window to try and see inside.

      “I wonder if Evelyn’s in there?”

      Dale said, “She’s dying. They wouldn’t let her in.”

      The woman in the swimsuit pointed out the door and screamed, “Monsters! Monsters!” Chuck and Dale ran around the corner to the drugstore.

      Little Lee was waiting outside the drugstore, holding his candy bag with both hands. It was torn at the top from where he’d been twisting it, and the bottom was starting to show holes.

      Dale asked him why he didn’t wait outside Ford’s.

      Little Lee said, “I took a short cut.”

      Chuck said, “It must have been a farmer’s shortcut—five times around the block.”

      “I got here before you did,” Little Lee said.

      Chuck started into the drugstore, then stopped, his hand on the door.

      Little Lee said, “You gotta open the door to get in, you know.”

      Omsted, Carner, and Rusch were standing at the register with their arms folded. Mr. Giese was behind the counter shaking his head. Chuck moved back from the door and said, “Go in, if you’re in such a hurry.”

      “I will.” Little Lee turned his nose up at Chuck and went inside. Dale looked at Chuck then followed Little Lee. Chuck took his mask off, put it in his bag, and hid his bag in the doorway of the doctor’s office next door. Then he counted to ten and went into the drugstore.

      Omsted was leaning over the counter towards Mr. Giese, Carner and Rusch tight behind him. Dale and Little Lee were whispering by the postcard rack.

      Omsted was saying, “This is my Halloween