• Place: ?

    Time: ??, November 2

    Hi, I’m Zack Ater. I’ve never really been an average kid… You know, never really played many sports, kinda kept to myself, and I’ve always had this cool ability. You see, I can make almost anything, from almost anything. So, yeah, I’ve always been pretty different. But now I’m very different. You see, this strange thing happened a couple nights ago…….

    Place: ?

    Time: 2340, October 31

    As the last piece clicked into place, I sighed. It was finally done! Remember that ability to make stuff? It was Halloween, and I was building a watch to count down to perfect midnight. You know, the midnight of Halloween, when all those old superstitions took place? Demons, time freezing, mysterious disappearances, stuff like that. And, of course, the thing from which we get our love of wearing costumes on Halloween, the nobility of many different cultures dressing up and playing pranks. Yeah, I was into that kind of thing back then. Now it’s part of my life.

    I put the watch on, and saw I still had 20 minutes left. More than enough time to go out to the woods. I stood up, grabbed a light jacket, and quietly left my house.

    Quietly doesn’t mean slowly, however. I was running about as fast as I could, for the pure fun of it. I love the outdoors. Running through the forest, or sitting down in the middle of a field, I just love being outdoors. Especially flying. That was my dream, to own my own personal jet someday… Now I don’t need one.

    I was going to a clearing that I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that knows about. I found it a few months ago, a bit after I moved here. I’m pretty sure nobody else knows about it. It’s quiet and peaceful, the perfect place to me to spend midnight. A soft dark, and a space through the branches just big enough to see a full moon. Not even that, really.

    When I got there, a few little animals came out to see if I had brought any food. As always, I brought a few crackers for them. I got there with a few minutes to spare, so I sat down on a stump, then got out my knife and started whittling a branch that had fallen to the ground. By the time I got done carving my spear, there was only a few seconds left until midnight.

    I counted down the seconds. I even remember wishing that some of the old legends were true and they would finally happen this Halloween. If only I knew…

    All in all, it was a pretty normal Halloween. Or so I thought right then.

    Except one thing… Everything slowly took on a blue-ish tint. I figured it was some random thing with the full moon and maybe some other planets close right now.

    A snake slithered by my foot. I threw the spear, out of fright, and it killed it. I was surprised there was a snake. All the other animals were either asleep by now, or were too stealthy for me to notice them. A snake suddenly coming near me? Weird. I went over to look at it. It didn’t look like anything I had ever seen around here. I figured it was some snake escaped from the zoo or something. Oh well, they could always get another.

    After a few minutes, I got bored and left. I wasn’t tired, so I went into town to buy a snack and maybe hang out in the arcade before going home.

    But something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

    Everyone but me was frozen. It would freak anyone out. I started running to my house, as fast as I could. Except…. There was another guy who wasn’t frozen. I knew he wasn’t from here, because in a town this small everyone knows everyone. But even weirder, he didn’t walk or run up to me, like you’re thinking… He was flying.

    Well, at least close to flying. More like gigantic jumps. But who cares about technicalities, right?

    As he landed by me he said, “I finally found you... Took long enough. We’ve been looking all over once Melissa sensed there was a Midnighter here. Here, grab my shoulder. My name’s Jonathon by the way. Do you like flying?”

    He grabbed my arm and jumped. At first I freaked out, thinking we were going to crash into something. But after a while I got use it, and started to like it. And as we were flying, I noticed a huge blue moon taking up most of the sky. I don’t know how I didn’t see it earlier, I guess I was just too stunned at everyone else being frozen… or whatever had happened to them. Thinking about it now, I shuddered.

    Jonathon must have felt me shudder, because he told me, “Don’t worry, when we get back to my friends, they’ll explain everything. The Moon, the stiffs – that is, everyone who can’t move right now – and basically our lives for the past couple years."

    In a few minutes we landed in the parking lot in front of the mall (why our town has one escapes everyone, the town being so small). Two others were there already. Both girls.

    (Point of View shift)

    “Hey Melissa, they’re almost here!” Jess called.

    “Yeah, I know,” I called, already pulling off one of my gloves.

    Jonathon and the new boy finally get here, the boy looking extremely frightened, with a bit of wonder and amazement thrown in as well. His mind tastes exactly like his face looked. Can’t blame him. I walk up to them.

    “Hi, this is Jessica, and I’m Melissa. I’m the one who’s going to explain Midnight to you,” I say, offering my ungloved hand.