Click Here to Listen to
the theme from "Edward Scissorhands"

It was October 27th and JenniAnn and Vincent sat in overstuffed chairs before a fireplace in Dyeland Castle. Vincent was telling a ghost story and JenniAnn listened intently.

"For days after the battle, Maura returned to the field, hoping to find her lost Aidan. Her parents grew concerned for their young daughter and had her locked up in her chambers, hoping to protect her. Her nurse watched over her for several days. Maura grew more and more quiet, finally withdrawing, silently, into herself. Then, one night, Maura shot up in her bed and cried that she heard Aidan playing his bagpipes. She insisted she heard his happy tune, calling for her. She rose up to go and it was all her parents could do to keep her in her room. After much struggle they succeeded in lulling the desperate girl to sleep.

Late that night her nurse awoke to find Maura gone! The door had been locked, the windows barred but Maura was no where to be found. The nurse was suddenly aware of bagpipes playing in the distance. She flew to the window and in the courtyard she saw the figures of Maura and Aidan, united again, forever."

"Wow, perfect." JenniAnn said as a shiver ran down her spine.

"I thought you would enjoy it." Vincent answered.

The two were joined by Audrey and Andrew.

"And what are you two up to?" Andrew inquired.

"Oh nothing much... Just... ghost stories!!" JenniAnn answered with an excited grin.

"Umm... huh... Yes, well, I'll be on my way then. I suddenly remembered I have some uhh... legislation to deal with." Andrew stood up from the chair he had only sat down in a few moments ago.

"Well, that's very strange. I don't think we've had any legislation for at least a month. No use, Angel Boy. You're staying with us." Audrey grinned as Andrew reluctantly slouched in the chair.

"Okay, now who's ready for the next story?" JenniAnn asked anxiously.

"Ugh..." Andrew mumbled.

"Oh please, Andrew. It's fun! It's all just pretend!" JenniAnn bestowed her most pathetic puppy dog face upon the reluctant AOD.

Andrew was concerned for a moment and then his face lit up. "Fine then. But I have one condition. I tell the final story."

Everyone readily agreed as JenniAnn started her story.


"Once upon a very dreary Halloween night, a group of four friends sat gathered around a fireplace. Suddenly, they heard footsteps near the window. They ignored it, after all, they lived in a busy city. They continued chatting and telling stories until... They heard a tapping at the front door. One of them, Vinnie, (at this Vincent's eyes rose) walked calmly to the door, but no one was there. He returned to his friends in the living room and tried to remain calm. The group began nervous chatter until... They heard definite footsteps in the hallway. Another one in the group, we'll call her Audra (Audrey promptly rolled her eyes), ran to a window and threw it open in case a quick escape was needed. The group huddled around the window and watched horrified, as the door to their room was thrown open to reveal... John Dye! "Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you know I quit TBAA and I'll be starring in my own show on FOX, 'Who Wants to Marry a Guy Who Played an Angel?' How cool is that?!"


JenniAnn waited quietly for the reactions to her story and noticed as Andrew and Vincent tried to hide bemused smiles and Audrey openly smirked. Not satisfied, JenniAnn took it upon herself to scream out loud and then said, "Well, I for one thought it was a horrifying story."

After JenniAnn had recovered from the story, Audrey began her own story.

"OK, OK. I got a good one for ya! Jen, you may want to leave now!"

"Hey! I resent that!" JenniAnn yelled back.

"Oh come on! You're a chicken -- get over it," Audrey said with a sly smile as she began her story.

"Many people believe that Andrew is the only AOD that I've met."

"What about Adam?" JenniAnn inquired.

"Him too," Audrey said as she rolled her eyes. "Anyhow, it's not true that these are the only AODs I have ever met. Many years ago I met an angel by the name of Aaron. I met him by accident -- let's just say he wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box! It was a chance meeting, but it's one I will NEVER forget. How we met is really unimportant. What matters is what happened to him. It was an interesting era, when he and I met. Faith was at an all time low. It seems God had to "load out" some angels to help with the flow of souls to Hell. Turns out Aaron was one of them. He had taken many an unfortunate soul to the "great beyond" when we had meet. Turns out he was actually becoming a fan of watching people suffer. Each day he found more and more joy in taking the souls of the damned to their rightful place. Soon though, he was called back to heaven and forced to bring those who deserved eternal bliss to God. Though he was upset that he couldn't watch the torment any more, he was please to bring happiness to those who deserved it. One day he decided to check in on those who had been banished form God's glory. He went into the Netherworld and crept between flame after flame of hot magma, inching his way toward the core of the Earth. As he got closer, careful not to make any noises to give him away, he could hear odd noises resonate. Through the billowing smoke he could see the silhouette of the devil, horns and tail forming a crisp shadow over the jagged edges of hell! He inched closer and closer until he could distinguish the faces of the poor lost souls. BAM! It hit him -- like ice water when you're sleeping! Suddenly, all the souls, even the Devil himself, turned to him and charged! 'GET OUT OF HERE,' they screamed! 'You'll kill all our fun!' With that, Aaron fled the depths of hell, never to return again."

Audrey finished her story and JenniAnn, true to form, was a bit freaked out.

"Ummm... that was... great..." JenniAnn started uncertainly. "Andrew! Your turn!" JenniAnn continued, anxious to have a change in story.

"You all have always wondered why I hate Halloween," Andrew began. "So, I suppose it's time I told you."

He paused for a moment as he pushed back his fear. "It was the year 1632. Until then, I'd never had a problem with Halloween. But that year was a fateful one that was to show me the errors of my ways. The week leading up to October 31, was an odd one. I took more people home in that week of 1632 than any other year. This in and of itself wasn't really a big deal. The problem arose the day before Halloween. I had 60 people to take home that day -- a relatively light load. When I went to get them, one-by-one, I could sense something was wrong, but this was my job so I went on. Sadly, as I approached the soul of each deceased body I was met with reluctance. Every last one of them refused to go to Heaven with me. I was lost! No one had ever refused to go home before." With that, Andrew paused, it seemed as though he was stumbling over what was to come. "My orders were set and I couldn't bare to leave my mission uncompleted. I ended up doing what I've lived to regret. I took them home anyway. I mean, what choice did I have? I couldn't just leave them on Earth. Plus I figured that once they glimpsed Heaven all would be well. I was wrong. I left the troubled souls for God to deal with. I thought all would settle down, but again, I was wrong. The next evening, HALLOWEEN, those 60 souls escaped! They hunted me down like I was nothing more than a slab of meat. It was horrible! I'd never been so scared in my life! Everywhere I went, they seemed to find me. I couldn't escape! I spent the whole night running from these beasts. Finally, they were sent to Hell, but ever since then, every Halloween they are set free to wreak havoc, and every year they hunt me down. So if I were you, I'd steer clear of me come Halloween."

With that, Andrew had finished his story. Terror filled his face. JenniAnn walked over and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry! That's so horrible," she choked out over her tears.

She was scared half to death, Vincent could tell.

"I'd just like to be alone for a bit," Andrew said softly.

With that, Audrey and JenniAnn left the room.

As soon as they were gone, Vincent turned to Andrew. "Great story. How long do you think it will take them to realize you weren't an angel of death in the 1600s?"

A silly smirk was now on Andrew's face. "I don't know, but I'll cherish what time they give me!"

JABB TOC

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