Chapter 1: Cursed? 

Many people don’t believe in curses. Those are the people who have never lived in the town of Fahrmville. Every Halloween in Fahrmville, things get weird. You can hear strange echoes in the streets at night and the train tracks that go through the town are haunted by ghost trains. If a human being or animal is seen by the ghost train, they will die. The safest place to be when a ghost train goes by is in an area of your home where you can’t see the train tracks out the window. 

Another problem with Fahrmville is that year-round a man named Chester Beltline keeps chickens in his front yard, and he lets them roam in the streets. There are two roosters, and both of them are mean and attack the humans. Because of this Chester’s chickens are the reason house prices are going down where he lives. Some people who live there believe that the town is cursed on Halloween and some people think it is a hoax. 

One person who believes is Kevin White, a boy who lives in a house with his parents, and the train tracks go right behind it. Kevin had always believed in the curse, just like his friends, Jackson, Grace, Brad, and Katie. Kevin hoped to one day find the source of the curse and destroy it, if that was even possible. 

Kevin was 15 years old, so he had a job, which made it a little tough for curse investigations. His job was to drive around in a two-seater side by side and pick up horse manure with a pitchfork. The mayor of Fahrmville, who did not believe in the curse, paid him $40 per month for this job. 

You may be wondering why there is horse manure all over town. It’s Because there are horses that roam free in the streets, and they don’t actually belong to anyone. There is a barn set up for them to go inside at night when they are ready. 

—

It was a warm October day, and Kevin was driving home in the side by side from his job of picking up manure. He had finished for the day, and on his way home he stopped by the field where some of the horses liked to graze. There was one horse in particular that he liked, and the horse liked him. The horse was black and his name was Appollo. 

Kevin almost considered Appollo to be his mentor. He would go to see him in the field when he needed someone to talk to or if his friends were busy. He knew he could get anything off his chest and Appollo would keep it a secret. Plus the field was far away from the train tracks, so it was a safe place to be on Halloween. 

When Kevin saw Appollo today, he gave him a treat that he had brought in his pocket. He didn’t stay long, he just wanted to check in. He also said hello really quickly to the other horses that Appollo hangs out with. Prince, Ranger, and Max. 

As Kevin was driving down the street, he was thinking about how Halloween was only a week away, and in a few days, the town would start to turn into its cursed self. At least his friends believed in the curse. 

Kevin’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a yell. He looked over and saw his best friend, Jackson, being chased by one of Chester’s colorful roosters. Kevin stopped his vehicle. The rooster cornered Jackson by the wall of his house. It flapped its wings and Jackson kicked as it tried to scratch him with the spurs on its feet. 

Kevin grabbed the pitchfork that he used to pick up horse manure, which was hooked on the side of the vehicle. He ran at the rooster with the pitchfork and chased it away. 

“Thanks dude,” said Jackson. 

“No problem. Want to come to my house?” Kevin asked. 

“Sure.” 

Jackson hopped into Kevin’s side by side and they drove to his house. When they got there, they went out back to hang out and Kevin examined the unused train tracks. 

“There must be something behind this,” he said. 

“The train tracks? There’s woods!” Jackson joked. 

“No, I mean the ghost trains,” said Kevin. “Think about it.” 

Jackson remembered previous Halloweens. 

“Yeah,” he exclaimed, “no train could be an actual ghost train, it must be like, a prank or something.” 

“Exactly!” Kevin replied. “Maybe this Halloween, we can figure out what it really is.” 

“I don’t know,” said Jackson. “We may not want to go near the trains. What if they are actual ghost trains?” 

“But what if we can figure it out? What if this curse thing is all a massive prank that someone does? You don’t believe in the curse, Jackson… do you?” 

“Of course not,” said Jackson, “I’m just afraid of the trains.” 

“Maybe we can also figure out the strange noises we hear echoing on Halloween night,” Kevin added.
“Last year, I heard a distant noise. It sounded metallic,” Jackson said. “It was like a squeaky door.” 

“Interesting,” Kevin replied. “Maybe on Halloween, us and the rest of the gang can follow the sound and see where it’s coming from. And also figure out what’s behind the trains, if there’s anything.” Kevin and Jackson went into the house to call their other friends. They were going to figure out this curse, and they were going to do it in secret. So the rest of the town didn’t think they were being ridiculous and start judging them. 

Copyright © 2021 by Brady Draghetti 

Genre: Fantasy / Adventure 

All rights reserved.