American Horror Story, Starting from Falls Town

Chapter 444 Trick or Treat

Let's go back to around 8 p.m., when Roy and his friends had just come out of UCLA.

This is also the time when Dalia's daughter goes out asking for candy.

"Mom, I'm off!"

"Cecilia, you must be polite when asking for candy, okay?"

"Okay mom!"

"And one more thing! Never go to places where there are few people!"

"I know, mom."

Ceci, dressed in a little red hat and carrying a small basket in one hand, skipped and hopped out the door.

Seeing Ceci leave, Dalia immediately put down what she was holding, changed her clothes, and followed Ceci out.

Although Dalia is not short of money now and has moved into a high-end apartment complex like the other older girls, where the security is much better than in the community she used to live in, she is still worried about her daughter's safety, so she secretly goes out with her daughter.

Ceci had no idea that her mother was disguised and following behind her. After leaving the house, she went straight to her home on the first floor, where Ceci had a neighbor she knew very well.

Knocked on the door.

"Who?"

"Grandma Stephanie, it's me, Cecily!"

The door opened, and an elderly head peeked out, her face full of a kind smile.

"Oh! My little Cecily, you look so cute today! Do you want some candy?"

Cecily nodded and stretched out her little hand.

"Trick or treat!"

"Okay, of course! I've already prepared it for little Cecily!"

The old lady took out a large basket filled with colorful candies, and Ceci reached in and grabbed two handfuls to put into her own small basket.

Cecily's hands are small, so she can't hold many candies, maybe thirty or forty in total.

"Little Cecily, won't you take a little more?"

Cece shook her head.

"No need, Grandma Stephanie, this is enough. I'll go ask others for some more, and leave these for the other children!"

The old lady patted Cecily's little head.

"What a good child! Oh, and by the way! Grandma has a little gift for you!"

As she spoke, the old lady took a lollipop out of the room and handed it to Ceci.

(It's like the candy sticks stuck on a stick in the movie "Kung Fu Hustle".)
"This is for you too!"

"Thank you, Grandma Stephanie!"

Cecily happily tore open the lollipop packaging and put the candy in her mouth.

Lollipops are generally quite large, so Ceci can only hold a portion of them.

"As long as you like it!"

"Grandma Stephanie, I have to go now. See you next time!"

"Okay, please be careful!"

Cecily waved to Stephanie, then, carrying a basket and eating a lollipop, skipped and hopped out of the apartment.

Stephanie watched Cecily leave, and just as she was about to close the door, she suddenly saw a woman dressed in a ghost costume coming down from upstairs.

Because of her incredibly hot figure, even a regular ghost costume was stretched taut.

"who are you?"

"Mrs. Stephanie, this is my name, Dalia."

"Oh! It's Mrs. O'Connor! What are you dressed like that for?"

Dalia gave an awkward laugh. The main reason she was dressed like this was because the ghost costume was prepared by her sister's team tonight to deal with Roy. Although she wasn't going to Beverly Hills tonight, she still brought the costume back with her.

There was nothing else in the house suitable for disguise, so Dalia simply wore this outfit to cover her face so that Ceci wouldn't notice.

“I was a little worried about Cecily, so I came out to check on him.”

"Oh--"

Stephanie gave a meaningful look, then winked at Dalia.

"Are you planning to find Ceci a new dad? I get it! I was crazy when I was young too!"

Upon hearing this, Dalia quickly offered an explanation.

"Mrs. Stephanie, that's not true! I..."

"Alright, Mrs. O'Connor, Cecily has been gone for a while now, don't lose her!"

Stephanie looked like she'd stumbled upon some major gossip, completely ignoring Dalia's explanations. Dalia had no choice but to follow her daughter.

Fortunately, Cecily hadn't gone far. After leaving the apartment, she stood at the door for a while, seemingly considering where to get some candy first.

There are many people Ceci knows in this community, and she plans to carefully plan her route.

With the plan in place, Sisi began walking toward his first destination.

Half an hour later, Ceci sat on a park bench and checked her haul for the evening. The little basket Dalia had given her was full, with at least two hundred candies.

This made Sisi extremely happy.

"Mom said I can only eat a maximum of 5 candies a day. How many days can I eat that many candies?"

Ceci started counting on her fingers, but soon realized she didn't have enough fingers.

"What should I do? I don't have enough fingers, how am I supposed to calculate?"

Ceci scratched her head. She had only started elementary school in the second half of the year, and with America's happy education model, she had not mastered complex multiplication and division at all.

After thinking for a long time, Cecily still didn't know how to calculate it, so she thought of taking it home and asking her mother to calculate it for her.

Cecily had no idea that her mother, Dalia, was watching her from behind a bush not far away.

"Should we get some more candy?"

The small basket was already quite full, but there was still some space in Ceci's pocket.

After thinking it over, Ceci decided to try her luck again and try to fill her pockets as well, so that she wouldn't have to worry about running out of candy until Christmas.

Sisi got off the bench and skipped and hopped toward the neighboring community.

Seeing this, Dalia quickly followed, but perhaps because her movements were too furtive, she was spotted by a FEA agent who was on duty in the park.

"Halt! I'm from the LAPD, what are you doing?"

Yes, to facilitate law enforcement without revealing their identities, the FEA uses special LAPD badges to enforce the law during Halloween.

For the average citizen, an LAPD badge is definitely more intimidating than a FEA badge.

Dalia quickly raised her hands, fearing that if she was a step too slow, the two agents not far away would take out their pistols and empty their magazines.

However, Dalia forgot that she was in a park in an affluent area, where the police were more accommodating and wouldn't just open fire at the slightest provocation, unlike in the slums.

"I'm the mother of that little girl! I was just worried about her safety going out alone, so I secretly followed her to keep an eye on her!"

Two FEA agents stepped forward and sized up Dalia.

"Ma'am, may I see your driver's license?"

Dalia carefully took her wallet out of her pocket and handed her driver's license to the agent.

The detective glanced at the driver's license and found the name on it somewhat familiar.

“Dalia O’Connor, I think I’ve heard that name before? Jess, ask the front desk.”

Another agent pressed the walkie-talkie to contact the control center, which quickly responded.

“Dalia O’Connor is on the list of collaborators.”

"Roger that!"

The two FEA agents had Dalia show her face again to confirm it was her before apologizing to her. But by then, Ceci had already been gone for five minutes.

This made Dalia very anxious.

"What should I do? I can't find my daughter!"

"Ms. O'Connor, why don't we help you find your daughter?"

To express their apologies, the two FEA agents decided to help Dalia find Ceci.

"Thank you so much!"

Meanwhile, Cecily was unaware that her mother had almost been arrested by the FEA. She skipped over to the next neighborhood and knocked on the door of a house.

When the door opened, a thin Latino man was standing there.

Just as Ceci was about to say "trick or treat," the homeowner simply closed the door.

The little girl was startled, and then, feeling wronged, went to knock on other people's doors.

At that moment, Ceci suddenly noticed a man wearing a yellow suit and a white clown mask leaning against a street lamp.

(You should still remember this clown, right?)

Cecilia paused for a moment, because the yellow-clad clown was very tall and particularly burly, which instinctively frightened her.

What frightened the little girl even more was that the clown in yellow was walking towards her step by step.

Cecilia didn't know what to do and stood there in a panic.

The yellow-clad clown pressed closer, exuding an oppressive aura, and his shadow soon enveloped her.

Ceci looked up in alarm at the clown in yellow, who suddenly reached out and handed Ceci a small yellow flower.

The little girl's expression instantly changed from fright to happiness.

"Is this for me?"

The clown in yellow nodded, and Ceci happily accepted the flowers.

Then, the clown in yellow began performing magic tricks for Ceci, making Ceci laugh heartily and cheer repeatedly.

However, after watching the performance for a while, Ceci suddenly remembered that his task was not yet completed.

"Sorry, Uncle, I can't watch your performance anymore. I need to go ask for candy."

The clown in yellow removed his hat in greeting and watched Sisi leave.

As soon as Ceci turned around, he saw another group of people dressed as clowns.

These clowns' costumes were much cruder than those of the Yellow Clown; they were all dressed in a jumble of colorful clothes, and their makeup was also very rough.

Because of the Yellow Clown, Ceci is no longer as afraid of clowns, so she walked past them without thinking much about it.

However, a sinister hand suddenly reached for Ceci's shoulder.

"Look at this, a little red hood!"

Cecilia stared wide-eyed at the clown who had grabbed her, only then realizing that these clowns were all carrying weapons.

"Anderson, if she's Little Red Riding Hood, then what are you? The Big Bad Wolf?"

"Hehe, it could also be a werewolf!"

"What do you want? Let me go!"

Ceci struggled violently, but how could an eight-year-old possibly break free from an adult's grasp?

Several clowns burst into laughter at Ceci's appearance. Halfway through their laughter, the person who had grabbed Ceci suddenly felt his hand lighten, and then realized that he was holding a real Little Red Riding Hood doll.

The laughter stopped abruptly, and everyone was somewhat surprised and uncertain. Then they realized that Ceci had somehow appeared next to the yellow-clad clown on the other side.

Cecilia herself was even more confused than the clowns opposite her; she only felt her eyes blur and she was suddenly in a different position.

The clowns were annoyed when they saw the clown in yellow leaning on a cane, looking very arrogant.

Hey! Were you playing a trick just now?

The clown in yellow pointed at himself.

"I'm talking to you! Don't think you can put on airs just because you're dressed up. Hand over your valuables right now!"

The clowns pulled out all sorts of weapons—crowbars, baseball bats, wrenches—giving off a rabble-like vibe.

It turns out that these guys dressed as clowns were actually a criminal gang.

Several similar cases occur in Los Angeles every year on Halloween Eve, because the holiday makes it too convenient to commit crimes.

This is the only day of the year when people can wear strange clothes and cover their faces without being questioned by the police.

At this moment, Ceci remembered that before leaving home, her mother Dalia had specifically told her not to go to places with few people, and the area around this community was indeed a place with few people.

This is actually quite normal in Los Angeles; just across the street, there can be wealthy neighborhoods and impoverished neighborhoods on opposite sides.

While one side enjoys nightly music and dance, the other side might be a dark forest.

Because Ceci was still young, she didn't know the difference between rich and poor neighborhoods, so she mistakenly entered a poor neighborhood.

That's why the Latino man quickly closed the door, fearing someone might use a child to break in and rob him.

Seeing the clowns wielding weapons across from her, Cecily fearfully hid behind the clown in yellow; only this tall man could give her a sense of security now.

Upon hearing the threats from his fellow clowns, the clown in yellow snapped his fingers and then began reaching into his clothes, a gesture that made the other clowns nervous.

In a place like America, you might pull something out if you reach inside someone's clothes.

"What do you want to do!"

The clown in yellow quickly gestured for people not to be nervous, and then pulled a glittering gold pocket watch out of his clothes.

"Boss, it looks like gold!"

The clowns all revealed greedy eyes, their gazes completely drawn to the golden pocket watch.

"I saw it. Go and get me the pocket watch!"

"Huh? Me?"

"It's you! Go now!"

A chubby clown came running over and stretched out his hand to the clown in yellow.

"Bring it!"

But the clown in yellow quickly tossed the golden pocket watch into his top hat and gestured for the other person to put their hand in.

"What are you doing!"

The fat clown was a little angry, but when he thought of the golden pocket watch so close at hand, he suppressed his anger and reached inside.

As a result, after the fat clown reached into the top hat, he couldn't touch the bottom. Even after he put his whole hand in, he still couldn't reach the bottom.

At this moment, the fat clown also sensed something was wrong, and then found that he couldn't pull his arm out.

"How could this happen? Boss, help me!"

The fat clown tried to pull his hand away, but he couldn't succeed; it seemed as if some invisible force was biting his hand.

This scene caused some panic among the other clowns nearby, as the situation before them was beyond their imagination.

The clown, known as the boss, couldn't help but pull out a handgun. How could a criminal in America not carry a gun? He just hadn't thought it necessary to draw his gun before.

"You bastard! What did you do to Cassie! Let him go right now!"

The clown in yellow actually delivered the top hat, and as a result, the fat clown fell flat on his back, but his arm was still stuck.

"Cassie, are you alright?"

"Boss, I still can't pull my arm out!"

While the clown leader was still in shock and uncertainty, he saw the clown in yellow tuck his walking stick under his armpit and walk towards them step by step.

"You, don't come over!"

Dorothy

(End of this chapter)