Hallowe'en is a good time for a rumble. There's too many kids around
for the cops to keep track of all of them, and if you're picked up
carrying a knife or a length of tire chain or something, why, you're on
your way to a Hallowe'en party and you're in costume. You're going as a
JD.
The problem was this schoolyard. It was a block wide, with entrances
on two streets. The street on the north was Challenger territory, and
the street on the south was Scarlet Raider territory, and both sides
claimed the schoolyard. There had been a few skirmishes, a few guys
from both gangs had been jumped and knocked around a little, but that
had been all. Finally, the War Lords from the two gangs had met, and
determined that the matter could only be settled in a war.
The time was chosen: Hallowe'en. The place was chosen: the schoolyard.
The weapons were chosen: pocket knives and tire chains okay, but no
pistols or zip-guns. The time was fixed: eleven P.M. And the winner
would have undisputed territorial rights to the schoolyard, both
entrances.
The night of the rumble, the gangs assembled in their separate
clubrooms for last-minute instructions. Debs were sent out to play
chicken at the intersections nearest the schoolyard, both to warn of
the approach of cops and to keep out any non-combatant kids who might
come wandering through.
Judy Canzanetti was a Deb with the Scarlet Raiders. She was fifteen
years old, short and black-haired and pretty in a movie-magazine,
gum-chewing sort of way. She was proud of being in the Auxiliary of the
Scarlet Raiders, and proud also of the job that had been assigned to
her. She was to stand chicken on the southwest corner of the street.
Judy took up her position at five minutes to eleven. The streets were
dark and quiet. Few people cared to walk this neighborhood after dark,
particularly on Hallowe'en. Judy leaned her back against the telephone
pole on the corner, stuck her hands in the pockets of her Scarlet
Raider jacket and waited.
At eleven o'clock, she heard indistinct noises begin behind her. The
rumble had started.
At five after eleven, a bunch of little kids came wandering down the
street. They were all about ten or eleven years old, and most of them
carried trick-or-treat shopping bags. Some of them had Hallowe'en masks
on.
They started to make the turn toward the schoolyard. Judy said, "Hey,
you kids. Take off."