“Thanks, Mr. Randolph. I mean Captain.” Myles’s father was in the air force and was still wearing his uniform.

“No need for formality, Rose. These guys just call me Bo.”

“Okay, Bo.” Rose thought it was a very unmilitary name.

Bo turned to Susan, who had just come out from changing into her spiderweb tights. “And you are . . . Morticia?” Bo asked.

“No, the Unearthly Child. The Doctor’s granddaughter.”

“I see.” Bo walked over to the TARDIS and peeked into the slot.

“Can you see out of there, Myles?”

“Yep, Dad. I see you right there.”

“Navigation won’t be a problem?”

“Nope, I got my wingmen.”

“And wingwomen,” Rose said. If there was ever a wingwoman, it was Queen Elizabeth, Rose thought. She adjusted her skirt and headed into the night as the TARDIS began to roll.

“What a haul,” Anand exclaimed as they entered the park after trick-or-treating for close to an hour.

“I loved that cocoa that they gave us at the last house. They put peppermint in it,” Susan said.

“Wait, stop,” Anand said suddenly.

“What is it?” Myles asked through the slot in the TARDIS.

“The sky. I think I saw a shooting star.”

“Shooting stars this time of year?” Rose said. “Not exactly the season.” She had such good memories of lying out on the lawn in August with her mom on a blanket during the season of the shooting stars, the Perseids.

“I know,” Anand said. Maybe, thought Rose, the seasons in the sky are as tangled as the ones in Gran’s greenhouse.

“Look, see, another!”

“And another!” Joe yelped.

“Oh darn! I can’t see. Can you take off the box for a second?”

They were just removing the TARDIS box when out of the bushes three figures appeared wearing rubber masks. Disney Princess masks.

A sickening feeling swelled in Rose. Remnants of that confusing dream she had experienced at Greenwich rushed back to her. The place of shadows and whispers. The smell of the school lunchroom and the unmistakable feeling that the Trio of Doom was coming after her. The strange paralysis.

Now, standing before her, was Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jasmine from Aladdin, and Briar Rose from Sleeping Beauty. They were absolutely ghoulish in this star-spiked night. The very air around them seemed to vibrate with hate and anger.

“Got a new boyfriend, Rose? A cripple?”

Rose gasped and heard a shocked sound from Myles, who was half in, half out of the box.

“You gotta be kidding,” Joe said. His voice sounded raw.

“I hear your boyfriend wears diapers.” The girls curled their hands into half fists and started jerking them around spastically.

Rose felt as if she had been punched in the chest. She staggered a bit. She felt Susan clutch her hand. It was the dream all over again. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t act. She was frozen.