Two Heads Are Better Than One

“Okay Aiden, let's make this a little more interesting.” Tyler, Aiden’s fifteen year old brother, said.

“Alright, let’s make a bet!” Aiden, the nine year old younger brother, suggested.

“Oh yeah, what are you thinking?” Tyler asked.

“Whoever wins gets to pick the other person’s Halloween costume.” Aiden said. Halloween was a few weeks away and neither boys had really thought about their costumes.

“Okay, that sounds fun.” Tyler didn’t have any plans for Halloween and expected to just walk around the neighbourhood with Aiden. The two then had their video game match, it was just a racing game.

“Ha! I won!” Aiden jumped up.

“Nice one, I thought I had you there for a second.” Tyler stood up as well. Tyler was a tall teenager easily the tallest in his class, he also worked out a lot so was rather strong as well. Aiden on the other hand was the complete opposite, he was the shortest in his class. Aiden barely made it to his waist when standing beside each other. Tyler swooped down and picked up Aiden, which he was used to. “So what am I wearing, pick something cool!” Tyler demanded. He then threw Aiden onto the couch.

“How about we do something together?” Aiden suggested.

“What do you mean?” Tyler figured he was going to do a group costume.

“How about a two headed monster?” Aiden said. Tyler thought about it for a second.

“If that’s what you want, I’m fine with that.” Tyler figured he got a pretty good deal out of that, Aiden could have picked something embarrassing. Aiden was getting excited for Halloween now.

A few days go by and Aiden walks into Tyler’s room. “I can’t find any good two headed monster costumes.”

Tyler looks at Aiden, “let’s head over to the costume store and see what they have.”

Tyler brings Aiden to a local costume shop, it’s a stand alone store in a plaza called ‘Costume World’. Tyler walks up to the counter. “Hello, do you have any two headed monster costumes?”

The teenager looked at the two, “We have one, I’m not sure if it’s what you are looking for”. The teenager got up and walked them to a counter where she pulled something out. It was a large rubber and latex suit, all one piece and it had two heads. She looked him up and down. “It should fit you, do you want it or not?” The teenager didn’t seem to care either way.

He looked at Aiden who seemed excited they found something. “Uh sure I’ll take it.”

“This is going to be so awesome!” Aiden shouted.

The teenager rang them through, the outfit was surprisingly affordable and handed Tyler a bag. “Happy Halloween” she said unenthusiastically.

Tyler and Aiden then went home, “Looks like we are all set then.”

Halloween fell on a Saturday this year so the two watched a couple movies during the day, eventually it’s about time to get ready and their Mom turns up.

“Hey boys, are you ready for Halloween? Tyler you mentioned you were taking Aiden Trick or Treating?” Their Mom asked.

“Yeah Mom, we are going together, he even picked mine, or our costume” Tyler replied

“Oh really, well you two better get ready then, I can’t wait to see it.”

Tyler and Aiden went upstairs to Tyler’s room where the costume was still in the bag from the store. Tyler pulled it out fully and for the first time inspected it. The costume was a two headed monster costume, it was made of rubber and latex and was a purple monster with green scales, the built in masks featured horns and demon ears.

“Hmm we probably should have tried this on before Halloween.” Tyler mentioned worried.

“What do you mean?” Aiden was confused, the costume looked great.

“Well this is a Two Headed monster, but I don’t think it’s actually a Two Person costume. Look there is a mannequin head inside the left head and it’s slightly different” Tyler said looking inside the costume.

“Oh.” Aiden sounded disappointed. “Then what am I going to wear?” Aiden's facial expression changed quickly, he really wanted to do a two person costume.

“Hey, let’s see if Mom has an idea how we can make this work” Tyler suggested.

“Yeah okay” Aiden wasn’t hopeful.

Tyler and Aiden brought the costume to their Mom. She flipped it over for a bit.

“Hmmm, this is a puzzle isn’t it. I love the idea, however you should have told me before you bought this.” She looked at the two heads then reached in. “Here Tyler, grab those horns.” She pulled from the inside and Tyler from the outside and together she freed the mannequin head. The material itself had a little stretch to it so no damage was done. She motioned for Aiden to come closer and she held up the mannequin head next to his. “Oh, good looks like your head will fit Aiden.” Aiden’s head was almost the same size as the fake one.

“Let’s cut some holes for Aiden in the mask” She pulled out of a drawer an exacto knife to cut out eye holes and then some small breath hole in the nose and a slightly larger one at the mouth. “That should do” she remarked.

“Okay Tyler, let’s start with you, try on the suit by yourself.”

Tyler grabbed the suit and tried to put it on over his clothes, he quickly discovered the material was making his clothes uncomfortable as it bunched up. “Hang on, let me just take off my pants and shirt.” Tyler quickly stripped to his underwear and pulled up the suit, he stuck his head into the right monster head, he then pulled on the sleeves. Without asking his mom zipped up the back, the head on the left flopped forward, now deflated. The mask fit his face well and the eyes lined up with the mask. His hands extended into long monster fingers. “Okay so it fits me, now what do we do?”

His Mom tugged at the back of the costume, it still had some stretch. “I think it might just work. What was your plan, to just carry Aiden on your back?”

“To be honest I didn’t really think of it that much, it was actually Aiden’s idea. I could do that though he is pretty light.” Tyler seemed satisfied.

“Okay then, I just need to grab one thing.” There Mom went to a closet and started looking around. “I know I didn’t throw this away, but it should be perfect!” There Mom came back with a harness, it had holes for legs and went over the user's shoulders. “I used this back at an old job I had, I’m glad I kept it.” There Mom unzipped the costume and helped Tyler bring it down to his waist, she noticed he was already warm from the costume. “It must not be a very breathable material?”

“No I’m glad I took my clothes off, but once we are outside it should be fine” Tyler said.

“That’s true, Aiden, you should remove your clothes as well.” Mom demanded.

“Oh okay.” Aiden took off his pants and sweater, standing in just his underwear. Their Mom held out the legs of the harness for Aiden to step into, she pulled up the straps. “Isn’t it a little big?” Aiden asked. He held the shoulder straps above his head, the legs straps were very loose.

“Hang on, let's tighten up those legs first.” There Mom kneeled down and pulled the leg straps tight to Aiden’s legs, the shoulder straps however she loosened as much as possible. “Okay now pick Aiden up like you giving him a piggyback” Tyler kneeled down, allowing Aiden to jump up onto his back, he then held him up.

“Like this?” Tyler asked.

“Yes, kind of” She took the shoulder straps and wrapped them over Tyler’s shoulder’s instead of Aiden’s, while Tyler held Aiden in place she started pulling the straps tight and connected it together in the front. “Okay let go of him.” Tyler slowly let go and his weight was supported by the harness. “Ha! I figured this would work.” Aiden’s feet dangled at Tylers sides and he had his hands free. There Mom walked around and started to shift Aiden more to the left, tugging and loosing straps as required. “Here Aiden put your left hand under Tyler’s Left arm” Aiden reached down slightly pulling his head forward, his hand resting on Tylers chest. “Okay now your right arm over his right shoulder.” Aiden did as he was told. “How does that feel Tyler?” His mom asked.

“This feels fine, like I’m wearing a heavy backpack, I can manage this for tonight!” Tyler sounded confident. Aiden was smiling ear to ear.

“Okay as long as you're comfortable, now comes the tricky part. Hold still and I’ll pull on the rest of the costume. There Mom slowly started to pull up the rest of the costume which was now much more difficult. She first took Aidens legs and stuffed them down the pant legs to get them out of the way, then she held out the sleeves for Tyler to put his arms in. “Aiden just rest your hands flat on Tylers chest.”

“Like this?” Aiden spread his hands out over his chest.

“Perfect.” Their Mom then stretched the two masks at the same time over their heads, Tyler’s slipped on easy, but Aiden’s got caught. “Hang on, I got it.” Their mom helped by tugging the left mask, she noticed it was much stiffer then Tyler’s, clearly meant to hold up the mannequin head. She gave a firm tug and the head snapped into place. “How does that feel Aiden?”

“It’s a little tight but it’s okay.”

“Okay, great, looks like we just need to see if we can zip this thing up!” Their Mom started to pull on the zipper and it kept getting caught in places, she pushed and prodded Aiden. As the zipper got to Aiden’s back it was easier to finish and there Mom quickly zipped it to the top. “Okay let’s take a look!” She led them to the hallway mirror and pulled out her phone for some pictures.

The overall effect turned out pretty well. From the front the purple costume looked like a tall monster with green scales. The extra bulges actually made it look less human and gave off a more authentic look. The hump on the back even worked out well, Tyler and Aiden gave a monster face and stuck out their tongues. The faces looked pretty good, Tyler’s fit well and he had a hole for his nose, eyes and mouth. Aiden’s mask was tight but he could also see, and breath fine.

“How does it feel?” Their Mom asked.

“I think this worked out, I feel good and I can carry Aiden no problem in this harness.” Tyler was showing off.

“It should be fun.” Aiden said quickly. His Mom looked at Aiden for a few seconds longer.

“Everything okay?” Mom asked.

“It’s just a little tight, everywhere.” Aiden was pressed up tightly against Tyler’s back, his legs stuffed down Tyler’s pants and his arms pressed firmly to his chest. His mask was also really tight and he barely fit in it, unlike Tyler’s it didn’t articulate at all so he could only look straight ahead.

“Do you want to change?” Hi Mom asked

“No! It will be great… We look great” His Mom seemed okay with it.

“It will be fine Mom, the suit will loosen up throughout the night, like a new pair of jeans.” Tyler said confidently.

“Yeah I suppose you're right, besides I have plans soon and you two should get going if you want to get all that candy!” Their Mom motioned for them to start their fun. She handed Tyler a trick or treating bag. “Have fun! Don’t scare too many kids”

“No promises!” Tyler said. With Aiden now sharing the suit it was a little warm. Tyler started to head for the door, luckily the soles of the feet were made out of a thick rubber so he decided he didn’t need any shoes as his feet wouldn’t fit in them anyway.

“Alright buddy let’s go!” Tyler opened the door and the two left. It was a brisk night out on Halloween and the sun was only just setting so they had plenty of time to collect candy. The cold air made them feel better about being in the costume since it fought off the heat.

Tyler walked over to the first house and knocked on the door. He was greeted by a couple of kids who ran away screaming, Tyler and Aiden laughed at getting the reaction they wanted and a man walked down the hall. “Oh I see we have a big monster, aren’t you a little old for Trick or Treating?”

“I’m taking my brother.'' Tyler pointed at Aiden’s head.

“Trick or Treat!” The spare monster head said with glee.

“Oh that’s such a great costume, how does it work? Is your brother controlling the left arm or something?” His neighbour asked.

“Oh I’m doing all the moving, Aiden here is strapped to my back.” Tyler said, showing off his strength.

“I see, well here is your candy!” The man dropped some candy into their bag. “Have a good night.”

“Thank You!” Aiden said.

Tyler walked down the driveway and started looking around. “Aiden, see anyone else on the street with lights on?” Tyler asked.

Aiden tried to move his head, but the mask wouldn’t move, his head was firmly locked into the position it was in. “Uh I can’t really look around.” Aiden told Tyler.

“Oh I see, well let’s just head over to the next street then we will find something, we have all night.”

Tyler walked over to the next street, the two spent some time scaring the neighbours they walked by and getting compliments on the costume. People were always surprised to learn there were two actual heads under the masks. They stopped at some more houses, it looks like a lot of people just weren’t participating this year.

“I wonder where everyone is.” Tyler said to Aiden.

“Yeah, it seems like we are in a ghost town.” Aiden said a little disappointed. Tyler looked in the candy bag and saw only a quarter the way full.

“Let’s keep going.” The two finally found a house with some jack o lanterns and knocked on the door. The door swung open and Aiden happily shouted.

“Trick or treat!”

“Wow what a great costume, are there really two of you in there?” a woman stood before them.

“Yeah, me and my little brother.” Tyler once again shows off that he can carry Aiden as long as he wants. “Do you happen to know why there is no one handing out candy?” Tyler asked.

“Oh yes, most people went to the high school where all the kids can safely get candy from each other.” The women smiled. “It’s great to see you do it the old fashioned way though, have a great night.” She gave them some candy.

Tyler walked down the driveway and kept going through the neighbourhood, there really only one are two houses giving out candy on the street. He felt Aiden pulling at his shoulders.

“You okay back there.” Tyler asked.

“Yup, I’m fine!” Aiden said, trying not to sound discomforted to the person who was carrying him. The actual reason was that he hasn’t been able to move or adjust since the costume was zipped up. His arms were pinned to Tylers chest by the costume and he was pressed up against his back, Thankfully his legs were pushed into Tyler’s pants so they were moving. He thought Tyler would get tired and call it quits but he seemed to be going just fine. The stiffness was actually pretty exhausting. Aiden tried to see if Tyler was tired. “Are you tired? You have been carrying me for a while now.”

“Oh don’t worry about me, this is a pretty good workout. I carry more when I go camping.” Tyler said smugly.

“Okay sounds like we should keep going.” Aiden suggested.

“Yeah, but there aren’t many houses here. I was thinking maybe we should head over to the High School so that we can get some more treats.” Tyler suggested.

“Oh okay, that’s a good plan. Where is the High School?” Aiden asked.

“It’s a bit of a walk, but I do it all the time. Don’t worry about it! We can even stop along the way and collect candy.” Tyler reassured Aiden.

“Okay let’s do it!” Tyler turned around and headed in the opposite direction, Tyler usually takes the bus to school but walks home almost every day. When walking home it only takes him about forty minutes.

“We should get there in no time!” Tyler kept to the most direct route, which admittedly only left a few houses to stop at, he figured he’ll take a more scenic route on the way back if they need more candy. The two were constantly complimented on their costume, and Tyler kept flexing showing he could carry Aiden. Aiden was getting as stiff as ever, not being able to move his head was getting uncomfortable, the harness straps were also chaffing a bit since Tyler was walking faster. The inside of the suit was getting hot again since Tyler was mostly walking and despite the cold air he was starting to sweat, it didn’t help that Aiden was strapped to him who was also sweating.

After what felt like an eternity the two of them finally saw the school. “See Aiden, I told you it wasn’t that far.”

“Yeah, thanks for carrying me all the way here.” Aiden said.

“No sweat! Well maybe a little.” Tyler laughed at his own joke. The two walked into the parking lot and were greeted by one of the teachers.

“Hello, welcome to the spooky high school candy exchange.” The teacher was actually Tyler’s home room teacher Mrs Nelson.

“Hey Mrs Nelson, I am just taking my little brother here trick or treating, I was told this was the place to be.” Tyler explained to his teacher.

“Welcome Tyler, I’m glad you and your brother stopped by, please enjoy the treats. I love the costume, you two are really pulling off the monster vibe, please see me when you're finished up.” Mrs Nelson, who was dressed as a clown, told Tyler.

“Sure thing, I’ll see you soon!” Tyler told Mrs Nelson.

Tyler rushed to the booths to gather their candy, Aiden was happy to explain the costume and beg for candy from all the vendors, he seemed to be having a great time.

“Hey Tyler, do you think there is a place to grab a drink?” Aiden asked Tyler.

“Oh I think we can find a stall.” Tyler reassured Aiden, he hadn’t asked him. Aiden was getting really thirsty from all the sweating and general stiffness.

Tyler approached one of the food stalls and asked for a couple bottles of water, they obliged and gave them a few, which Tyler stored in the candy bag. Tyler finished off half a bottle not realizing just how thirsty he was then offered some to Aiden.

“Could you give me a hand?” Aiden asked Tyler since his hand couldn’t be moved.

“Oh sure!” Tyler said as he held the bottle to the hole in the mouth of his costume. AIden drank deeply from the bottle, he was really parched from the walk.

“Thanks, that's a lot better!” Aiden felt reinvigorated and ready to gather more candy. Tyler and Aiden walked through the group and filled their bag of candy, they got numerous compliments on their costume.

“Hey Aiden, looks like we are almost finished with the bag, I just want to check in with Mrs Nelson.” Tyler asked Aiden.

“Oh sure, no problem.” Aiden told Tyler.

Tyler walked over to Mrs Nelson who waved them over. “Tyler I’m so glad you and your brother are here in such a great costume, do you think you could take over for me in greeting people tonight? I wanted to take my daughter through the booths, she hasn’t had a chance yet. I’ll even give you extra credit next week in class” At the mention of extra credit Tyler immediately responds.

“Of course, we will take over!”

“Thank you so much, I won’t forget this.” Mrs Nelson then picks up a small girl wearing a teddy bear costume. “See you soon” She then walked off.

“Sorry Aiden, I’m sure this won’t take long but I really needed the brownie points from Mrs. Nelson for an upcoming assignment.” Tyler pleaded with Aiden.

Aiden still felt uncomfortable in the outfit but understood where Tyler was coming from. “It’s okay, I understand”.

Tyler and Aiden then spent the next few hours greeting and scaring guests as they came to the Halloween festival. Tyler had really been carrying Aiden all night at this point and it was well past when he thought he would be home. “Tyler, I’m getting a little sore, how much longer until we head home?”. Aiden was downplaying his soreness, he hasn’t been able to budge an inch in hours and was getting really uncomfortable.

“Not much longer we haven’t seen new guests in a bit and then we will head home.” Tyler told Aiden.

“Okay, that should be fine.” Aiden told Tyler.

After a little while Mrs Nelson finally showed up with her daughter who was now all smiles thanks to the candy. “Thanks boys, I’m sorry that it took much longer than I expected. I’ll see you Monday and Tyler I’ll be sure to give you extra credit.”

“No problem Mrs Nelson, it was a fun time!” Tyler told his teacher. “Let’s head home, Aiden.”

Tyler started to walk away from the campus and inspected the bag of candy. There were some great treats and they got plenty from the high school, he figured he would take a couple shortcuts home. “How are you doing Aiden?” Tyler asked, even though his shoulders and back were sore, he wanted to see how Aiden was doing.

“Uh, I’m getting really tired and the mask is bothering me. When are we getting home?” Aiden was clearly trying to get home quickly.

“Don’t worry it’s just a bit further away.” Tyler after walking back from the school finally making it home. “See we made it back in no time.” Tyler had walked pretty quickly and had built up a sweat. He reached into the candy bag and pulled out another water bottle, he drank deeply and then offered it to Aiden. “Want a drink?”

Aiden just simply replied with an “Mmm hm.” He was really struggling to hold back his discomfort. Tyler held the bottle to the mouth of the costume and Aiden finished the rest of the bottle. “That’s a little better,” He said.

Tyler walked up to the porch and grabbed the handle, he realized quickly the door was locked. “That’s weird.”

“What's wrong?” Aiden asked.

“The door is locked.” Tyler then rang the doorbell and waited, no one answered.

“Uh so what do we do?” Aiden asked, concerned.

Tyler knelt down and lifted up a plant pot, there was a spare key underneath. “Never thought I would need this but I don’t have my phone or keys with me.” Tyler unlocked the door and stepped inside giving a large sigh. “Jeez what a crazy night, let’s get out of this thing shall we?”

“Yes, finally please!” Aiden was relieved to be home.

Tyler spent a moment to thoroughly wipe his feet on the welcome mat and headed for his room. He reached up and tried to find the zipper. “Jeez it’s hard to get hold of the zipper with these elongated fingers!” Tyler complained.

With Tyler stretching in weird ways the costume pulled tightly against Aiden. “Ack, Tyler, it’s too tight”. Aiden complained with a shortened breath.

“Hang on, I almost got it.” Tyler had a weak grasp of the zipper pull and with the smallest tug it slipped out of his costumed fingers. Once it slipped away he brought his arms back to their normal position. Aiden took in a breath and was breathing a little heavy.

“Too tight buddy?” Tyler asked.

“Yeah, it felt like I was being crushed.” Aiden complained. “Did you get it at all?”

“No I can’t grab it with these fingers and you being on my back makes it too difficult to reach. Tyler sighed trying to think of what to do. His back and shoulders were now screaming in. “I need to sit down for a bit, let’s wait until Mom gets home.”

“Okay Tyler.” Aiden agreed.

Tyler walked over to his bed and started piling up all his pillows at one end, he then sat down in front of them which gave Aiden a little seat on top of all the pillows, this lifted his but up a bit so the pillows were supporting him instead of Tyler. “Oh that’s much better, how are you holding up?”

Aiden tried to adjust at all but he was still pressed against Tyler’s back, still his arms were pinned down and his head and neck still locked into place. “Not much different, to be honest everything is still sore and I’m getting really tired. I want to go to bed and stretch”. Aiden was now trying to explain how exhausted he was. “What time is it Tyler?”

Tyler grabbed his phone from the night stand and held it up, it read 10:30 PM on it. The two left when it was still light out so they have been in costume for over five hours. “It’s pretty late for you, even for a Saturday, let me call Mom and see where she is.” Tyler phoned his Mom and waited for an answer, it went to voicemail. Tyler just hung up and sent a text asking where she was.

“That’s strange she didn’t pick up.” Tyler commented.

“Maybe her phone died?” Aiden suggested, he then gave a yawn.

“Yeah probably, look I just need to sit here for a bit longer to rest my shoulders. Why don’t you try to close your eyes and get some sleep, once Mom comes in I will get her to take this off.” Tyler suggested clearly noticing his brother was struggling.

“I doubt I’ll fall asleep but okay.” Aiden agreed and within minutes he was asleep.

Tyler checked his phone for an answer and got nothing. Eventually Tyler put the phone down and leaned his head against Aiden’s. Pretty soon they were both asleep.

Throughout the night Tyler eventually fell down from his sitting position and rolled over onto his stomach. Aiden stirred briefly but went back to sleep, too tired and sore to complain about the new position. After more time passed light started to creep into Tyler’s room and he opened his eyes.

“Mmmhhmm” Tyler groaned as he opened his eyes, immediately remember the situation he was in, he didn’t mean to fall asleep for the whole night. He tried sitting up in bed slowly which woke Aiden up.

“Ah, ouch, ouch!” Aiden said as Tyler sat up. “Mmmmm” Aiden groaned as he woke up. “Did we fall asleep the whole night, ugh I can’t take this anymore.” Aiden’s head didn’t feel right and everything felt squashed against him.

Tyler grabbed his phone and looked at it, his Mom had texted him “Hey I got home really late, I’ll see you in the morning. I hope you two had a fun night.”

“Mom is home!” Tyler shouted. He got up and started for his door, taking the weight of Aiden again.

“Mom! Are you home!” Tyler shouted down the stairs.

“I’m in the kitchen.” She called back. Tyler rushed down the stairs happy he would be able to get out of this costume. He walked into the kitchen and saw his Mom.

“Oh my gosh, you put the costume back on! Are you trying to scare me?” Their Mom said putting her coffee down.

“Sorry Mom, I couldn’t get at the zipper yesterday, can you unzip us?” Tyler pleaded with his Mom.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you couldn’t take it off. You two have been wearing that since yesterday, sounds like you got some quality time.” Their Mom joked with him.

“Please Mom, take it off, I can’t take it anymore! My face feels funny” Aiden pleaded with his Mom.

“Oh okay Aiden.” There Mom went to the zipper and started pulling, after a few moments the two could hear it unzipping. “Let me get those masks off.” She pulled Tyler’s off first since she knew Aidens was tighter, she then pulled at the mask and it seemed stuck. “Aiden you okay?”

The mask pulling was painful, but Aiden just wanted out. “Just yank it off!” he cried. His Mom pulled hard and like it came on it popped off his head. There Mom then pulled the front of the suit down and Tyler pulled out his arms.

Tears had welled up in Aiden’s eye but his head was finally free, he tried to rotate his head a little and pain struck him “Ouch! My neck is really sore.”. He looked at his Mom who had wide eyes.

“Oh Aiden, you should have said the mask was too tight. Your face and neck are all swollen.” Hi Mom carefully told him.

Aiden took a moment to stretch his arms now that they were free. “Can you let me down Tyler?” Aiden now pulled his legs out of Tyler’s pants. Tyler held his but for a moment while his mom unstrapped the shoulder straps from Tyler. Tyler had visible rashes on his shoulders. He knelt down and placed Aiden on his feet, he imeedieatly plopped onto his but. “My legs are all tingly,” Aiden complained.

“Look, I’m going for a shower.” Tyler then walked away stretching.

Aiden’s mom knelt down and started to undo the leg straps from Aiden’s legs and took the harness away. “Why don’t you head to bed Aiden, I think you could use some quality rest.

Aiden slowly got to his feet with the help of his Mom. “Yeah okay.” Aiden was now just standing in the kitchen in his underwear and headed upstairs. He went to the spare washroom and looked at his face. His face and neck were all swollen and there were rashes wherever the harness was attached to him. He laughed a little at his new look and went to his room. He collapsed in his bed thankful Halloween was over.