It was Halloween night, my last. How was I to know the end was so near? I look back now and realize how obvious the signs were. They practically screamed at me. Ironic isn’t it that such a lively holiday would be so full of death.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror for the umpteenth time. I was going trick or treating as a Southern Belle. I wore a purple dress and was just curling my last strands of blonde hair when the doorbell rang. Hastily pulling on my shoes, I clambered down the stairs.

It was my crush Peter at the door; he was going as Zorro. I smiled brightly while greeting him, “Hey, Peter!” He didn’t know I had a crush on him no matter how much I flirted. So typical.

He grinned back running a hand through his golden hair. “Hey, Claire. Nice outfit. You look really pretty.” Peter had complemented me, finally. I twirled around once to show the effect and then invited him in. We were waiting for our other four friends.

I don’t know how I managed it, but I had convinced my friend Ruby to come trick-or-treating with us. The holiday was really sad for her. Her older brother and his two friends had been murdered eight years ago by a madman. She had not celebrated Halloween since. She was too afraid. This year was different though. It was our last year at Hamilton Middle School and we wanted to have one last Halloween as a group before we went to our separate high schools.

The doorbell rang again as I was finishing my makeup. Peter was downstairs watching a monster movie as he waited. It was Leah, my best friend. She was of Chinese descent and had chosen her costume accordingly. She was really very pretty and liked Peter too. Leah immediately joined Peter on the couch as I sped up my costume process. I couldn’t have her flirting with my man for too long. I couldn’t help but giggle to myself. My mother always made a funny clucking noise when Leah and I subtly argued over who he liked and it somehow stuck in my mind. Mom had gone out for dinner with a few friends for the evening.

The doorbell rang three more times and my friends, Ruby, Devon, and Jacob joined Leah, Peter and I in the living room. It was time to trick-or-treat! We started on my street, went down several others and had gotten about half a bag of candy when it happened. Ever cautious, Ruby had brought a radio with her and was listening closely to the news between houses.

“We have breaking news coming in to the studio,” the anchor began, “Charles Quinton, convicted murderer of three boys, eight years ago has escaped from jail. He is rumored to be armed and dangerous and we ask that everyone in the area of Daynesville go home and lock their doors.” Ruby tensed.

“It’s him! He is going to kill us. We’re dead!” she began to cry hysterically.

“No he’s not. He probably is nowhere near us. It’ll be ok,” Leah cooed trying to calm the grieving girl but it was in vain.

“Maybe we should go home like the anchor said.” Everyone glared at me except Peter and Ruby. I couldn’t help but smile, embarrassed at the straightforwardness of my terror.

“No way!” Leah snorted in a voice that clearly said, I’m too popular to be a wimp. “I want my candy! No, lunatic is going to keep me from it!” She flicked her hair angrily.

“Yeah us too,” Devon and Jacob added. Ruby became hysterical.

“Look I’m not going to force her to go. How about Ruby and I go and stay at the clubhouse while you guys get more candy? We’ll lock the door and hide. I’ll only open it for three rings.” We had had a tree house as kids and were so into the idea of secrecy that we had installed a lock and doorbell. It would be perfect for Ruby and me to hide in because it was near here, much closer than my house.

“I’ll stay with you two, just in case you need a strong man around,” Peter teased. I couldn’t help but laugh, Peter was anything but strong. I blushed and Leah glared. “Well, we’ll see you later. Get us lots of candy.” He took my bag along with Ruby’s and tossed them to Devon with his. I turned around and began to lead a still crying Ruby towards the old clubhouse.

Peter came up and walked beside me. We were silent except for the occasional sniffle. The three of us were now trekking through the woods that ran between the industrial city and our small neighborhood. We had hidden our clubhouse somewhere in the middle. Technically it was really Ruby’s and mine. Peter had moved here two years after it was built from somewhere in Florida, Leah had felt it to childish having been forced to mature quickly because of her heritage, and Devon and Jacob hadn’t been our friends years ago. They’d gone to an elementary school across town. But they still knew where it was. We had hidden in it about a year ago after pulling a prank on Jacob’s older brother which we were never caught for.

We kicked up dirt as we walked. An electric company had cleared a dirt service road through these woods and it went right by our club. They would’ve torn the tree and all down if the person in charge had not been Devon’s mom. I could see the looming shadow in the distance. A fog was starting to set in, and I began to shiver. The temperature had dropped greatly assuring that my short sleeves offered no protection.

I felt a warm material being placed over my shoulders. I looked over at Peter. He was missing his Zorro cape and was blushing ever so slightly. I melted inside and for the first time since the news, heard Ruby laugh. She gave me a playful shove, and I ran straight into Peter. Mumbling a quick apology, I stepped a good distance away. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to, you know, run into you.” I could feel the heat rising to my face.

“Oh that’s ok. You might want to go last. After all, you’re in a dress.” We had reached the ladder that lead to the tree house. I nodded. “Want me to go up first make sure no one is up there?”

Ruby’s eyes grew huge and full of horror. “Go look! I refuse to go up there without you inspecting it first.” Peter climbed up the ladder and we could hear him walking around above our heads.

“It is all clear girls.” I couldn’t help but sigh in relief. I let Ruby go before me and waited as she climbed up the ladder. She was having a hard time in her cowgirl boots. I heard a twig snap in the distance and prayed that Ruby would hurry up. I squinted trying to locate the source, but it was useless, there were too many trees. Now I was being a paranoiac. Finally Ruby was up.

I grabbed the ladder and tried to climb up but it was useless. I couldn’t do it in my hoop skirt and heels. “Guys,” I hissed, “I need help.” Peter’s face swam into view above me.

“Give me your hand, and I’ll pull you up.” I clasped this cape around my neck so it wouldn’t fall off and reached up for his hand. It was warm and it sent electric shocks pulsating through me. Peter wrapped his hand firmly around my wrist and gave a strained heave. Luckily, he was able to hoist me up onto the porch of the tree house. Ruby was already cowering inside.

“Thanks.”

Peter smiled and replied nervously. “No problem. Hey, Claire?” He was fidgeting absently with his hands.

I looked up into his sparkling brown eyes, mesmerized. I wasn’t expecting what happened at all. As I turned around he leaned closer and kissed me. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever felt, so pure, so full of love. I completely melted. Every inch of my emotion urged me not to pull away. I wanted to go on kissing him for eternity, but I knew I had to stop. We had to get inside. Regretfully, I pulled away. He stood up shaking and grabbed my hand to pull me up, but this time we did not let go.

We walked through the small doorway and shut it. The room was engulfed by darkness and Ruby gasped audibly. We had never been in here without a flashlight. I heard Peter fumbling with the lock in the inky darkness. “I can’t see the lock. Is there a flashlight in here?”

“We might have left one last time we were here. Let me look.” I let go of his hand and stumbled through the room in search of the flashlight. I found one after a few minutes of looking and with a couple of whacks it came on. I shined it at the door as Peter hastily fastened the lock.

I plopped down leaning against a crate that we had once used for playing cards. Peter sat beside me. “Turn off the light,” he whispered, “it can be seen through the cracks.” I nodded and once again we were plunged into total and complete darkness. It was so romantic. I felt him slip his arm around me, dangerously low. I was comfortable and I leaned on his shoulder ready for a long night of waiting. We dared not talk.

It was 12:47 by the illuminated dial on Ruby’s watch when things took a turn for the worse. We heard the cracking of several twigs outside. I tensed and Peter held me tighter. Ruby scooted over and sat on my other side. We dared not breathe. We could hear soft footsteps coming up the ladder. “Leah, Devon, and Jacob must be done. Let’s get the door for them,” I whispered.

“No, that isn’t enough noise for the three of them. Besides they wouldn’t be sneaking. It has got to be someone else.” I was terrified and silent. We heard the footsteps reach the porch and the door shook violently as someone tried to open it. We are going to die I thought. The door stopped vibrating, and we could hear the clunking of heavy footsteps as they circled the tree house. It seemed to last for an eternity. We did not know where they stopped only that they did stop.

We didn’t dare move or even breathe. We were going to die. I was numb with fear. It seemed like ages before we heard the distinct laughing of our friends coming closer. I wanted to scream out, to yell, “Run you idiots! Run before he kills you!” I couldn’t; I was frozen with fear. We heard them come up the ladder, but we did not hear the clomping of the killer. I was relieved he had left.

The doorbell rang and I rose to get it but Peter held me back. I looked at him confused. “Wait for three rings,” he hissed.

A second ring…

And a third. …

I got up once more but Peter held me back again. “Wait! Make sure there are no more.” As he said this the doorbell began to ring and ring and ring widely. It was an endless nightmare of ringing. Ring! Ring! Ring! Riiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnggggggg!

Suddenly it ceased. There was no noise at all, not even the chirping of crickets or whistling wind. We were thrown once again into a silent wait, endlessly waiting. The room began to smell. It was a foul stench. I had no clue what it was and I buried my face in Peter’s shoulder, but even that could not hold out the awful odor.

I felt nauseated. Peter buried his face in my hair, probably to hide the smell. By the way Ruby’s elbow was in my side I knew she was plugging her nose. Suddenly we heard the whirring of sirens and the constant crunching of leaves as tires rolled over them. They stopped outside. We could see the red, white, and blue lights through the cracks in the tree house.

Someone banged on the door. “Open up! Police.” Peter got up and unlocked the door. A policewoman was standing there with a gun in her hand. She had a look of pure disgust. “Come with me you three and whatever you do don’t look behind you.”

The stench was worse out on the porch and I could hear flies buzzing by my ears. I heard Ruby gasp and grow hysterical behind me. I had to help her. I had to turn around.

I wish I hadn’t. There stuck in the doorbell was part of a human finger. It was stuck in the crack of the bell by the nail. The nail was covered with blue nail polish. I needn’t ask. I knew it was Leah’s. I was going to be sick. Growing dizzy, I began to sway. Peter grabbed me and held me up. I leaned on him letting the tears fall, but even he could not give me a sense of security. I had yet to see the worst.

Somehow I managed to get down the ladder with the help of Peter. I was just like Ruby, in hysterics. What I saw at the bottom was no help. Lying on the ground, as if she had fallen from above, was Leah. She was covered in blood and her eyes gazed terrified at me. I called her name, but she did not move. Her pale body remained lifeless and dead. Dead, my friend was dead. Now I got sick. I bent over on the ground and began to throw up. I was so tired, so weak, so scared. And the whole time Leah stared at me, unblinking.

I was finally able to stand up and look around; it was the worst thing in the world. Ruby had given up and was screaming inside the lone police cruiser, and Peter was frozen staring up at the tree. I followed his gaze. Devon and Jacob were hanging limply by their belts. Their faces were ice blue and their eyes bulged. They swung loosely. They had been hanged; my friends had been hanged. This was too much. I fell to the ground and began to scream and punch the dirt.

I don’t know how I ended up in the back of the police car but I did. I was going home, and I was going to take a nice hot bath. My friends had been killed by a psycho and all I could think about was a shower as if that could wash away the memories. The police car stopped outside my house and we were ushered out. She hit the gas and the three of us were left alone. Why had she not taken Ruby and Peter to their houses? The question entered my mind briefly, but I quickly shooed it away. Right now I thought we all wanted to be inside. The police would call our parents and everything would be ok. I could not have been more wrong.

I took the key from under the mat and unlocked the door, motioning for my friends to enter. “Here you go,” I tossed them the remote, “just do something. I’m going to go change.” They nodded. We were too shocked to do little more. We were zombies.

I ran up my stairs allowing the tears to roll freely. I entered my room and looked in the mirror. I was pitiful. My hair was hanging disheveled and my dress was torn and muddy. A picture of Leah and me was sitting on the dresser, and it reflected in the mirror over my shoulder. I removed my shoe and threw it at the mirror allowing the shattering glass to rein down on me.

“Claire?” I turned around. Peter was there, staring at me with a pale face. I burst into tears again and I heard his shoes on the glassy floor as he ran towards me. He embraced me.

“Their dead,” I managed to croak. He held me tighter.

“I know.” I could hear him crying too. We stayed like that until we heard a knock on the door. That must be Ruby’s or Peter’s parents I thought. I heard Ruby open the door and then there was a clunk. Peter let go of me and shut off the light. “Be quiet. Get under the bed. I went around to the other side of my bed and slid under. Peter did the same. We heard footstep dragging up the stairs. My door creaked open slowly.

The footsteps crossed the room and stopped by the bed. I turned my head slightly and saw the edges of a convict’s orange jumpsuit. Then I heard more footsteps, obviously the convict heard them too because he turned around. I now saw the blue of police slacks. One of them gasped and it began. There was a struggle and my lamp fell to the floor sending shards of glass under the bed.

I heard the two intruders whirling around and slamming into the walls. Suddenly a shot rang out and the convict fell to the floor dead. The policewoman lifted the edge of my bed covers and looked under. “Come on out. He is dead.” Peter and I slid from under the bed. I was trembling uncontrollably.

I looked at the body. “Is that the, the killer?” I looked up at the policewoman.

She was smirking an evil smirk. It was disgusting. She lifted the gun and trained it on me. “No foolish girl. I’m the killer and you two are my final victims.” Peter pushed me behind him. The lady began to laugh hysterically. She used her other hand to rip a wig from her head. That she was a he and that he was the killer. We were doomed. I screamed.

“If you’re the killer than who is that?” I managed to croak. The guy kept his gun trained on us and knelt down to rip a mask off of the person. It was Peter’s father, his face frozen forever with a look of terror. All he had wanted was to save his son, to shield him from the world and now… now he too was merely a body without a soul. The stupid costume had done him in. We would have never hid if it weren’t for that stupid orange outfit.

Peter grew ridged in front of me. He was devastated. The convict laughed as he stood again aiming the gun at us. Peter pushed me further behind him. We were going to die. I saw the bullet coming before it made a noise. Peter flew back into me making a strange gurgling noise.

Blood trickled from his lips and I cried. “Claire, please know I love you. I will see you soon,” he whispered hoarsely. I didn’t care that there was blood all over him. I kissed him for the rest of his life. He died in my arms. Suddenly I heard the murderer behind me. I turned around.

I am standing and staring at the killer covered with Peter’s blood. He grinned at me and held up a piece of glass from my mirror. I screamed and he grabbed my throat in a death grip. I gagged and sputtered as he held the glass inches from my neck. “Please no,” I begged.

It was no use. I felt the glass connect with my throat as he cut it not once, but thirteen times, and then he dropped me. I could feel the blood, but otherwise the world was peaceful, so calm. No noise, nothing bad. I could not even feel the pain but I knew; I knew death was upon me. I could not fight it. I did not have the strength. I smiled and closed my eyes letting death overtake me, consume me.