Chapter One: The Party

When you hear the doorbell ring at ten pm on Halloween, don't open the door. Or maybe I shouldn't have returned the call yesterday at noon... but if that were true then maybe this would've been worse as I'd been a freshly-dumped, emotional mess. So take the call and ignore the incessant knocking on your door.

But that's not what I did. No, I just had to trudge over and open the door, still tear-faced and with a bite of ice cream resting on a spoon in my living room.

"Trick or treat~!" The overly perky chirp of Maggie pieces my ears. She's dolled up in mini-skirt, forest, and a fake halo. Oh, right, she dragged me out shopping with her last week. She is going as an angel and convinced me into being a werewolf. "Oh my... honey." I glare at her,

"What?" I ask in a slightly broken voice. She steps inside, closing the door.

"Come on darling, you need to get out of this place," she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my room, where the untouched costume is hanging on the door. She shoves it into my arms, easily pushing me into the bathroom, and closing the door behind me. "Get changed!" She hollers through the door. I huff but do so anyway.

"Where are we going?" I ask her as I step out of the bathroom, partially dressed. She tsks, pushing be back inside before moving in her signature whirlwind that ends with me in full makeup and curled hair with the wolf ears are fixated on the top of my head.

"To the party, duh!" She chirps, I give a confused glance, but she just pulls me out of the apartment, bouncing on the soles of her feet for the meager time she allows for me to lock the door before pulling me straight into her cherry pop-red convertible. The car is moving before I can formulate another question.

"Katleyn's party, 'member?" She asks, snatching a stick of gum from the cup holder. I give her a glare.

"Really Maggie?" I ask her, too tired to make a proper protest. She nods.

"Yes really. You need to get over that dirtbag," is her response.

"He has a name," I chide,

"Had," she corrects. I shrink into the seats. "Now then, we're gonna forget him and hook up with..." she does a drum roll on the steering wheel. "A hot guy!" She finally shouts, I resist the urge to roll my eyes. But I force a smile for her.

"All right," I concede. I can survive three hours at a party, easy.

And that's the grand story of how I ended up wedged in a mass of sweaty underdressed people. I huff, glancing at the clock for the millionth time. Still 11:52. Oh, wait! 11:53 now! But Maggie said we're leaving at one... so it'll probably be more like two or three...

I mentally groan, pressing back tighter against the wall, not wanting to be here in the slightest. But Maggie's excited and has been running around for nearly two hours talking and drinking and flirting at every guy ever.

I huff, knowing I need to get the hell out of here. I don't have my phone, and this is basically a mansion in the woods, a fact that had Maggie squealing with glee and gushing about how spooky and Halloween-y it is.

But who cares? Not exactly like I'm safe here anyway. I manage to fight my way out into the fresh air, but I still have to go for quite awhile to get away from all the red cups and puking people and couples.

But I get out of there eventually, and am finally able to walk through the cool forest with the bright light of the full moon lighting the way through the thick shrubs. It's beautiful out here...

Though this ridiculous costume is way too revealing... but there's not much I can do now. I let out a small huff of air. It must be nearly twelve now, right? I hope so anyway. That'd mean I only have to suffer through another two hours. But I don't want to return to that cramped house that smells of alcohol, sweat, and vomit with a beat pounding through the floor and light flashing indiscriminately.

I keep walking, enjoying the soft purplish light of the moon. A chill runs down the back of my neck, and I gulp drily, suddenly painfully aware of how exposed I am out here. My heels dig into the soft earth, making running an absolute impossibility. I have a credit card on hand, and I palm it nervously. It's not really a weapon, not at all, but the flash at dark could seem like a knife, right? It could... yeah... totally.

I gulp again, goosebumps running along my skin now. I inch forward, every crackle and chirp and other natural forest sounds terrifying me. I continue onward, trying to keep my steps light and soundless.

And then, like the world is actively trying to screw with me, a wolf howls in the distance. It's a lonely, sad sound. But I jerk in fright, the time and environment turning it absolutely terrifying. Another one answers, and a chill runs down my spine. They sound like they're hunting... I shudder in fright, taking a slow step back. A third one, this time followed by the bone-chilling shriek of a rabbit. I stumble back as quickly as my legs can carry me.

Only to find the ground sliding away and out from under me. I let out a strangled scream, my arms flailing out in fright. Nothing catches me, the wind itself seems to wrap around me to pull me down. I fall, and fall hard.