On All Hallows Eve, the night before the night that monsters walk the Earth, there were three children. On this night, the children were at a Halloween party, eating jack-o-lantern cupcakes beside their classmates. It was innocent enough; Lina was talking with her best friend Marie, when her older brother Jacob squeezed between Valerie and Marie to whisper in her ear.


“Hey kid, I’ve gotta a dare for you,” he said.


“I’m not a kid,” Lina said. “But sure, shoot.”


“I dare you and Marie to spend Halloween night in the haunted house in the Garcia’s backyard,” he said grinning. He knew they wouldn’t do it.


“No way!” Marie said. “No way are we spending the night anywhere near those vampires, let alone a haunted house in their backyard.”


“They aren’t vampires,” Lina said. “We’ll do it, if, and only if, you come to.”
Jake hadn’t been expecting that. But he went with it anyway.


“Deal.” With that handshake, they sealed a doomed fate.

*



*

The three children walked up the hill to the Garcia’s house. Marie had been right; it did look like vampires lived there. Creaking windows, peeling paint, black shutters, and that was where the people lived. The haunted house was much worse.


“Guys, are you sure we should do this?” Marie said in a final, desperate plea.


“Absolutely,” Lina replied. She and Jake raced towards the house, and Marie had no choice but to follow.


Inside the haunted house was positively creepy. Aside from your typical cobwebs and eyeballs on the table, there were doors with strange labels, The Torture Room, The Fright Room, and The Hell Room, to name a few. But, perhaps the most frightening thing of all were the waxwork figures. Goblins, orcs, skeletons, and monsters adorned every room. They all held knives and had a look on their faces that clearly spelled out “kill”.


“Guys,” Marie said, “Maybe we should go”. There was no answer. “Guys?” She turned around. Lina and Jake had walked up to a figure, a butler with its head on a platter. “They look so real,” Lina said.

“That is because we are very much alive,” the head said with a sadistic grin. Around them, the other figures were moving, stretching and brandishing their knives. “Run!” Jake yelled, but there was no need, the girls were already running. They ran through a corridor until it split. To the left a light was shining and voices were calling, “kill, kill”.



“There are more monsters,” Lina whispered.

“Come on, to the right,” Jake said, pulling them. They ran down several more corridors. At each turn, more monsters were added to the mob, all intent on tracking down and killing them. Then, at one corridor, there was a dead end. The mob grew closer, closer.

“In here!” Jake cried as he pointed to a door labeled “Hell Room”.


“You’ve got to be kidding,” Lina said.

“What other choice do we have?”


“Point taken.” The girls went into the room. Marie first, then Lina.

“Jake, come on,” Lina cried. Jake nodded and turned to jump into the room. As his back was turned, a knife flew through the air and landed squarely in his back. He stumbled and fell into the room.

“Jake!” Lina cried. “Jake! Jake, don’t die, please!”

“Lina, listen, I’m sorry,” Jake said as he broke into a fit of coughs. “Tell Mom and Dad….tell them…….. I………. love.” Jake was still and silent, his last breath breathed, leaving Marie and Lina to fend for themselves.

“Lina,” Marie said, “We have to get out of here.



“How?”

“Look. There’s a window. You go out and I will lift the body to you and then climb out myself. Go on. Go!” Lina climbed out the window. Marie picked up Jake’s body wincing as she did so. It was heavy, but somehow she managed to hoist it up and out through the window. She then climbed up herself. It was bitterly cold outside. Marie saw only one course of action. Go see the Garcia’s.

“Lina, come on. We’ll go see the Garcia’s.”

“No, they planned this. They know.”

“How could they know?”

“Valerie Garcia overheard our conversation. She was right there at the party. She knew. They know.”

“Come on. Just, come on,” Marie dragged Jake’s corpse. Lina followed. Marie went up to the door and started pounding on it. “Open up somebody! Open Up!!”

Mr. Garcia appeared at the door. “What? Oh,” he said rather badly. “What happened to the boy?”

“Your demonic waxwork figures killed him with a knife!”

“Excellent. Why don’t you come inside?”

“I told you!” Lina said. “They knew!”

“You’re a vampire, aren’t you?” Marie asked.

“Why, yes,” he replied. “And now that you know our secret, you must also know that we cannot permit you to spread the knowledge.” He edged toward them, and then all was black. The girls’ last memory was that of fangs sinking into their necks.