Chapter Text
The room was dark, cold. The electric blue light shining like a god in the center table, shining on the golden necklaces, shining on the red robes.
A group of individuals in deep red robes, faces covered by the fabric of their hood, stood around the round table. They were focused on the lights. A person, with a robe having golden thread around the hood and sleeves, the leader- They moved their hands with the flow of the light.
Further in the room, away from the group, a man was waiting.
The tall man stood with a smile on his face. And Approached slowly as he was called.
“Finally.” He purred, still with a bit of annoyance for having waited for so long.
He put his hands on the round table, the people around him pushing themselves at the sight of the powerful man.
The leader grinned, matching the man’s expression.
“Bob Velseb.” The leader called again, “You have done well, you proved us your loyalty and filled your part of the contract. We will now fill our part.”
An ancient agreement. Something that happened so many years ago. Bob Velseb accepted to be the cult's distraction every Halloween so they could do their creepy stuff without been seen. He did not care what it was, only cared that he could have what he desired- the reason he joined.
Bob chuckled, “Finally. The ultimate power I always desired!” His laugh filled the room, shaking the light that exploded in a million of sparkles, ready to give the man his wish.
-
Skip and Pump quickly left their house.
“And don’t stay away for too long!” Lila called, walking after them.
“Don’t worry mom! We will be careful!” Skip laughed as he ran with his friends.
Lila kept an eye on her son until he completely disappeared from her view, a hand on her heart to calm its beating. “It’s okay, it’s okay…” she sighed. Her worried gaze went back to the house as she held herself in comfort.
Skip and Pump began their house roundabout, asking for candies to everyone and anyone inside their home. Their excitement filled the air with joy for Halloween. Everyone smiled, everyone played. It was as if the events of the past Halloween left no mark on any of them, like everything was okay now.
They passed in front of a 'only take one' sign. The boys chuckled as they grabbed a handful each and quickly ran to not be discovered.
They giggled and knocked at every door until a flashing of blue light took Pump’s attention away from their main mission. He quickly turned away but, like thunder, the light was gone. Although he smiled with happiness and gasped.
“Let’s go to the cemetery!” “Yeah!” Skip answered with the same joy as his friend and they rushed to the cemetery.
As they giggled about the scary scenery of a cemetery the night of Halloween, they approached a small shadow.
Skip accidentally bumped into the unknown person, who yelped as they fell down.
“Oh no! Are you okay?” Skip put a hand on their shoulder.
“Huh, yes-” a young girl, not older than the two, spoke. She stood up with Skip’s help. She was wearing a crimson dress that had splashes of vivid red on it. Her dark hair clumsily cut at her neck with a skull hair clip framed a face with what seemed to be drooping dry blood and yellowish eyes with dark iris. And her right eye had a bad bruise on it.
Skip and Pump took a second to acknowledge her appearance before yelling “I love your costume!”, happy to meet a new friend.
“Thanks!” She answered excitedly, “My name is Carie!”
“Im Skip and this is Pump, do you wanna go celebrate spooky month with us?” As he asked, the boys started dancing.
“Yeah!” Carie answered and danced with them. Then the 3 friends happily ran off to continue their game of treats or tricks.
-
Lila was enjoying a lemonade in her kitchen, she looked at her phone trying to stop herself from checking on her kid. “No, he’s fine!” She convinced herself.
As she walked back to her living room, a shiver took her entire body. She let go of her glass that shattered on the ground.
Lila held a hand to her chest and breathed hard, she looked around the room with her eyes- body entirely frozen. Nothing.
Her weak legs moved around the living room, the door…. She looked at the front door. Her trembling hands grabbed a bat she kept close to her armchair. The tension around her got denser and denser as she approached the door. Holding the handle firmly, trying to calm her nerves and trembling body.
She shot the door open, holding her bat up in the air. Nothing.
Lila took a second to look around but nothing other than happy kids were in the streets.
She backed in her house and closed the door, sighing relieved that her paranoia was wrong.
Her relief was short as a red hand grabbed her collar and slammed her on the floor.
The demon man, Bob, stood tall in front of Lila. He threw his armed fist at her, that she was able to stop with the bat.
She kicked him on the crotch, making Bob yell in pain.
Lila ran upstairs, hoping she could hide quickly.
She stayed in her tight closet, not the best choice of hideout, but she was too scared to move. She didn’t hear steps, only her front door being slammed. In a hope, she got out the closet and to her window, where she saw the red man walk slowly in the street.
“Skip!” She reminded herself.
Lila ran to her attic and grabbed a box hidden under layers of old clothes. She jerked the lock open, revealing a hunter shotgun. She grabbed it and the box of bullets.
-
The kids were walking around giggling.
“This is the funniest Halloween ever!” Carie chanted, “What else can we do?”
“Well, what do you usually do?” Pump asked.
Carie hummed, looking up. She frowned, hearing the rough voices and screams coming from her mind. She stopped walking, her eyes watering.
“Carie..?” Skip gently set a hand on her shoulder, worried about how silent his new friend went.
“I’m okay!” She reassured and whipped her eyes with her sleeve, “I prefer to do what you guys want!”
Skip's smile went back to his face as he grabbed her hand and followed Pump to the candy store.
“You will see! Kevin is the best!”
Carie smiled, excited to meet a new friend.
Kevin handed some candies to random kids and visibly froze when he saw the new customers. “No!” he yelled and jumped in front of the counter, pushing the 3 friends towards the door.
“No! No! None of you in my store! You only bring trouble!”
“Aw! But we didn’t!” Skip whined.
“Yeah! We only brought our new friend, Carie!” Pump excitedly said.
Carie made a shy wave at the tall man, he bends over to see her closer. “Oh and what are you supposed to be? A sort of zombie? A ghost? A demon?!” He yelled at the poor girl. Carie was visibly upset and pointed a finger at his face.
"I am the grim reaper!" She said proudly.
Skip and Pump giggled down, mocking Kevin for not recognizing her costume. Although, it wasn’t clear to them what she was before.
Kevin got taken aback and just rolled his eyes. “Whatever! Get out!” He pointed to the door again.
“But we came here for candies!” Pump whined sadly.
Kevin groaned and pushed his head down, then slowly pushed it up. “You have money?”
The kids pulled their hands with dollar bills to Kevin, he grabbed it and pushed three candy bags in their hands. The three friends giggled happily and left.
Kevin sighed and smiled softly. “Happy Spooky Month…”
-
Skip, Pump and Carie were all chatting together happily until they bumped into a familiar big man.
“Well, Hello.” Bob chuckled.
Skip and Pump got excited seeing the man. “You wanna play with us again?”
“Of course.” He chuckled again, “Hide and seek?”
As the boys jumped excitedly, Bob’s glare traveled to the third kid, who didn’t seem as happy as the other two. His smile dropped slightly as she looked at him terrified. The voices, the screams, the eyes, the blade, the hurt, the punch, the laugh- everything running wild in her head.
“Who-” “I wanna seek!” Skip interrupted. “Please! I wanna seek!”
Bob’s smile shot right back to his face and he laughed, “Fine.. I guess we three have to.. hide” He said bending over the small girl.
Carie pushed a blood chilling scream when Bob approached his painted face to hers, and once again she ran away.
Skip's smile faded, “Oh no…”
“Sorry, Mister” Pump said, “Carie doesn’t seem to wanna play.”
“We just have to play without her!” Bob said, getting impatient. The grip on his knife was getting firmer as he fought himself not to kill the two right here and now.
“We could- but it’s better if we check on her.” He said and the boys ran away before Bob could grab them. Well, he did not try to run after them, not for now.
“Carie…” He hummed. “Why is this name so strange to me…?” He scratched his chin, trying to puzzle fragments of his memories years have erased from his mind.
That was, until a police car rolled fast in the street.
“How is that fucker not dead?!” John yelled.
“Maybe the witness misssaw.” Jack answered.
“I’m not taking any risk!” John growled, “If we have to chop his head off to make sure he’s dead, then be it!”
In their rush, the policemen missed the very tall and big man they researched. Bob laughed and backed in the shadows.
-
The boys ran around the neighborhood and soon found Carie, sitting on the porch of a decaying house.
“Carie!” They called.
Carie looked up at them and whipped her tears, “Sorry I ran away…”
“I understand, maybe Spooky Month is too spooky for some people.”
“Maybe it is…” She sighed.
Skip looked at the house. It was in a pitiful state, broken windows, smell of dust and death. “So, why did you run in here? Looks spooky to me!”
“Oh, that’s my house. I tried calling for my dad but he won’t answer… And I lost my keys.”
Skip opened the front door, it wasn’t locked.
“Oh.” Carie answered.
The 3 friends entered the house, everything was dusty, empty and broken.
“Dad! Daddy!” Carie called, staying close to her friends.
They made their way through the house, it seemed to have been attacked and left to rot for ages. The wallpaper torn, the walls empty, carpet dusty.
“Daddy!!” “Mister Carie’s dad!”
“Seems like he’s not here.” Pump noted.
Carie popped her head up and went to a smaller room, “That’s my bedroom!” she smiled inside. Skip followed and tried to turn the light on, but it didn’t work. After a few clicks of the switch he abandoned it.
Despite the lack of lights, this room seemed to be inhabited unlike the rest of the house, it still was dusty and old but the table was full of gizmos and paint. A mirror hung on the old wall, and several boxes were hidden under the bed.
Pump went to one of the boxes and grabbed a small red stuffed bunny.
“My bunny!” Carie chanted and grabbed it from Pump, “But… It’s all red and crispy.”
she frowned. “I don’t want it anymore!” she tossed it on the ground upset.
“Maybe we can find you a new bunny at the toy store!”
This put a smile on her face and the friends ran off the room.
-
“I don’t know! I thought they would be safe!!” Lila screamed on the phone as she ran around the streets, “Yes, I went there already! He’s not targeting anyone else! Only us!”
She gasped when she saw the police car and made big hand signs to them.
The car stopped at her distance, “Did you find him yet??” she asked, unknowingly holding the gun up.
“Woaw!” Jack said and got off the car, “Ma’am, please let us handle this.”
“Handle this?! This guy is after my son! I am not gonna sit at home and do nothing!”
“Leave it Jack.” John said, “Ma’am we want to stop him as much as you do, but panicking will do nothing.”
Lila groaned and just ran in the opposite direction.
-
Carie was looking at some toys with the boys. Their giggles filling the empty store.
“Found one you like?” “Not really.”
They froze when a shadow went over them. The kids turned around seeing Bob standing in front of them, completely blocking their way.
“We didn’t get to play, that made me sad.” He said with a sadistic smile.
“Oh! We can play now!” Skip chanted, “You okay now, Carie?”
“Yes, yes I am.” She said with a shy smile.
“Great, this time- let’s play catch!” He said and threw his arm in the air, immediately shooting it back at the kids.
Skip and Pump jumped out of the way giggling, Carie ran scared.
Bob followed them around the store, breaking and cutting anything that would get in the way. The small children being too fast, he soon ran out of breath.
Bob took a moment to look around, he noticed the dark lock of the scared girl poking out of the shelf she hid behind. He laughed darkly and approached her.
His loud step made Carie tremble more and more, as she had pushed both her hands to her mouth in hope it would cover her noises. It did not.
Bob grabbed her arm with his knife hand and held her up in the air. “You quite made me run, didn’t you?!” He laughed loudly.
Carie tried to struggle away, her scream and cries becoming more and more desperate.
“Scared meat isn't the sweetest, but it is my favorite.” He growled amused.
The young girl cried, “Daddy!!” she called in a plea of mercy.
Bob’s laugh filled the room as Carie kept calling for her father.
She soon was quieted when Bob used his second hand to grab at her throat, and squeeze. “Daddy isn’t here to save you.”
Carie held her weak hand to Bob’s wrist, trying to gag for air. Her tears blinded her and her face turned red as the oxygen was forced out of her lungs.
As Bob laughed seeing his victim suffer, all she could hear were the voices haunting her.
Stay still. Don’t move. Don’t make it harder for us. Shut up.
-
Skip and Pump ran into Lila.
“Mom!” “Skip!!”
She took her son tightly in her arms, “I was so worried…”
“Aw, it’s okay mom. We found the demon guy from last year and we were playing catch with him.” He said cheerfully.
The expression on Lila’s face was not as cheerful. She put her son down and kneeled in front of him and Pump “Okay- he’s not here right.. Let’s go home.”
“I think he caught Carie.” Pump noted.
“Who’s Carie??” She forced a smile.
“Our new friend! She was playing catch with us and the guy.”
She stood up slowly, “Alright boys… You guys go home, I’ll get your friend…”
“Are you okay, mom..?” Skip whimpered.
“Go home!!” She ordered, and the boys ran quickly with their bags of candy.
Lila panted and jogged around the street calling for the girl.
-
Carie’s eyes turned blue as she slowly lost her strength. The hand that was so tightly holding her assaulter’s wrist let go and fell on her side, forced by gravity. The light of her eyes slowly dying.
Bob was calm, looking at the girl’s soft face and losing all expression. His smile remained, and grip still firm.
There was a loud bang, a shake in his entire body. He finally let go of the girl and fell down next to her, a big hole in his chest letting blood fill the floor around them.
Lila panted, she didn’t think… She saw him, she saw a kid… She did what any mother with a shotgun would have done but upon realizing her action she let go of the gun.
Soon enough, John and Jack arrived in the shop.
“Freez- Oh” John grumbled, “Well, good job Ma’am.”
“Yes!” Lila yelled, “Now just- Make sure he’s dead! And stays dead!!” She said pointing at Bob’s corpse.
John’s eyes directed to the small body next to him. He kneeled down to her while Jack calmed Lila down.
He checked for a pulse, for breathe. His hands trembling as he moved the fragile body, finally- a sigh from the small kid made him relax. He grabbed her softly and walked to the two other adults.
“Do you know her, Ma’am.”
Lila blinked and looked at the young girl, she pushed a hand to her mouth. Can it be… “Y-Yes… Yes I do…”
-
Carie opened her eyes, it was bright.. So bright… Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, she was in a room… Hospital, a hospital room…
She felt something warm on her hand, skin..
“Dad…” She whispered weakly. Carie turned her head, it wasn’t her dad but a woman..
Carie shook her hand, which woke Lila up.
Lila looked at Carie, and smiled softly.. “Hi.”
“Hello.”
“Your name is.. Carie.. C-Carie Velseb? Right?”
“Do you know me?” She asked with a quiet voice.
Lila swallowed, “It’s me. It’s Lila.”
“Oh, Lila… You’re old…”
“I know… You died, so many years ago…”
Carie did not acknowledge this and almost cut her, “Daddy-”
Lila bit her lip in an effort not to sob. She took a deep breath, “I’m so sorry…”
Carie looked up at the ceiling. “It’s okay… I understood when I saw my house…”
Lila heard the door open softly as the boys put their heads through.
She smiled happily and invited them to enter and see their wounded friend.
-
Bob threw the wet towel down, still having some red left on his face. He walked angry to the round table, where they offered another person their ‘wish’
“Liar!!” He yelled and slammed his hands down the table making it tremble and the other cult member wiggle with it. “You did not offer me shit!! All these years I’ve been loyal and I don’t even get what I want??!!”
The leader chuckled, “But you did.”
“You promised me great powers! I tried! It did not work! And I fucking got killed again!!”
The room went silent.
“You did not wish for any power, Bob… Remember?” They said smugly.
An other person spoke “You wished, for her…” they pulled a photograph to him.
Bob grabbed it angry. The picture showed a young girl with black hair, she was dressed in an apron, too big for her, reading “grill n boys” and holding a meat turner in her hand like a trophy.
“That girl, that’s the girl I caught- Why would I even want that brat?” He growled.
“Your daughter.”
“What?”
fin.