Halloween Horrors: 7 Scary Stories of Zombies, Vampires, and Haunted Portals

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back, my spookies. October is in full swing. The
nights are colder, the moon is brighter, and something wicked
is lurking in the shadows. To keep the Halloween vibes flowing,
we're cracking open the vault to bring you seven chilling

(00:21):
tales of terror. From undead teens to cybernetic vampires, haunted hospitals,
and cursed Halloween candy. These are the stories that make
Weekly Spooky a year round fright fest. So grab your flashlight,
curl up under your coziest of blankets, and prepare to

(00:41):
get scared. It's the witching season, after all. And while
you're at it, make sure you're subscribed on your favorite
podcasting app. And if you're on Apple Podcasts or Spotify,
leave us a five star rating. It really does help.
And remember that tomorrow we have a brand new terror
tale just for you to enjoy, and next Tuesday, another

(01:05):
compilation of terrifying Halloween tales from the Weekly Spooky Vault.
We're always here to keep your nightmares fresh. But now
let's get the first story going right now, A Zombies
Halloween by Rob Fields. I'm laying in my bed and

(01:29):
just hoping my alarms won't go off. No such luck.
The alarm clock and my smartphone both go off at
almost the same time. I groan and force myself to
move and turn off the alarms. God damn it, I mutter,
of course, it's God damn it. Today's Halloween here in Strickfield.

(01:51):
Today I should be sleeping in, not getting up and
getting ready for school. What's that you say? There's no
school on Halloween and Strickfield. If you go to public
school or Strickfield University, then you'd be right. But if
you go to Strickfield Academy, however, then you're going to school.

(02:11):
You see, when it was voted into law to make
Halloween a seven day event, Strickfield Academy fought and fought
to make sure they wouldn't have to be included in
the proposed law. Mayor Patrick Gunter asked that the exception
be written into the issue. Even with the exception, the
issue still passed by an overwhelming majority and became village law.

(02:35):
As I'm showering and trying to wake my sexy ass up,
I keep being pissed at my parents for enrolling me
at that fucking hell hole. I keep telling them I
wanted to go to public school, but no. My parents
happen to be friends with quite a few of the mirons. No,
not just friends, they're the personal attorneys for those overly

(02:58):
rich snobs. Many of them. Those mirrors have their kids
enrolled at Strickfield Academy and recommended my parents do the
same for me. I've been at that shithole for the
last three years. Getting through senior year is going to
be the most difficult yet. I finish showering and start
drying off. I look in the mirror and see my
newly dyed hair. It was originally blonde, but I wanted

(03:21):
black with flaming orange streaks for Halloween. The other girls
on the cheerleading squad love it not had Mistress Hiltonson.
But what can the bitch do? Getting my hair colored
ain't against school policy. I finish drying off and go
back to my bedroom. I put on most of my
cheerleading uniform and then look at my naked upper body

(03:42):
in the mirror. I love my body, and so do
many of the boys at Strickfield Academy. Then I put
my top on. No bra. Yeah, the handbook says we're
supposed to wear underwear. Including bras. If I got to
keep going to that fucking hell hole, I'm gonna wear
whatever I please. It ain't long before Annie Godfrey texts

(04:03):
me and tells me she'll be at my house shortly.
I blow myself a kiss in the mirror before I
get up and leave my room. I make my way
down to the front door. When I come out with
my backpack, I see Annie in her new, fully loaded
Ford Mustang g T. I get in the car and
accept the Menthol cigarette from her. Looking sexy as always, hotness,

(04:25):
Annie says, I take a pull on the cigarette and
hand it back to her. Maybe Hiltonson will finally expel
me for being so hot. I burn. Annie sticks the
cigarette back in her mouth and stomps the gas. The
back tires squeal as we move forward. Her dad owns
a bunch of car dealerships and gave his baby girl

(04:46):
whatever new car she wanted for her birthday. Yeah, Annie's
my spoiled, rotten bestie. I can't believe how this fucking
village bows to head Mistress Hiltonson, Annie mutters, she's the
reason we're going to school today and tomorrow. I'm telling
you we should just skip it. I hint, good idea.

(05:08):
Then dadd'll find out and take my baby away. I smirk.
I'd love it if Daddy kicked my sexy ass out
of the house for skipping school. Annie raised an eyebrow,
And what would you do for money? I'm sure I
could find a few rich Mirans and let them fuck
me for some damn good money, I reply. Annie grins

(05:29):
and hands me the cigarette again. Better be careful, hotness,
you're already skating on thin ice with Hiltonson. Fuck her,
I mutter. At least we can wear our cheerleading outfits
without the bitch giving us a hard time. Yep, you
guessed it. Annie and I do anything and everything we

(05:49):
can to see how far we can push the boundaries.
It wasn't long ago Castalia Mirn got expelled from Strickfield Academy.
Lucky bitch. Anyway, we had tattoos and piercings that kept
getting her into trouble with Hiltonson. When we all heard
Castalia got expelled, you'd have thought there was a long

(06:09):
moment of silence throughout the place. Yeah, that's how popular
she was. And once Castalia was gone, guess who Hiltonson
turned her attention to. Next. Yep, you guessed it. The
worst the bitch ever got on me was smoking a
cigarette outside the cafeteria. She bitched and bitched till she

(06:30):
was blue in the face. I kept hoping and praying
she would have eventually expelled me, but no such luck.
Annie turns into the big gate of Strickfield Academy. You
can tell the other students are just so fucking happy
to be here today. But here we are, wearing our
uniforms and our fake smiles. Our cheerleading squad feels like

(06:53):
we're the chosen ones since we get to wear these
sexy outfits. Yeah, we got a game to cheer for
after school today against Ridgeway Heights. That means a long
ass bus ride there and back, guaranteeing Annie and I
are gonna miss out on much of the Halloween happenings tonight.
Annie parks and we walk to our part of the academy.

(07:16):
Nobody's wearing any kind of Halloween costume. Want to guess why, Yeah,
you guessed it. Hiltonson only got on the loudspeaker every
day last week and reminded everybody that the Strickfield law
about Halloween does not and will never apply to this shithole. Furthermore,
anybody caught wearing Halloween costumes will be assigned Saturday detention

(07:40):
till the end of the school year. We meet up
with the rest of the squad. We ain't got much
time for greetings, however, when the iron claw of head
Mistress Hiltonson snatches my wrist and turns me around to
face her. You've been smoking again, haven't you, she demands.
I smile and show the bitch my pearly whites. Why, yes,

(08:03):
I am. People do call me the hotness for a reason,
you know. Oh does she ever frown at me? Don't
you get smart with me, Bernadette Hollow. I don't care
if your parents are the most powerful lawyers for miles around,
you will be disciplined for getting out of line. I
still smile brightly for her, sure thing, your highness, anything

(08:26):
you say you want me to bend over and pull
my panties down so you can make my rosy red
ass even redder. Slap? Oh, yes she did. Hiltonson's hand
was a blur when she slapped me right across the face,
making my head snap back fast. I slowly turned back
to her. You jezbel Hiltonson yells, yeah, the left side

(08:51):
of my face is real hot. I still smile pretty
for her. Though. There are plenty of things I can
do right now, including involving my parents, But I love
getting under Hiltonson's skin so much. In fact, I lean
in and lock eyes with the head nuns Happy Halloween slap,

(09:13):
and that one was even harder than the first. But
I still show Hiltons in my pearly whites. You want
me out of this uniform, just say the word. Then.
I ain't got a cheer for the stupid game. Tonight,
I can go trigg or treating. Oh and there's the
retro Halloween weekend horrthon playing at the drive in and slap.

(09:34):
Now I actually taste blood. Yeah, the bitch hit me
so hard she drew blood. Then I look right at her.
Fuck you. Yeah, she wants to throw me out of here,
but she knows my parents will sue this place. She
sees the blood on my lips and teeth. Oh, she's
gonna wish she'd never met me. I really want to

(09:56):
beat the living shit out of Hiltonson right now. I'm
gonna come back here tonight and fuck her up. Ever
hear that saying about being careful what you wish for
after school. We're on our way to Ridgeway Heights. Well

(10:17):
at least we were until the bus broke down. Turned
out some jackass never filled the fucking gas tank before
leaving the academy. Fine with me, I'd rather be in
Strickfield doing Halloween things. Then the bitch bus driver points
right at me. How about you head into these woods

(10:37):
and see if you could buy some gas for the bus.
I'm ready to tell the old bat to get fucked,
but Annie quickly stops me. Then she whispers in my ear,
go just take your time. Then we'll have to go
to the fucking game. In fact, I know plenty of
places we can get drunk and laid tonight. I smile

(11:00):
well right at Annie and grab the sides of her face.
We get lots of gasps when I plant one right
on her lips. When I stop kissing her, Annie looks
right at me. I think she wants me to kiss
her again. After I do, she stands up and lets
me go. I walk to the front of the bus
and get out to find the gas can the hag

(11:21):
wants me to take. Now, I see right where we
ran out of gas at the backwoods of Strickfield. I
heard all kinds of fucked up shit happens back here. Personally,
I think it's all bullshit. As I pick up the
gas can and head into the woods. You wouldn't believe

(11:46):
all the looks I get. When I come back onto
the bus. It's almost dark. Now. Oh I did get
the gas, but I really feel like shit. Now. Both
my left shoulder and right side of my neck are
really hurt. Jesus Hotness, what happened to you? Annie asks?
When I sit down, she sees my neck. Wow, those

(12:08):
are some long scratches and your shoulder. Are you bleeding?
I shiver and hold myself. I got my varsity jacket on,
which usually keeps me warm. Guess I'm bleeding through it.
Found this house nobody was home. Found the gas. Little
hillbilly kid surprised me. I don't know what was wrong

(12:29):
with him. He just looked horrible. He really stank too.
He jumped up on me from behind and took me down.
I got the little shit off of me, but he
scratched me on the neck, and fuck it hurts. Then
the old bat comes back on the bus. Do you
have any idea. How late you've made us for the game. Bernadette,

(12:49):
get fucked, I groan. She wants to unleash her fury
on me, but sees I'm hurt. She's quickly on her
smartphone to the academy. After some conversation, she hangs up
and looks at me again. I'm taking us back, had mistress.
Hiltonson's going to be very angry with you. Bernadette, Fuck Hiltonson,

(13:11):
I say under my breath. It takes a little bit
for the hag to turn the bus around. Then I
moan a little before I lurch forward and puke all
over a band geek ew, he cries really. Annie puts
her hand on my forehead. Then she calls up front
she's got a fever. She's really burning up. I feel

(13:34):
the pain on my shoulder again, reminding me the little
fucker bit me too. I was okay for a while.
I think I lost a lot of blood from the bite.
My neck bled too. I know I got away from
that kid, since I obviously made it back to the bus,
I can't help myself now. I'm so tired and weak.
I lay my head on Annie's shoulder and fall asleep.

(14:04):
Not sure how long I slept, But I feel myself
starting to twitch and know I'm waking up. Something's different
now I'm not in any more pain. I'm not even
burning up and freezing at the same time. But but
I do still feel cold. Honey, are you okay? Somebody's

(14:24):
asking me. I fully open my eyes and see a
nun looking down at me. I think I'm back at
Strickfield Academy. Now the nun gasps in horror. God in
Heaven your eyes, and then I suddenly grab the nun
and pull her down to me. She cries out when
I bite a huge chunk of flesh right out of

(14:46):
the side of her neck. The nun screams and tries
to break free. I grab hold of the collar of
her habit and sit up to take another bite out
of her neck. The nun's blood squirts hard out of
her gashes, some getting on me. Then she groans and
drops to the floor. I growl a little and get

(15:07):
off the cod Now I'm lowering myself to the floor.
She's still twitching a little. When I grab her face
and dig into it, she screams one last time. When
I pull her skin right off her face, taking one
of her eyeballs along with it. With her face now
in my hands, I bring it up to my mouth

(15:30):
and eat. I don't know why I want to eat
like this. I just know I'm so hungry and this
flesh tastes delicious. After I finish eating her face, I
tear her habit open. Then I tear her stomach wide
open and pull her guts out. It isn't long before

(15:52):
I'm wearing more of her blood. After some time passes,
the nun starts twitching a little, then some more. I
finish what I'm eating and slowly stand up. I watch
the nuns stand up too. Now I understand when she
was talking about my eyes. The nun's eyes were blue.

(16:16):
Now her one remaining is a sickening, puky yellow. I
understand the nun is just like me. Now, wow, I
really fucking died that fucking hillbilly brat who attacked me
in the backwoods he was dead too. He hurt me
bad and made me just like him. I just killed

(16:40):
this nun, and now she's like me and the little boy.
We both look at each other for a long moment.
I try talking to the nun, but all that comes
out are growls. The nun answers by making this raspy sound.
I turned to the door and start moving towards it. Funny,

(17:00):
I should be able to easily walk, but I can't.
I can walk, but it's like my get up and go,
just got up and left. I'm managing walking just really slowly.
The nun's walking the same pace with me. When we
reach the door, I open it. We walk out into

(17:21):
the hallway, and then I know exactly what I want
to do. I want to scream, Hilton Sin, you're dead,
Meet you, fucking bitch. I'll teach you to slap me again.
All that comes out are a bunch of growls. Christ,

(17:41):
I'm both angry and hungry as fuck. I really want
to kill the head mistress. I'm hoping the bitch is
still here. Wait a minute, of course she is. If
she ain't in her office, then she's got to be
at her cottage here on campus. Remembering where her are offices,
I turn and start heading there. The nun turns and

(18:04):
comes with me. I guess thus, dead people gotta stick together, right. Yeah,
I'm fucking dead, no doubt about it. I know I
ain't breathing. I'm moving really slowly, I'm cold all over.
It's taking effort for me to move the way I want.
I want to walk normal, but I just can't. And

(18:27):
then there's that shit about not being able to talk.
But how am I still thinking normally? I move my
hand to my neck. My scratches are still there. I
touch my shoulder. That piece of flesh is still missing
from where that little shit bit me, but I'm not
bleeding anymore. And then I actually have an epiphany. Since

(18:53):
I'm a walking dead girl, now I don't ever have
to come to classes here ever again. Right I can
literally do whatever I want. Well right now, head Mistress
Hiltonson is on the menu, and I ain't leaving here
until I eat every bit of flesh off her body.

(19:14):
Before long, the faceless Nun and I reach the head
Mistress's office. I open the door and walk in. I
see another nun. It ain't Hiltonson, but I can feed
my gnawing hunger some more. At least she looks at us.
It's Sister Sarah, Bernadette, Sister, are you too all right?

(19:37):
You both know Halloween costumes are not permitted here. When
the faceless Nun and I are almost to Sister Sarah
she gets all scared now. She quickly gets out of
her desk and starts grabbing and throwing stuff at us.
Get back, Sister Sarah yells, get away from me. You
both are abominations before Almighty God, Oh Lord, save me.

(20:00):
Unfortunately for her, her savior makes no move whatsoever. Is
the Faceless Nun and I both press her up against
the wall and start biting into her. She screams like
a wild banshee as we eat one piece of flesh
right after another off of her. When she falls, we
lower ourselves and start sharing her together. I rip into

(20:22):
Sister Sarah's habit and open her up like I did
the Faceless Nun earlier. After several minutes, Sister Sarah starts twitching.
The Faceless Nun and I both stop eating her and
watch her sit up slowly. Why do we just suddenly

(20:43):
stop when we see she's one of us now? Maybe
it's some kind of instinct built into us or something.
We never eat or attack each other. The three of
us are on our feet. I remember head Mistress Hiltonson's
office and start walking there. When I reach her door,
I grab the handle and open it. Hiltonsen's huge copy

(21:05):
of the Holy Bible is on her desk, but she
ain't here. That means she's got to be at her
cottage at that part of the campus where all the
other senior staff live. Must be nice being an abusive,
fucking bitch and getting generous perks for it. Well, I
ain't givin up. Like I said, I ain't leavin here
until she makes my tummy ready to burst. I turn

(21:28):
and start walking again. I know exactly where the staff
cottages are on campus. I really wish I could fucking run,
but I just can't. No matter. It's just me and
the two nuns I made. I don't know why they
feel they got to stick with me, but I don't care.

(21:49):
The more of us there are, the better we can
score food. In fact, we end up killing and eating
some students who stayed behind. Now they're walking with us.
Now my dead army is up to eight. Even the
others look at me like I'm their leader. Well guess what, Hiltonson,
you fascist bitch. You wanted to keep Halloween as far

(22:12):
away from Strickfield Academy as you could. Well you're gonna
get a Halloween you ain't never gonna forget. We may
be walking so goddamn slow, but we do make it
to your corner of the campus. We're now walking on
the street where all the faculty cottages are lined up
on both sides. Unfortunately for you, I know which one

(22:36):
you happen to live in. It's the odd numbered side
in cottage one. That means we gotta walk the whole
street just to get to you. And if you ain't here,
we can eat up every last person living here. One
way or another, I will get you. And then, as
if luck is walking with us, had Mistress Hiltonson just

(22:59):
happens to open her front door to step outside. She's
wearing a long robe and is smoking one of her
herbal cigarettes. She rarely ever walks around Strickfield without her
habit on. I know she always goes to football games
and regular clothes. I heard a few girls say they'd

(23:20):
love to take her to bed, crazy fucking bitches. Oh
that's right, that crazy Angie wants to take Hiltonson to bed.
Hiltonson's peace is soon disrupted when she hears us making noise.
As soon as she sees us walking deadly slow down
her street, she turns and scowls. Students are not permitted

(23:44):
to be on faculty grounds, Hiltonson states, as headmistress of
Strickfield Academy. I demand you turn around and leave right now.
If you don't, you will all be dealt severe discipline. Yeah,
like we're really gonna let her threats scare us. We
just keep right on coming. Last chance, turn around and

(24:07):
leave right now. Hiltonson yells, you will not be told again.
It ain't long before we're under the street lights near
Hiltonson's cottage. Oh. She gets real pissed off when she
sees us. She points right at us. How dare you
wear Halloween costumes on Strickfield Academy grounds. Halloween is Satan's

(24:29):
holiday and we never celebrate anything of the devil here.
You shall all be dealt with most harshly. When we
keep moving towards her, she finally sees me. Now, Bernadette Hollow,
I should have known, She roars, not only are you
a jezebel, but you're a heathen. Just then, one of

(24:51):
the priests is right there on the street. I just
called security. They'll be along any time. To god Ah,
some of my army grab hold of him and take
him down to the road. Head Mistress Hiltonson gasps and
utter horror when she sees them ripping him apart and

(25:12):
devouring him. I keep my eyes on the prize and
reach out for Hiltonson. I growl when I'm grabbing her forearm,
but it seems I've underestimated the head Mistress. She grabs
my forearm instead. Now she brings her bare foot up
and cracks me in the face. I'm feeling dazed now.

(25:33):
Then she shoves me away from her porch. I fall
on land on my back. It ain't long before I'm
slowly getting back to my feet. Hiltonson gets inside her
cabin and slams her door shut and locks it very quickly.
We all surround her cottage. There are enough of us

(25:53):
behind her front door to make it finally give way
after some minutes. I'm the first one in. She's got
all kinds of religious shit everywhere. I think she really
feels like she's a child of God suddenly had Mistress
Hiltonson comes out of her bedroom. She ain't wearing her
robe no more. She's fully dressed now, not in her

(26:17):
habit though she's wearing everything white pants, turtleneck, sweater, and boots.
You wish to do battle with me? Satan me, She
laughed scornfully. I've trained my whole life for the day
your armies would come for me, Prince of lies, and
now you send an undead army to challenge me. She

(26:38):
raises her fists. Get behind me, Satan. Our dead army
is about to find out we greatly underestimated Hiltonson. The
two dead guys ahead of me get knocked flat on
their backs. I roar and lunge at her. I want
to take a bite out of her so badly. I
really don't care that she can fight again, as others

(27:01):
are coming up beside me. Then Hiltonson kicks me hard
in between my tits, making me stagger back and knocking
a few of my own army down with me. Now
Hiltonson attacks and moves like she's starring in her very
own action movie. This fucking bitch is like Jet Lee.
I can't believe she knows martial arts. She's beating the

(27:23):
snot out of all of us. But I ain't given up.
Either I'm gonna bite her or she'll have to kill me.
Hiltonsen flips herself over to a cabinet and quickly opens it.
She's got guns in her hands. Now see how quickly
I dispel your army, Satan, she fires them. Holy shit,

(27:43):
she's dropping my army fast by shooting them right between
the eyes. When they're hit, they fall over and stay dead.
Now it's just down to her and me. I got
enough sense in my dead brain to quickly move into
little kitchen to avoid getting shot. You can flee, Bernadette,

(28:05):
but we both know you can't move very fast, don't we.
I hear her saying to me, I have faced your
kind before. I shall triumph over you the way I've
triumphed over all of your lord and Master's minions. Come
face me, Heathen, Let me end your suffering. She's right.

(28:26):
If I can't make my dead body move fast enough
to where I can fight Hiltonsen, she'll fucking kill my ass.
I didn't come all the way out here to the
queen bitch herself just to die at her self righteous feet.
Remembering I can still think, I turn and open a
kitchen drawer. When I feel Hiltonson's almost on me, I

(28:47):
attack and stab her with a very sharp kitchen knife. Yeah, bitch,
looks like you underestimated me. Now she's got a knife
buried in her shoulder. Her white turtleneck's turning red quick.
I want to scream, fuck you, Hiltonson again. All that
comes out, though, are loud growls and grunts. Why can't

(29:08):
I fucking talk? Hiltonson's the one screaming though, Yeah, she
didn't like me surprising her like that. She kicks me
hard under my chin and makes me fall on my back.
My head hits hard against the refrigerator, and I'm on
my ass. I look up at her now and growl
with determination. Hiltonson pulls the knife out of her shoulder.

(29:33):
I will send you back to Satan very shortly, Bernadette,
tell your master he must do much better if he's
to defeat a true servant of the Lord. Hiltonson sees
me get to my feet again, she raises the knife
and comes after me. I managed to grab hold of
a pot and swing it hard, cracking her right in
the head again. She never saw it coming. Now she's

(29:57):
on her back. Now I quickly move and drop right
on top of her. No, Hiltonson cries when I'm snapping
my teeth at her. Dear God. No, I'm sitting on
her waist and she's holding my wrists being dead. I
can't match Hiltonson for shit when it comes to speed,

(30:17):
but being this close to her means I can almost
match strength with her. I roar and growl when I
remember her slapping me three times earlier. Today, you drew
blood from me, Hiltonson. Now I want yours. Just seeing
her turtleneck all red now makes me so proud. I
got that fucking bitch worse than she got me. Now

(30:40):
I actually scream at her. Get off of me, Bernadette
Hiltonson yells. I scream again and finally pin her wrists down,
and then I focus. God damn it, I'm gonna say
something to Hiltonson before I eat her. It takes everything
for me to finally get it out. Joh, I end

(31:03):
up opening my mouth so wide it makes the sides
of my face split. Hiltonson shrieks. I hope she pissed herself.
My tongue's practically hanging out of my wide open jaws.
Now I'm finally going to have my meal. Never, Hiltonson screams.
She suddenly roars and finds the strength to shove me

(31:26):
right off her. Then she does a kip up back
to her feet. I'm almost back on my feet. When
she picks up the knife I stabbed her with minutes ago.
As I'm propping myself up on her counter, I look
right at her and stagger her way. That's when Hiltonson
draws back. I'm totally fucked when she easily flings the
knife so it ends up right between my eyes. I

(31:49):
can feel the blade stuck right in my brain. Now
I wobble and drop to my knees. I ain't dead yet,
but I'm losing control of my body. Head Mistress Hiltonson
comes to me. You were foolish to come and challenge me, Bernadette,
me know this before you stand before Almighty God for

(32:10):
his judgment. Through his power, I was able to stand
victorious against an army of your kind. She sneers. Now, oh,
I know there are others out there. I know there
are vampires, werewolves, and other monstrosities that Satan has sent
here to the mortal realm to corrupt humanity. I fall

(32:31):
into a reclining position beside the dishwasher. Now it ain't
gonna be long before I am really gonna be dead.
Hiltonson smiles. By day, I am the headmistress of this
prestigious academy. By night, I go out and prowl for
Satan's creations, like yourself. In slaying such creatures, I have

(32:54):
recently learned of a vampire by the name of Bella
Tabon and a werewolf by the name of Danielle Boyd.
Such a pity you will not be around to see
me destroy them with my own two hands. I make
a last attempt to reach up for Hilton's. She stops
me when she slams her knee onto my tits and

(33:15):
grabs the knife handle. Happy Halloween, Bernadette Hallow. I truly
hope for your sake they celebrate it in Hell, where
I'm sure God will send you very shortly. When she
pushes the knife even further into my brain, it's definitely

(33:35):
the end. Future Tabon by Rob Fields. I suddenly opened
my eyes and realize that I can move. I live.

(33:59):
I can see that I am within a construction designed
specifically to contain my body. With a simple and quick
upward movement, I push the lid off so that it
flies away and hits a nearby wall. I sit up
and see that it is night. However, I can see
everything quite clearly. I look down upon my lap and

(34:23):
see both the wooden steak and the crucifix, the accursed
objects that were used to both bind me and keep
me imprisoned within this vault in a former lifetime. I
stand to my bare feet and leap from the vault
to land upon the floor. I examine myself and see
the tattered and aged remains of my dress. How long

(34:46):
have I been imprisoned within that vault? What has transpired
during that time? More importantly, who was responsible for staking
my heart and binding me? I must be patient. I
currently feel disorientation, but I believe that will pass. I
step outside the crypt and run my fingers through my long,

(35:10):
metallic blonde hair as the wind caresses me. Then I
smile for the first time when I see the lightning flash.
A loud crash of thunder follows. Truly this storm, Truly
this storm shall be powerful. Soon it begins to rain

(35:32):
a little at first, then I quickly become thoroughly soaked,
making me truly relish my freedom. I feel that I
have been imprisoned within that crypt for a great many years.
My disorientation causes me to stagger a little, but I
move through the burial ground in the harsh storm until
I come upon the gates, I see the crucifix that

(35:57):
binds the entrance rules. Before a binding could only be
used against me, and personally, I can easily remove the crucifix,
but I have a better idea. I leap over the
gates and land with the grace of a feline. The
trees on the path before me sway with intensifying winds

(36:20):
as the cold rains continue to soak me through the
remains of my dress for a time. I continue along
the path until I reach what appears to be a
dense forest. I enter it as the lightning flashes again,
followed by a tremendous crash. The trees shield me to

(36:42):
a degree as the storm grows stronger still in time,
I come across the remains of a horse drawn carriage.
As there are two horse skeletons outside, so are there
two human skeletons inside. Their clothes appear to be just
as old and tattered as my dress. After searching the coach,

(37:04):
the only things that I find of potential value are
some gold coins and a few rubies. I leave them
with the skeletons, since I have no use for such riches.
I also do not feel that it is right to
steal from the dead. I exit the coach and continue
along the path. Why do I continue to feel disorientation

(37:28):
in spite of my long slumber? Now I feel a
slight buzzing sensation deep from within my head. The storm
grows ever stronger. Then I discover that my hair shows
no dampness in spite of all the rain. I touch
my metallic hair to find that it feels silky smooth.

(37:52):
Suddenly I am attacked by an inhabitant of this forest,
seemingly out of nowhere. The monster and I tumble over
one another. Knowing that I must now do battle, I
seize the creature with one hand and throw it into
a nearby tree. The creature hits the tree and falls
forward to land in the mud. It springs to its

(38:12):
feet and comes for me again. Remembering that I am
a vampire, I will myself transmorph for battle. However, neither
my face changes nor do my claws emerge. The creature
snarls and attacks me again with lightning reflexes. I seize
the creature by its throat and throw it into the

(38:32):
nearby river with almost no effort. It sinks below the
water and resurfaces shortly after. As I understand more. I
can see that the creature is a werewolf, but with
the tail of a scorpion, not quite a manticore. The
monster leaps at me again, colliding once again, we tumble

(38:57):
over one another. When I am to my feet, and
again the werewolf swiftly lashes out with its tail and
stings me. The pain is brief, but his attack has
angered me. I do not wish to do battle with you,
I yell. I lash out against the creature and subdue it.

(39:17):
I remember my strength from a past life, though it
feels as if I am much stronger now. As I
have the monster down for the final death blow, a
sudden understanding comes over me. No, I am no murderer.
I withdraw from the creature and return to the path
to resume my present course. My disorientation becomes more intense,

(39:43):
and I cry out when I feel a sudden urge
within my head that causes me to fall. I lay
there as the storm continues to wash over me. Have
I emerged from that tomb just to gain a new
one here in the wilderness, No, I scream. I suddenly
sit straight up and fight to stand. I refuse to

(40:07):
be a prisoner within my own body. When I am
to my feet, I fall again. My disorientation and cerebral
pains are too great now, and then my vision suddenly
changes and dims. Shortly after, I see the words flashing
repeatedly in a language I should not be able to understand,

(40:29):
but they read. Initial systems set up commencing. For a
brief moment, I see nothing but multiple words and phrases
rapidly moving upward, and then I can see fully once more.
In fact, I can now see the clearest that I
have ever seen in my brief existence. In under a minute,

(40:54):
the initial system set up is complete. I sit up
again and no law hunger, feel any pain or disorientation.
I begin to understand more as other operations commence. First,
I download and execute a full system's upgrade. I can
see and feel all of the numerous components inside my brain,

(41:17):
receiving the most advanced updates, all of which are being optimized.
In just under two minutes, I am at full optimal
capacity and remember a great many memories prior to being
bound and staked. Feeling that the system is awaiting my
mental commands, I access my internal clock the last time

(41:39):
that I can recall through my memories was October thirty first,
eighteen eighty seven. The interface currently reads October thirty first,
two thousand ninety nine. It just does not seem that
I have been entombed for two hundred and twelve years.
Though I can remember many of the events of my

(41:59):
imprisonment clearly, analyzing these memories, I cannot produce a glimpse
of whom it was that both staked and entombed me,
only the pain and being rendered unconscious. I look up
to the stormy skies and let the rains wash over
my face. Again. After better than two centuries, I live

(42:23):
and no freedom. I must learn about this new time.
Certainly much has happened during my entombment. For now, I
shall continue along this path until I reach a place
of interest. The storm continues to rage ever stronger, still,
with the winds showing their tremendous strength. My patience is

(42:43):
eventually rewarded upon seeing a large structure in the distance.
Upon reaching it, I see what is left of the
sign that once identified it. Using but a minuscule fraction
of my advanced software, I can create a perfect recon
construction of the sign. This structure was once known as

(43:05):
Strickfield Town Center Mall. Immediately accessing the files in my
limitless data banks, I learned that this structure was once
a place of commerce that housed many shops, all under
a single roof. I walked to what was once an

(43:25):
entrance and enter. I walk the brief corridor to reach
the main area itself. Walking the length of this former mall,
I scan the remains of the shops. Though the mall
is quite dark to a normal person, I can easily
see it as if it's still daylight. My software recreates
a map of this mall and codes the shops to it. Soon,

(43:49):
I approach a shop of potential interest and enter. This
shop has many items of vintage clothing that I scanned
to my exterior measurements, finding suitable clothing upon a mannequin,
I remove the tatters of my dress. Feeling the rain
water dripping from my hair and down my naked form,

(44:11):
I apply my new clothing, a short pair of denim
shorts with a belt, an athletic red neon top, a
synthetic leather jacket, and ankle high stiletto boots. Upon seeing
picture displays of various females around the shop, I decide
to utilize handkerchiefs to secure my abundant hair. Now that

(44:34):
I am suitably clothed, I exit the shop and examine
more of this mall. Not finding anything else that I require,
I finish my tour and approach a different entrance to depart.
Seeing the still raging storm, I access a map of
Strickfield and decide to investigate this area. Wishing to venture

(44:56):
there swiftly, I will transmorph into a bat to able
to fly out into the storm. However I cannot, I
will myself to transmorph into a wolf with the same results.
Since it seems these aspects of my fampiric powers are
no longer existent, I leap into the air to make

(45:17):
a long jump. As I focus on my current destination,
all that I see are vast wastelands. It seems as
though someone or something has laid waste to this area.
As I wonder if my imprisonment was the reason, my
new memories are quick to say otherwise. No, my imprisonment

(45:39):
was meant for just that. I must learn the reasons
and those responsible. After one more jump, I land just
outside of the area of Strickfield and enter. As I
explore the remains of this village. I soon enter into
what appears to have been a place of fellowship and dining.

(46:01):
There are skeletons everywhere, many of which are costumed as
though they are in some form of masquerade. I'm quick
to ascertain that in a former life, these organics celebrated
the earth occasion known as Halloween. My software also reconstructs
the structure to show that it was a popular diner

(46:24):
once known as Denoyer's Grille. My data banks tell me
that in the year two thousand and thirty, on Halloween Night,
a powerful deity known as hell Weaver would conquer the
mortal realm utilizing an ancient artifact known as the reality sphere.
A last stand was taken against hell Weaver, her daughter,

(46:46):
and a high priest. Hell Weaver would prove victorious and
and the entire multiverse would fall to her. As a result,
Earth's natural balance was forever disrupted, resulting in the US
these destructive weather patterns and consistent nights. Hell Weaver and
her greatly vast armies laid waste to Earth and either

(47:09):
destroyed or imprisoned many of its people. From there, Hell
Weaver would repopulate the Earth with her own people of sorts.
I was upon this world during twenty thirty, but was
still imprisoned within my tomb. The more data that I compile,
the more that I what has happened to me? Why

(47:32):
have I changed so drastically between my imprisonment and now
I only remember a former life of being a powerful
vampire and a Trey Launder hybrid. Now I immediately call
for the schematics of my body. And how am I
even capable of doing this? The great energy that I feel,
the data that I see, the calculations that I can

(47:55):
instantly perform according to my schematics, I've become a machine. Truly.
I am no longer organic flesh, bone, blood, muscle and organs.
There is completely nothing left of my original organic body.
Somehow I have been given a new body comprised of

(48:19):
metal circuits, neuro optics, processors, a power core, and a
multitude of software. On the outside, I have a skin
base that greatly resembles flesh, nails, and hair that can
perfectly mimic the organic earth female that I have now become.
My abundant hair and my greatly enlarged breasts mimic those

(48:42):
of the organic Trey launder female and yet yet like
organic beings, I am sentient and can feel emotion. But
how how did I cease being an organic vampire alien
hybrid upon my imprisonment and awaken to become a full machine.

(49:04):
I desire to access this information in my data banks,
but not yet, not until I have come to terms
with my new environment and what I now am. This
post apocalyptic earth is the world I must occupy for now.
In addition, I must call this new mechanical body my own.
At least with my new flesh and hair, I can

(49:25):
pass for an organic earth human, but to live as
a machine in a world of organics. Like organics, I
have a will of my own and am quite capable
of making my own decisions. Well. Now, I wish to
know my new world. So far I only see what
has resulted from hell Weaver's onslaught. After finding nothing of

(49:48):
great importance, I leave the diner and decide to explore
more of the former village of Strickfield. I walk until
I reach what was the heart of the village. There
are only the remains of the many shops that the
inhabitants had once taken For Granted, I call upon more
data in regards to the demise of this once populated area,

(50:12):
and learn that the final battle between hell Weaver and
the Chosen Six known as the Battleguard, had taken place
at my location in what was Guntertown Square, a park.
I gasp when I learned that one among those Chosen
Six had betrayed their allies and joined hell Weaver, leading

(50:33):
to both the downfall of the battle Guard and the multiverse. Unfortunately,
I have no data regarding the betrayer. Feeling anger and
frustration over what I have just learned, I shout, are
there no other life forms upon this world? Faint noises
are swift to answer my question. Soon, I see movements

(50:57):
from some of the shops. It appears as though organic
beings are coming forth. However, they are in states of
advanced decay. I scan one of the beings to determine
that the decomposition has been relatively slow, But these creatures
are indeed in a state of zombification. They all slowly

(51:18):
advance towards me. In my memories, zombies would always ignore vampires,
since they too are undead. Now, upon quick analysis of
my body, it seems as though I am miraculously no
longer undead. Remembering that I can leap far distances, I
do so and escape the undead beings. The zombies mindlessly

(51:42):
and instinctively reach up to grab me. I am with
great sadness and almost feel discouraged. But then I am
with optimism. There must be organic living beings left upon
this world. There must I receive my conformation when I
feel danger coming from behind. Very swiftly, someone attacks me

(52:05):
and takes me down to the crumbled streets. As the
zombified organics gather around us, my attacker turns and shoots
at them with a hand weapon begone empty shells. This
cow now belongs to Sarathos. Angered by his comment, I
rise and strike my attacker. I belong to no one.

(52:28):
This Sarathos flies away from me fast and slides down
the broken street. Upon coming to a stop, he is
swift to return to his feet. You dare strike me, cow,
he points at me. You shall know what it means
to defy Sarathos. You shall know what it means to
defy Sarathos. And then there are more of those werewolf

(52:53):
creatures with scorpion tails, like the one I encountered in
the woods. Shortly upon my awakening, she's your yours, my pets,
sarah Thos tells them make this cow pay for her defiance.
The werewolves give their battle howls before they charge it me.
If they wish to engage me in battle, then so

(53:14):
I shall oblige them. When the first werewolf creature reaches me,
I take hold of it and hurl it far away.
I am easily able to avoid the claws and teeth,
even the tails. As I show these creatures that I
am far superior to them, I am amazed with how
fluid and swift I can move in this new body.

(53:35):
To my memories, no machine has ever moved like this.
But then, my last recalled time was eighteen eighty seven.
It seems much as changed by two thousand and ninety nine. However,
I've seen nothing in the way of advancements for this time.
Given the complexity of my new body, I already know

(53:56):
that it was not constructed in two thousy ninety nine.
My new body is futuristic alien technology. I continue to
do battle with the creatures until I have subdued them all.
It is then that Sarathos decides to finally engage me himself.
Only he attacks me from behind a second time, the

(54:17):
way only a coward would Now, cow you shall learn
your place, he declares. Suddenly he clasps something around my neck,
securing me as if I was his runaway property. When
he starts pulling me to him with his great strength,
I grab hold of the chain and pull against him.
You dare, Sarathos growls, Surprised by my own great strength,

(54:41):
This organic despot succeeds in pulling me to him again
and pummels me with three powerful blows. What is this,
he yells. Seeing that I refuse to stay down, he
growls and pummels me again. Then he holds me down
to allow a few of the werewolves that have covered
to return, and sting me with enough of their toxins

(55:04):
in my system. I am compromised and rendered unconscious. I
awaken to find myself in what appears to be a
medieval throne room. My interface comes back online. Then I
see more of those words in that same alien language

(55:26):
that I should not be able to understand. Translated to
American English, the words would say toxin levels zero percent,
neurotoxins compromised. Yes, it was the werewolve's toxins that had
rendered me unconscious. As of now I am at full
strength once more. I see that I'm shackled by chains

(55:48):
at my wrists, my ankles, my neck, and even at
my waist. I scan the throne room and see other
scantily clad organic females. I feel my emotions rise, knowing
that these other organics yet live. Then my emotions turn
to anger at knowing that Sarathos is keeping these females

(56:09):
here against their will. You've awakened an organic female to
my left, says to me. I turned to look upon
her and see that she is with injuries, causing my
anger to increase. What has become of you? I demand?
Did Sarathos beat you? And why? The female begins to cry.

(56:31):
I was to be married when Sarathos invaded our village
of Pendleton. He burst into the church at our wedding
and viciously murdered the man whom I was to marry.
When my parents tried to stop Sarathos, he killed them
in cold blood. Then he took me, my maid of
honor and two of my bridesmaids and imprisoned us here

(56:52):
in this throne room with these others. I managed to
escape recently, but Sarathos quickly tracked me down and beat
me harshly before securing me here again. As I examine
the chamber more, I can see that we are all
kept five yards apart from one another. Upon further analysis,
it seems as though we are here for decoration, entertainment,

(57:16):
and perhaps for non consensual sex. If I have anything
to say about this, I shall stop Sarathos and free
these organic females. There is a quick silence when we
hear a loud noise moments after Sarathos enters the throne
room and with more organic females secured by chains. As

(57:36):
the women struggle against him, he pulls back hard. Cease
your useless struggling, you stupid cows. From now on you
belong to Sarathos, and soon you shall all serve as
the yearly Halloween's sacrifice to my almighty Goddess herself hell Weaver,
which shall be in remembrance of the anniversary of when
my Goddess would conquer the entire multiverse. Knowing that I

(58:01):
must not delay in freeing myself and the others, I
fight against the chains that bind me, bind me, my
anger escalates into fury against Sarathos for imprisoning me. First,
I would awaken to find myself imprisoned within a crypt.
Now I am bound and chained for the pleasures of
this despot, to serve as a potential offering to the

(58:22):
very Goddess that I shall eventually engage in battle with.
Never I said, there is no use struggling cow, Sarathos
mocks me. These other cows have no chance of breaking free,
and neither will you. I laugh scornfully at him. You've
seen that I am not a normal organic female despot,

(58:44):
and I shall remain free. With one great and powerful pull,
I succeed in breaking the chains from the metallic walls
you dare. Sarathos yells in disbelief. He pushes his newly
captured females aside to grab a very large golden axe
from above his fireplace. He stands ready to face me

(59:06):
in combat. Now I have just finished removing the last
of the shackles from my body and assume a fighting stance.
Sarathos is easily five feet taller than I and appears
to have incredible strength, But I do not fear him
in the least today, you fall, I tell Sarathos. Suddenly,

(59:27):
he lowers his weapon and sneers. I look to see
his pack of werewolves with their scorpion tails, have entered
the throne room. Sarathos wishes for them to engage me again,
believing that I am far too insignificant to do battle
with him myself. Very well, Sarathos, I shall again engage

(59:48):
in battle with your pets. I concede, and after I've
defeated them again, I then shall engage and defeat you.
The five werewolves gather around me like a pack of
wild dogs. I'm ready for them this time. They growl
and waste no time in coming at me. I remain calm,

(01:00:09):
yet I move swiftly. I utilize my fighting arts that
were learned from long ago in a previous life, and
even fighting arts that I should not know presently. Nonetheless,
I begin dancing with these monstrosities. These creatures are easily
two feet taller than I and have great muscular builds.
Seeing them only reminds me that this body is no

(01:00:32):
longer organic. I am a machine. I am far superior
to these organic creatures. As I battle the werewolves, I
am quite amazed. At how fluidly I move in my
new body. My fists and feet strike with deadly forces.
I dance gracefully with these beasts. She is but a cow,

(01:00:52):
you mindless critans. Sarah Thos yells when he sees that
his beasts are truly no match for me, say her,
or I shall offer all of you in the Halloween
sacrifice to hell Weaver. I move into the final act
of my dance and render all of the werewolves unconscious
as they lay before me at my feet. I turn

(01:01:13):
and gaze upon Sarathos. You must face me yourself now, coward,
unless I raise an eyebrow. Unless you are afraid of
a cow. Sarathos raises his weapon. I shall end you
for mocking me this day. Cow His body now shudders

(01:01:35):
as Sarathos begins a transformation into a more monstrous werewolf
creature than his minions that I have just defeated. When
he finishes, I witness that he is much stronger than
he was when human. He utters a loud roar before
he engages me. In response, I move and flip towards him,
all too eager to dance again. Upon our reaching one another,

(01:01:59):
the new Uly transformed. Sarahthos swings his golden axe to
commence our dance. I cross my arms in front of
me and slowly, ever so calmly, arch backward. The axe
blade passes over me as a gentle breeze. I finish
my flip and land gracefully on the heels of my
stiletto boots. It almost seems as if I'm dancing barefoot.

(01:02:22):
Sarathos growls and swings his axe with much fury. Truly,
I see my dance partner now. He is with great
arrogance and anger at believing that he could easily defeat
one such as I simply because I have the appearance
of an organic Earth female. I captured you once before
myself cow, he roars at me, confirming that he is

(01:02:44):
capable of speech in his alternate form. Once I have
lain captured to you again, I shall show the others
the error of your ways by ravaging you until you
beg me for your life. Then your meat shall make
a most tasty stew to add to the Halloween offering
for hell Weaver. I laughed softly, foolish despot one, you

(01:03:07):
did not defeat me yourself. Your lower werewolves did much
of the work for you. Two, I have had sufficient
time to learn and understand more about myself. I am
most ready for you this time. Three. I am not
one of your so called cows. In fact, I am
actually known by two names. In birth, I was Mahari

(01:03:28):
of the royal House of Rilos, and was Princess of Treylond,
a planet many light years from Earth. Here, on my
adopted world, I was given a new name and re
christened Cassilia Tabon. Sarathos roars again and narrowly misses me
as I gracefully dance a cartwheel to avoid his deadly

(01:03:49):
axe blow. I continue my introduction to Sarathos. We Tabons
have made it our business to eradicate supernatural evil wherever
we may encounter it, and to protect innocent mortals from
those who would harm or enslave them. For all I know,
I may very well be the last Tabon in existence,

(01:04:09):
And as long as even one Tabon exists, both the
family business and the mission shall never change. And today
I laugh with the grace of my dancing once more.
Today you shall fall before a Tabon. Sarathos roars with
intense fury, causing his yellow eyes to glow bright and

(01:04:31):
swings his axe at its hardest once more. He is
unsuccessful in striking me and embeds his weapon into the
floor to render it both stuck and useless. I enter
the next part of my dance and begin showing Sarathos
that he too is but an inferior organic. The longer
Sarathos and I battle, the more he learns that this

(01:04:53):
cow is not so easily overcome, even in his enhanced
where will form. He continues to throw his power powerful
fists and claws at me, but I continue dancing much
too gracefully to allow him to strike me as he
did during our first encounter. He makes his impending defeat
all the more as he roars with increasing anger and

(01:05:14):
frustration at me. I continue to perform my dance recital
with Sarathos by attacking him myself and throwing and kicking
him from pillar to post. At one point, I even
lift him with a single hand and hurl him clear
across his throne room. He breaks several of the large
bricks that comprise the wall upon his impact and falls

(01:05:35):
upon his back. Sarathos stands to his feet again and
shows more signs of anger and frustration. When he begins
to telegraph his blows. He is clearly not thinking straight
any longer. In memories, I can recall how I was
chastised by self entitled males because I love to dance.
I was chastised for my bewitching beauty and my greatly

(01:05:58):
endowed upper body. The self entitled males of the former
days even chastised me when they discovered that I was
both a tabon and a trained killer. Sarathos chastised me
for having the identity of an organic female. And now
he chastises me again. As I flip over his hulking
form and land with grace like a feline, I believe

(01:06:22):
it is time to finish this dance. I come into
him and unleash a series of devastating blows in time
ideal Sarathos a most devastating defeat. Now I stand above him,
holding his hulking form down with one hand as I
raised the other for the killing blow. Upon scanning his form,

(01:06:42):
I only need to sever his brain from the rest
of his body to end him. Your tyranny ends here
and now, despot, I yell hell weaver, shall not receive
your Halloween offering. This day, and on this day, you
fall to both a female and a tabon. As I
hear the cries of the females he's captured to end him,

(01:07:06):
I have the sudden realization from when I fought that
first werewolf. In a former lifetime, I would have indeed
ended Sarathos and claimed his life. But that former lifetime
are simply memories that I now possess. That past lifetime
does not define my new life. Now, the females protest

(01:07:27):
and chastise me when I release him and step back
though a machine I may be. In this new life,
I and I alone decide my own fate. While Sarathos
has likely taken many organic lives and has captured many
organic females, while his life is now mine to claim,
I will not destroy him. In a former life, I

(01:07:50):
was indeed a vicious killer, but today I am no killer.
The Tabon way is to save lives. The only lives
that we claimed in former year were those who had none,
vampires being a prime example. That shall hold true for
me now. Sarathos shudders and then returns to his original form.

(01:08:12):
You should have ended me, cow, he sneers. Make no
mistake I shall be avenged for your treachery this day.
When hell Weaver does not receive my offering, she will
surely come for you and destroy you. I laugh a little.
And should we ever engage each other in battle again, Sarathos,

(01:08:32):
I know that you shall time and time again fall
to me. I glare at him. Now you cannot and
will never defeat a machine. Then I strike a blow
between his eyes to render the foolish despot unconscious. As
for hell Weaver, if she should come, I shall stand

(01:08:53):
ready to engage in battle with her. It is still
the night of Halloween as I finally take my leave
of the castle that once belong to Sarathos and venture
back into the harsh storm. The females have turned the
despot loose for fear of hell Weaver coming for her offering.
He could not run away from the castle fast enough.

(01:09:16):
As for the organic females that he had captured, they
have also abandoned the castle and have gone their separate ways.
Many of them will return to their loved ones. Others
will find new adventures or homes of their own. As
for me, I am a tabon, I am an avenger,
and shall continue in my present course of action. Before

(01:09:39):
I can render a map to determine my next destination,
my interface begins to flash in that alien language again.
I will the interface to display American English and read
mission incoming. When the flashing ceases, the files have downloaded
and are open to me. There are several objectives to

(01:10:01):
my new mission. The ultimate objective will be to confront
hell Weaver myself and save the universe from becoming this hellish,
post apocalyptic waste land. You would think and feel that
I would have ultimately awakened in twenty thirty to engage
hell Weaver in battle. Upon reading the mission files, it's

(01:10:22):
quite clear to me now as to why I am
in twenty ninety nine. I have objectives that I must
accomplish here. First, do note that Sarathos was not a
part of my mission. Also note that I have stated
that I and I alone decide my own destiny. While
it is true that I have been given a mission,

(01:10:42):
I am not bound to comply with it. However, it
is my emotions and my secondary programming that will guide
me into accepting the mission. Upon finishing my briefing, an
updated map of my current location opens. I must ultimately
reach Shore City, one of the last great cities on
Earth that survived what is known as the hell Weaver Holocaust.

(01:11:06):
I have important side objectives to accomplish prior to reaching
Shore City. Currently am en route to the Pendleton Way Station.
I walk along what was once a major highway that
is broken and cracked from years of weathering and disrepair,
much like many of the intersecting roads that I have
encountered in time. I hear howling in the distance, even

(01:11:28):
through the harsh winds that continue to accompany this great
and powerful storm. I look up to the sky and
am able to use filtering software to witness the full
moon above the clouds. Truly, I shall not be alone
for much longer. I am prove incorrect as a pack
of werewolves reveal themselves to me and converge they do

(01:11:50):
not possess scorpion tales, as Sarathos's creatures did just the same.
They truly mean to either curse me to assimilate me
into their pack or devour me without fear. I assume
my fighting stance and give them a curtsy. Shall we dance?
I murmur? The werewolves growl and advance towards me. Now

(01:12:13):
I can begin my dance to be continued Tricks and Treats,
Volume two, So nice, we had to do it twice.

(01:12:36):
A cool breeze blew down the sidewalk, past the swarms
of costumed merrymakers, stirring up small cyclones of discarded candy
wrappers and haunted house leaflets. A lone figure stood in
the center of the chaos, head down, like a stage actor,
waiting for the curtain to rise. The tall, impossibly thin

(01:12:59):
man had on a top hat and wore a bright,
gaudy suit with tails. With his handlebar mustache and Van
Dyke beard, he looked like a demonic circus ring master.
He leaned on a cane, blocking a substantial part of
the sidewalk, but the revelers unconsciously parted around him like

(01:13:19):
he wasn't even there. Suddenly, as if someone flipped a switch,
the strange man sprung into action. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,
writers and wrongers, killers and pray, he said, as he
spun in a circle, his cane whipping through the air,

(01:13:40):
barely missing some of the pedestrians. I am the Count
of Carnage, the Prince of the Perverse, the Phantom of
the faithless and your humble host, he said, winking Jack Scratch.
He performed an impossibly low bow, his hat almost touching
the ground. Standing up straight, Jack began strolling down the sidewalk.

(01:14:05):
Tonight is a special night, the unholiest of nights all
Hallows Eve, or Halloween as you humans call it, Jack spoke,
this is the one night a year that I can
leave the infernal flames of Hell and walk among you mortals.
He paused to light a cigar, the pure joy of

(01:14:26):
it registered on his face. As Hell's director of talent acquisition,
I have been all over your world. I've seen the
worst you have to offer. However, there is one place
that never disappoints, one place where killers seem to multiply
like rabbits and mothers constantly weep. Jack stopped and spread

(01:14:49):
his arms Strictfield, Ohio. He took a long, deep breath
and seemed to shiver with anticipation when he exhaled. You
can just smell the crazy in the air. Ah, He continued,

(01:15:09):
strolling down the sidewalk. Strickfielders love Halloween. Just look at them,
he said, pointing to the mob of tricker treaters crowding
the streets. An entire town rays to love the gruesome
and the macabre, so used to murder in Mayhem that
they spend an entire month celebrating it. Just thinking about

(01:15:33):
it brings a tear to my eye. Jack said, what
happens when someone doesn't appreciate the darker side of life?
One who moves into a community but rejects what they
hold deer. Jack stops and points at a house across

(01:15:55):
the street. Well, there's no time like the present, so
let's find out. This one is called Beggars Can't be
Choosers by Morgan Moore. Now go away, kid, you bother me.

(01:16:16):
The sound of the doorbell ringing brings Melissa White to
her front door with a sigh. She scoops up the
bowl set by the door, opens it, and is greeted
as she had been all night, by a group of
kids dressed up for Halloween. They all shout at once,
Oh wow, look at you all, you're so spooky. Melissa

(01:16:41):
doesn't even attempt to mask how over the night she was.
She quickly hands each child a piece of candy with
the best smile she can muster. All right, then, you
scary kids, don't eat too much and be safe out there.
Before a child can even blink at her actions, Melissa
shuts the door and releases a sigh. God, I hate Halloween.

(01:17:06):
The irony was not lost on Melissa that for how
much she hated the holiday, she moved to Strickfield, a
town which didn't just celebrate the holiday yearly, but around
the clock come October. If she would have known about
the village's infatuation with the damned day, she would have
never moved there. But it was affordable, and she wasn't

(01:17:27):
going to turn down the small house that she had
inherited from her aunt. What made it seemingly more insufferable
than any other Halloween was the costumes she saw. It
was one thing for a kid to dress up like
a movie monster or a psychopath, but she saw child
after child dressed like actual killers. Upon announcing her intentions

(01:17:53):
to move to Strickfield, and once getting there, Melissa quickly
learned the village had a history of killings and numerous
serial killers, some of which taking on near idle status
in the small community. So since October started, she got
to learn all about every last one and got to

(01:18:15):
see every child up to adults dressed as those lunatics.
It made her sick. Melissa rolled her eyes and walked
over to her couch and plopped down on it. She
looked at her hand, which still had the bowl she
was using for candy. With a shrug, she reached into
it with her other hand. Nothing touched her fingers or

(01:18:38):
palm as she searched for something to snack on. Melissa
looked into the bowl and was met with the sight
of nothing but her hand being inside. Ah shit, she muttered.
She was screwed. On the one hand, it gave her
an excuse to just turn off the lights and call
it a night, but she knew better. She had been

(01:19:01):
seen handing out candy, and even with it being nine o'clock,
there were still people roaming the streets in search of treats.
Eventually her doorbell would be pushed and then knocked on
until she would be forced to answer it. Heavens knew
what would happen if she did and had to announce
to the beggars that there was no more candy to

(01:19:22):
be had. Keep participating in this rotating psycho fashion show
and get more candy, or call it a night and
probably have the house and my car messed with Melissa
contemplated her options. It didn't take her long to reach
the conclusion to grab her purse and keys and find
a store that somehow still had candy to buy. Melissa

(01:19:49):
slowly drove through Strickfield, her speed due to the number
of people blindly walking through the streets. She groaned at
the snail's pace she was going. All would be fine,
as Melissa had passed a few stores that were clearly
still open, yet the heavy foot traffic made it next
to impossible to turn into any of them. As her

(01:20:10):
drive progressed, less and less buildings became present as scenery.
From what little she had traversed the village in her
short time there, Melissa had never come out this far.
Most of the activity was in the heart of the village,
not out in the boonies. On the plus side, being
this far out meant there was no foot traffic to

(01:20:30):
hinder her driving. But being out this far in the
dark on Halloween definitely sent a shiver down Melissa's spine.
Melissa continued her drive through what started to look more
and more like countryside. Her attention suddenly snapped to the left.
Was that she questioned having driven past whatever it was

(01:20:53):
too quickly. Melissa put the car in reverse and slowly
backed up to what had caught her eye. The sight
of it brought a smile to her face. In front
of her was an old general store that was still open.
Thank God. Melissa maneuvered the car into what could pass

(01:21:16):
as a parking lot for the store and turn the
car off Outside. She shivers as the autumn air brushes
against her. Crisp and chilly, Melissa made her way toward
the general store, cautious of the environment and its lack
of outdoor lighting. Only the faint glow of the light
from inside the store led her way. As she opened

(01:21:37):
the door, a bell chimed and nearly gave her a
heart attack. God, this place is old, isn't it. Melissa
walked around the store, the light inside faint as it
was from the outdoors. The place reminded her of an
Amish store she visited once in Indiana. Everything on the
shelves appeared to be homemade, stored in either plastic bags

(01:22:01):
or Mason jars. Handwritten labels carefully glued to each item
with what it was and how much it cost. Melissa
was certainly impressed by the amount of items the store
seemed to have and its owners had made. Melissa continued
to walk through the store in search of any kind
of candy she could find. Rounding a corner, she found

(01:22:23):
what she was looking for, a small wooden shelf against
the wall filled with bags of homemade candy. Perfect, she exclaimed.
Melissa plucked a couple of bags from the shelf with
a smile. She turned around to head back toward the
front of the store, only to find her path blocked
by a man. He was only a few hairs taller

(01:22:47):
than her, but was very visibly over double her age.
May I help you, he asked? The old man, while
taller than Melissa, spoke with a softness that she assumed
from his old age. His attire, whether a Halloween costume
or his everyday clothes, reminded her of a pioneer or

(01:23:08):
the Amish, only without the beard. It seemed rather fitting
for him. Oh sorry, I think I was just trying
to find some candy, Melissa fumbles out. The old man
looks her up and down and smiles. Well it looks
like you found some. Is that all you need? I

(01:23:30):
would say, yes, Melissa responded, great, Well, then let's get
you cashed out and on your way. The man smiled
and turned to head toward the front of the store.
Melissa raised an eyebrow quizzically, but shrugged and followed after
the man up front. She tossed the bags onto the counter.

(01:23:50):
Run out tonight, did you, he asked, Yeah, didn't expect
to get as much foot traffic as I did. Must
be new to the area, aren't bingo? Melissa replied with
a slight smile. Oh, there's a pretty smile. I'm not
surprised you weren't more prepared. Then. Halloween is a big

(01:24:11):
night and a big deal for those here in Strickfield,
always has been, the old man explained, so I've heard.
Melissa answered with a small roll of her eyes. Not
a fan of Halloween, the man asked, after catching her
rolling her eyes, Not really. I always found it kind

(01:24:31):
of goofy growing up. If anything, living here has made
me dislike it more. Constantly being surrounded by it does
no favors for me. Not to mention, it's pretty revolting
seeing kids dressed up as serial killers. Well, it's up
to the parents what their children want to do. That's
part of the problem. It's disgusting, How okay it is

(01:24:55):
that this, and forgive me for saying it. Backwoods t
idolizes mass murderers and a stupid holiday that's only point
is to drive candy sales and horror movie renolds. Truth
be told, I wouldn't even be buying this if I
wasn't afraid of having the little rugrats kick my door down.

(01:25:15):
They'd probably try to eat me in place of the candy,
Melissa ranted to the store owner. She paused after finishing
her sentence and looked at the old man. His face,
which minutes ago showed an old warmth and pleasantness, was
now replaced by cold eyes and a frowned, furrowed brow.
Something about the old man's face and how he was

(01:25:37):
now holding his body made the hairs on Melissa's neck
stand up and put her on edge. It was as
if her insulting the holiday had offended the once kind
sales clerk, having committed immortal sin. Melissa felt her cheeks
grow hot from embarrassment at the situation. How much do

(01:25:58):
I owe you a cautiously well, dear, let's just call
it paying it forward, he answered, I don't get it,
She responded in confusion, Well, paying it forward means I
give you these because of generosity I've received, he explained.
Oh okay, Melissa carefully reached across the counter and took

(01:26:22):
the bags of candy. She went to walk away and
head back home, but paused. The words the old man
had just said rewound and then replayed in her head.
Melissa turned around and looked at the old man. Hey,
may I ask you something? Course, he replied, you said

(01:26:43):
you received a generosity. I'm curious as to what it was.
Melissa questioned. Ah, well, let's see, you gave me some sourness, which,
as you could expect, is something we use in many
of our goods. Besides, you got some chocolate coins, so
we can just consider those your pay for the ferryman,

(01:27:05):
the old man elaborated, before ending with a warm smile.
Melissa looked in confused terror at the old man. On
one hand, she didn't understand what any of this had
to do with generosity, Yet something about how he spoke
and the way he was smiling made her feel as
if a terrible event was going to happen. Right. Well,

(01:27:28):
I gotta go, Melissa choked out. She turned around to leave,
only to find herself surrounded by what she assumed was
the old man's family. Each one was dressed in the
same amish like attire, the only difference being for the girls,
who wore dresses of the same fashion. Melissa couldn't believe
they had appeared as quickly as they did, and found

(01:27:50):
herself equally unable to find a way to escape there,
encircling of her. As they got closer and closer, Melissa
felt panic overtake her, shutting down all brain function and
leaving her like a defenseless newborn baby. She dropped the
candy save for the chocolate coins, remembering what the man
had said. Yes, yes, I think this might be the

(01:28:13):
best treat we could have gotten this year. Now, remember, children,
we must remember to pay it forward. Strickfield gave us
this wonderful package of ingredients. Yes, yes, new from crows
in hand old time general store. Short on candy bars,

(01:28:34):
but need something sweet for your tricker treaters. Try our
new sour nut clusters. All the salty crunchiness of the
nuts you love with the sourness and coating of your
favorite candies. They're so crunchy and sour you'd almost think
we made them from your worst enemies. So come on
down and get yourself, our new sour nut clusters at

(01:28:55):
crows in hand, old time general store, my mind, Jack said,
popping a piece of candy into his mouth. I'm not
normally a fan of recycling, but he eats another one.
You can't argue with the results. Best damn sour nuts

(01:29:17):
I've ever tried. Jack began to stroll down the sidewalk,
his cane twirling in his hands. Strickfield attracts killers and
fiends of all types, humans, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, Everything and
anything is possible in Strickfield. It baffles me why any

(01:29:39):
good hearted mortal who makes it out would ever come back.
But if they did, wouldn't it be grand if they
unintentionally brought death and destruction with them. Not only is
Strickfield a cruel bitch, it also has a wicked sense
of humor. He grandly gestured at a pair of women

(01:30:00):
across the street. Well, we'll see what happens to these
two young ladies in just a moment. But first, here's
something even more terrifying for you. A word from our sponsors.
What you think hell pays well? Not a chance? Halloween

(01:30:21):
Cookies by Keith Tomlin, Children, teenagers and even adults walked
the streets in costume, their laughter reverberating in the chilly
October air. Two women, Megan Smith and her aged mother May,
turned off the sidewalk and headed up a walkway to
the front door of a modest, yellow, two story home.

(01:30:42):
May was all smiles as she looked around the neighborhood
she lived in for most of her life. When they
reached the door, Megan rapped sharply and they waited. Within
a few seconds, the door was opened by a slightly
overweight man in his early thirties dressed as beetlejuice. Trick
or Treat. May yelled, trick or treat? The man said

(01:31:05):
back to her. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide as he
realized who was standing at his door. Auntie, May, is
that you? Daniel. I wouldn't have recognized you if Megan
hadn't told me that you lived here. Daniel stepped forward
and gave May a gentle hug, trying not to smash
the covered tray that she was carrying. I haven't seen

(01:31:29):
you in what fifteen years? Let me get Sarah. Daniel
stepped back inside and yelled for Sarah, his wife. After
not hearing a response, he apologized. She's giving the baby
a bath and putting him to bed. Why don't you
come in and wait? She would love to see you. Sorry,
dear May said, patting his cheek. I have a lot

(01:31:49):
of houses to visit tonight. After all, it's Halloween. Don't worry, though,
I'm moving back to Strickfield, so you'll see a lot
more of me. I'm moving in with Megan and her
boy boyfriend. She lowered her voice. I was living with
my other daughter in Phoenix, but she's getting divorced and
had to move into a smaller house. Mother, don't air

(01:32:10):
our dirty laundry in public, Megan said, aghast oh, hush
Daniels family May retorted. When May lived in this neighborhood,
she considered any kid within eight blocks of her house
and their parents' family. She would give every kid small
but thoughtful gifts for birthdays and Christmases. She never said

(01:32:31):
no to babysitting, and her house was a wonderful, chaotic
mess of children. She loved every second of it. Twelve
years ago, after her husband passed, her health began to fail,
and her children convinced her to move to the warm
and dry climate of Arizona. The losses of her beloved
husband and her adopted family blew out the spark she

(01:32:54):
had in her eyes, and her life in Arizona became
one of mere existence. But now that she was back
in Strickfield, there was a new bounce in her step.
May was about to ask about Daniel's parents when she
noticed a young, green faced child with big eyes peering
around his legs. My who is this, May exclaimed. Daniel

(01:33:18):
gently scooted the child forward. This is Chloe, my daughter,
he said proudly. I'm a Ninja turtle. Chloe said, shyly,
pointing at her Leonardo costume. Oh that sounds like fun.
Do you eat flies, May asked, bending down to look
the little girl in the face. Chloe laughed, no, silly,

(01:33:40):
I eat pizza. Good choice. May said, do you eat cookies?
Chloe's eyes brightened at that. Yes, Ninja turtles can eat cookies,
she exclaimed. May looked up at Daniel, who nodded. Let's see,
she said, as she opened up her tupperware tray. We
don't have turtles, but we do have bats, spiders, kitty cats,

(01:34:05):
and wolves. Oh I'll take a wolf, Chloe said, excitedly,
reaching out there, You go. Dear May smiled as she
handed the little one a sugar cookie shaped like a wolf.
Chloe turned and ran deeper into the house, holding the
cookie to her chest like she was afraid that someone
would take it from her. Daniel called after her, Hey,

(01:34:27):
come back and thank Auntie May. Sighing, he turned back
and apologized. May waved the apology off, and after her
daughter helped her stand back up, she held out the
tray to Daniel care for a cookie. Daniel's shoulders slumped.
I wish I could. I always loved your cookies, but

(01:34:47):
I'm diabetic and I've already dipped into her candy bag
more than I should have this evening. They stood there
for a few minutes more and exchanged their goodbyes, ending
with May promising to stop by on Saturday to meet
the rest of the family. As the women turned to
walk away, Megan realized that she hadn't seen her mother
this happy since before her father died. Chloe played with

(01:35:12):
her teenage mutant Ninja Turtle action figures, acting out scenarios
where they saved April O'Neill from a rampaging wolf in
the form of May's sugar cookie. When this became boring.
She had Leonardo cut the head off the wolf cookie,
ending the threat. She celebrated by eating the cookie head first,
savoring each bite. Chloe put her figures away, grabbing her

(01:35:35):
coloring books and began to carefully draw within the lines.
After a few minutes, she started to sweat and a
feeling of intense fear began washing over her. She started
to yell out for her father, but something, a feeling
of apprehension, held her back. A figure passed her open door,

(01:35:56):
causing Chloe to shrink back in terror. The creature looked
like a monster, one of the wolfmen from the scary
movies that her parents didn't let her watch, but she
did anyway. She heard the front door open, Snarls and
howls floated down the hall, ending when the front door
was shut. She sat there on her bed, paralyzed until

(01:36:20):
the creature walked by again, pausing in her doorway, it
stared at her, its lips curled back in rage, spittle
spraying from its mouth as it glowered at her. Chloe
broke her stillness as she screamed and rolled off the bed.
Grabbing the plastic katana from her costume, she dove under

(01:36:40):
the bed. She waited, trembling with fear, until the wolfman
on his knees, pulled the blanket aside and peered at her,
his long teeth glinting in the lamplight. Chloe screamed again
and thrust the sword forward, catching the monster in the face.
Old back and let out a horrific howl as she

(01:37:02):
scuttled out the other side and ran out of the room.
My god, it's so good to see you, Aunt May,
Christine said, giving the old woman another hug. Same here,
my dear, it's so good to be back. I've been
gone for way too long. May replied. Christine waved her

(01:37:24):
daughter over and presented her to May. This is d.
She would have been two or three the last time
you saw her. My, she's grown into such a lovely girl,
May exclaimed. Christine looked down at her daughter and pointed
at May. D. This is Auntie May. She was everyone's
favorite neighbor when we were growing up. D looked at

(01:37:47):
May and, in a flat, bored tone, said hi. She
looked back at her mom and asked, can I go
to my room and listen to music? Christine sighed, fine,
go D began to walk away. When May spoke, Oh,
I almost forgot. Do you want a Halloween cookie? She

(01:38:08):
held out the tray to the girl. D hesitated and nodded,
grabbing a cookie shaped like a spider before walking off.
I'm sorry, you know how teenagers are, Christine said, apologetic. Oh, dear,
no need to tell me. May responded, pointedly, looking at Megan. Nonsense,

(01:38:29):
I was an angel, Megan said, playfully, smacking her mother
on the shoulder. D flopped on the bed, grabbing her
phone out of her back pocket and putting in her earbuds.
She absently ate the cookie as she scrolled through Instagram
posts and listened to music. After a few minutes, she
began to feel strange, like someone was watching her. The

(01:38:54):
hair on the back of her neck was standing up.
She removed the earbuds and heard screeching and scratching coming
from the other room. She slowly rose from the bed
and made her way into the hall. Scott is working
second shift at mir and Automotive. He'll be sorry he

(01:39:16):
missed you. Let's all get together and have dinner some
night at Denoyer's grill, Christine said, Noticing the look on
May's face, she said, sorry, I forgot you have an
issue with that place. Mom is slowly getting over it
now that she's not able to cook as much as
she used to. Megan said, May couldn't contain herself. I
don't think you can call something homemade if it's being

(01:39:38):
cooked in the back of a kitchen of a diner. Besides,
I still say that they stole my recipe for country
fried chicken gravy, May huffed. D snuck down the hall,
the clicking and scraping getting louder with every step. She
stopped at the doorway to the living room and peered

(01:39:59):
around the corner. She quickly pulled back, stifling a scream.
Fighting the panic that threatened to a mobilizer. She looked
around the corner again. Standing where her mother had been
was a humanoid creature with the head of a spider.
In addition to the two legs the creature was standing on,
there were six thin spider like legs sticking out of

(01:40:23):
its back. The legs absently tapped and scraped along the
open front door and the walls surrounding it. Two other
spider creatures stood on the porch, and all three were
emitting high pitched noises. D slowly backed down the hall,
her heart racing as she tried to clear her head.

(01:40:44):
She thought, what would Dad do? Then she remembered the shotgun.
Every year on his birthday, he took her to the
Sportsman Club to shoot skeet. So she knew how to
use a shotgun and she knew where he kept it.
Decision made, she turned and ran toward her parents room.

(01:41:06):
Daniel looked at his eye in the mirror. It was
swelling shut and he couldn't see anything out of it.
His wife, Sarah, walked into the room and put her
arm around him. How's your eye, she asked, Not good.
I'll probably have to go to the er. Daniel said,
Chloe's not in her room, Sarah said, I wonder what

(01:41:28):
got into her. I have no idea. I was asking
her if she liked the cookie when she freaked out
and hid under the bed. When I checked on her,
she jabbed me with that damn sword, Daniel said, wincing
with pain as he dabbed a damp washcloth around his eye,
cleaning up some of the fresh blood seeping from it.

(01:41:48):
I'll keep looking for her. Hopefully she didn't leave the house.
His wife said she was scared to death, poor thing.
As soon as we find her and calm her down,
I'll head to the hospital. Daniel said, No, I don't
want you driving. We should call an ambulance, Sarah said.
Daniel was about to protest when he heard light footsteps

(01:42:10):
running down the hall. Chloe stormed into the room, wearing
the full Leonardo costume and brandishing a large butcher's knife.
She began swinging it wildly with almost superhuman strength, plunging
it first into her father and then into her mother,
over and over again. A few minutes later, Chloe stood

(01:42:35):
over the remains of the two wolf monsters. She was
wiping blood from her face when she heard the high
pitched howling coming from the baby's room. She gripped the
knife with determination and turned, walking out of the bathroom.

(01:42:56):
Christine examined the cookie in her hand, shaped like cat. Wow,
the details on these cookies are amazing, she exclaimed, I know,
perfect for Halloween. When I moved in with Megan, she
gave me an amazing set of horror themed cookie cutters.
May said, I found them at some hole in the

(01:43:17):
wall antique store near the Strickfield Town Center mall called
Tinkers or something like that. The owner was a bit peculiar,
but the prices were amazing, Megan interjected. Christine was about
to take a bite when she heard a yell behind her.
As she turned, the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being

(01:43:38):
racked filled her ears. Jack holds up one finger like
he's waiting for something. Off in the near distance. You
can hear gunshots, and Jack swings his hands back and
forth like he's conducting a symphony. The people milling about

(01:44:00):
the street jump startled and look around. Not seeing any
immediate threat, they hurry on about their business. When the
last shot ends, he sighs, Oh, well, that was fun
while it lasted. You have to give it up for
Isley Tinker. He does good work. I don't know how

(01:44:22):
he stays in business selling cursed antiques at such low
prices artists. Jack rolls his eyes. Jack begins to continue
strolling down the street when suddenly he stops. Wait. I
know that smell, the sickly sweet scent of decay, Jack said,

(01:44:44):
breathing deeply. I think we're in for a treat, he said,
almost giddy with anticipation. That's what I love about Strickfield.
You never know who you'll run into. He turns and
points at the house up the block. Ah, there we go.

(01:45:04):
I wish I had popcorn because I am expecting quite
a show. Smoke him if you got him, Jack said
as he lit up another cigar after a quick word
from our sponsors. Of course, Beggar's Night massacre by Rob Fields.

(01:45:34):
As I walked down Park Avenue with my plastic pumpkin
basket and my drink bottle, I got to thinking more
about how the village of Strickfield made tricker treating a
full week instead of just one night. This year, I
heard people calling the last full week of Halloween Beggar's week.
I think I can see why the people here call
it that. By definition, Beggar's night is when tricker treating

(01:45:58):
falls on any other night. But but now there are
six additional nights of trick or treating prior to Halloween
right here in this village, meaning the first six nights
are technically Beggar's nights. I take a quick drink of
the red liquid from my bottle and see the porch
light of my next house. I walk up to the

(01:46:19):
door of nineteen Park Avenue and ring the bell. I
can hear Bobby Pickett's monster mash playing inside. The door opens,
making the music louder. And that's when I see her,
Megan Harris. I ask, Megan's dressed like a sexy vampire.
I am also dressed as a vampire, only I look

(01:46:42):
more like Dracula. Megan opens the screen door. I think
you're too old to be trick or treating, Richie, she says,
holding the large bowl of candy in her arm. I smirk.
Not in Strickfield, anybody can trick or treat here. No
judgment or age discrimination never has been anyway where you

(01:47:04):
been hiding. People at Strickfield High have been saying you
disappeared two years ago. Megan smiles a little. I'm here now.
Just then, this beefy guy comes and stands at the
door with her. I don't care what Strickfield law says
about trick or treating. You're too old, dweb. Then he grins, Yeah,

(01:47:26):
maybe you're in your second childhood. He scowls now get lost,
fuck stick, But I ignore him. You know I've been
looking everywhere for you, too, Megan. Then the guy whom
I recognize as Mike Stanley, opens the door and steps
out onto the porch. You deaf nerd beat it or

(01:47:47):
I am gonna beat your ass. Mike. Just stop. Megan snaps,
this is my house, just like that. The buffoon listens
to her and backs off, and I know he'd like
nothing better than to lay into me. Megan turns back. Hey,
since you're here, I'm inviting you to my party. Come

(01:48:07):
on in, Richie Hawthorne. Are you fucking serious, Megan, Mike protests.
Megan glares at him again. Last time, shut the fuck up,
or you can leave right here and now this is
my house and I'll invite whoever I want. I don't
give a rats ask what, Ken says. She points to
him again. Just stop again, Mike obazer. Then Megan steps

(01:48:33):
aside to let me come in. There are plenty of
people from Strickfield High here at Megan's shindig, and in costume.
People are drinking cups of what looks like red punch.
The TV's on. A news report about people disappearing from
area high schools is on. I watch the report attentively
reading the lips of the people talking over the loud music.

(01:48:55):
Then Megan comes up beside me. Listen, I'm glad you're
here at my party tonight. I let Megan bring me
into the kitchen. She opens the fridge and gives me
a can of soda, even though the others are drinking
out of two big punch bowls on the dining room table.
Megan just stands there expectedly. I turn and follow her

(01:49:17):
through the kitchen and out the back door. As soon
as we're private enough. She turns and faces me. I've
been watching the news, I tell Megan, how long did
you think it would be before your parents ended up
being featured on it? How long were they out looking
for you after you disappeared from Strickfield. Megan kind of

(01:49:38):
looks desperate. Now I know you haven't lived here in
Strickfield for long, Richie, You have no idea how my
parents constantly smothered me with their religion. It was always
them telling me to read my Bible, or tuck my
shirt in, or my skirt's too short. I couldn't take
it anymore. I had to lose them. I raise my finger. Yeah,

(01:49:58):
but you just ran away from home. You never showed
up at school. The police were out looking for you.
If you were that desperate to leave, you should have
just left Strickfield. But here you are, out of the blue,
having a Halloween party and hosting trick or treating? Aren't
you afraid people might recognize you? Cops are stepping up

(01:50:21):
their patrols this week. What if they saw you face
at Megan? You're not exactly a subtle kind of girl.
The two of us look at each other for a
long while, and then things are about to get serious
when we hear people hooping and hollering nearby. As soon
as we go back inside, this gang of hoodlums enters

(01:50:41):
Megan's house. The others already here don't seem to care.
They're all drinking their red punch and doing whatever. I
remember seeing these guys at Strickfield High. The leader is
Ken Stover. He's probably been in more trouble with Principal
Van dest than Bella Tabon and Ronnie Brunswick combined. Suddenly,

(01:51:02):
Ken pulls Megan to him and locks her in a
hungry kiss. Megan wraps her leg around him and kisses
him back. When they finish, he shoves her away. Then
he goes and smashes the sound system to kill the music.
Now everyone's looking right at him, Look at you fuckers
having a Halloween party. Then Ken screams at Megan, you

(01:51:26):
didn't invite us, your stupid bitch. He quickly shoves her
to the floor. Did you forget who's running the show
around here? Yeah? Not inviting us? Ain't polite. Darren Jeevers adds,
we ought to just give Megan to the cops and
tell him she's back. Bart Parker suggests. Then Gerald Atkins

(01:51:47):
points right at me. Who's this fuck? He ain't one
of us? Ken comes right at me. I know nobody
invited you to our group. Know why because ain't nobody
part of this group? Without me saying? And so I
invited him? Megan snaps, standing up. Ken points right behind
him at her, and I'm uninviting him. He points at me.

(01:52:10):
Now get the fuck out of here, you panty waste.
But Megan isn't done yet. We all know the Master's coming.
What if he decides Richie might be a worthy offering.
You never disappoint the Master, I can tell. Ken still
wants me gone. He backs off, however, and pats my shoulder.

(01:52:31):
Enjoy yourself, fuck face. Suddenly the doorbell rings. The gang
answers the door to see two pizza delivery guys standing
there with a bunch of pies. Delivery for nineteen Park avenue.
One of them stammers. Ken opens the screen door and
yanks them both inside. The pizza boxes spin or drop

(01:52:52):
to the floor. Then I see the entire gang shutter
before they charge. Their hands become claws, their faces get
ey and uglier than they already were, and then the
others here are transforming. Ken tells everybody, pizza is here,
help yourselves. The pizza guys scream in total terror as

(01:53:13):
they leap to their feet and try running. But where
can you run in a house full of bloodthirsty vampires.
Suddenly Ken shoves me aside out of the fucking way milksop.
The pizza guys keep running before Mikey Stanley snags one
of them. Megan snatches the other one. He points to
the pizza guy. Megan has give me that one, but

(01:53:36):
Megan won't give him over. We save them for the Master.
Ken raises his hand to Striker. You keep forgetting your
place here, bitch. I'm calling the shots here. Only reason
I took you with me was because you was running
from the Master. He made you, but you ran away
when I found you. You needed blood, he kept saying.

(01:53:58):
The Master's coming. Still ain't seen him. If he's so
fucking badass. How come he ain't never found you? Huh? Also,
you ain't never seen what he looks like. Megan shakes
her head. I'm telling you, Ken, you're greatly underestimating him.
I did escape, but I can feel he's very close.

(01:54:18):
I never should have run away. You can't beat him, Ken,
He'll kill you. She addresses the others at the party.
Now all of you now. Ken finally strikes her, sending
her to the floor again. Nobody comes to her aid.
Ken turns and points at me. Grab him too, There's
another mortal for us. Megan suddenly jumps on Ken's back.

(01:54:41):
Run Ritchie, get off of me, bitch, Ken yells, get
the milksop guys. I quickly turn and run through Megan's house.
I grab my pumpkin basket of candy as I reach
the back door and escape. I don't get far when
I'm grabbed and pulled back into the house. Now I'm
thrown to the floor next to the pizza guys. Ken
rubs his hands together. Boys, we are gonna have a banquet.

(01:55:06):
He points to Mike. How about you order us some
more pizzas Mike pulls his cell phone out and starts
to punch in a number. Then I hear some of
the other vampires making noise about something. Now I see
the house is catching fire, just like that. What the fuck?
Ken yells. Now the fire starts burning the vampires until

(01:55:29):
they're being smothered by it, all except Megan, me and
the pizza guys. Megan quickly grabs my arm. Let's get
out of here. The master's here. He's burning everybody in
here alive. I won't let him take you. Two. The
four of us make it through the burning vampires and
to the back door. We're out in the backyard and
keep moving. As soon as we're far enough, we turn

(01:55:52):
to see the houses completely engulfed in flames. We even
hear the vampires inside screaming as their immortality is ending
most cruelly. Megan and I keep moving with the pizza
guys until we're in a small wooded area. We made it, Richie.
Megan says, we're safe, we're free. Now. She's about to

(01:56:13):
take my hand, but suddenly I slap hers away. Did
you really think I would never find you, Megan? You
were a fool to think you could truly escape me.
I use my power to force Megan to fly back
and hit hard against a big tree and fall forward.
She lifts her head up and looks at me with
utter horror. Now you can't be the master. I smile

(01:56:39):
cruelly now and lean forward and slash both of the
delivery guy's throats with my long, sharp claws. Then I
drink them both up. When I'm finished, I look right
at her, You, ungrateful cow. I came to you and
offered you a way out of your miserable, mortal life.

(01:57:00):
I gave you immortality, and running away is how you
repay me. At least now I know and understand where
your kind come from. You only care about yourselves, truly,
I was foolish to sire you for your beauty alone.
No it's not like that, Megan protests, standing up. I

(01:57:22):
point to her. Now too late. You've abused the gift
of immortality, giving it to all those unworthy vermin back there.
You even killed your own parents in cold blood. When
will you understand you became mine? When I sired you mine,
I would have given you your heart's desire. All you

(01:57:45):
had to do was stand by me and obey me.
Now I must destroy you. I reach into my suit
coat and pull out a very sharp steak. No, ritchie,
Megan Beggs, Please no. I could have just left you
to burn in that fire with the others, but that

(01:58:06):
would have been showing you mercy. You need to suffer
for your betrayal and your treachery. I kick Megan to
the ground and get on top of her. Megan screams
as I raise the steak and end her. Once she's
nothing but ash, I stand up and retrieve my plastic

(01:58:27):
pumpkin basket. There's still plenty of time to go trick
or treating while looking for more food. That's the problem
with kids today, ungrateful for the gifts they are given,
Jack stated as he shook his head as a fire

(01:58:47):
truck pulled up to the burning house, sirens blaring. Jack
took a peek at his watch. Oh my, it's getting late.
I have to head down south soon. But I can't
leave without PARTI in the best sport that Strickfield has
to offer. H let's see. Jack opened up his jacket

(01:59:09):
to show a row of knives attached to the inner lining.
Decisions decisions. Jack finally selected a long, thin razor sharp
blade and tested the balance in his hand. I must
leave you now I prefer to do my wet work alone.

(01:59:30):
Goodbye until next year. Toodles my friends, Jack said, waving
goodbye the portal by Rob Fields. Carter Cross is standing

(01:59:51):
outside my bedroom. You ready, Madeline? One sec? I tell him.
He comes in and watches me finish a really tough
level on Donkey. It's an old school video game that
Nintendo released many years ago. I'm playing an actual arcade
cabinet Dad picked up for me a few years ago.
It was all beat up and scratched, but I restored

(02:00:13):
it and gave it new life. Yes, I cry when
I finished the level. Since I know Carter and me
gotta get going. I turn off the cabinet. After putting
on my ball cap with a familiar horror hockey mask,
I tell Carter I'm ready. You always get your geek
on with our horror thons, Madeline. He tells me he's right.

(02:00:33):
In addition to my ball cap, I'm also wearing a
Freddy Krueger T shirt. I finished my outfit with jeans
and sneakers. Who dresses you anyway? Carter jokes Mom. I say,
without hesitation, she's picked up a lot of horror clothes
for me. By the way, nice shirt yourself. Carter's wearing
a Michael Myers T shirt. Guess I don't want to

(02:00:55):
feel left out. Nah, I'd never let you feel left out, buddy.
Carter and I leave my room and head downstairs. Dad
ain't home at the moment, but Mom's working on some
artwork she was commissioned for. She takes the time to
look up at us. I've heard people say she looks
a lot like Violet from Friday the Thirteenth, Part five.

(02:01:16):
I'm so jealous of you kids, Mom exclaims. Then she groans,
if I didn't have two projects needing finished by Monday,
i'd totally go with you both. Yeah, little known fact, Mom,
Carter and me have done horrorthons together. In fact, she
took Carter and me to our very first one at
the Strickfield Drive in Theater a few years ago. You

(02:01:38):
went to all that trouble to find out about the lineup,
and you can't go, Carter asks her, and thank you.
By the way, I know, Mom groans, Maddie's gonna be
haunting me in my dreams later tonight. Aw come on, Mom,
I grown back. Carter and me understand really. Then Mom

(02:01:59):
gives me some bring me back a T shirt. You
got it, I tell her. We say our goodbyes and
Carter and me leave. We're talking about tonight's lineup. Carter's
really excited about seeing the director's cut of Veranda, Queen
of the Night. Know how I'm going to Friday night
sleepovers at Ariel Miron's house. Carter usually catches Veranda on

(02:02:21):
Friday nights on Channel sixty one. Anyway, I think Veranda's
his favorite movie monster. It ain't long before we're coming
in to downtown Strickfield. Thanks again for all the tutoring
you've been giving me for miss Ridolfi's class. Carter says,
I just aced her test today, so I got no
worries about doing the horror thon. Glad I could help pal.

(02:02:43):
Now we're gonna watch twelve hours of horror movies, scarf
lots of junk food, and drink lots of caffeine. Believe me,
I'm ready, Carter promises me too. Then Carter bumps my arm.
Uh oh, don't look now, Madeline. Of course I end

(02:03:03):
up looking. Ariel Miron, Mona Abels and Bailey Downs are
crossing the street to come and meet us, And you
know they're gonna be picking on me. Ah Man, Sorry, Princess,
I don't have any pop for you, Carter tells Ariel.
Then he points past her. Maybe you can use King
Daddy's royal credit card to buy a great big one

(02:03:25):
at the horror thon. Ariel glares at him. You just
keep it up, Carter cross. Then she shoves him, and
you owe me forgetting me detention today. Carter grins at her. Ooh,
I'm so scared, princess. Then he glances at Mona and Bailey.
You gonna sick your royal handmaidens there on me. Mona

(02:03:46):
gives him a mean look, but Bailey snickers. She don't
even hide it when Ariel growls at her. Then Ariel
looks back at Carter and growls at him. Carter shrugs, anyway,
not my fault, Princess. You you're the one who started
hitting me when I wouldn't bow down to you. Actually,
Ariel wanted his bottle of soda and he wouldn't give

(02:04:07):
it to her. Naturally, Ariel's gonna make a scene. Principal
Benjamin van Deist caught her and slapped her with a
detention boy. If Ariel's looks could kill. Then she points
right at me, and you are supposed to be coming
over to my slumber party tonight? Or did you forget
what day it is? I shake my head quickly. Sorry, Ariel.

(02:04:28):
You know Carter and me always go to our horrorthons,
even if they fall on a Friday night. Any other
time I'd become into your slumber parties. But tonight ain't happening.
I smirk. Unless you three want to join us tonight. Yeah,
Ariel's mad at me too, I hate you mouse, I shrug, Sorry,
not sorry. Then Mona's given me this weird look. Wait

(02:04:52):
a minute here, you too can't go to the horrorthon.
Oh that's right, Bailey agrees. Last I checked, you two
ain't eighteen. In fact, none of us are eighteen. We
ain't even old enough to drive Carter's smirkin'. Now this
is true. But I raise my finger. But Carter and

(02:05:14):
me are allowed in. I explained to the other girls
how Carter and me were walking around Strickfield University last
February because Mom sent me there to buy this exotic
coffee she wanted from the Bitter End in Wilder Hall,
the student union building. Then we get approached by these
redheaded twins, the Corgan Twins. They made a lot of

(02:05:34):
horror movies around our area. Now they wanted Carter and
Me to be in one of their latest movies as
a couple of kids for this mom and dad. While
we was on set, we got to talking with the
Corgans about all these different movies, mostly Roger Corman ones.
I think it was safe to say Carter and Me
earned their respect. We also found out they're big with

(02:05:54):
the university's film society and they put on a lot
of events in our village. They're the ones who are
putting on Tonight's Horror Thon. Jesse and Jenny gave Carter
and Me both passes to be able to get in
all the events we want. Yeah, they know we're both
underage technically, but all we gotta do is show our
passes and we get in, no questions asked. But then

(02:06:17):
we get another surprise. These three giving you problems again. Maddie,
boy do Ariel, Mona and Bailey gasp when they turn
and see Bella Tabon standing right behind him and next
to her is Eileen. I shriek with excitement. Maddie, She's
just as excited to see me. The two of us
quickly hug. Looking at us, you'd swear we were twin

(02:06:39):
sisters instead of cousins. I mean it. We look exactly alike,
same height, we're very skinny, same brown hair, same mousey voices,
same faces, same last names, and even the same velma
dinkly looking glasses. Standing together, there's only one way to
tell us apart. Aileen's got brown eyes and I got

(02:07:00):
blue ones. You and Bell's are doing the horrorthon too.
I shrieked, iine here practically handcuffed me and dragged me
along with her Bell's mutters. Then she gets serious. Ainie
and I wanted to get out and go do something,
so she suggested the horrorthon, and you two get to
hang with us tonight. Bell's calls Aileen inine and is

(02:07:23):
short for Einstein, a nickname her older brother Martin gave
her on account of her being gifted with quite a brain.
In response, Aileen calls bella Bell's, Oh, Ariel's really mad now,
she ain't got her way all day long. Then she
looks from me to Aileen and back. Why do there
have to be two of you? Just? Why are you

(02:07:46):
feeling okay Ariel. Aileen asks her, Now, Ariel's wide eyed,
how do you even know my name? Then she looks
right at me, Oh you you. Then she belts out
one of her blood and screams. Aileen and I just
look at each other. Now Bell's is giving us her
own funny looks. Carter just shrugs. When Ariel stops screaming,

(02:08:10):
Bells starts patting her on her head. They're there, you
want some cookies? Ariel puts her finger right in Bell's face.
You listen to me, you augh. Turns out Bells really
does have Halloween cookies. Guess she brought them to sneak
into the Horror Thon. Anyway, Bell's ends up giving them
all to Ariel, Mona, and Bailey. Happy Halloween girls enjoy. Well,

(02:08:34):
not quite Halloween yet, but it is the final weekend
in October. Bell's turns to Carter in me, we better
get going. Ariel, Mona, and Bailey don't say anything as
the four of us walk to the theater together. Still,
I got a feeling Carter and me are gonna hear
about it on Monday at school. We walk a few
more blocks before we reach the strickfield Centennial Theater. We

(02:08:57):
only got to wait in line for a little while,
but up near the front. Soon as it's time, the
theater starts letting people in for the Horrorthon. Carter and
Me show our passes and Aleen and Bell show their
printed tickets. Bell sends Aileen on ahead to get us
good seats. Then Bell's insists on treating us to the
concession stand. Carter's surprised that Bell's orders a lot of stuff,

(02:09:20):
including lots of pizzas. She even ordered one for Aleen.
Once we're getting everything, we'd take it back into the auditorium,
Aleen calls out to us she got us great seats.
Before long, the Corgan twins are up in the front
of the screen to kick off the Horrorthon. They do
announce one change to the lineup to the secret midnight screening. Now,

(02:09:43):
I told Carter that the director's cut of Veranda Queen
of the Night was going to be the secret midnight screening.
Carter's looking kind of bummed out, at least until the
twins say it's replacing the Spanish version of Dracula because
they weren't able to get the print in time. The
biggest thing about the horrorthons, the Corgan Twins present is
that every single movie is shown on real film. The

(02:10:05):
Corgan Twins say that a secret new film will be
screening at midnight. There would be giveaways during intermissions and
some short films playing. They thank everybody for being here
and supporting both horror movies and Halloween. Then they tell
everybody to have a great time. The lights dim and
the first feature starts. We're all cheering when Veranda, Queen

(02:10:26):
of the Night, kicks off the Horror Thon. Man, you
should have seen how happy Carter was. Carter even quietly
tells us what's different about the director's cut scenes. But
that ain't all Carter's getting. When it comes to Veranda.
After the movie's over, the Corgan Twins spring a huge surprise.
Vicky Valentine, who plays Veranda, is here in person. Ah Man.

(02:10:51):
Carter practically faints, but we're there with him when he
finally meets Vicky Valentine in the flesh and gets her autograph.
He also gets and me to pose for a pick
with him and Vicki, which Bella takes. Belle's does get
an autograph but doesn't pose for a pick. Ah that's right,
she can't. Vampires don't cast a reflection, which means she

(02:11:12):
won't show up on picks. You okay, buddy, I ask
Carter as we're taking our seats again. I can't believe
I finally met Veranda. Carter gushes, I think I'm in love.
Don't be letting Ariel here? You say that, I tease.
Carter suddenly turns to me. Why you little? When I laugh,

(02:11:33):
he playfully pulls me into a headlock and rubs his
knuckles on my noggin. Then he lets me go. Carter
points at me, Hugh, just keep dreaming, Madeline. But I
definitely know better. In fact, Carter's checking his phone. Not
only does he have a wallpaper of Ariel, they even
have each other's numbers, cause he's texting with her right now.

(02:11:54):
And I know for a fact Ariel don't give her
phone number to just anyone. Speaking of phone, Ariel made
sure she texted me too, I hate you mouse with
a little mouse emoji. The second feature is the original
Halloween A man. Mom's gonna be so bummed when she
hears this one was playing. This is our movie. In fact,

(02:12:17):
it was the first one, and our first Horthon together.
As we're watching the movie, I can't help noticing Bells
is in the middle of her fifth hole Pepperoni pizza.
Bells is a very unique form of master vampire. She
don't drink blood, so she's got to eat lots and
lots of food to get her nutritional requirements. No problem

(02:12:38):
for Bells since she loves food, especially from Denoyer's grill.
We're having fun now, but things are about to get
a lot more interesting real soon another intermission comes. Then
the Corgan Twins appear and do a couple of giveaways.

(02:12:59):
I even remember to buy Mom her Horrorthon T shirt.
When I get back, they're starting to announce the secret
midnight screening. It's a new film that's supposed to be
called The Portal. Ain't none of us ever heard of it?
The Corgan Twins say they attended a secret screening of
it and that it was really good, so they had

(02:13:19):
to secure it for the Horror Thon. Soon as they
walk out, the lights dim and the movie starts. The
Portal ends up being about this group of teenage kids,
like high schoolers. They end up running from this gang
who was chasing them down. Before long, they take refuge
in a cemetery and break into a crypt to hide.

(02:13:40):
They lose the gang, but they get real tired and
fall asleep in the crypt. Next morning, things get weird
when they walk around in the town they live in.
Everybody's given the kids weird looks. Turns out everybody in
the town is all Vampireskids are on the run. Now

(02:14:01):
along the way, some of them either fall for the
vampires or become vampires themselves. Long story short, they learn
they're in a parallel universe where everybody on this earth
is a vampire. In the end, the kids never return
to their universe again, and the last one's got a
fake being a vampire to hide in plain sight with them. Suddenly,

(02:14:25):
I gasp and open my eyes. I look and see Carter,
Bells and Aileen are still in the theater with me.
No movies are playing, no lights are on. We can
see the auditorium's big time trashed. Did we fall asleep
and miss the rest of the horothon? Aileen asks, I
don't recall falling asleep. I say, yeah, me either. Carter mutters,

(02:14:50):
shaking his head. Aileen looks at Bell's I know you
couldn't have fallen asleep, you never sleep? Bell stands up. Okay,
I think it's it's safe to say something ain't right here.
For one thing, where are all the pizza boxes? What?
You're still hungry? BELLA Carter asks in surprise. No, don't
you get it, Carter, we never got up to throw

(02:15:13):
anything away. If we did fall asleep, then those boxes
should still be right here. We're all quiet for a bit.
Then I say we might as well head outside and
see what's up. Let's go. Bell's agrees. The four of
us leave the auditorium. Even the lobby's a mess. Not
only that, nobody's man in the concession stand. Then we

(02:15:37):
walk outside. Where is everybody? Aileen asks Church. I pipe up,
Bell's looks my way on a Saturday morning. Oopsies. Then
I sigh, what do we do now? We look around
for a little bit. Hey, it's still night out here.

(02:15:57):
I quickly notice that or there are storm clouds up there,
Aileen says, I look at my smart watch. Huh, what gives?
I got blanks where the time ought to be. We
look at our smartphones and get the same results. Maybe
something happened and the theater got cleared out, I suggest,

(02:16:19):
and they just left us sitting in there. Carter mutters,
I shrug, just trying to make sense out of all this, buddy.
Maybe we should see what's going on at home, Aileen
throws out. We talk about it and decide to do
just that. The computers should be working, Aileen says, message
us as soon as you get home, Maddie, you too, Carter.

(02:16:41):
Carter nods. Then we split up. Carter and me walk
until we're back in our neighborhood. So far and nothing
out of the ordinary. But where is everybody, Madeline? Carter asks,
We ain't seen a single person since we left the theater.
Then I tap his shoulder. Looks like familiar faces. We

(02:17:01):
both look to see Ariel, Mona and Bailey across the street.
When I wave at him, they just stop and look
at us in this weird way. Now, Ariel motions for
Mona and Bailey to come with her. They cross the
street and approach us. When they get close enough, they
all gasp. Ariel Mona cries happily I know. Ariel groans

(02:17:26):
seemingly with relief and shows us a huge smile. Food. Huh,
I utter, what you mean? Food. Before Carter can say anything,
all three girls open their mouths, Are you seeing this, Madeline?
Carter stammers, yeah, you know, I'm seeing it. But run.

(02:17:46):
Carter and me turn away from him and run fast,
foolish mortals, Ariel calls out, when will you learn? Suddenly
Ariel appears right in front of me. She puts her
hand on my neck and lifts me off the sidewalk.
I'm trying to get down, but she's got me up
here good. Ariel's hands are so cold, and how'd she
gets so strong? Next thing I know, Ariel brings me

(02:18:09):
down and pins me up against a tree. I shriek
when I see how red Ariel's eyes are. Now her
fangs are glistening and sharp. Then I see how pale
her skin is. Usually Ariel's got some of her summer
tan left over during October. Help, Carter, yells. I look
over Ariel's shoulder and see Bailey and Mona have Carter

(02:18:30):
on the ground. You two can have Carter. Ariel tells him,
I'm going to dine on a delicious little mousey. I'm
just so glad we have food again. Bailey squeals, shall
we Mona? We shall Mona murmurs, You're going to taste
so good. Carter even better than Denoyer's grill's cheeseburgers. Ariel

(02:18:55):
glares at me, Now, this is what you get for
ditching your girls for a horror mouse. No no, I scream.
Then I suddenly drop out of Ariel's grip and scurry
right between her legs. I come back up and quickly
shove Mona. Carter fights back now and shoves Bailey off him.

(02:19:15):
When Carter's back up, I quickly grab his arm and
we run. We see our houses and go right to
mine since it's there first. We quickly go inside and
slam the front door shut. Go check the back Carter.
He didn't need me to tell him twice. He quickly
locks that door. I do the same with the front
open up. Ariel screams, I hate you Mouse, oh you

(02:19:39):
wicked little rodent. Mona yells, you really think these doors
are going to keep us out? Bailey teases. Carter points
to me, listen, vampires can't come in unless you invite them, right,
I go hard last I checked? Then Carter gulps too.
How do we know we ain't like those girls outside, Madeline?

(02:20:02):
Or what if we're turning? Now? I'm real scared. We
gotta find a mirror. First we can confirm we got reflections.
Then I can summon Mary Worth, the spirit of a
witch who's possessing me. All I gotta do is say
her name three times in a mirror, and then she
can take over my body and stop these vampires. Suddenly
we hear movement on the stairs. Then we see Mom

(02:20:25):
coming down. When she sees us, she smiles, Maddie, you're home.
What's the matter, honey? You two might as well just
let us in right now. Ariel yells, go back to
your coffin and get your beauty sleep, princess. Carter yells back,
not that it'll do you any good. Carter, Oh you you,

(02:20:47):
and that sets off another one of Ariel's blood curdle
In screams. Mom's dressed in her pink clothes like she
usually is, but something's wrong here. Mom's skin looks just
as pale as those vampires outside. Come to Mom, Mattie,
she says, not paying attention to the girls outside. Let

(02:21:08):
me sire you so you can keep being my little girl.
Then we can dine on Carter together. Oh man, Carter chokes,
shaking his head slowly. Not you too, missus, Donnerly We
both scream when Mom shows us her fangs. Then she
raises her hands, which are claws. Now Carter and me

(02:21:29):
are backing up when she's moving closer. Ah, why are
you like this, Mom, I stammer. I'm now seeing things more.
No mirrors anywhere, and all the windows are painted black.
You don't get it, Mattie. Mom growls and holds her tummy.
There's no more food. One day, many of us woke

(02:21:50):
up to find we were vampires. We claimed many of
the mortals that didn't turn. What few were left managed
to escape and form a resistance. We're so very hungry.
The only way we could find food quickly was to
open a portal that would allow us to gather mortals
from other realities. Carter and Me look at each other.

(02:22:11):
Guess that explains how we woke up in the theater
all by ourselves, Madeline. Carter says. Then I understand something else.
That means you ain't really my mom, and those girls
outside ain't really our friends. Suddenly, Ariel bursts right through
the front door. Mona and Bailey are coming in right
behind her. We gave you and Carter both a chance

(02:22:32):
to be reasonable about this mouse. Bailey says, guess now
it's survival of the hungriest. Mona ads licking her fangs.
I know you've always had an eye for me, Carter,
Ariel laughs. Now you can know the feeling is entirely mutual.

(02:22:53):
Then Carter acts. He quickly dives for two pieces of
wood from the broken door and puts them together into
a cross. Ariel moves her hands out in front of
her and hisses. Then Bailey and Mona do the same.
Mom just gets back. You're a genius, Carter, I cry.
I quickly pick up two pieces of wood and make
my own. At first, the vampires don't seem to be

(02:23:15):
afraid of me. Then I figure out why they're afraid
of Carter. When you use a crucifix against a vampire,
you have to have faith for it to work. Fright, night,
Sure got that one right. Suddenly we hear the back
door explode. Ah Man, more vampires breaking in, looking to
have Carter and me for dinner. Next thing, we know,

(02:23:35):
we're both being snatched up. These two are mine. I
almost cry out Bell's name, but that would have given
us away fast. Bell's quickly turns and kicks the huge
front window out. Then she takes us out through it.
Come back here with our food. Ariel screams. Bell's leaps
off the porch with both of us good thinking with

(02:23:57):
those crosses. She tells us, well, wait a minute, you're
a vampire. Two. Carter shrieks. It's okay, Carter, Bell's is
on our side, I tell him. Then I ask her,
how'd you know to come back for us. We'll talk
about it as soon as we meet up with Iiny
they're turning into bats. Carter quickly tells. Bells, yeah, I

(02:24:18):
expect it as much. Hang on you two. Bells leaps
into the air again and eventually ducks into an alley
with us. When she lands, the bats are soon flying
right over us. You two, okay, Bell's asks. When she
knows it's safe. We both nod quickly. Then Bell's nods
once From there, she grabs hold of us again and

(02:24:40):
jumps back up into the air. After a few more jumps,
we're at a church. We go inside the wrecked church
and find a leen sitting on top of the altar.
She's very happy to see Bells brought us. When we
reach a leen, she quickly holds out across touch it.
Both of you. I touched the cross without hesitation. When

(02:25:09):
I don't burn, then Carter touches it. Aleen sighs with relief.
I'm so glad you guys are okay, Bell says, as
soon as me and Iiny got home, Martin was right there.
Funny thing. He didn't recognize me, but he was oh
so eager to sink his teeth into Iini. Yeah, Madeline

(02:25:30):
and me just found out we're in a different universe.
Carter says, her mom knew about it. Yeah, it's like
Marvel Zombies, except everybody's vampires here, I say, Bell's gives
us funny looks. The three of us quickly explained the
plot behind that comic book series. You'll have to let
me read that one if any of you've got it,

(02:25:51):
Bell says, Or you guys could have said it was
like the Last Man on Earth. Sorry, I squeak. Mom
did say not everybody got turned. She never said what
caused it either. She just said one day they woke
up and they were all vampires. But how did they
get to us? Carter asks, I don't get it. Think Carter,

(02:26:13):
what was the one thing that was weird earlier? Aini asks,
we were at the horror thon. Carter recalls, that's it.
We were watching that secret movie. That's what Bell's and
I came up with. Two Inini agrees. We decided that
the film had opened up some kind of portal to
let those vampires come into our reality and bring us

(02:26:34):
to theirs. Bell says, you think they got everybody else
in the theater? I ask, hard to say, Maddie, Aini replies,
if we ended up in the theater by ourselves, I'm
guessing the other people were either taken by the vampires
or they escaped, and the ones that were taken probably
became food for the vampires or they became like them.

(02:26:56):
By now, Carter ads, I mean they are starving, right,
That would make sense. Bell's agrees. So what do we
do now? I ask? We got to figure out how
to get back home, Aini says, we can't stay here
or we're going to end up being food or becoming
vampires ourselves, well aside for you, bells. Bells sits next

(02:27:18):
to Aileen on the altar. No telling how long we're
going to be safe in here, so we need to
come up with a plan fast. I quickly raise my finger.
Hey wouldn't Strickfield Academy have weapons against the vampires. I mean,
there's supposed to be a parochial institution, right, I was
just going to say that. Maddie, then Aileen and me

(02:27:39):
slap fives. Hugh twins realize that's a long shot, right.
Bell's asks, Like I said, we can't stay here. There's
a car out back. Aini says, think you could start
at Bell's once I hot wire it. Iiny nods and
then hands Carter and me crosses and some packs she
made up vampire survival kits. You both know what to

(02:28:02):
do with the crosses. There are wafers and a few
bottles of holy water inside. Use them only if you
have to, and don't drop the crosses. Above all, make
sure you have faith. You don't gotta tell me twice.
Carter says, quickly, we leave the building out the back
and get into the car. Aileen mentioned after Bell's hot

(02:28:23):
wires that she's driving us to Strickfield Academy. I wish
I knew what time it is, Irony groans. It sure
would be nice to know when the sun's coming up.
For all we know, the sun might not be coming up.
Bell says, I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer here.
Believe me, the thought crossed my mind too. Iiny admits

(02:28:43):
bats in the air. I quickly call out lots of them.
Hang on Bell's yells. She floors the gas and drives
across Strickfield University. It ain't long before the bats are
really flapping their wings. Then I suddenly remember cars have mirrors.
But I groan when I see the rear view mirror
and the door mirrors are broken out. Guess these vampires

(02:29:05):
didn't want any mirrors period. When we finally reach Strickfield Academy,
Bells drives right through the main gate and up the driveway.
When we reach the main building, Bells screeches to a
halt and we get out. Follow me, Bells tells us.
Bells pulls one of the main doors open, breaking the
lock in the process. As soon as we're in, she

(02:29:25):
quickly pulls the door shut. That won't keep them out.
Bells points to another door. Run. We turn and run
down the hallway. Soon we're running through the cafeteria. It
ain't long before vampires are showing up. We raise our
crosses and keep them back. We run out of the
building and head into another one. Now we're running into
a gym. Bells points to me, you need to find

(02:29:48):
a mirror. I'm trying, I say, mirror. Carter wonders for what.
Then my tummy drops when I see the windows out
of the gym doors. Lots of bats out there. We
can't go back outside again. Then Bell sees something when
we're leaving the gym. There's a chapel right over there.
As we run into the chapel, I know right away

(02:30:10):
if we end up trapped in here, no, I gotta
find a mirror. I gotta Madeline. Carter yells when I
turn and take off running. Just trust me on this, Carter,
I call back. I got an idea where I might
find a mirror. As soon as I go back into
the gym, a vampire tries grabbing me, making me lose
my cross. I quickly drop to the gym floor and

(02:30:31):
crawl between his legs. I spring back up and head
into a nearby locker room. I run through it looking
for a mirror. If we're gonna have any hope of
making it out of here, I gotta be able to
call Mary Worth. I'm checking all over the place. Come on,
there's gotta be a mirror. Then I suddenly stop slipping
and falling on my keyster. When I finally see it,

(02:30:52):
I quickly pull myself up and move to the mirror.
It's right then when the vampire grabs me from behind
and lifts me off the floor. No. Then I scream
and struggle with every bit of fight I've got left
in me. When the vampire's struggling to keep a hold
of me, I quickly push back and make him fall
over a bench in a locker area. I fall over

(02:31:12):
myself and quickly crawl to the mirror. The Vampire's quickly
on me again, thanks to that warping thing they do.
I quickly say Maryworth's name three times. Suddenly, the vampires
forced off of me. When the energy comes out of
the mirror and into me, I feel the essence of
my ghostly friend taking over my body until I'm nothing
more than a passenger. Now we're in a real bad fix. Mary,

(02:31:35):
I tell her, I shall do what must be done, Madeleine.
In the meantime, you are safe. Now. Mary turns and
sends the vampire flying away from us. Then she floats
through the walls until she comes into the chapel, where
everybody else is Carter gasps when he sees the ghost
of Maryworth. For the record, only Aileen and Bell's know

(02:31:56):
my secret. Bell's looks relieved to see Mary. If you
know what's going on, I do, Mary chance a witch spell. Suddenly,
the power of the white light appears at the doors
and windows. It ain't sunlight, but it sure drives the
vampires away like it is. Aileen's got an idea. Why
didn't I think of it before? We need to get

(02:32:17):
back to the theater and restart that movie. We listen as
Aileen explains she believes that the film The Portal brought
us into this alternate universe where everybody's a vampire. Nobody
has any objections to going back to the theater. Listen, Aileen,
if you're wrong about replaying that movie and it don't
get us back home, we're not only stuck here, we're goners.

(02:32:38):
Carter stresses. Then he realizes, Hey, where's Madeleine. Madeleine is safe.
Mary tells him, I assure you that she shall be
with you again upon your return home. Carter ain't sure
if he can trust Mary, but Bells and Aileen both
assure him everything is gonna be okay. We just have
to fight our way through those vampi to get back

(02:33:00):
to the car. Aileen mutters, leave the fighting to me.
Belle says, you guys just be ready to roll when
I open the door. That shall not be necessary. Bell
a tabon, Mary tells her. Mary conjures up more white
light to teleport us back to the Strickfield Centennial Theater.

(02:33:21):
Just like that. Soon as we're outside the theater, more
vampires are crawling out of the woodwork inside. Mary instructs everybody.
As soon as we're in, Bell's holds the doors shut.
Mary seals them with the white light, and that's when
I finally solve the mystery about how all this happened,
and quickly tell Mary be on your guard. Mary warns

(02:33:43):
the others we may have unexpected company awaiting us within
this structure. We move and head back into the auditorium.
You're much too late, we hear from up in the
projection booth. Mary floats up at the same time Bell's
vampire warps into the booth. I was right, Mary, I cry.

(02:34:04):
I knew it had to be them. It was the
Corgan twins. I didn't want to point fingers at him,
but it was the only thing that made sense. They
were the ones who put the portal in as the
new secret midnight screening. Right. I'm pretty sure these a'ight
are Corgan twins, though these vampire versions were probably sent
here to bring an unsuspecting crowd to their universe. These

(02:34:27):
two redheaded bees destroyed the film. Bell's yells we're stuck here.
Then Mary floats through the wall and into the projection booth.
Just as Belle slams the Corgan Twins into a walled
to daism, all is not lost here, bella tabon. Mary says,
we shall return home. Shortly, Mary uses her witch magic

(02:34:49):
to restore the film. Well, that's great. Unfortunately I don't
know how to work one of these things. Bell says,
looks like I'm gonna have to come back out. Mary.
I tell her that is not possible without a mirror, Madeline.
Mary thinks back at me, can you make a leen
appear up here? Then? I ask? Good thinking, Mary magically

(02:35:11):
makes a leen appear in the projection booth. AINI you
gotta mount this film and run the projector yesterday. Bell's
quickly tells her I got this. Aileen picks up the
top reel and moves to the projector. Um, we don't
need the entire film, do we. This is just the
first part we shall see soon enough, Mary says, proceed.

(02:35:35):
Aileen quickly mounts the film, making it look real easy.
Then she turns the projector on and starts the movie.
I don't know when the magic is supposed to happen,
you guys, leave that to me. One final time, Mary
uses her witch powers on the film to open the
portal and bring us safely back to our strickfield. Suddenly

(02:35:56):
we find ourselves back down on the floor and back
in our seats where we before everything went crazy on us.
The theater's still full of people enjoying the horrorthon. I'm
back to being me again, and quickly check my smartwatch
to see we're in the middle of the secret midnight screening.
Believe it or not, The Corgan Twins and Vicki Valentine

(02:36:16):
end up presenting the director's cut of Veranda Queen of
the Night. After all. Funny thing, we all end up
remembering the first movie being the nineteen ninety version of
Night the Living Dead. We'd compare notes later to learn
we remember both realities. We end up making it through
the rest of the Horrorthon and don't get out of
there until around nine thirty on Saturday morning, Bells and

(02:36:39):
Aileen walk Carter and Me back to our house just
to make sure everything's okay. In fact, Mom opens up
glad to see all of us. She invites everybody in
and we talk about the Horror Thon for a little bit.
Of course, we leave out our little side adventure. Anyway.
Mom was real happy to get her T shirt, and
she never once does anything to say she's a vamp.

(02:37:00):
When everybody leaves, Mom offers to make me breakfast, but
I tell her I'm going to bed. She kisses me
good night, and I head upstairs. When I'm getting ready
for bed, I talk to Mary in the bathroom mirror.
She tells me we should be safe from those vampires
from that other universe. After she used the white light
to make the film send us back, she destroyed it again.

(02:37:23):
What if they have or make another print of the portal?
I ask her. We can only hope that they do not.
She replies, I hate to say it, Mary, but I
get the feeling we ain't seen or heard the last
of this. Even Belle said that on the way home,
all that we may do is deal with it should
things transpire as such again, But for now, go and

(02:37:45):
rest yourself. We shall talk again soon. I say good
night to Mary and head off to bed. As I'm
about to fall out, I get a text from Carter
asking if I want to go trick or treating tonight.
I tell him I'll gladly go with him when I
get up. Anyway, I'm really tired, so I'm gonna say

(02:38:07):
goodbye to you all until our next adventure. See you soon,
Caroline Quinn Vampire Hunter by Mike Ashcuy. Halloween always brings

(02:38:29):
out the weird ones. Can you remember a time when
it didn't bring out the weird ones? I can't now,
tossing all sorts of things people consider fantastic and impossible
only fifty years ago, and now it's only weirder. It's
also a lot more dangerous. See fifty years ago, something

(02:38:52):
happened and no one can explain it. People just were
born different, different how well Suddenly people could fly, people
could turn invisible, and sometimes those special people had bad
days and people ended up dead. Now tossing the fact
that some things we considered myth and legend were also real,

(02:39:16):
real life monsters, vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, and stuff that
would make Stephen King say, what in the actual fuck.
It's a real shit show, but it's home, and frankly,
it's a living I deal with problems that the usual
police or even gifted individuals can't. My name is Caroline Quinn,

(02:39:39):
and I'm something a little different than what you might expect.
I'm not a super and I'm not a cop, but
something in between those things. I don't report to anyone
per se, but I do draw a paycheck. I'm what's
known as a troubleshooter. I am contracted by the government
to deal with quote issues that require discretion and most importantly,

(02:40:04):
plausible deniability. See it's okay to have your local neighborhood
asshole in a cape deal with some lunatic who can
level a building with a punch, But sometimes you deal
with something different. Again. You know how I mentioned that
whole creatures of myth and legend, Well, those same things
cause trouble, and your average person isn't equipped to deal

(02:40:26):
with the truly paranormal. People can accept superpowers, but you
start bringing in the undead and all that shit, Well,
let's say they don't deal with it well at all.
Suddenly what goes bump in the night is real and
makes Freddy Krueger look tame in comparison. Governments try very
hard to suppress a lot of the truly scary shit,

(02:40:48):
but sometimes it gets out. Thanks to Instagram. I'm sure
we needed to see one of America's top superheroes get
torn apart by vampires, or a group of teenagers get
pulled up under the water by an ancient shark god
near New Zealand. You might ask, why try to hide
it we have literal superheroes. Well, something happened, and those

(02:41:12):
things are becoming more frequent, almost like a natural response
to the rise of the gifted. It's almost like undeath
finds a way. I'm sure there is a philosophical or
religious explanation, or maybe even scientific reason behind it. But
if there is, I don't know it, and I don't
care to know it. I get paid to deal with it.

(02:41:35):
How do I deal with it? I'm tough, supernaturally tough,
even by the standards set by the gifted community. I'm
an anomaly. There aren't many like me, and that is
probably a good thing. I've heard more than a few
whispered conversations, worrying about what she and her kind represent.

(02:41:55):
In short, they think I'm a threat. I'm also something
that's sees seems to be somewhere between them and the gifted.
They believe. However, better to have that threat under control
than on your side. A fucking cocktail of supernatural and superpowered?
Did I mention I get some perks from this gig.

(02:42:16):
I get two weeks of paid vacation a year, which
can be revoked at any time should the situation dictate.
Isn't that just swell? I got to go to Disney
World once till some undead goon tried to kill some
kid in a Mickey Mouse costume. I got a free
pair of mouse ears for my trouble. So where does
that bring us now? A few days ago I got

(02:42:39):
a tip that led to a small town in rural
upstate New York. Your quiet, little sleepy town that has
a Denny's, a big box retailer, and people get excited
when Starbucks comes to town. The information was compiled by
a computer forensic person I knew in the FBI who
had an eye for this sort of thing. Her name
was Rheann, and she was also my ex girlfriend aren't

(02:43:02):
workplace romances complicated. Still, she and I were good till
we weren't. The information dealt with a very strange set
of deaths that had occurred over the last few months
in the local old age communities. A lot of dead
old timers and not passing away from natural causes either.
Normally this would have just slid under the radar and

(02:43:23):
been filed away under so sad, too bad, But I
guess some in turn did some blood work up and
it got sent to the wrong lab, and that got
Rhianne's attention. Certainly makes my job easier than having to
rely on AI and search algorithms. I still don't trust
computers and probably never will. I had to be dragged
out of using a flip phone in the last ten years.

(02:43:46):
I stopped for breakfast before driving into Hope Springs. I
traveled in a little camper van, and while it wasn't
the most glamorous, it wasn't a half bad place to sleep,
and even had a mini refrigerator and solar panels. It
wasn't Howard Johnson, but it was home for most of
the year. Sitting down and eating an overpriced plate of
bacon and eggs. I started to look over the files.

(02:44:11):
Rheianne always did me a solid and compiled it into
easy to understand pieces, and compartmentalization was her specialty. For
about four months, twenty or so unusual deaths were recorded
in the city's corner's report, and all of them had
an unusual marker in the blood work. One of the
recently deceased had a busy body of a son who

(02:44:31):
demanded to know what happened to dear old dad and
demanded a full autopsy, and evidently had the pull to
make it happen despite a coroner who could not have
cared less the sun probably wanted some kind of an
insurance payout or something equally as heartless. Isn't family great?
Sipping at my disgusting black liquid allegedly called coffee, something

(02:44:56):
stood out to me. That unusual marker in the bla
bloodwork was some kind of thing I'd seen before. Without
getting all technical and probably losing your interest. It was
a foreign element and it didn't belong in the body
of an eighty nine year old man. It was gifted
blood and contain trace elements of what has been widely

(02:45:18):
identified as vampiric blood, I stopped eating and kept reading
the files over and over again. Over the course of
four months and twenty bodies, this particular blood pattern occurred
over ten times. Someone or something was preying on the
elderly and was using them to feed, but not turning

(02:45:39):
them into more of them. Normally, a vampire would create
a little army and we'd have a small problem on
our hands. Some of the more unique gifted heroes like
Photonic or Ultraviolet would be asked to help. However, recently,
after almost dying themselves, they were reluctant or flat out

(02:46:00):
refused to assist. Usually superior firepower with silver and UV
grenades would do the job, but you could always count
on one of the slippery undead fucks getting away, like
some kind of Houdini and Dracula combined. This one was
greedy and didn't want to share eating with the old folks.

(02:46:20):
This one also was different and maybe was working with
a gifted person to incapacitate the geezers or something else entirely.
Maybe they were like me and had a mix of
both worlds in their blood. Either scenario means I wouldn't
be out of here by Monday, and with Halloween happening
in a day. It meant a lot of potential collateral

(02:46:41):
damage with civilians nearby. Great, now I have to hunt
down a potentially superpowered vampire or a regular vampire with
a super sidekick. You know, working at Applebee's certainly sounds
a lot less dangerous. Right now, I'd at least make
tips and not have to worry about half my guts

(02:47:02):
decorating the walls or having my soul sucked out. Remember
two weeks paid vacation plus four oh one K plus
blah blah, protect your country and save humanity blah blah.
Right right, I can practically recite the recruiting speech. Just
have to hold up my end of the bargain and
make sure super villains or Satan doesn't destroy the planet first. Fuck.

(02:47:26):
They could have called people like Megaton or Phase, but no,
my name comes up first in the rolodex. Do people
still use those rolodexes. I finish my breakfast and leave
a few bucks on the table. I throw a rye
look at my waitress as if saying I'm sorry, I'm
gonna fuck up your town in a few days, but

(02:47:48):
hey have ten bucks. I exit the diner and start
heading back to my camper van. It's cold in late October,
and my leather jacket isn't quite as warm as I
would like. It's at least pretty out here in that
quaint kind of way. Hope Spring is about another twenty
miles away, and I have nothing but my thoughts and
a playlist of Megadeth another eighties hair metal. What can

(02:48:11):
I say? It sets the mood for killing vampires and
probably looking sexy while doing it. I won't look sexy
while doing it because no one is ever going to
know I did it, and if it ends up on
Reddit with my face, then I'll have a lot of
explaining to do and probably no four o one K
to look forward to. Maybe I'll write a book after

(02:48:31):
I retire. I could do a podcast. Any asshole with
a microphone has one of those these days. Anyway, right
hit the road and it's a long twenty miles with
only trees, farm houses and the occasional cow or horse
outside grazing. There is boring, and then there is boring.
It's an easy drive, though, and besides picking up a

(02:48:53):
cherry slurpee on the way, it's uneventful too. Entering the
city limits and I immediately feel like I have entered
a Charlie Brown Halloween special. This place has gone absolutely
all out on the season. There are pumpkins and scarecrows
and all sorts of window displays. I'm pretty sure I
saw a life size Pennywise, the clown, welcoming me into

(02:49:15):
the jewel of upstate New York. Well, I'm sure this
is tax dollars well spent. Rhianne had arranged a visit
for me to examine the latest victim before they were
sent off to the funeral home. Oh joy, cadaver fresh,
just like Mom used to make. You Know what I
like about dead people. They're easy to get along with,

(02:49:36):
They're quiet, and they always listen. Wait, no, I take
that back. Most of the dead people I deal with
are supernaturally strong, fast, and probably have lived a few
centuries and have razor sharp fangs and claws. I did, however,
kill one Scottish vampire with an accent so thick I
couldn't stop laughing when he threatened me. It was like

(02:49:59):
killing a black, blood sucking version of Shrek. Wasn't so
bad once I unloaded one of the vampire killing shotguns
into him. Still, you haven't lived until you fought Vampire Shrek.
I still giggle about that one, even though he dislocated
my shoulder. That's the one thing I didn't expect. I
thought I was invincible, or at least damned close to it.

(02:50:22):
For some strange reason, things like them can hurt me
anything unnatural not human. I've been put in the hospital
a few times and even had a few close calls.
I don't like to remember. It's likely the only thing
that puts me in the ground. I'd still not want
to take one of the phase's energy discharges to the face,
just to be sure. I'm too damn pretty to die

(02:50:46):
like that. Driving around town and it's like I was
in a weird cross between Halloween Town and the wet
dream of a spirit Halloween executive. I eventually found the
coroner's office tucked away near a cute little Dutch baker
and a Mennonite furniture store. Pulled up the van to
the building's parking lot and grabbed my gear bag and

(02:51:06):
my Federal ID and my shoulder holster for my side arm.
I had the absolute worst hair day when they took
that photo, too. They didn't seem too thrilled when I
wanted to give finger guns either. No one has a
sense of humor these days. Anyway, I made my way

(02:51:29):
up to the door and hit the buzzer. A couple
of minutes passed before a board looking black gentleman approached
the glass door. I'm assuming this was the coroner for
Hope Springs, Percy Downer. He kind of looked like the
guy from the John Wick movies and had this quiet
confidence about him. But he didn't look too happy to
see me when he saw the ID badge on my

(02:51:50):
breast pocket. Mister Downer, I smiled and said through the
glass door, yes, and you are. He didn't return my warmth.
It was gonna be one of those days, wasn't it.
Special Agent Carolyn Quinn, Federal Bureau of Investigation, my field
office should have called ahead. They better have called ahead,

(02:52:10):
or this was going to be a fun time, fast
talking mister personality over here they did. Seems like a
bit unusual to send an FBI agent out here to
examine what is clearly a heart attack. I smiled back
at him and even tried to straighten out my breasts
and try my womanly wiles on him. Please work, I

(02:52:32):
just want to examine the body confirm my suspicions and
actively begin my investigation and get back on the road. Well,
I just go where Washington tells me to go. I
don't imagine it'll be anything too involved. I mean, if
you wanted to take off and grab lunch, I don't
think I'll be longer than an hour. He frowned when

(02:52:53):
I said take off for lunch. This was the kind
of guy who liked his workspace and didn't appreciate outside
interfering in his little corner. Look, Agent Quinn, there isn't
anything to see here. Mister Carey's son has already had
me do the initial autopsy, and I found nothing out
of the ordinary. I'm starting to lose my patience and

(02:53:15):
any potential head start. I'm relatively sure that the bloodsucker
doesn't know I'm in town yet. I'm also not wearing
a giant neon sign that says vampire killer either, so
I probably have the element of surprise so far. Mister Downer,
if you want me to call the field office and
make this a whole thing, I can do that, but

(02:53:35):
I'd really rather not. So why don't we just let
each other get out of each other's way and let
me do my job. Let me make it interesting to you.
Why don't you go out to lunch on Uncle Sam's
tab and invoice the field office on my authorization. Just
don't break the bank, okay. His demeanor changed when I
said charge it to the government. I probably won't get

(02:53:56):
into too much trouble. I mean, how much could the
guy realizeistically eat and drink. Why don't you take your
lab in turn with you. I think your name is Michelle, right,
go out, have a great lunch and a few drinks,
and I'll call you when it's time to come back
and lock up. Fine, I'll get miss Crawford and we'll
be down at hitch Steakhouse. You have my number, I nodded.

(02:54:19):
I think you could tell. I just wanted to get
this over with as quickly as I could. He opened
the door and led me to the mortuary and his
lockers all sealed up tight. Downer gestured toward a series
of slabs near the middle row and said, I'd find
my guest and locker three. I noticed there was a
lot of blood on the examination tables, and some looked

(02:54:40):
fairly fresh. The Bureau thanks you for your assistance and
cooperation in this matter. Agent Quinn, please do not disturb
the lower row. Those ladies came in this morning, and
I haven't had a chance to properly do anything with them.
They didn't come in a very pleasant or complete manner.

(02:55:01):
Gross I waited a few minutes while Downer and his
assistant left the morgue and I was alone with my
new friends. All right, let's get to work and see
what we got here. I slide open the drawer where
my first guest of honor is supposed to be. According
to what Rhianne sent me, this was Phil Carey, age
eighty nine. His naked body was stark white, as most

(02:55:24):
corpses are, and it would have been nothing out of
the ordinary, except if you knew what to look for.
A lot of newer vampires took blood from unusual places,
and this one was no different. There was a small
set of puncture wounds behind his right knee. It was
pretty easy to miss due to the scar tissue back there,

(02:55:44):
suggesting he'd probably had knee surgery or some kind of
an injury when he was younger. I kept looking over
the body with my examination gloves and gently turning over
the old man, well as gently as I could. Old
guy wasn't exactly heavy, but for some reason I was
having a hard time moving. The body seemed not as

(02:56:04):
stiff as I was expecting either, almost like rigor mortis
hadn't totally set in. What in the fuck? I turned
away for a second to grab my phone and maybe
call Rhianne and see what else was pulled up in
that lab report that I missed. This guy shouldn't be
this uh fresh, This is so weird. No sooner did

(02:56:27):
I think that, than something absolutely unearthly split the room
with a ear shattering howl. The sound vibrated off of
every surface and seemed to rattle my ear drums in
my head, and I couldn't get my bearings for a second,
as it was like someone set off a flash bang
right next to my face. The body of Phil Carey
sat straight up on the slab and looked right at me.

(02:56:50):
I froze for a second. I'd never seen a new
vampire animate before. The old man looked confused as the
scream emitted from his cracked, cold lips. He looked wildly
around the room and locked onto me in terror, panic,
and something else I can't describe. Did he want help?
What did you do? To me. The man screamed. I

(02:57:12):
reached into my jacket and tried unlatching my side arm,
a specialty nine millimeters pistol with silver bullets. Okay, it's
game time. The old man looked down at the y
incision in his chest and he started screaming again, and
this time there was pain, rage, and sadness. As he
cried out, I held my ground. His body started to

(02:57:34):
change and morph into his new un life. Soon, mister
Carrey would have enhanced strength, armor like skin, and even
wings if he wanted. His fingernails grew into nasty looking claws,
and he started cutting into his own chest and started
pulling out his own guts through the fresh incision on
his chest. What the fuck are you doing, I blurted

(02:57:55):
out as I leveled my weapon at his head. He
kept screaming and started pulling his chest open, and eventually
his entrails were everywhere, but he still was alive. I
guess blood and viscera and everything that was inside was
now on the outside. I steeled myself and pulled the
trigger one, two, three. I put three rounds into his

(02:58:19):
head and he stopped screaming after his head exploded like
a watermelon filled with firecrackers. The body fell off the
examination table and into a pile of blood, gore, and
what was left of his head. I put another two
rounds into his heart, just to be sure. Always double
tap the heart or completely incinerate the torso usually you

(02:58:40):
take out the head and the heart and it'll stop him. Usually, Okay,
never seen that before. That was new and fucking terrifying.
I stopped for a second and look around the carnage,
and it's one of the worst places I've ever been to.
I was at the vampire Nest in two thousand and
eight teen in Boston, and that was messed up and

(02:59:02):
even the soupers won't talk about it. Blood gore and
missing limbs, dead agents. That was the day. That Nightshade
lost her eyes when the vampire Lord stuck his claws
into her face. That's a sound you never forget. One
of the worst days we ever suffered as a task force,
but we won. I guess thirty of us, including a

(02:59:26):
few soupers, went in. Only seven of us came back
out alive or close enough to not be considered a casualty.
I start to catch my breath and I can hear
banging and muffled screams coming from inside the freezers. You've
gotta be fucking shitting me. There's more of these things.
I'm in a goddamn nest with no backup and not

(02:59:47):
nearly enough AMMO on me to do the job. All
my specialty stuff is in the van and locked up.
I'm tough, but I'm not invincible, and I'm certainly not
equipped to deal with this by myself. Time to go
Downer had said the new bodies didn't come in intact.
I can use that to my advantage. If they reanimate

(03:00:08):
without all their limbs, then maybe I wouldn't be dealing
with the Golden ghoules at full power. Okay, grannies, I
have an idea hold that thought. I'll be right back.
I ran into the morgue and then right outside into
the now pouring rain, and straight into my van, tossing
open the doors and into the secured compartment by my

(03:00:28):
tiny fridge. They say that happiness is a warm gun,
and in this particular instance, happiness and security was delivered
by a top of the line paranormal defense contractor and
an alleged coven of witches from Salem. All Right, motherfuckers.
I grab sweet Baby Jane, my custom automatic twelve gage

(03:00:49):
shotgun with a carbon fiber finish with pink highlights and
a laser sight, buckshot with silver and some other stuff
that I don't totally understand, but all I know it
turned the undead into Swiss cheese. All I know right
now is that baby Jane is hungry. The big surprise, though,
doesn't so much go boom as it goes pop. The

(03:01:11):
real piece of hardware I came for ultraviolet grenades. Those
same DoD eggheads developed a way to deliver a concentrated
blast of ultraviolet energy in a small package, no bigger
than a pack of smokes. These things could really fuck
up a bloodsucker's day if you could get them in
an enclosed area and you didn't mind risking the chance

(03:01:32):
of going blind and maybe contracting cancer. Walk back inside
the mortuary and I can hear the banging of the
undead against the steel coolers and the occasional confused yelp.
I slide around into the shotguns chamber and make my
way back into the examination room. Move forward slowly, cautiously,

(03:01:53):
and be ready to unload hell into whatever face decides
to come up and say hello. Good news is that
they don't know how to break the seal on the lockers,
and for now I have the element of surprise. Creeping
up the first locker, I can hear whatever is inside
just absolutely freaking out. As much as a part of

(03:02:13):
me is afraid on some level for getting my throat
ripped out by b Arthur, here there is a bit
of a sadistic joy crawling through my body. I sling
the shotgun at my side and grip one of the
small black UV grenades and inch my way towards the
cooler trick or treat, I say as I open the
door and quickly pull the pin and throw the small

(03:02:34):
device inside and seal the door once again. An audible
voice exclaims what. A second later, a brilliant flash and
the satisfying thump of a contained detonation within a confined
space are music to my ears. That's two dead vampires
and it's not even lunchtime yet. You could call this

(03:02:55):
a kill streak, couldn't you? Not bad? But no time
to get sloppy. The screeching sound of steel being torn
from its moorings fills the room as the second undead
Grandma makes her way out of her makeshift tomb. The
steel door flies off across the room and embeds itself
in the wall by the entrance. Downer isn't going to
be happy with what I did to his workspace. In

(03:03:16):
my defense, they started it. The blood at least adds
some color, so there's that. The creature started clawing its
way out of the locker, and its twisted aged face
emerged with a furious rage, and it locked eyes with me. Normally,
this would be absolutely terrifying to come face to face
with an undead vampiric horror, but when it's an undead

(03:03:38):
vampiric horror of a bingo lady in her late seventies,
it loses a little bit of the fear factor. She
was still a threat to me due to her newly
unleashed strength and speed and toughness, but if I'm lucky,
she'd be like a baby elephant learning how to walk
for the first time and be clumsy. Fortunately, she hadn't

(03:03:58):
been undressed yet, so I didn't have to witness something
that could have seared my eyes out. The creature fell
out of the locker and onto the cold floor and
started to transform into her new unlife before my very eyes,
bones snapped into new places, A pair of thin, bony
wings started to form and unfurl from her back and
tear from her little blue nightgown, and finally, her skin

(03:04:22):
started to take on an ashen gray shade as it
solidified into an armor like hide. I've never seen a
new vampire gain so many of its new abilities so
quickly after reanimating. This was something new, and this was
definitely something I wasn't quite expecting so early on a
Friday morning. The grenades wouldn't do a lot since the

(03:04:43):
space was too open unless I landed it right on
her shoulder, so that was out for the time being. Immediately,
without really thinking about it, I had Baby Jane back
in my arms and ready to unleash Hell upon this fiend.
The old lady unfurled her new wings, stretched them out,
and knocked over several tables of supplies. She looked amazed

(03:05:05):
at her new body and didn't seem too phazed that
she was now among the planet's paranormal population. I aimed
the shotgun at her, and immediately its green laser engaged
and painted a picture on the center of her mass.
She didn't seem to take notice of the six foot
blonde federal agent aiming a fully automatic shotgun at her.

(03:05:25):
She extended her arms forward and started looking at her
new hands, which had now formed into wicked, long sickle
like claws. I racked the slide and made sure that
it was ready to sing that twelve gage buckshot showtune.
As soon as the slide clicked, the creature's eyes immediately
narrowed and focused on me. We both held tents at

(03:05:47):
the standoff here in the Hope Springs Morgue, and not
one made a move or sound. The only sound we
could both hear was an ancient wall clock that was
suspended above the lockers, and it was clicking up towards
noon eleven fifty nine. The second hand was swinging around
towards the bottom, and the last thirty seconds of the

(03:06:07):
morning was counting down. The old lady opened her mouth
with her new fangs and drooled as she smiled at me.
I smiled back at her, part of it to relieve
the tension I was feeling in my own body, and
part of it was hoping it would unnerve her a
touch as to why I was being so confident. She
didn't seem phazed by my bravado or the shotgun. Twenty

(03:06:30):
seconds left, she took a step towards me and tore
off what remained of her blue nightgown and growled at me.
I stood my ground. Are you prepared to die, young lady?
I grinned and tightened my grip and slowly prepared to
squeeze the trigger on my weapon. Not today. Fifteen seconds

(03:06:52):
she took another step towards me, and now less than
ten feet separated us, and I swear she grew another
two feet in height as she took that single stride.
Ten seconds Wait for it, I thought, she leaped at
me with a supernatural speed and swiftness, and threw her
entire body forward and her claws reaching for me. Showtime

(03:07:13):
as the clock struck noon. Part of my abilities, besides
being tough, is that I'm also as quick as most
of the night creatures themselves. If I can judge things right.
This time, my luck paid off as I suspected it would.
I twisted my body at the last second and let
her fly right past me and crash into the workstation behind.

(03:07:35):
As the old woman flew past and crashed into the
equipment as well, I fired off a few rounds from
the shotgun. Two quick succession blasts erupted from the weapon
and shredded her new wings into confetti. These particular shotgun
rounds were particularly nasty too, as those said defense contractors
decided to pack something a little extra besides the magic

(03:07:58):
adjacent mojo into them, magnesium pellets and silver and enchanted
pellet shards dragon's breath shotgun shells with a little bit extra.
The rounds lit her up and she was doused in
flames as well. The monster yelped in pain and surprise
as her armored hide didn't have an answer to that

(03:08:18):
little one. It didn't seem to slow her down much,
as she quickly got to her feet for yet another attack.
This time, I wasn't so quick, and I got the
full force of this creature barreling into me with tremendous
and unexpected force. The blow knocked the wind out of
me and sent my weapon from my hands across the
room and under an examination table. I was knocked against

(03:08:38):
a steel table and left gasping for air. The old
woman delivered another sucker punch into my gut, and I
doubled over in pain and was left gasping for air.
I'm in trouble here, guys. The monster grabbed a hold
of my head and started raising it up to her
face directly. Her grip was powerful and would not be

(03:09:02):
easily broken. I said, are you prepared to die? She
hissed at me through her fangs. She started squeezing my head,
and I could feel things start to go black and
my consciousness start to fade. She was gonna knock me
out before she likely tore me apart limb from limb.
This old bitch isn't exactly playing fair. Well. I don't

(03:09:25):
have to play fair either. I thrust my arms up
between hers and tried to force them apart from squeezing
me further. I just got enough force together to loosen
her grip and knock her hands free from my head.
I started raining blows upon her face and just let
fly every bit of anger, rage, and even a bit
of fear that I'd built up over the course of
our confrontation. My fist kept connecting against her skull and

(03:09:49):
blood kept flying out, And while she kept trying to
dodge and hold back my assault, she didn't stand a chance.
I felt my fists crushed the bones in her face
as her skull began to disintegrate under me. I had
her pinned against a table and she had nowhere to
run and couldn't fly. This thing was at my mercy,

(03:10:10):
and today was not a day to expect mercy from
someone you just tried to murder. I hit her until
there was nothing left of her head and left the
body to hit the floor in a bloody pile. After
what seemed like forever, I left the body in a
disgusting heap of meat in a corner and retrieved my weapons. Wait,

(03:10:31):
gotta make sure, and it's probably overkill. I grabbed one
of the UV grenades I had left and put it
inside what remained of her torso and pulled the pin
and quickly left the room. Boom. Cool kids, don't look
back at explosions. Now. I can add that to my
list of cool action movie things I've done, and I

(03:10:53):
will never tell anyone about because they'll never believe me. Nope,
keep walking. Merging outside in the cold October rain was refreshing,
as it not only washed off the blood and gore
of the last encounter, but was oddly refreshing too. I
stood outside in the rain and just let the adrenaline
of the melee wash over me. I needed to relax,

(03:11:17):
but too bad, I don't smoke anymore. Finally, the combat
rush was over and my breathing returned to normal. This
was gonna be a problem, and probably one that a
single troubleshooter won't be able to handle on her own.
I'm gonna need help, and there's probably no way around this.
You call for help in a situation like this, and

(03:11:37):
it's going one of two ways. You're either overreacting and
it's fine, or end up with a situation like Boston
and it's one step away from calling in the proverbial
air strike and a room of old white dudes looking
for a reason to enact the Cradle of Liberty protocol.
Cradle of Liberty was basically the nuclear option for all

(03:11:58):
threats and paranormal and had only ever been deployed once
since the seventies. You used it when you had absolutely
zero choice, and collateral damage wasn't a primary concern. Survival was,
and the cost would be paid, and it didn't matter
how it was accomplished. No one alive today would talk
about what it would entail, but we all knew that

(03:12:20):
it was the last possible option, and no one wanted
to be the one to sanction its use. I thought
I had it figured out and this was not a
vampire nest, but instead some new undead douche being greedy.
It seems that I may be wrong if the last
encounter was any indication of what's going on. Super vampires

(03:12:42):
are on the loose and this town is ground zero,
or something much much worse is on the horizon. I
don't like what I'm seeing here, and something is definitely
not adding up like it should. I'm pretty fucking terrible
at math, but I sure as shitn't know that two
plus two ain't ten. I don't like this. Remember why

(03:13:02):
you're doing this, Quinn? Two weeks paid vacation. Oh yeah,
and saving the world or some shit. I made a
call first to Rheanne and let her know that I
was probably in over my pretty little head. I wasn't
too thrilled to call the FEDS, but they'd have a solution,
and at least Rheanne was a calming influence. She always

(03:13:26):
knew what to say to talk me down off the ledge,
and it didn't hurt that she sounded cute when she
was concerned about me. I miss her. The second call
was a little harder to make. I called the Department,
which is code for the Department of Paranormal Resources, a
subset of the Department of Defense and Homeland Security. Layers

(03:13:48):
upon layers upon layers of bureaucracy, but also they had
resources and people that your average gifted or troubleshooter didn't
have access to. I was told to sit tight and
hold my position while they assessed the situation and confer
with partners within paranormal research and defense. Great, I get

(03:14:10):
to cool my jets in the middle of Vampire City.
I got lucky and a cleanup crew was at the
Hope Springs Corner office within an hour, and Percy Downer
was offered a generous payout for his silence and a
two week vacation. Must be nice, though odds are he'll
be sent to Langley for an extensive debrief and probably

(03:14:32):
psychic mind probe to see if he knows more than
what he's letting on. Guy like that is probably next
level boring. Then again, I didn't expect to fight a
retirement home in a morgue, so who knows. Enjoy Virginia.
I drove away from the corner's office and pulled up
in a nearby hotel and booked a room. It had

(03:14:53):
only been a few hours since the confrontation. In my mind,
wasn't ready to let go of what happened. The thing
that bothered me the most is how quickly those things
moved and how quickly they reanimated into their new un life.
The real question that bothered me is why didn't this
happen before with the other victims. Why was this happening now?

(03:15:16):
There has to be a reason for it. Was there
a new vampire lord attempting to make a nest in
this town? How does the superpowered angle figure into it?
Was someone, or worse something creating a vampire super hybrid?
What in the hell was happening in Hope Springs, New York.
I laid down in the hotel's uncomfortable bed and put

(03:15:37):
my head down on the pillow and felt every bump
and bruise from today's encounter. My wounds would heal by mourning,
but still, that old lady tossed me around pretty good.
And if I hadn't gotten a lucky break, I'm sure
she'd be picking me out of her fangs right now.
I could have died today. I got lucky, or I

(03:15:59):
got drifting off to a strange and unusual sleep. I
passed out and had nightmares all night. The following morning,
I was awakened by my phone ringing off the hook
and about thirty missed calls. I tried to get my
eyes to focus on the tiny screen and see who
had called. It was Rheanne. I called her back, and

(03:16:22):
immediately I knew something was wrong from the second she
answered the other line. Where the hell have you been?
I've been trying to call you all night? Are you okay?
Are you all right? What the hell happened to you?
I tried to sound cool and brave, but I get
the feelings she wasn't in the mood for my particular
brand of humor. Well, I went to the morgue to

(03:16:44):
see a corpse and got jumped by three of them. Instead.
She exhaled loudly. I could tell it was a mix
between frustration and relief. Are you okay, Quinn? Talk to me.
Rhianne's voice had this thing in it that made you
want to confess what you were really feeling, especially when
you didn't want to honestly, No, I'm not Something is

(03:17:07):
pretty fucked up here in upstate New York. One of
those things almost got the best of me. I've never
fought anything like them before. Something is very, very wrong here, Caroline.
If I'd known, I would have never sent you there
in the first place. She was sorry beyond words, and
part of me could hear that she was on the
verge of crying, almost like I could feel her lip

(03:17:31):
tremble on the phone. I know you had no clue.
I'm waiting on the call from the department on what
we're going to do next. I don't have a good
feeling about this. I'm legitimately worried what this could all mean.
On one hand, I had always quietly suspected that the
paranormal war was escalating on some level. I was living

(03:17:51):
proof that hybrids of some type were possible, even if
we don't know exactly what I was. There were other
troubleshooters who were a mix of paranormal and superpowered, but
we're remarkably few in numbers, like less than fifty identified
across the entirety of North America. I should let you rest,

(03:18:12):
but Caroline, you be careful out there. I know you
think you're invincible, and like nothing can hurt you. But
you're human like the rest of us, know when to run. Okay,
she said, I was human. There are days I wish
I was. I'm not human. I don't know what I
am honestly. I will look when I get back to

(03:18:35):
the city. Why don't we get together and maybe get
dinner in a movie like old times. I'd like that.
I'll talk to you soon, Quinn. She paused for a second,
and I could tell she stopped herself from saying something
more before she hung up the phone. I love you too.
I sat in the hotel room and stared at the

(03:18:56):
peeling wallpaper and was just alone with my thoughts. What
am I going to do? How am I going to
do it? I finally asked myself the hard question of
the day. How many people are going to die? The
phone rang again. I wanted it to be Rheianne and
for her to talk me out of this assignment and

(03:19:17):
to come back to New York, and for her to
convince me to leave this world behind and run. It
wasn't Rheanne. It was the Department, and it was the
secured line that you never wanted to call you directly.
Director James Carlson, Department of Paranormal Resources, the guy whose
desk issues the orders, and the guy who could sign

(03:19:38):
your death warrant should the need arise. This was about
to turn my Halloween into a fucking horror show. Agent Quinn,
the situation has changed. We're preparing to activate the Cradle
of Liberty protocol in the city of Hope Springs. Assets
will be on the scene within the next hour. My orders, sir,
Megaton and Phase will be on and the Hammer and

(03:20:01):
Carpenter teams will support them. You coordinate with the other
gifted on scene. I want that nest burned to the ground.
Burn the city to the ground if you have to, sir,
what about the civilians? Like I said, the situation has changed,
consider all civilians as hostile. What in the fuck did

(03:20:22):
he just say? Were they really going to activate the
Cradle of Liberty protocol? What the hell did they even mean?
The line went dead and a text message appeared with
a set of coordinates and a timestamp of one hour.
Oh fuck, this was it, wasn't it. The paranormal war
just escalated. An hour later, I was at the arranged

(03:20:45):
meeting place and the air was grim. It was a
small farmhouse that had been requisitioned for use as a
staging area. Soldiers, heavy equipment, and helicopters, and the Supers
showed up. Before the world changed fifty years ago, superheroes
wore colorful costumes and capes and were larger than life

(03:21:05):
and existed purely as fiction. Now, in the time of kevlar,
synthetic fabrics and utility ruled the day, and it was
less tights and spandex and more tactical gear with a
few colorful adornments. A few of the more outlandish supers
wore stuff that people only wore at Halloween, but most
were modest about their abilities. It should be noted that

(03:21:29):
very few people can successfully pull off wearing a cape
and actually have it look cool. A group of about
twelve of us stood by the barn and watched as
a man descended from the sky with a purple cape
billowing behind him very dramatically. Megaton always knew he had
to make an entrance, and always made sure that you
knew he was on the scene, and that he was

(03:21:52):
the best and brightest of all the gifted world. I
didn't care for him, but I couldn't deny how powerfull
he was was strong, tougher than me, and a unique
ability to repel the force used against him. Oh and
he could also fly a shimmering red light beside him.
As Megaton landed and from a glowing red portal stepped Phase,

(03:22:17):
the woman known as Phase, whose gifts allowed her limited
teleportation and energy manipulation. She was a real showstopper, but
young and often reckless when she was in combat against
paranormal threats. The Supers were fine fighting against other gifted
and villains like Hurricane and Dread, but paranormal entities were

(03:22:39):
a different breed. The last super to arrive pulled up
on a tricked out motorcycle. He was a combat expert
known as Mnemonic. His ability was to learn in a new,
instantaneous manner, and he used his abilities to learn all
sorts of martial arts and weaponry. He was a show off,
but let me tell you he was the best shot

(03:23:02):
likely on the entire planet Earth. Well, all of us
were here now, and it was time to get to work.
The team leader for Hammer and Carpenter Squad stepped forward,
typical military bravado and swagger that depended on superior firepower
and overwhelming numbers trust me. I've seen this movie before

(03:23:23):
and it never ends well for the guys with the guns.
But this is the hand we've been dealt. Captain Tony
King and Lieutenant Tanya Dante. They nicknamed these two TNT,
and for good reason, a lot of shit tended to
blow up in their presence. Okay, we have a good,
actionable intelligence and we're going to act on it immediately.

(03:23:46):
Hope Spring's retirement community is a vampire nest and is
about to be as infested as a place can get.
Think of a goddamn cockroach infestation, and you've got a
pretty good idea of what we're up against. We do
have an advantage. The amps are new, inexperienced, and still
not used to their powers. This means the new staff
from the Pentagon should make short work of them. Our

(03:24:08):
significant threat has been identified as a new hybrid type
vampire lord. We believe it to be an individual named
Terry Fisher. We know how strong they can be, but
this new lord seems to only be recruiting from the
weak and feeble, so not exactly fighting the Russians or
the North Koreans. Here, Dante said matter of factly as

(03:24:28):
she laid out the information for all of us. Captain
King stepped forward and pointed to the group of about
twelve soldiers behind him and gestured toward their weapons. We
have state of the art fire power and enough ammunition
to shoot at anything that moves. We have enhanced fire
support in terms of a troubleshooter and their superpowered allies.

(03:24:49):
There is no reason we can't wrap this up by
morning and be home for breakfast. I'd like to go
get a grand Slam at Denny's afterwards. So who's with me?
I sighed? Surrounded by overconfidence and itchy trigger fingers and
show offs with superpowers, is it too late to go
work at Applebee's. I looked at the assembled superpowered individuals

(03:25:10):
and approached them and tried to be as friendly as
I could. I worked with Megaton and Phays before in Boston,
but I'd never worked with Mnemonic. I don't like going
into a combat situation with people I don't trust, and
especially people who had declined to help when their country
needed them. I told them what happened this morning at
the Morgue, and they laughed at me. They wanted to

(03:25:32):
know how the great Agent Caroline Quinn could get her
ass kicked by an old man and a few ladies
from Bingo. I told them to take this seriously. This
wasn't your usual bloodsucker. They didn't want to hear it.
They laughed it off and said it would be easy.
I remember how Boston happened, and Megaton and Phase should

(03:25:53):
have too. King and Dante barked orders across the staging
area for everyone to get ready. As we were wheels
up up in five minutes and got on board of
the choppers. I went and got my gear loaded up
and enhanced protective vest, my trustee, baby Jane, and a
few of the UV grenades. I guess we were as
ready as we were gonna be. This was gonna be bad,

(03:26:17):
wasn't it. As the helicopters flew over Hope Springs, it
was kind of pretty in a sense. It was Halloween
night and trick or treaters could be seen walking down
the streets with their parents or friends. This town had
no idea what was happening in it. You could almost

(03:26:39):
feel the sense of fun and joy that people were having.
I wish I didn't have to bring hell to this
little place, but it can't be helped. The two aircraft
cut through the night sky and headed towards the retirement
home and presumably where this was going to end. I
glanced out the side door and saw Megaton keeping pace

(03:26:59):
with us. Us Megaton still had that stupid, over confident
smile on his face. One of the things I learned
very early on in my career was never underestimate your enemy,
no matter how weak they appear. An enemy is most
dangerous when they are cornered, and especially when they're on
their own turf. We started to begin our descent onto

(03:27:22):
the lawn of the retirement home, which was a two
story structure that looked like it was built fairly recently.
It looked super modern and almost out of place for
a town that looks like it was taken out of
a postcard advertising for rural charm. Captain King slid the
side door open of the helicopter and looked back at
all of us in his command and patted his weapon. Okay, kids,

(03:27:47):
it's time to visit Grandpa, he cheered as he pulled
down his night vision goggles above his eyes. No sooner
did the words leave his mouth. Things began to go
immediately wrong. King was yanked out of the door and
thrown screaming towards the ground by an unseen assailant. Everyone
couldn't comprehend what just happened to the Hammer Squad commander,

(03:28:10):
and everyone's jaw was just hanging open. Panic was not
unlike fire. When panic spreads uncontrolled, it spreads fast, just
like a forest blaze. Suddenly, without warning, the helicopter lurched
forward and pitched itself towards the ground in an out
of control spiral. Soldiers fell out of the open hatch

(03:28:30):
door and tumbled to their deaths. You are not surviving
that kind of a fall, with that kind of force.
I held onto my seat as best I could and
tried to unlatch my safety harness. I kneeded out fast.
We smashed into the ground hard and glass and metal
flew everywhere as the helicopter split apart from the impact,

(03:28:51):
Fire and small explosions happened all around us as we
skidded across the lawn and finally came to a stop
when we hit the entranceway of the structure. My safety
harness and enhanced durability probably kept me alive. Probably everyone
else was not so lucky. The other soldiers who were
still in their seats did not survive the crash. One

(03:29:14):
of them seemed to have caught shrapnel to the face
and neck, the other had her neck snapped by the
force of the crash, and another soldier whose face I
couldn't see, had been messily disemboweled by a piece of debris.
I could hear the other craft land safely, and then
I heard the sounds of gunfire outside and people screaming

(03:29:35):
time to go. I escaped my harness and the wreckage
of the crash and pushed my way out of the
shattered helicopter. The others had landed safely, but it didn't matter,
as they were completely surrounded by flying creatures, and they
weren't shooting with any precision. They were shooting wildly and
without thinking, except to empty their magazines at anything that moved.

(03:29:57):
If you can believe it, this is where things went
from bad to worse. Tanya Dante stood back to back
with Mnemonic in an attempt to keep some sense of
combat awareness. The pair at least were shooting with purpose
and even hitting a few of the creatures in the
air and potentially even killing a few, but I couldn't

(03:30:17):
be sure from all the muzzle flashes fall back fall back.
Goddamn it, Dante yelled at anyone who would listen. No
sooner did she yell that something swooped out of the
sky and picked her up by her shoulders and carried
her into the air. The lieutenant wasn't going down without
a fight, though, as she kept firing her weapon. As

(03:30:38):
she ascended into the sky with her captor, the monster
used its tremendous strength to throw her against a second
story building wall with enough force to shatter concrete. Mnemonic
looked at me in utter terror and started to run
away from the fight. He didn't make it fifty feet

(03:30:58):
before he was swarmed. The creatures tore the poor hero
to pieces within seconds, and fountains of blood spewed from
what remained of his body. That's enough, A powerful voice
echoed across the battlefield, and for a second, everyone stopped
fighting and shooting, and all eyes focused in that direction.

(03:31:21):
A person in medical scrubs emerged from behind the crashed
helicopter near the entrance and started walking towards the center
of all of us. The shimmering light distortion appeared beside
this new stranger, and FaZe stepped out and started to
engage in hand to hand combat with his new enemy.
She started kicking and punching with her attacks enhanced with

(03:31:44):
her bioelectric energy, and while spectacular looking, it didn't seem
to hurt this person at all. They just kept walking
towards the middle of the battleground. They kept walking towards me.
Stand still, fucker. Fase yelled as she kept up, but
none of her attacks seemed to affect them. Finally, enough

(03:32:07):
light was present that I could get a good look
at this person in the scrubs. It was a man
in his early twenties or maybe mid twenties at most.
He walked with a stride and purpose that someone who
knows their untouchable does. Fase stood in front of him
and cupped her hands together and thrust them forward and

(03:32:28):
hurled a huge bolt of blue, crackling lightning. The discharge
filled the air with so much power that I could
feel my hair pick up on a static charge. The
man kept walking past Phase and towards me. I said stop.
Fase teleported right in front of him and attempted to
stand in his way, and just as she rematerialized, the

(03:32:52):
man grabbed her by the throat. No, the man snapped
her neck and tossed her lifeless body to the with
a wet smack. Megaton chose his moment to dive bomb
the man from somewhere high above and create a huge
impact crater. The two struggled in exchanged blows while entangled

(03:33:13):
in each other's limbs. Okay, maybe this will make a difference,
Maybe this is the edge we need. Megaton grabbed hold
of the man and flew straight up into the sky,
out of sight, and for a moment, everyone stopped again,
absolutely transfixed by what happened. Vampire and soldier alike just

(03:33:34):
stood there and waited. You could hear a thunderous clash
of blows above us, high in the clouds, and it
echoed so loudly that the remaining glass near us vibrated
and threatened to shatter. Megaton had this guy on the
ropes America. Fuck yeah, take that Dracula. Then silence, thud.

(03:34:00):
A body hit the ground with such impact that it
exploded and coated everything near by in a shower of
blood and gore. The gentle flapping of leather wings carried
upon the night wind. The man and the scrubs had
transformed into his monstrous and vicious vampire lord. Form. In
his left hand, he held what was left of Megaton's head.

(03:34:24):
He smiled as he held it and looked at me
as he took a bite out of Megaton's face and
chewed on his flesh. Finish the others off, Leave this
one to me, he quietly whispered, and no sooner did
those words leave his ashen gray lips than the other

(03:34:45):
soldiers fell silent as they too joined their friends as
killed in action. This is it, Caroline Quinn. This is
where you die, Rhianne. I'm I'm sorry I wasn't better
to you. The menacing vampire lord flew right down in
front of me and stood up to his full hulking
height and towered above me. Jesus, this guy was huge.

(03:35:11):
We share the same blood, you and I. We're the
next step in ascending what humanity can be. We are
better than the cattle around us. Great. Not only am
I gonna die here, but I have to listen to
this dickhead monologue before he kills me or something worse.

(03:35:32):
Think Okay, okay, maybe that'll work. A piece of the
shredded helicopter about as long as a baseball bat and
sharp as hell, I can probably reach it. If I
can keep this idiot talking and inching me backwards, how
are we alike exactly? I'm not exactly feeling the whole

(03:35:53):
undead vibe or looking like something from a horror movie.
Keep him talking. I've known about others like you for
a long time. You aren't as special as you think.
You're what was created long ago by those who helped
us escape the confinements of the void. Okay, I have

(03:36:15):
no fucking clue what this guy is talking about. I
know who I am and more or less where I
came from. Right, I slowly back up and keep my
eye on a piece of shrapnel I'm hoping to turn
into a weapon. Void. Huh sounds like a nightclub. Your

(03:36:35):
attempts at delaying your fate are amusing, but it stops here.
Join others like yourself and take your place at the
unholy throne at the head of humanity. Turn this diseased
world into a paradise for those wronged by that from above.
I am not getting into a religious debate with this
goddamn monster. I stop, and I can feel my hand

(03:37:00):
the hot steel of the shrapnel. You know what I'm good.
I grab the piece of metal like a sword and
absolutely throw all of my momentum into a forward swing
at this thing's head. It blocks the strike with its
clawed hand. Oh shit. It gets a solid grip on

(03:37:20):
my left arm and breaks it at the wrist and
throws me aside roughly. I tumble toward the helicopter near
the entranceway and skid right into the doorframe. The vampire
lord continues advancing towards me. Okay, that didn't work. I
quickly assessed my situation and I got one last hail

(03:37:42):
Mary as it were. Just inside the wreckage is one
of the helicopter mounted weapons, and it looks relatively intact
despite its crash. The barrel appears to be fine, and
it seems spolled up to the magazine. I start crawling
my way inside the crash and try my best not
to get burned by the dying fires. You chose to

(03:38:05):
hide like a coward rather than live as a god
among mortals. Okay, it's time to shut the fuck up.
I pull myself forward and aim the mounted minigun out
the ruined door and squeeze the triggers on both sides
of the weapon. It hums to life with an electric
whirl as it begins to spin its rotating barrels. This

(03:38:27):
mini gun fires more of the enhanced AMMO except at
seven point six y two, which means that our vampire
Lord friend pretty much liquifies when I hit him with
hundreds of rounds, if not thousands of rounds per minute.
He doesn't even have a chance to look surprised before
I completely turn him into paste. There isn't much left

(03:38:49):
of him besides a pair of shoes, and I'm totally
okay with that. Silence fills the air once again as
soon as I stop firing and the barrel wind down
as the electric motor disengages, I won. I take myself
outside of the ruined chopper and back outside into the

(03:39:09):
night once again. I stand up and cradle my broken
wrist and notice a distinct lack of undead in my
immediate area. I fiddle inside my vest and look for
my phone and call in to Director Carlson, Agent Quinn. Here.
Operation to success. Vampire Lord eliminated, the other vampires escaped.

(03:39:32):
My team is gone. Everyone is gone, Megaton phase mnemonic,
everyone except me. This wasn't a success, not by a
long shot. Understood beginning Cradle of Liberty protocol your country.
Thanks you for your service, Agent Quinn. Wait what total
elimination of the target zone in fifteen minutes? Goodbye, Agent Quinn.

(03:39:57):
The line went dead, and so did every life in
the city. And it was darkness and the sound of
something sinister in the evening air. This was not my
idea of a Halloween prank. This is definitely not a treat.
This had to be a trick, right, This was not

(03:40:20):
worth two weeks of vacation in between by Shane Migliovokna.
Ruby Salazar felt herself slipping. She gripped the wood armrests
of the chair in the waiting room. She jolted awake

(03:40:41):
from her quick nap, only to lock her eyes on
a wildly grinning face painted on a large illuminated plastic
pumpkin sitting on a nearby desk. You have somebody coming
for you, hon, the ultrasound tech asked, as she smiled
gently at Ruby. Now you were my last for the day.

(03:41:01):
You can rest here, or I can see if there's
a room free. The tech smiled again. Ruby smiled weakly.
Here's good. Thank you. Somebody'll call you tomorrow with the results.
If you need anything, I'll be at my desk. The
tech left, leaving Ruby alone alone in a medical nightmare.
On Halloween of all days. A light in the corner

(03:41:25):
of the waiting room flickered and buzzed softly. Crying out
for a replacement, the tech sat down at her desk,
the seat creaking under her. Ruby sunk down in her
chair as she pulled up the hood of her black
sweatshirt to cover her head. Closing her eyes, she allowed
herself to drift off. She started to slip again. Her

(03:41:48):
head was spinning, her body felt as if it was
melting into the chair. Ruby's eyes snapped open. She stood
in a long, featureless hallway bathed in a crimson glow.
A steady hum reverberated from one end of the hall.
Walking toward the humming, she realized the floor was made
of water, which rippled at her feet as she walked.

(03:42:10):
As Ruby made her way down the hall, her progress
was slow. What should have been a short walk felt
like a ten minute one. As she neared the end
of the hall, the source of the humming came into view.
Two large metal forks parallel to one another. The space
between them shimmered like the sun on an ocean. Wave No,

(03:42:32):
A voicelike gravel filled her head. Do not. Ruby fell
out of the waiting room chair onto the carpeted floor.
She'd been dreaming. Ruby looked around the waiting room. Her
face was red with embarrassment. She was all alone. She stood,
The tech was gone, the light over her desk was off.

(03:42:54):
Even the fau jack o lantern was dark. How long
had she been out? Glancing up at the clock, she
was astonished to see it appeared stuck. The clock would
advance a minute and then snap back to the previous minute,
over and over. Ruby poked her head in a couple
of the exam rooms. Empty, she went to the door

(03:43:17):
leading out of the ultrasound area. Locked. She could see
the hallway beyond through the glass of the door. It
was empty as well. Hello, Ruby called out, pulling at
the door handle. Hello, anybody. She banged on the door
frantically at first, becoming more angry with each blow. Come on, somebody.

(03:43:43):
She went to the phone on the text desk, static.
She hit buttons trying to get a dial tone. Nothing worked.
Ruby sat at the desk for some time, her head
resting on her arms. She was trapped. Feeling desperate, she
got up and climbed onto the desk. She pushed a

(03:44:03):
large ceiling tile out, raining dust down on her. Climbing
up onto the metal frame that held the ceiling tiles
in place, Ruby was thankful she was small. She could
feel the tiles buckle under her weight. Just a little ways,
she whispered. She made her way past the door frame
and out over the hallway. Shit, Ruby cried out, cutting

(03:44:26):
her hand on an exposed screw. The surprise and pain
threw off her balance and she fell through a tile.
Catching herself at the last minute on the metal frame,
Ruby dangled over the hallway. Dropping down. She landed on
her feet. Son of a bitch. Her legs stung with pain.

(03:44:46):
Ruby rubbed her sore legs as she hunted for a
bathroom to clean her injured hand. All was silent save
for the sound of her breathing and the hum of
the overhead lights. She soon found some antiseptic gauze and bandages,
which admittedly was not that difficult given her hospital surroundings.
She sat in an empty examination room. The distinct possibility

(03:45:10):
that there wasn't another living soul in the hospital was
starting to sink in. How could she be all alone.
What had happened. Maybe there'd been some kind of fire
drill or bomb scare and she slept right through it.
From what she'd seen, it was possible. Some of the
rooms in the hall were a mess. Beds were overturned,

(03:45:33):
and all manner of papers and equipment littered the floor,
as if everybody had rushed out all at once. Yeah,
that had to be it. Everybody was outside. She was
the only dumbass in the hospital. She went to the
nearest window outside. Smoke hung thick in the air, making
it hard to see very far. A large shadow passed

(03:45:56):
over the window, headed towards the roofing up the side
of the hospital, making sharp clicking sounds as it went.
Ruby jumped back. She felt her heart race. That hadn't
been her imagination. There had been something out there. Sitting

(03:46:19):
behind the desk at the third floor nurses station, Ruby
pondered her next move. She picked up the receiver at
the desk. Instead of a dial tone, there was a
constant howl of static. Next, she tried the computer, which
flickered with a blank, bright red screen when Ruby tried
to log on. No hope there from somewhere on the

(03:46:42):
other end of the floor. Something crashed to the ground
in a loud, metallic bang. Ruby jumped up from her chair,
knocking it over. That thing had it come looking for her?
She dropped down, hiding behind the desk. There was a

(03:47:03):
sharp clickplack that grew closer and closer. Ruby had to
calm herself as she felt her heart start to race.
There was another loud crash as something fell to the floor.
A stale, rotting smell grew stronger, causing her to involuntarily gag.

(03:47:25):
The click clack stopped. Had it heard. Pulling herself under
the desk, she waited, trying not to breathe. Something knocked
the phone receiver from its cradle. It swung back and
forth briefly before the whole thing smashed to the floor.
The phone was quickly followed by the computer, keyboard and monitor.

(03:47:50):
Ruby stifled her urge to cry out. A shadow fell
over the floor in front of her before retreating. Suddenly,
there was a deafenite scraping sound as something tried to
pull the desk apart. She screamed and scrambled away from
the desk, only to come face to face with the
beast stalking her. Six red eyes stared back at Ruby

(03:48:14):
from a thing that looked like a mad scientist had
mashed a spider and a crab together. Mandibles clicked excitedly
in the creature's cavernous mouth. A long, hairy leg poked
at her just out of reach. Snatching up the desk chair,
Ruby held it up like a lion tamer from an
old movie. Back off, she ordered, trying to sound intimidating.

(03:48:40):
The spider crab thing hissed at her, fuck you too.
She hurled the chair at the thing with an angry swing,
not staying to see if the chair hit the beast.
Ruby ran down the hall. She skidded to a stop
at an intersection. Written on the wall in something disgustingly
brown was a message, this way if you want to

(03:49:04):
live under The message was a crudely drawn arrow pointing
left and left. She went. The spider crab thing screeched
as it skittered down the hall. In pursuit. Ruby bounded
down a couple of flights of stairs, following another arrow.
She stopped to catch her breath. How many levels did

(03:49:26):
the damn hospital have? Two more flights and she reached
the bottom. A single metal door greeted her. A small
glass window revealed little of what waited on the other side,
save for darkness. Up above came the sound of something
pounding against one of the metal doors. Fuck it, She

(03:49:48):
pulled the door open, stepping into a dimly lit corridor.
Broken glass crackled under her feet. Ruby pressed on until
she came to a door. Opening the the door caused
something to clang loudly. Looking up, there was an empty
metal can hanging down. It swung back and forth banging

(03:50:10):
on the door. Inside was some kind of storage area.
Metal chairs and trays were haphazardly jammed into the room.
The next room had the same kind of can in
the doorway, rig larger than the previous room. This one
was a boiler room. Water dripped from pipes and steam

(03:50:34):
hissed out of metal floor grates. Ruby shivered. It was
something from a nightmare. This whole thing was a flicker
of light from the far end of the room caught
her eye. In a small area behind the rusty, rumbling
boiler was some kind of shrine. Trinkets, jewelry, faded photos,

(03:50:57):
even bits of hair hung on the steell. What the hell,
she muttered, What do you have? A man's gruff voice
asked Ruby spun around. A large, scraggly man stood waiting.
His long, thinning hair was pulled back into a ponytail,

(03:51:19):
and he wore stained and faded janitor's coveralls. You work here,
Ruby asked, trying not to sound scared forever in a day.
The man replied, custodial technician. That's their bullshit term for janitor.
He chuckled, makes him feel better when I have to

(03:51:39):
clean the shitter. What's going on? Everybody's gone and there's
a monster. The man nodded. You fell through a crack.
You're stuck, stuck, stuck where out of time? Another world? Hell,
take your pick. Ruby felt weak, leaning against the walls.

(03:52:03):
She tried to make sense of what he told her. Well,
you want to get out of here, the janitor grumbled
after a few minutes. Yeah, I want to get out
of here. Good. I don't want a roommate. It's simple.
You pay me. I show you the way. Hey, she shivered.

(03:52:25):
I want food or something important to you, something with meaning,
a story. I collect him, He pointed to the shrine.
People that passed through here gives me a bit of
living again. The only things in this hospital are me
in those hissing bastards up there, Ruby rummaged through her pockets.

(03:52:48):
What if someone doesn't have something to pay you? The
man licked his lips and flashed her a greasy smile.
Then I send you on your way, and the way
you were blundering through here, they'll get you lickety split.
Or you go and bring me something from up there, shit,

(03:53:15):
Ruby whispered. Ruby pushed roughly past the janitor. She hadn't
eaten in some time, and it was starting to affect
her mood. Maybe she could mug a trick or treater
for some candy on her way home, if this nightmare
ever ends, that is, she thought. She opened the door

(03:53:36):
across from the boiler room. If you're looking for the
way out, won't do no good. It's locked and I
got the key. The janitor chuckled. If I'm going back
up there, I'm getting something to defend myself. Wouldn't happen
to have a rocket launcher, would you? This made the

(03:53:58):
man laugh harder. Inside the room there were some old
folded tables and rusty IV stands. Grabbing one of the stands,
Ruby swung it, feeling its weight in her hands. It
could work Ruby could feel the bemused janitor watching her. Next,
she needed something sharp. In a utility closet, she found

(03:54:21):
a broken floor lamp. Ruby carefully unscrewed the long glass
light bulb tube, Using a thick rag for protection, She
smashed the tube against a wall to create a jagged
glass shard. Carrying her fines back to the boiler room,
Ruby cleared a space on a work table. She removed

(03:54:42):
the metal pole from the ivy stand base, laying it
on the table. Taking the duct tape the janitor had
grudgingly provided, she firmly wrapped and secured the sharp glass
spear head to one end. Once the glass shard was
tightly bound, Ruby tested the balance and gripped of the
full spear. The janitor watched warily as she took a

(03:55:04):
few practice jabs. Okay, she nodded, I'm ready. The janitor smiled,
we'll see about that. Ruby held her makeshift spear at
the ready. She stepped out into the corridor, not far

(03:55:28):
from the ultrasound unit. Get in, get out, get downstairs,
she repeated the mantra. Ruby took a deep breath and
crept down the hallway iv stand, poised to strike the
hospital was eerily quiet, except for the buzzing of flickering
fluorescent lights. She paused outside the ultrasound unit where this

(03:55:52):
nightmare had started. The door was still closed locked. She'd
have to get back inside the sane way she'd escaped.
Dragging a gurney to the spot she dropped down. Ruby
climbed back up into the ceiling. Before she could pull
herself up, a bone chilling screech pierced the air. The

(03:56:12):
spider crab creature skittered around the corner, beady red eyes
fixed on Ruby. She swung the ivy stand, slashing at
its hairy legs. The creature recoiled with an angry hiss,
back off ugly, Ruby shouted, Brandishing her makeshift spear from

(03:56:33):
atop the gurney. She jabbed at the thing's eyes as
the gurney wobbled under her. It was useless fighting it here.
She needed to get on the other side of that door.
Throwing the spear at the thing's eyes, Ruby leaped for
the opening in the ceiling, jumping up. The creature's armored
legs smashed at the ceiling as Ruby pulled herself through

(03:56:54):
the spider web of metal that held up the ceiling tiles.
By the time she made it back into the the
ultrasound waiting room, she felt like passing out. Her lungs
burned as she gasped for air. Sitting on the edge
of the receptionist's desk, Ruby tried to catch her breath.
The door shook as the spider crab thing rammed it,

(03:57:16):
hissing angrily on the other side. Ruby slid off the desk.
She didn't have much time. The door wouldn't hold up
under that monster's attack. She needed to get what she
came for and get the hell out. In the doctor's
office next door to the ultrasound room, there were stacks
of papers and folders littering a large desk. No time

(03:57:38):
to be gentle, Ruby thought, as she rummaged through them,
dumping searched folders on the ground. It had to be here.
Out in reception the door began to splinter open. Hurry,
She threw a stack of papers on the floor. Nothing there.
Ruby looked up. There it was right where the doctor

(03:57:59):
had left it after showing her. Grabbing her prize, Ruby
stuffed it into her hoodie. The wood door splintered under
the spider crab's attack. Ruby grabbed a chair, swinging it
at the twisted monstrosity. She backed towards the ultrasound room.
The door was thicker. There, come on, you, ugly son
of a bitch, it hissed at her, its demon eyes

(03:58:22):
fixed on their prey. Ruby darted into the ultrasound room.
The thing closed in, ready for the kill. She'd only
get one shot at what she had in mind. Circling
around the large bed at the center of the room,
she put it between herself and the angry horror. With
all the strength she could muster, Ruby pushed the large

(03:58:43):
bed towards the creature, pinning the spider crab against the wall.
Ruby ran for the door. Suddenly, a claw lashed out,
grabbing her by the leg. Ruby let out a cry
of pain as it dug into her. She furiously kicked
at the thing's claw with her free legs, and when
that didn't work, she kicked at the bed, ramming it

(03:59:03):
repeatedly into the spider crab until it let her loose.
As the beast fought to free itself, Ruby scrambled out
the door, slamming it shut in her wake. Inside, the
spider crab screeched in protest, limping back Ruby found the
janitor sitting on the floor of the boiler room. Ruby

(03:59:26):
threw down the fruits of her quest, a pair of
X rays. It's back, she revealed. It was in remission,
not anymore. There's your story. The man nodded, then stood
follow me. He led her through a maze of hallways

(03:59:47):
through the inner recesses of the basement. After what seemed
like forever, they arrived at a small flight of concrete steps,
headed up to a set of double doors. I had
a deal, the janitor said, as he pulled out a
gold key on a gold chain from his coveralls, and
here we are the exit. Ruby started up the steps

(04:00:11):
and stopped. What's on the other side of those doors,
he shrugged. Can't say, Maybe away back, maybe more of
the same, maybe nothing. Why why do you stay? I've
been here a long time. It may be shitty here,

(04:00:33):
but I know what I got. Besides, there's always another
asshole coming through without me, he shrugged. The lock loudly
clicked as he turned the key. So get going, I'm
already bored of you, Ruby smiled. Thanks, yep. He backed

(04:00:55):
down the stairs. Good luck, and then she was alone.
Ruby put her hand on the door. It was warm
to the touch. She took a deep breath and pushed
the doors open. Ruby wandered the streets, ghosts and goblins

(04:01:20):
swirling around her, their gyrations fueled by sugar and mischief.
But all the Halloween haunts couldn't compare to the horror
she now knew existed in between our world and the
world beyond. That's all for tonight, my Spookies, seven terrifying

(04:01:50):
tales of Halloween horrors. If you're still catching your breath,
well don't worry. We'll be back next Tuesday with another
round of horror straight from the vault. But of course
there's always something scary to listen to here at Weekly
Spooky in October, so make sure you're subscribed on your
favorite podcasting app and remember tomorrow there's a brand new

(04:02:14):
story never heard before until next time. Keep your jack
O lanterns lit because they keep the spirits away. Make
your costumes extra creepy so that you're not discovered. And
make sure you're candy is stashed somewhere safe because I'll

(04:02:34):
tell you right now, we're all looking for it. We'll
see you next time. Keep the Halloween vibes going and
going

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