The Reaper's Successor

Halloween Horrors

"Happy birthday to you, Scott! You're finally twenty-one!" Warren congratulated Scott.

This year was so much more different as compared to the past. It was the year Scott was completely alone in this town with his friend Warren celebrating his 21st birthday.

His older brother, Jimmy, had just moved out of this town and back into the city with his wife and son. Scott's father had passed away before he was even born, and it used to be just his brother, mother and him in the city before they moved to Youthville. His mother was both a skilful nurse and an amazing mother, and Scott would always be amazed now that she managed to still be present throughout their childhood. Scott wanted to be closer to his mom so when he turned 16, he had volunteered at the hospital his mom was working.

Scott's mother had decided to move from a big city to a small town as she thought it would be nice to have a calm and peaceful life there. It was a huge change in environment and going to school used to be a challenge for Scott. He felt so isolated as everyone did not want to be friends with someone who had arrived from the city. They had called him hurtful names, and he was bullied almost every day.

Until he met Warren.

Warren Lee was one of the first friends Scott had made since he moved to Youthville around four years ago. Correction: He was the only one willing to be his friend. Warren was the first and only person who walked towards Scott and asked, "Do you wanna be friends?" Scott immediately agreed, and that was when his life changed. The bullying from others stopped, and Scott had a friend who cared about him in this town.

"Hey there!" Scott heard something but had chosen to ignore it as it likely was not meant for him.

Scott kept on walking in the direction of his first lesson until a guy taller than him walked in front of him and blocked his path. The guy had dyed blonde hair and quite a number of accessories on him: rings on his fingers, earrings and a necklace. It was quite intimidating for Scott but he was running a bit late so he wanted to get this done and over with.

"Finally caught up with you. So, do you wanna be friends?" That was not what Scott expected to hear after being ostracised and bullied for the past few weeks. He thought it would have been another bully again.

Scott did not hesitate even for a second. "Yes. My name is Scott, by the way."

"I'm Warren."

That was the start of an unbreakable friendship. Scott and Warren had always spent time with each other after that first encounter. They were inseparable. Scott helped Warren with his homework, while Warren always planned amazing activities they could do in this small town. The bullying had also stopped, and Scott knew it was because of Warren. He scared off all those bullies for him.

Scott knew that he had found his best friend for life.

Unfortunately, Scott's mother had passed away only two years after the move. It was a difficult time in his life as she had been the one taking care of both him and his older brother, who now had to take responsibility. Scott was glad that his brother had found love and moved out of this town. After all, it must have hurt him to stay at the place where memories of his mother were everywhere. At least Scott had Warren as his roommate, so things were not as bad.

"Make a wish, Scott!" Warren interrupted.

Scott hesitated for a while. He was happy with what he currently had in his life. His friend, a house and a peaceful life. What more could he possibly ask for? Scott blew out the candles, knowing exactly what to ask for. He wanted the rest of the year to be as fantastic as it was right now. Then came the most fun part of the night: classic chocolate cake, alcohol and some nice music to party to his heart's desire.

October 31st. It had been eleven days since Scott's birthday, and it was now Halloween. Every house in the neighbourhood had been decorated with spooky decors such as ghosts and zombies. The best part of it for kids was all the free candy that people would give out for Trick or Treat.

Scott knew he would have loved it here when he was much younger and still got saddened that he had missed this part of his childhood as living in the city made it remotely impossible for this to happen. He would have loved running on the streets, travelling to different houses and knocking on their doors, which was remarkably different from what he did in the city. There, running around apartment buildings rarely got him any candy as mostly just exhausted 9-to-5 workers resided in them.

Scott had decided to take a good evening drive around the town since he had nothing better to do. There was amazing scenery that could be seen while driving, and he loved exploring more about this small town that his mom had loved and where she spent the last two years of her life.

It was around 8 pm when Scott started feeling hungry. He decided to visit the local drive-thru in the town to get some fast food since it had been a long time since he last had some. It was unusually busy at the lane for the drive-thru, and there was quite a long queue. He could also see from afar how crowded it was inside the main store. Scott turned on his radio and patiently waited for his turn.

When he finally got to the speaker, he didn't expect what he just heard. A loud deafening scream had emitted from the speaker and scared the living out of Scott.

He covered his ears in shock. Was that part of their Halloween planning? No wonder the queue was moving so slowly. They must have been getting complaints left and right about it. Then, another voice came on and apologized about it and took his order.

Scott had driven forward and received his food when he vaguely heard someone in the store screaming, "Someone has been murdered! Run!"

***

A/N

Well that is one scary Halloween to remember.