A Twisted Halloween: Terror is Trending

Chapter 1: It's Just One Big Con!

Halloween Week, Day Six:

In the Lecture Hall, Halloween Week is having another meeting, however the atmosphere is very different than the first few days of the week.

A bit tired and deflated, Crowley says, "Good morning, everyone... I hereby bring... this Halloween management committee meeting... to order..."

Jade says, "The headmage was on top of the world two days ago. Now he seems crushed by its weight."

"He's not the only one. The whole management committee' s been hard pressed dealing with Magicam Monsters at all hours of the day," Vil says.

The other students feel the same, having to deal with the Magicam Monsters. Everyone feels ragged and exhausted.

"I'd say the burnout extends to all of us," Vil says.

"Speaking of which, where's Malleus?" Kalim asks.

"Sorry, but he won't be making today's meeting," Lilia answers, "If he loses even a modicum more patience, the Magicam Monsters could find themselves in an altogether dire state of affairs. I suspect he's aware of that. He asked to have some time alone to cool his head."

"Aw, it's Halloween, and he's spending it alone. That must be so sad for him," Kalim sadly says.

Everyone remains silent after hearing it.

Then Crowley says, "As you are all aware, there's been a string of incidents popping up all over campus. This morning, I received a grievance from a certain group of students."

"What about?" Deuce asks.

Just then, the doors open and Grim is the first to barge in, "I got some CHOICE words for you so-and-sos!"

Briar walks in and says, "Sorry for barging in like this, but we were hoping to talk to you about the matter."

Sereia, and the others walk behind her. It's easy to see that everyone from the Ramshackle Dorm looks exhausted. Even Trinket is sleepy and is practically sleepy on Briar's shoulder.

"Oh, it's Briar and her group," Jack says.

"They all look kind of... haggard," Epel says.

Then Grim begins complaining, "Sereia and I have been gettin' chased around everywhere nonstop, both inside our dorm and out of it! This Halloween business has gone too far!"

Briar yawns and says, "We can't even get any sleep at night."

"Especially worrying they'll barge into the dorm," Tanzanite says.

"These Magicam Monsters are driving us crazy," Jasper says.

"It's hard for us to sleep at night," Sereia says.

Trinket yawns in exhaustion and almost falls off of Briar's shoulders. Briar catches Trinket and decides to hold her gently instead. But Trinket flies back to her shoulder and sits down.

"Yeah! You see this? My eyes are all red," Grim says.

Then sadly says, "I was really lookin' forward to Halloween. Heard it was supposed to be fun. Well, it ain't. It's just a big con, I tell ya!"

Everyone also feels a bit upset that Birar and the others' first Halloween at Night Raven College has been a total mess.

"You're absolutely right. We've done you a disservice. Please accept my humble apologies," Lilia sadly says.

"It's not your fault, Lilia. So you have nothing to apologize for. You didn't know all this was going to happen," Briar says.

"Briar is right. You have nothing to apologize for, Lilia. This Halloween management committee has done nothing except work to run a campus event. There's nothing wrong with putting forth effort to keep our students and guests happy," Vil says.

"Agreed. The extra Halloween visitors headcount had us all delighted at first. That increase in visitors was, in effect, our hard work paying off. For better or for worse," Jade says.

"Grr..." Grim replies frustrated.

Sereia gently rubs Grim's shoulder to help calm him down. It only helped a little, but Grim is still pretty upset.

"I mean, the headlines speak for themselves: 'Night Raven College: The Biggest Halloween Hotspot of the Year!' 'Don't Miss Out: Halloween Week at Night Raven College!'" Cater says.

He then brings out his phone and says, "On top of all the blog posts, our school is trending on Magicam. They even say stuff like, quote: 'It ain't Halloween unless you've been to NRC!' We've got two days of this left, including today. The crowds are only gonna get bigger on the actual holiday itself."

"Meaning we should be expecting a steady stream of Magicam Monsters, I see," Azul says.

Then Epel says in concern, "It was hard enough wrangling them the rest of the week, and now you're saying it's going to get worse?!"

Idia sighs, "F in the chart."

"Now the 31st is scary in a different sense," Jack says.

"You're right. And seeing how they acted, the Magicam Monsters will try to break into our dorm again," Briar says.

Sereia is shaking in fear, "Or try to take a picture of us. Even the Ramshackle Dorm Ghosts are being chased by them."

"It will be a disaster on Halloween day if we don't do something," Tanzanite says.

Then Vil says, "We have better things to do than sit around whining about it. We need to formulate a plan for the Magicam Monsters if we want tomorrow's part to proceed without a hitch. Otherwise -"

Just then, the doors burst open and the Ramshackle Dorms Ghosts fly in, "GUYS!"

Everyone turns around to see the Ramshackle Dorm Ghost. With the faces they have, they look like they've seen a ghost.

Crowley says to himself. "This isn't the first time this week that this sequence has played out. I don't like where this is going..."

He calms himself, "Ahem!" And calmly says, "Hello Ramshackle Dorm ghosts. What's the matter?"

Patrick says, still in a state of shock, "It's.... It's... It's the Great Seven statues! Something terrible has happened to them!"

"What?!" Everyone in the room exclaims in shock.

Crowley exclaims in shock, "What is the meaning of this?!"

Then announces, "I'm putting this meeting on hold. Quickly, everyone - to Main Street!"

Everyone, including Briar, and the others of the Ramshackle Dorm rush out of the meeting room and make their way to Main Street to check on the Great Seven Statues. Whatever has happened to them, it can't be good.