Halloween Night

364 Days Later...

A cool wind blew over the parking lot high atop the sharply sloped hill; curling around the repeating pattern buildings that made up the suites of off campus student housing and bearing with it the crisp scent that promised a fine October evening. The Halloween decorations were up again in many windows and many people laughed as they walked to their cars or headed in out of the cool sunset air. Greg sighed, standing on the small patio the suite of rooms he and the girls shared had attached, looking out over it all.

It would be a year tomorrow. None of them were the same since that night; for the better, expect for poor lost Regina. The searchers had never even found a trace of her. He still felt guilty over that sometimes. If he'd gone out, maybe he could have found her, maybe he could have done something. Not that he regretted what he'd done, he still thought of it often.

The door opened behind him, "Thinking about it, babe?" Sheena stepped out onto the porch, closing the French door. The busty girl had become more confident and outgoing since her night by the river with Jonah, and after a few months of space and recovery, she and Greg had started dating. She slipped up next to him and took his head. She and the others had shared their experiences soon after they'd all gotten out of the hospital. It was insane to think about, and incredibly hot. She had been kinkier than a corkscrew before it and discovered her friends either were or had become that way after the incident. Though Sheena and Greg were together, in confessed love even, the other two girls still joined them in bed with fair regularity. Or on the couch. Or the kitchen table. Or the back seat of the car. Or, well.

"Yeah," he nodded, smiling at her. "It's almost a year later and I still don't know what to think of it, I guess."

She shrugged and gave his hand a squeeze, "You think too much sometimes, babe. It happened and, well, that's it. We all liked what happened and we came out better because of it." Well, Regina hadn't. She felt a little bad about that sometimes. But she had been a super bitch and after she was gone, it came out she'd been cheating on Greg with a couple of her teachers and some other guys around campus too.

"I suppose." He looked out over the parking lot. "I also wonder..."

"If you could find your way back there and what you'd do if you could?" She laughed, "Yeah, me too. Sarah's been looking at Google Earth a lot lately, so I don't think it's just us."

He laughed and quirked his brow, "Probably not. But it may be best that we can't find that place again, I mean... "His phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. "They'll leave a message if it's important. Anyway, I mean, if we went back there, without being invited or knowing how the people there would react, we'd just be inviting trouble, you know?"

Sheena nodded, "I've thought about that too. We all kind of had close calls." There was a rap on the door behind then and she looked back to see Ally hefting a steaming casserole dish behind the glass of the doors, the athletic girl as fit and energetic as ever. She pointed at the dish, then jerked her thumb back where the dining table was, mouthing the words "five minutes" and then turning and walking away.

Greg's phone vibrated, signaling a voicemail. Then it shook again. And again, and again, and then a final time. "What the hell?" He pulled it out; one new voicemail and four e-mails? He didn't recognize the number or the e-mail. Then he gasped as he looked closer at the message telling him about the e-mails.

Sheena tilted her head to one side, "Babe, what is it? Is everything okay?"

"I...don't really know." He lifted her phone up and showed her the screen.

The number didn't mean anything to her, but she drew in a shocked breath as she read the screen's message. "4 new e-mails from vampbachelorettes@gmail.com."

The two college students looked at each other for a few moments. Sheena swallowed, "You're going to look at them, right?"

"Y-yeah, I should. But the voicemail first, just in case..." He opened his voicemail and held the phone up to Sheena's head, leaning in so both of them could listen.

The recorded message played, then there was a warm, throaty voice, "Hi, Greg baby, it's Lily. The girls and I are getting together for another sleepover this Halloween. We invited Zenobia, your friend Sarah met her, too. But we all thought it just wouldn't be the same without you. Sheena, Ally, and Sarah can come too; you're all invited. Safe passage and no harm to all, no tricky magic this time, we promise. I'll e-mail you our address and directions. And a few little pictures I know you'll enjoy. See you tomorrow!"

THE END!?