The Lucky Seven

Part 1 - Funeral

Andrew, 37 years old, a very successful lawyer, married with two kids. By all accounts he was a happy man. He was found by his wife in the attic. He hanged himself. Six weeks prior to Halloween. The day he and the others made that pact all those years ago. Six weeks and 20 years ago. The "lucky seven" was down to six.

The lucky seven was made of seven friends. Andrew, Brian, Charlie, Devon, Ethan, Fred and Gareth. On October 31, 1994, they went to their favorite spot in the woods by the lake. While every child in the neighborhood was busy collecting candies from one house to another, they would be by their spot telling ghost stories, as had been their tradition every Halloween. They kept the tradition even after they and all the other kids have become too old for trick-or-treat, and have been replaced by younger ones. That year, they decided to add something new to their tradition. They buried their time capsule. Each placed in the metal box one item that held special meaning to them. They made a promise that after 20 years, on October 31, they will all go back to that spot, tell each other ghost stories and dig up their time capsule. They'll be graduating soon and this could very well may be the last time that they'll be able to do this. So to make their tradition a little more special. A time capsule containing an item that held some special meaning for each of them will be buried, and after 20 years, on that exact date, they will be back. A promise that they made into a pact. A pact that all will honor.

Fred did the best he could to get to Andrew when he started sending those emails. The emails that sounded at first anxious until they became more fearful and desperate. But for some strange reason he was always kept from going. Andrew's last email contained only one message. "I don't think I will make it."

At the funeral only Fred, Ethan and Gareth were present. Brian and Charlie promised to come before the three leave. As for Devon. No word.

Devon and Andrew used to work in the same law firm, until Andrew resigned and moved to another city. Brian and Charlie were chefs that owned a restaurant, Fred became a priest, Ethan a doctor and Gareth a successful writer who now ran a publishing house.

As they walked back to their rental cars, they couldn't help but overhear some people talk.

"Did they find a suicide note?"

"No! No suicide note. But I heard he was having trouble sleeping lately. Nightmares or something."

"He had nothing to stand on. How did he reach the roof to tie the rope?"

"I heard they don't keep ropes in the attic. They keep those in their garage, and he wasn't carrying any when he went to the attic."

"Why was he in the attic again?"

"To get some Halloween decorations, I think?"

A chill ran through the three men.

"Does this mean," Ethan began. "the lucky seven's luck has ran out?"

Just then a cold wind blew, sending even more chills.

An eerie feeling that was all too familiar to Gareth. A familiar feeling that was once felt, on Halloween, twenty years ago.