Halloween

Chapter 1

 Cold air blew inside from the open window of Arian's shop. It carried a specific scent with it; piercing, yet comforting. The type of smell that would bring nostalgic thoughts of autumn, and thoughts of a little ghost town on Halloween day.

Katy sat on a stool by the clear glass countertop, waiting for Gabby and Victoria to arrive. They should be here any minute now. Tonight was the school's fall carnival- and the first year that Halloween really did feel as spooky as advertised, now that nine new ghastly companions and a witch or two had entered their lives.

How odd, it all was. She didn't ever think she'd truly become accustomed to it.

Interrupting her thoughts, Arian emerged from the back room through the dusty beaded curtain, a cup of tea in hand. It fogged up their glasses as they held it close.

"My word, will you shut that window? My tea's going to freeze right over at this rate," they remarked, throwing their scarf over their shoulder.

"My bad," Katy replied, hopping up and making her way over. Her fingers grew frigid as they rested on the sill. As she shut it, the landscape outside turned into a muddled mosaic of grey and hints of crimson and orange. The glass fogged up with a thin layer of cold condensation before the sound of the front door bell rang out.

Shivering as the newcomer entered the shop, Gabby rubbed her arms, hoping to create a friction to heat her up faster. "Man! Why does it have to be so cold on like, the best night of the year?" she complained as she took a seat next to Katy by the countertop. "No matter what though, I know that this year will be the year that we rack up so much candy, we won't even know what to do with it! Not to mention, I've spent the last week making sure that my costume looks great!" She spoke highly of the outfit she threw together from spare parts of other clothing items- creating her own amalgamation of what she believed resembled the iconic uniform from the classic 80s film 'Ghostbusters.' The three had previously agreed to do the group costume together as a little nod to the situation that they'd been stuck in since late summer.

The bell above the door rang one last time after a few minutes of conversation between the two girls and Arian, and in entered Victoria. She was in full costume, Rune towering over her. She groaned and sat down at the table with Katy and Gabby, and then slammed her head down on the surface, shaking it a bit.

Rune grabbed Victoria by the bun and pulled her head up. "Now's not the time for sleeping, Vicky!" He yelled into her ear, the girl immediately getting rattled by the piercing timbre of his voice.

Once Victoria finally was able to keep her head up, Rune took a step back and looked the girls up and down. "Why are you all dressed like that? You look like shit!" He snorted.

"Because it's Halloween, asshole. Don't you know what Halloween is?" Katy retorted, raising a brow at him.

"Hallow-what?" he mirrored, confusion plastered over his face.

"Happy Halloween!" A high voice interjected into the scene. Turning to the noise with a jolt, the group was met by Celine, who must have just shown up as well.

She held out her small arms as she beamed with what Katy read as excitement and pride. Her short hair was tied into two small knots with bright red ribbon, and an intricate Victorian style dress flowed in folds of fabric from her frame. Her face was pale, eyes dark, and lips to match the ribbons in her hair. Small stitches were drawn into a smile at the corners of her mouth.

"Ack! What the hell?" Rune screeched, jumping behind Victoria's small silhouette and peeking over her shoulder.

"Am I scary?" Celine asked, brushing off her ruffled skirt. "I'm supposed to be a scary doll."