Ah, Halloween. Everyone's favorite Holiday. A time for the little kids to eat as much candy as their little hearts desire, for teens to have the time of their life at a party, and for adults to enjoy the precious moments with their children. Everyone loves Halloween, well, almost everyone.
Destiny Rose Adams. Halloween was her favorite holiday, until that horrible night where she saw her father die by being hit by a truck. Not to mention he died by pushing her out of the way. Ever since then all Destiny wanted to do on Halloween was sulk in her room, except for this year, 10 years later.
Destiny's best friend Sarah managed to convince Destiny to celebrate her last Halloween in high school by going on a Woodsy Trail with her. A woodsy trail is a trail in the woods in which workers dress up in costumes and scare the living hell out of anyone who dared to walk it. However, what Sarah failed to mention, was the one and only Cole Waters.
Cole Waters, the schools "it" boy. Cole is the smartest kid in school, he gets the best grades, and cares about his future. He is also the hottest boy in school, and the school player. He loves messing with Destiny, and for that, Destiny despises him.
When Destiny finds out that Cole is going, along with his best friend Jordan and Michael, girlfriend Cassie, sister Lucy, and brother Jaden, she flips out. But Sarah still forces her to go.
The night goes smoothly, until Cole pulls a prank on Destiny, which causes the entire group to wander off the trail, and get lost in the woods.
Now, that doesn't seem so bad, right? I mean, someone would notice that they were missing soon and come find them. The bad part? There is a murderer lurking in the woods killing the group off one by one.
Ah, Halloween, a night of fun and candy and parties, but also, of creepy games. And this game, is by far the creepiest of all. And there can only be one winner.
Are you ready?
Let the games begin.....
Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
*****
Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
[[Winner of the 2018 Wattys "Hidden Gems" category]]
[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]