Fright Night at RTA

“Hell yeah! It’s party time!” Rey exclaimed.

   It was early morning at Ringmasters Training Academy. Rey made his way into the school happier than ever. He was all dressed up in an attire far different from his usual getup. He wore a straw hat that bore a skull emblem on it, an eyepatch, a thick red jacket with gold accents, white shirt, gray pants, and black boots. That’s right. It was Halloween and he was all dressed up for the festivities. As he strolled down the hallway, he stopped once he saw the rest of the gang near the lockers. He could see they were astonished at his appearance.

   “Rey, you know the Halloween dance isn’t until tonight, right?” Sana asked.

   “So?! Who says I can’t get into the spirit early?!” Rey exclaimed.

   “Dude, your costume is sick!” Neil exclaimed.

   “I have to say…I may not be the biggest fan of your fashion sense, but you look nice,” Krystal said.

   “What are you talking about?! I’ve got great fashion sense!” Rey retorted.

   “Before I gave you a makeover, you were sticking to basic tees and a cheap leather jacket,” Krystal said.

   “So, you’re really just gonna wear that around all day?” Zayn asked.

   “Hell yeah!” Rey exclaimed. “I would’ve brought the matching sword with me, but I don’t feel like carrying it around. You guys are going to the dance tonight, right?”

   “Of course, we’re going,” Krystal said. “I have the cutest outfit planned. And they’re holding a contest for best costume! Yours truly has to win!”

   “I’m not going,” Zayn said.

   “What? Are you serious, dude?” Rey asked.

   “Why not, Zayn?” Heer asked. “All the dances at our school are pretty fun.”

   “Come on, guys. This is Zayn we’re talking about,” Akira said. “You all know he’s about as much fun as a math textbook.”

   “Oh, shut up,” Zayn said.

   “What excuse could you possibly have?” Prince asked. “Even I’m going.”

   “Look, we can talk about this later,” Zayn said. “We gotta get to class anyway.”

   With that, Zayn walked on ahead. Rey pouted and said, “That guy. I swear, sometimes I wonder if he has the soul of an old man in him.”

   “You know, I’m sure there are old people that can loosen up more than him,” Sana said.

   “I mean, we all know who his dad is,” Akira said.

   While the others were talking and walking over to class, Krystal watched Zayn head off. She too was just as frustrated as Rey was. Probably even more. And she wanted to do something about it.

***

   It didn’t take long for the day to go by. And once Power Coordination class was over, Ryan dismissed his students. While Sana, Rey, Prince, Neil, Heer, and Akira headed out, Krystal got to Zayn before he could leave.

   “You need something, Krystal?” Zayn asked.

   “Where are you going now?”

   “Back to my room. Why?”

   “Were you serious about not going to the dance tonight?”

   “Yeah.”

   “Why not? And don’t tell me you don’t have time because that’s your most overused excuse.”

   “Dances are boring. Besides, I just like to chill on Halloween.”

   “But this dance is gonna be fun! Costumes, candy, desserts, and there’s a chocolate fountain! You can’t say no to a chocolate fountain.”

   “She’s right, Zayn. Your dad hosts few dances and parties at the school. But the Halloween one is his absolute favorite,” Ryan said as he finished erasing the chalkboard. “He goes all out for it.”

   “See! Even Mr. Malik insists you go!” Krystal exclaimed. “You can’t just sit in your dorm while the rest of the gang goes out tonight.”

   “Look, I don’t even have a costume. So, it’s not like I can go if I want to,” Zayn said.

   “Well, lucky for you we have time! And the costume shop downtown is still open! Come on!” Krystal exclaimed as she grabbed hold of Zayn by his hand. “See you tonight, Mr. Malik!”

   “Bye, guys,” Ryan said.

   How do I always end up getting dragged into things with her? Zayn wondered as Krystal continued to take Zayn by the hand.

***

   After some time had passed, Krystal and Zayn arrived at Spooky Style, the city’s one-of-a-kind Halloween shop. Once they went inside, Krystal searched the entire store for costumes that Zayn would like. Once she compiled a few options, she gave them to Zayn to try on. She made him try on a range of things. From superhero to ninja, he wasn’t satisfied with any of the options. After he put on the pumpkin costume, he stepped out of the dressing room and said, “What made you think I’d like to dress up as a pumpkin?”

   “I mean…you put it on.”

   “That doesn’t mean anything!”

   “Aww come on. I think it looks adorable on you!”

   “Look, this is pointless. None of these costumes are right for me. I look like a fool in everything.”

   “Oh, you don’t have to take yourself so seriously! Its Halloween. Besides, I have one more option for you,” Krystal said as she handed Zayn his next costume to try on.

   Zayn sighed as he took the costume from her and went back inside the dressing room. Krystal waited outside, wondering why Zayn had to be so self-conscious. Of all the times to not take yourself seriously, Halloween was certainly one of them. After some time had passed, Zayn stepped out of the dressing room and Krystal found herself astonished at what she saw. He was all dressed up in a detective costume. He had a black fedora on, black necktie, white collared shirt, tan jacket, gray pants, and black shoes. To her, he looked rather nice in it. And considering he wasn’t hating on it instantly, she thought he liked it as well.

   “So, what do you think?” Krystal asked.

   “It’s…it’s not bad. I actually don’t hate it.”

   “Come on. Admit it. You like it!”

   “Okay, fine. I like it. Happy?”

   “I’m just happy we found something you like! Now you have no excuse to not go to the dance!”

   “Look, I may like this costume, but I don’t know about going to the dance.”

   “Oh, come on! You didn’t come all the way here with me to try on these costumes just to not go, right?!”

   “To be fair, you dragged me.”

   “And to be fair, you could’ve taken off long before we made it here.”

   Damn. She has a point, Zayn thought. Why did I even come here? Zayn turned around to the mirror and looked at himself in the costume. He actually didn’t mind it. In fact, he found himself quite liking the getup. It was different, but not too far off from costumes he wore as a child when he went trick-or-treating.

   “Okay, fine. I’ll go. But only for like an hour or so,” Zayn said.

   “You may say that now. But I’m sure you’ll be staying the whole night,” Krystal said.

***

   In the evening, students and faculty were gathering in the ballroom of Ringmasters Training Academy for the Halloween dance. Sana and Rey entered the ballroom soon after. Sana was amazed at the arrangements made. There were huge pumpkins in every corner of the room and ghost balloons flying high near the ceiling. Spider webs were draped across the walls and fun ghost-shaped lights were flashing over the dance floor. She stopped looking around upon seeing Heer, Neil, Prince, and Akira in a corner by the snack table. While Rey was still dressed in his pirate costume, Sana was wearing a ladybug outfit. She admired the costumes her friends were wearing. Heer was dressed as a pink princess, Akira was a cowgirl, Neil was a vampire, and Prince was Santa Claus.

   “Wow, you guys look great,” Sana said.

   “So do you, Sana,” Heer said.

   “I’m loving the wings on your ladybug costume,” Akira said.

   “Neil, you’re rocking the vampire look,” Rey said. “And Prince, I’m surprised you put effort into your costume.”

   “I said the same thing when I saw him,” Neil said.

   “I only wore this to have an excuse to eat candy canes tonight,” Prince said.

   “Do you really need an excuse to eat candy canes?” Sana asked, chuckling.

   “I wonder where Krystal is,” Heer said. “I know she likes to be fashionably late, but she’d be here by now.”

   “She took Zayn out for costume shopping, so they’ll be here a little late,” Akira said.

   “Zayn’s coming?” Neil asked. “He made it sound like he had no interest in this.”

   “Well, you know, Krystal. She has her ways of persuasion,” Sana said.

   “You know, she’s always into persuasion when its with Zayn,” Rey said as he started eating one of the ghost-shaped sugar cookies he picked up from the snack table.

   “Hello, students!” Headmaster Devil exclaimed into the microphone as he got up on the center stage. He was dressed up in a zombie costume and he was standing beside Ryan, who was dressed up as a werewolf, and Aiden, who was dressed up as a vampire.

   “Oh, I didn’t know Aiden was coming,” Sana said.

   “He stole my costume!” Neil exclaimed.

   “Oh please. It’s not like you told him what you’re wearing,” Prince said.

   “Maybe its like a twin telepathy thing,” Akira said.

   “Yeah, right,” Neil scoffed.

   “I hope you all are having a good time!” Headmaster Devil exclaimed. “At midnight, we’re going to declare the winners of the costume contest. So, be sure to have all your votes in! Have fun!”

    With that, students got back to dancing and eating snacks. It didn’t take long for Rey to notice the chocolate fountain at the end of the snack table and go, “Oh yes! Chocolate heaven!”

   Sana chuckled along with the others as Rey headed over and got his sugar cookies sprinkled with the chocolate from the fountain. The others stopped by and helped themselves to some candy from the giant candy bowl.

***

   Outside the front steps of the academy, Zayn was waiting, all dressed up in the detective costume he got from Spooky Style. Krystal asked him to wait outside the academy for her before going inside to the party. He kept checking his phone for the time, wondering when she’d arrive. He heard the sounds of heels going clickety-clack against the ground pavement. He knew it was her. Zayn looked up and saw Krystal walking towards him, dressed in a bright orange fairy costume with golden wings. She seemed brighter than ever, which seemed impossible considering how colorful she looked every day.

   “Sorry, I’m late, but I had to get the finishing touches on my wings done,” Krystal said. “So, what do you think?!”

   “You look…beautiful.”

   Whoah. Did he really say beautiful?! I didn’t even expect him to compliment me, Krystal thought.

   “Wow, you’re a lot more forward than I thought!”

   “What does that mean? You want me to say you look horrendous instead?”

   “Oh, lighten up! I’m just surprised you could be so nice, that’s all.”

   “Remind me again why you wanted me to wait before going in.”

   “The others are already there. And I didn’t want to enter the party alone.”

   “Right. Can we go in now? The sooner I’m in, the sooner I can leave.”

   Geez, he’s already being such a grump, Krystal thought, shaking her head.

   Krystal and Zayn went inside the academy. As they were walking inside and heading towards the ballroom, Krystal had a weird feeling. It was a sensation she was feeling from the chills up her skin. At first, she thought she was just cold. But it seemed like something weird was going on.

   “Is it just me or is something feeling kinda off?” Krystal asked.

   Suddenly, the hallway was completely dark. Krystal and Zayn stopped in their tracks.

   “Were you referring to the lights?” Zayn asked.

   “Okay, this is creepy! If this is their way of adding the spooky factor for Halloween, I’m not amused.”

   “Damn it. If only there was some light.”

   “Wait! I got it!”

   Within a few seconds, Krystal’s wings started to glow a bright yellow color. Zayn was surprised to say the least.

   “Your wings light up?”

   “Pretty cool, right?!”

   “As fascinating at that is, I think we should focus on figuring out what’s going on here.”

   Before Krystal could even respond, she heard a growling sound coming right behind her. She looked at Zayn and could tell he heard the same. They both turned around at the same time. Krystal found herself terrified as a catlike dark beast was right before them.

   The beast lunged towards Krystal. Zayn grabbed hold of her and got them both out of the way. Before he could grab his wand from his jacket, someone shouted, “Rey, attack with a fireball!”

   Sana and Rey stepped in and Rey, who was in his beast form, emitted a fireball from his roar towards the dark beast. The fireball scorched the dark beast’s skin, burning it to a crisp. Rey transformed back into his beast form and the lights began to come back on in a flickering manner.

   “Are you guys okay?” Sana asked.

   “Yeah, I think so,” Zayn said as he helped Krystal get up.

   “Okay, what is going on here?!” Krystal exclaimed. “Is this some kind of sick joke?!”

   “It was horrible!” Rey exclaimed. “We were just dancing, and I spilled punch on myself. So, Sana helped me clean out the stains. See, I borrowed this shirt from my dad, and he’d kill me if I got it ruined. It was passed down by my grandpa and-”

   “Is there a point to this story?” Zayn asked.

   “Oh, right! When we were about to head back inside, this weird smoke thing started filling up the ballroom and we got attacked by two dark beasts,” Rey said.

   “Thankfully I had my wand on me,” Sana said.

   “Were the beasts that attacked you the same kind as this one?” Zayn asked.

   “Yeah. Same kind exactly,” Sana said.

   “Where are the others at?!” Krystal asked.

   “They’re in the ballroom. We were going to check on them till we saw you guys here,” Rey said.

   With that, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Zayn headed back into the ballroom. There was no smoke, but something else was definitely amiss. Sana was stunned to see all the students and faculty were frozen in gray-colored ice. Neil, Heer, Prince, and Akira were all frozen as well.

   “What happened here?” Sana asked. “I really hope they’re all okay.”

   “They should be. I’m not even sure if this is real ice,” Zayn said.

   “Neil being frozen. Now that’s irony,” Krystal said. “Aww, Prince dressed up as Santa! I think I’m rubbing off on him in the fashion department!”

   “Uh, Krystal, we need to focus. Our friends and everyone else are in danger,” Rey said.

   “Not us,” a voice said. Sana and the others turned to see Headmaster Devil with Ryan and Aiden.

   “Dad, how did you guys make it out?” Zayn asked.

   “Aiden was quick enough to use his wind powers to create a barrier around us when the smoke appeared,” Headmaster Devil explained.

   “Okay, what’s going on?! This isn’t some trick, is it?!” Krystal exclaimed.

   “I assure you its not,” Ryan said. “We’re just as confused as you all are.”

   “Whatever it is, I don’t think dark beasts alone are responsible for this,” Aiden said. “There has to be some mastermind here.”

   “You’re correct,” a voice said.

   Sana was just as stunned as the others. It didn’t take long before multiple dark beasts entered from all sides of the ballroom, cornering the group. They all had the same catlike appearance as the ones from before. Their eyes glowed a demon red as they all looked hungry.

   “Okay, we’re doomed,” Rey said.

   “There’s no time to waste then,” Ryan said as he pulled out his wand and transformed it into his pistols. “We’re gonna have to fight them all.”

   “But there’s so many of them!” Krystal exclaimed. “And we don’t know who that voice was just now!”

   “Aiden, get the others out of here and find out who is behind this,” Headmaster Devil ordered as he transformed his wand into his scepter. “Ryan and I will stay behind and take care of these beasts.”

   “But, Dad, there’s so many! How can we just leave you here?!” Sana asked.

   “We’ll be fine, Sana. Just get out of here!” Ryan ordered.

   “Guys, follow me!” Aiden told Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Zayn. He concentrated the wind energy in his palm and allowed it to surround them all as a protective barrier as they made their way past the other beasts and left the ballroom. Aiden used all his willpower to get everyone past the doors. Once the doors were shut, they stood in the hall. Sana could hear the snarling beasts in the ballroom combined with shots firing from her dad’s pistols. As worried as she was, she knew her dad was going to be okay.

   “What do we do now?” Rey asked.

   “We have to figure out what that voice was. These beasts must be under the control of whoever froze everyone. Once we find that person, we can take them down and everything should go back to normal,” Aiden said.

   “Okay, how do you suggest we go about that?” Sana asked.

   “We’ll have to split up to cover more ground. Krystal and Zayn can take this floor and the basement. I’ll go with Sana and Rey upstairs,” Aiden said.

   “Split up?! Are you kidding me?! That’s like a horror movie no-no!” Krystal cried.

   “Well, we have no choice, Krystal. We have to cover more ground if we want to find whoever’s responsible for all of this,” Aiden said.

   “You two will be fine. Just give us a call if anything goes wrong,” Sana said.

   “You guys can do the same,” Zayn said.

   With that, Sana, Rey, and Aiden took off, leaving Krystal and Zayn by themselves. Zayn went ahead and Krystal followed him. They ended up walking towards the staircase that led to the basement. Krystal gulped. Going to any basement in the kind of situation they were in was frightening. She followed Zayn down, who was seemingly okay. As they made it to the basement floor, Krystal shrieked at the sight of a spider crawling on the ground. She grabbed hold onto Zayn’s arm in the moment.

   “It’s just a spider,” Zayn said. “Do you really have to freak out over that?”

   “Listen, I don’t like spiders, okay!”

   “I’m just saying you’ve seen all kinds of dark beasts and creatures. Does a spider really have to scare you?”

   “How rude?! We’re in a scary situation here and you’re out here questioning what I should be afraid of?!”

   “That’s not what I meant…I…”

   Seeing Krystal turn away made him realize she was pretty scared. He even admitted to himself that he too was feeling a little unsure and restless. He sighed and said, “Listen…if you’re okay with it, you can hold my hand if you want.”

   Krystal was surprised to see Zayn be so considerate. She felt a little more at ease. She grabbed hold of his hand and they kept walking down the basement floor. They passed the few cellars that would hold inmates and the old brick walls. It was astonishing just how ancient the basement looked in comparison to the rest of the academy. Once they got to the end of the floor, Zayn said, “Well, it looks like this place is clear.”

   “So, do we head back to the first floor then?”

   “Guess so. There’s nothing here to be concerned over.”

   Krystal suddenly felt chills go up her back. This sudden shift was noticeable to Zayn. She turned around along with him, and her fear was proven right. Something was indeed there. Before them was a tall catlike dark beast that stood on its hind legs. It had several red eyes, and it opened its mouth, letting out a mighty roar and showing off its sharp, blood-thirsty teeth.

   The beast launched red beams from its eyes towards Krystal and Zayn. The two got out of the way, landing on the ground.

   “You will be mine,” the beast said.

   “It talks?!” Krystal exclaimed.

   “It sounds like the voice from before,” Zayn said.

   The beast roared again and launched a dark energy beam towards Krystal and Zayn. Zayn immediately drew out his wand and transformed it into his clarinet. But before he could attack, the beam struck him in his chest.

   “Zayn!” Krystal cried.

   Before Zayn could get up, the beast pounced on him, pinning him down with its paws. His clarinet fell to the side, and he was helpless. Krystal drew out her wand and transformed it into her sonic bell. She plunged her sonic bell to the ground and shouted, “Sonic Boom!”

   The sonic bell emitted a strong sound wave towards the dark beast. The beast was seemingly shocked by the sound wave, putting its paws on its ears. As the attack was doing its thing and distracting the beast, Krystal helped Zayn get up and grabbed his clarinet. She held onto him as they quickly got past the beast and began heading up the basement stairs.

   Once they made it back to the first floor, they stopped, allowing themselves to catch a breath. Krystal handed Zayn’s clarinet back to him. As Zayn relaxed, he looked at Krystal and said, “Thanks for helping me back there, Krystal.”

   “Oh, yeah. No problem. I wish I knew what the hell that thing was.”

   “Whatever it is, its an unusual dark beast. It spoke in its beast form.”

   “Yeah. Its definitely different from Madame Naga and those other dark beasts. Maybe there’s a human in the beast’s body?”

   “Even then, it doesn’t explain why its randomly attacking the school.”

   “Hey, are you guys okay?!” Rey asked as he ran up to Krystal and Zayn along with Sana and Aiden.

   “We’re fine. How’d you guys find us?” Zayn asked.

   “We could feel an intense pressure coming from the lower level,” Aiden said. “Did you run into a dark beast?”

   “Not just any dark beast. We think we ran into the one that’s behind all this. It started talking in its beast form with the same voice we heard back in the ballroom,” Krystal said.

   “No way. A dark beast was talking in its beast form?! So, does it possess a human form then?” Sana asked.

   “We don’t know. We were attacked and Krystal was able to distract it with her sonic bell for us to escape,” Zayn said.

   “You know, this actually sounds like something I’m familiar with,” Aiden said.

   “What’s that?” Sana asked.

   “Well, I’ve heard stories about a talking dark beast that terrorizes people around Halloween. From what I heard, its targets were always random, and it only seemed interested in obtaining human flesh,” Aiden said.

   “Okay, that’s totally creepy!” Krystal exclaimed. “How did you hear about that?!”

   “I’ve only heard about it once or twice. It always sounded like one of those made-up horror stories people tell to scare others,” Aiden said.

   “Honestly, nothing should sound far-fetched to us anymore,” Sana said. “So, I guess this beast is able to control other beasts then as well. Even though this story explains who were dealing with, it still doesn’t explain a motive.”

   “Sana, you really think a dark beast that eats people on Halloween needs a motive?!” Rey exclaimed.

   “Eats people?! So, did it freeze everyone else in the ballroom because it plans to feast on their flesh?!” Krystal exclaimed.

   Sana was about to answer Krystal. But she froze at what she saw coming from the basement. Soon, the others turned to see the dark beast rising from the staircase.

   “Eww, just when you thought these things couldn’t get uglier,” Rey said.

   The beast let out a thunderous roar as it fired the red beams from its eyes. The group dodged the beams, all jumping back. Rey and Aiden transformed into their beast forms.

   “Rey, try to use your Ember Paw on it!” Sana called out.

   Rey prepared the fiery claws of his paw and tried to jump onto the beast. Aiden tried to take a hit at the beast as well, assisting Rey in pinning it down. The beast broke free from their grips and fired its beams at them. After the beams hit them, the grayish ice started to form from their feet. Sana acted quickly and plunged her trishula into the ground, unleashing fiery flames that melted the ice before it could freeze Aiden and Rey.

   “The beams cause the freezing! Don’t let them hit you!” Sana exclaimed.

   “Easier said than done,” Zayn said as he drew out his clarinet. “B-flat major!”

   Zayn played his clarinet and sand swirled out from it, twisting into a tunnel that struck the beast at its chest. As the beast was seemingly pushing through the sand, Zayn kept going, trying to push himself harder. It didn’t take long for the beast to grab hold of Zayn, piercing the claws from its paws into his jacket. Zayn’s clarinet fell to the ground. He couldn’t believe he got himself in the same position again. The beast was preparing its red eyes to zap Zayn head-on.

   Krystal rung the bell from her sonic bell and the beast let go of Zayn. It puts its paws on its ears again, unable to bear the sounds from the sonic bell. Krystal rushed to Zayn, helping him get up.

   “So, that’s it!” Sana exclaimed. “This beast is sensitive to sound! I think I know a way we can take it down!”

   “Okay, well you better explain it quick before it gets back up again!” Krystal exclaimed.

   “Aiden, start by using your wind powers somehow to hold it off. Krystal and Zayn, you need to combine your sound powers to keep it occupied,” Sana said. “When I give the signal, you guys stop, then Rey and I will deliver the final blow.”

    “That sounds pretty solid!” Zayn said.

    “Aiden, go!” Sana called out.

    Aiden nodded and unleashed a wind howl, emitting a strong gust of wind tunneling towards the beast at its chest. As Aiden was using all his power to hold off the beast, Zayn turned to Krystal and said, “You ready?”

    Krystal nodded and said, “Let’s do this!”

    Zayn and Krystal stood side-by-side. They got themselves in mirroring stances. Krystal rung her sonic bell and called out, “Sound Beam!”

    Zayn prepared his clarinet and said, “A major!” He played his clarinet and unleashed a mighty sound wave that collided with Krystal’s sound beam. The two forces combined into a hyper sound wave and spun their way through Aiden’s wind tunnel. Once they hit the dark beast, the sound wave and winds blasted the beast towards the wall, pressing it further into it.

    Sana eyed Rey and he nodded in response. He rushed to her side, aligning with her. Sana plunged her trishula into the ground, powering her fire energy into it. Rey concentrated his fire energy within to prepare for their attack.

    Once she felt ready, Sana shouted, “Okay, guys, stop your attacks!”

   Aiden stopped his wind attack while Zayn and Krystal released their sound attacks as well. Krystal dropped to the floor, feeling tired from using all her energy. She could see Zayn and Aiden were out of breath as well.

   Sana plunged her trishula further into the ground. A fiery circle began to form around, enclosing the dark beast in its range. “Ring of Fire!” Sana called out.

   Rey launched a mighty fiery roar towards the beast as the flames from Sana’s fire circle united and attacked the dark beast all at once. The dark beast let out a demonic scream as its body began to burn from the fire. It didn’t take long for the beast’s body to be completely burnt as the fires faded. Sana got to her knees, tired from the attack. Rey transformed back, feeling breathless as well.

   Aiden transformed back into his human form and said, “I can’t believe we did it.”

   As Sana panted, she noticed something odd. While the beast’s body was down and burnt, something appeared to be coming out of it. Rey noticed this as well and was weirded out by the sight of it.

   It appeared to be a young girl with short brown hair and a pink dress on. But the girl wasn’t just any girl. She appeared to be a ghost.

   “Okay, I’m confused now,” Sana said.

   “What the hell are you?!” Rey exclaimed.

   “Oh, this must be weird for you all,” the ghost said. “My name is Marie. My soul has now been released from the beast’s body since you defeated it.”

   “Released?! You mean you were trapped in that thing?!” Krystal asked.

   “I perished many years back. The beast you defeated took my body as its new vessel to survive in this world and it feeds off humans every Halloween to live,” Marie said. “But now that you’ve defeated it, I’m free to rest in peace now.”

   “Wow. Those stories were pretty damn true then,” Zayn said.

   “So, what about the dark beast’s voice?” Aiden asked.

   “Yeah. We were surprised it could talk. Was that you?” Sana asked Marie.

   “Once the beast took my body, it could use my voice as well. That’s how it would scare its prey,” Marie said.

   “Really? I’m pretty sure his appearance would do the job on its own,” Krystal said.

   “Well then. I’m sorry you had to endure all that for so long. It must’ve taken a toll on your soul,” Aiden said.

   “I’ve waited long to be free. And now I finally can be. Thank you for giving me that chance,” Marie said.

   “No problem. Just doing what we do best,” Rey said with a smile.

   As Marie waved bye to the group, she faded along with the beast’s body. Rey said, “Well, that’s something you don’t see every day.”

   “We should go check the ballroom and make sure everyone is okay,” Sana said.

   “Agreed,” Aiden said.

   Sana, Rey, and Aiden ran and headed towards the ballroom. As Krystal was about to get up, Zayn offered her a hand and she took it as he helped her get up. She noticed the tears on the shoulders of his jacket from the beast’s grip. She said, “Sorry about your jacket.”

   “It’s no big deal. Honestly, it goes with the theme.”

   Krystal giggled at Zayn’s comment as the two went off and followed Sana, Rey, and Aiden.

***

   Back in the ballroom, all the students and faculty were returned to their normal selves. With all the mayhem over, the party was back on. Everyone went back to dancing, eating, and laughing. As Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Zayn filled Neil, Heer, Prince, and Akira on what happened, Neil said, “You mean to say I was frozen?! ME?!”

   “I know. I too thought it was funny,” Rey said.

   “Aww, Neil, it’s okay,” Heer said, seeing a whimpering Neil. “I too was frozen.”

   “To be fair, it wasn’t your typical kind of ice,” Sana said.

   “I’m just mad I missed out on all the action,” Akira said.

   “I’m not. I welcome a good nap,” Prince said.

   “Of course, you would say that, Prince,” Krystal said. “I just can’t believe Devil canceled the costume contest because of this!”

   “Oh, come on. A little fun is needed after what went down,” Rey said. “Come on, guys! Don’t just stand here! Let’s go dance!”

   Sana, Rey, Prince, Neil, Heer, and Akira headed over to the dance floor and started dancing amongst the other students. Krystal was about to join them till Zayn said, “You want to dance…with me?”

   “Hold up. You’re asking me this?!”

   “Well, you saved me twice back there. I figure I owe you one.”

   “Well then. The dance covers one saving. I’ll have to get back to you on the other one.”

   “Yeah, yeah. Come on. Let’s join them.”

   Zayn offered his hand to Krystal, and she took it, taking him over to the dance floor with the others. She got Zayn in hold and started dancing with him, twirling him around while he went along with it. She knew he wouldn’t admit he was having fun. But she didn’t need him to. She just knew. The gang were all together and it was the perfect way to close an eventful Halloween night.

Copyright © 2021 Meryl T

All rights reserved. All illustrations created by Meryl T.