CHAPTER ONE

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CREEPY TOMFOOLERY

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‘A warning.’

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On the chilly and unforgiving Friday of October 30th, 2023, Allen Brooks found himself at the mercy of the cold, biting wind. It was a day when he would typically prefer to snuggle in the warmth of his cozy bed, a gripping book in one hand, and a steaming cup of cocoa in the other.

At eighteen years old, this was how Allen chose to spend his frosty evenings, rather than gallivanting around with his so-called friends. He didn't hold them in particularly high regard; in fact, he considered them a bunch of overbearing, insincere individuals. Yet, they allowed Allen to be a sort of appendage to their group, mainly because he was the resident geek who diligently handled all their presentations and homework assignments.

With an exasperated sigh, Allen reluctantly followed the group of teenagers as they made their way towards a nearby cemetery, transformed into a Halloween-themed spectacle for the occasion. The bone-chilling cold was a stark reminder of why he'd rather be anywhere else.

Allen would have much preferred to stay home, but his gentle and obliging nature left him with no choice. The group of teenagers had shown up at his doorstep just a few moments earlier, and he couldn't decline their invitation.

So, Allen trudged along in his black hoodie, sporting dark, slim-fit pants and black shoes. Beneath his hoodie, a white shirt offered little protection against the frigid weather that left him shivering.

One of the boys in the group, a blonde fellow, couldn't resist taunting Allen. "Hey, Brooks! Hope you won't scream like a scaredy-cat the moment we set foot in the cemetery." Allen chose to ignore the insult, maintaining his silence as he followed the group into the eerie and deathly quiet graveyard, prompting laughter from his companions.

Though the graveyard was crowded, they managed to find a spot somewhere among the tombstones. The teenagers formed a circle on the icy ground, producing snacks and drinks from their bags.

As they bickered about who would win the next high school football game, Allen observed them in silence. They devoured their snacks like ravenous beasts, and to Allen, they had always been hungry and uncouth brutes, both in their eating habits and their behavior.

Allen sat there, idly toying with his slender fingers as he observed the five other teenagers lounging around him. He couldn't help but wonder why they had dragged him along when he was of no use to them that evening. Whenever the group sought his presence, it was either to enlist his help in completing some tasks or, more often than not, to mock him mercilessly for being the geek he was, particularly because of his square-framed glasses that accentuated his nerdy appearance. What was he to do? He despised wearing glasses all the time and longed for the day when he could do without them, but his poor eyesight forced him to keep them on constantly.

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Allen's thoughts had him so engrossed that he didn't hear someone repeatedly calling his name. "Allen!" The loud call finally jolted him from his reverie, causing him to blink his sea-blue eyes from behind the dark frames of his glasses. He responded with a somewhat absent-minded, "Yes?"

"How can you be so lost when we're sitting in a graveyard, talking about our interests, not to mention the important discussion we've been having about the high school Halloween party our principal is hosting tomorrow?" Anna, with her emerald green eyes and furrowed blonde eyebrows, seemed genuinely annoyed by Allen's inattention.

Sighing, Allen replied in a soft, timid voice, "I apologize for not paying attention, Anna. But I made it clear yesterday that I won't be attending any Halloween gatherings because I have an entrance exam for college in January, and I'd much rather focus on studying than on partying."

Anna scoffed at the brunette's response before turning to her boyfriend, who merely grunted in response to Allen's words. "Honestly, dude, your brain won't die if you take a break from studying for a day. Besides, that entrance exam you're talking about is in January, and you have plenty of time before then. But if that's what you really want, who am I to stop your nerdy ass?" Drake commented, toying with Anna's blonde curls as he spoke.

"Anyway, guys, let's not spoil the mood for the night. Since Allen won't be joining us at the Halloween party tomorrow, he'll have to do us a favor in return. You all know that my boyfriend and I have brought some eerie fun that involves a little ritual to make our Halloween spectacular. Now, Allen, since you won't be an angel like you've always been and lend a hand at the school's Halloween party tomorrow, how about returning the favor?" The raven-haired girl with red highlights asked, her gray eyes glinting with seriousness and a smirk that left the cerulean-eyed nerd with no room for argument.

Allen swallowed hard before giving a reluctant nod, eager to put this behind him and return home before midnight. "Alright, fine. Adalyn, go ahead and take the contents out of the bag," he said, acknowledging the guy sitting with Adalyn who snickered at Allen with the same serious glint in his dirty brown eyes. He ruffled his light dirty brown hair before fixing his gaze back on the raven-haired girl who was sorting through her dark purple school bag for the required materials.

Allen couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something felt profoundly unsettling about the eerie entertainment Adalyn and her boyfriend Jake were discussing. When he glanced at Matt, the boy with raven hair and forest-green eyes who was seated alongside the two brothers, Jake and Drake, he received a sympathetic look that spoke volumes.

Swallowing hard, Allen tried to distract himself by surveying the graveyard, which was adorned with grinning orange pumpkins that managed to look both silly and eerie. They were scattered everywhere, with yellow fairy lights adorning them. Allen's gaze shifted to the graves adorned with pumpkins, and he couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding that weighed heavily on his chest. He could only hope that whatever role he played in their so-called amusement wouldn't lead to harm, as they could be thoughtlessly rough with him at times, all in the name of fun. Allen's concern grew, and he couldn't help but wonder how the night would ultimately unfold.

The sensation of anxiety was like a deep-sea wave threatening to drown him, and it sent his panic skyrocketing. Just then, his three-year-old phone, firmly held in his left palm, chimed with a text message from Matt, who wrote, "Pray that this crazy ritual doesn't work."

Allen read the message multiple times, his expression a mix of bewilderment and furrowed brows. Was Matt trying to warn him about something, or was he simply playing with his anxious heart, which felt like it could stop beating at any moment? Allen looked up at Matt, who already wore a sympathetic expression for him.

Quickly, Allen texted back, asking, "Are you warning me about something?" Matt promptly replied, "Yes, pray that the ritual doesn't work because if it does, you'll suffer pure hell, or you might die before hell even breaks loose on the others."

Matt's message sent Allen's young, innocent mind into a spiral of thoughts about something beyond his wildest imagination.

When a grim fate had been predicted and seemed to loom ever closer.