The door opened, with key and latch turned almost in perfect sync.

"Shel?" Maddie called into the house in a hushed voice. She and Sam entered and peered around the dark, empty looking home while Adam watched the streets from the doorway. A flashlight clicked on from the top of the stairs, Maddie's 14-year-old sister stepping into view.

"What are you guys doing here?" she questioned.

"I just needed to know you were ok." Maddie answered, "Where's Mom?"

"Probably off getting shitfaced, but why would I not be ok?" Shel answered.

"Sam can explain it to you, he's staying here with you." Adam jumped in.

"He is?" Sam questioned, "Why is he?"

"Cause his responsible older brother wants to keep him far away from the 8-foot monster, as you can understand." Adam replied.

"Uh...Monster? Wait, what's happening out there?" Shel questioned.

"Like he said, Sam can explain." Maddie responded, "Both of you, lock every door and window in this house, close all the shades, barricade the door."

"Just stay out of sight and lay low until we come back for you." Adam added. He and Maddie exited the house again, Maddie re-locking the door behind her with her key. Understandably confused, Shel looked to Sam for an explanation.

"Monster...?" she echoed her last question.

"Halloween, huh?" Sam commented in reply.

Across town Colby pulled the truck to a stop, not caring about actual parking spaces, and everyone filed out. Jess supported Emma and helped her to the door, Colby helping Drake get his chair set up.

Not many stores saw much activity on Halloween night, but one was thankfully open. Even better, there wasn't a single person in sight. The four of them rushed into the store, Drake and Colby taking separate routes to scan the isles.

Drake moved row to row, desperately searching for anything that resembled makeshift medical supplies. He knew very little about actual medical procedures, so he went on basic knowledge and scooped a forearm's length of bandaging rolls onto his lap and kept searching.

Jess and Emma rested against a counter, falling to a sitting position. Emma fought to muffle her sounds of pain, Jess attempting to use her jacket to suppress the profuse bleeding. Massive teeth marks had been gouged into her shoulder, having been torn further by the violent shaking and tugging.

Drake soon returned with a lap full of bandaging and random medical supplies, he and Jess combining their limited medical knowledge to figure out what to do.

"Peroxide! Did you find Peroxide?" she questioned.

"Yeah, here." he answered, handing her the bottle.

"God that shit stings." Emma commented through pained wincing, "Just pour it on fast." Across the store, Colby combed the isles, finding a glass counter with ammunition on display. He rushed around the counter, finding shelves packed full of different ammo types.

He searched the labels, finding the correct type and stuffing a few boxes into any open pocket he had. He then took one more box and ripped it open, dumping its contents onto the counter and clicking the cylinder of his revolver open.

"What are you doing?" a voice interrupted his frantic thoughts. One employee stuck working this late at night. It was then that Colby realized how crazy he must look.

"um...it's for a good cause...?" was all he could muster up as a response. The clerk crossed his arms, looking skeptical. "Look man, I really don't have time for this. You need to find somewhere to hide, and stay out of sight, understand?" Colby explained rapidly, clicking the loaded cylinder into place.

"I really don't care dude; I hate this job anyway. At least just tell me you're not gonna go shoot up a theater or something." he responded.

"No, of course not." Colby answered. Just then, an agonized wail tore through the store. Colby leapt over the counter and took off, the clerk pursuing out of curiosity. Emma screamed into her arm, trying desperately to muffle the uncontrollable sounds. Jess dabbed the freshly cleaned wounds, Drake rummaging through the pile of supplies.

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"How is it looking?" Colby questioned, kneeling beside them.

"Not good. A lot of these are pretty deep." Jess reported.

"Shit...I think I'm seeing bone...We need to get her to a hospital or something..." Drake added.

"We'll stop there first, then I'll go get Maddie from her place. Where's the nearest one?" Colby questioned.

"What the hell am I seeing here?" the clerk jumped in. A soft clatter came from behind them, stopping all exchanges and dropping everyone into instant silence. The sound of something falling off a shelf.

Colby raised his revolver, slowly standing up. He glanced over the shelves, able to barely see tops the glass double doors of the store, one of which was slowly drifting closed. A low growl took over the silence, slowly turning into a human sounding groan. A scratchy voice croaking and muttering, struggling to form a word.

"...J...eh...J...Jess...?" It whispered softly. Jess stood up.

"...Je...ssi...ca...?" the voice repeated her name. It bore striking resemblance to Abby's voice, though distorted by a raspy tone. The whisper rattled off into a soft croak, followed by several more objects hitting the floor.

"Get to the door. Now." Colby whispered sharply to the girls. A hushed giggle kept them frozen in place. Colby slowly stepped away from the counter, moving cautiously along the shelves away from the door.

Jess helped Emma stand, inching closer to the door while keeping a distance from the aisle that stood between them and the unsettling sounds. Colby tossed the truck keys to Drake and moved down the aisle, silently waving the others towards the entrance.

Drake hesitated, knowing what Colby was thinking. Reluctantly he started moving towards the doors, gesturing to Jess to convince her to go as well. With Emma injured, they had to. Colby was buying them time, and they were wasting it by standing there thinking it over.

Colby moved down the line, glancing up. He'd worked in retail stores long enough to know many of them had mirrors hung near the ends of aisles to help spot shoplifters. He scanned the ceiling along the aisle to find one, catching movement within the circle of glass.

Syth crawled along the aisle like a predator ready to pounce. Even knelt close to the floor, her height was still imposing at over half that of the shelves she moved past. The Sergal's ears twitched lightly, causing her to stop and shift her glance back towards the entrance.

She started moving in that direction, where the girls were moving as well. Thinking fast, Colby grabbed a piece of Tupperware off the shelf and lobbed it down the aisle.

The ensuing impact sound snapped the Sergal's attention away from the entrance, causing her to move faster down the aisle, out of the mirror's range. He followed her from his side, trying to find another mirror to keep watch of the beast. He was focused in, until the clerk hobbled up beside him.

"What are you doing??" Colby whispered nearly silently.

"I'm staying with the guy that has a gun!!" he replied. Colby waved him back towards the others, silently but assertively.

"I don't want to!" he responded. Without warning the shelves suddenly flew forwards, Syth erupting from between them and catching the clerk by the wrist. Just as fast as she'd appeared, she retracted back into the shelves, dragging a screaming clerk with her.

It was like watching a snake strike a passing rat with inescapable speed. Horrible screams of terror ripped through the store, cut off by a sickening crunch. With the Sergal distracted, now was his chance.

Colby made a dash for his escape, stopped after only a few strides when a freshly severed arm flew past him. He slid to a stop, pressing up against the shelves. Cautiously, he peered around the debris.

Syth crouched over her latest victim, her long tongue cleaning the blood from her claws. There were blood splatters all over her face and chest, spots of crimson smeared on white and green. The beast tentatively cleaned every visible speck of red from her fingers, seeming to relish in the taste as her tongue coiled around her claws and flicked along each finger.

The larger spots of red on her face slowly dissolved, absorbing into her fur and vanishing completely. Colby watched curiously as the crimson colors simply faded from existence. A tiny box that had been clinging to the displaced shelves finally succumbed and slid off its resting place clattering to the floor.

Colby backpedaled at the sound, the Sergal's ears perked up, her attention now on a new target. Colby scrambled backwards, rounding a corner just as Syth re-emerged from the entrance she had created. That rattling hiss filled the air as her ears twitched, picking up subtle sounds of movement. Colby held his breath and froze in place, Syth crawling closer to his location.

"...why...hide...?" Abby's voice rasped from the creature's jaws. She slowed a bit as she approached the corner, a soft rustling sound confirming her prey was there. Quickly she lunged around the corner, jaws snapping violently.

A lack of contact caused her to glance around in brief confusion, the rustling sound drawing her attention to a small windup toy rolling around on the floor. She'd been tricked. Instantly she turned and bolted toward the door.

Colby had just exited the store, sprinting for the truck as Syth crashed through the store window. Colby jumped into the bed of the truck as it sped off, Syth howling in rage but only taking a few steps after them. The vehicle was too fast for even her to catch up to.

She growled as her thoughts raced, a realization coming to her. She didn't have to chase them, because she knew where they were going.

The beast watched the truck drive off, an animal's equivalent of a devious smile coming to her. Colby instinctively aimed his revolver, stopping when he saw Syth turn and crawl away in the opposite direction.

"That was way too close." he sighed in relief.

"Where do you think she's going?" Drake questioned.

"No idea, but we've gotta get to Maddie and Adam." Colby responded, a thought coming together, "I think I know how to kill this thing."