An unsettling quiet had taken over the building, occasionally broken by distant screams of terror and raspy howls. The two girls crept through hallways vigilantly, now having two threats to watch for.

Maddie lead the way, Jess clinging to her arm. They both had spent enough time in the building to know where they were going, the nearest exit was close by. Maddie approached a corner, stopping and cautiously peering around the corner to ensure the way was clear.

At the far end of the long hallway stood Casper, slowly retracting the blade weapon from a fresh victim's gut. Maddie stepped back, silently signaling Jess that exit route was not an option. She thought for a second; the next closest exit was across the hall.

Maddie slowly peered around the corner once more, watching thankfully as Casper stalked away in a different direction. She nodded to Jess and they pressed on down the hall, passing a window that caught Jess's attention.

From their position in the building she could see the parking lot outside, where two SWAT vans were sitting idle, no doubt responding to the threat of Casper. She tugged Maddie's sleeve to get her attention, pointing her to the window.

"There's an exit right by there." Maddie realized, "Come on, let's go!" She and Jess picked up their pace down the hall, Maddie slowing up as she approached the corner. There was only one way of knowing what lay ahead.

Warily she leaned forward, inching closer to the wall as the next hallway crept into view. To her dismay, the Sergal crouched close to the floor at the far end, jaws latched firmly around a young girl's neck. Two other bodies lay sprawled across the corridor, victims she was through with.

Just behind the grisly scene were the double doors they had been searching for. The creature's eyes were closed, as she nursed the fresh bite wound for every drop she could get. The sight was horrifying to witness, aided by sickening sounds, Maddie finding herself so disturbed she couldn't look away.

Shattering the eerie silence, a door halfway down the corridor suddenly drifted a few inches. Syth's eyes snapped open as a sharp creak echoed through the small space. Maddie quickly ducked back out of sight, motioning Jess to stay silent.

Syth froze in place, her milky grey eye darting around in search of movement as her ears twitched, picking up the slightest sounds around her. Maddie watched the glass trophy case adjacent to them, a faint reflection of the creature just barely visible.

A low growl slithered through the enclosed area as Syth dropped the lifeless body and scanned her surroundings. Her ears pinned back; her snout twitched with investigative sniffs as she gradually rose to a standing position.

The beast had to be close to 8-foot-tall, her head easily rising above the frame of the doors. Maddie fought to hold her breath, maintaining total silence to avoid detection. Syth let out a soft, rattling hiss as she stepped forward.

Her eyes analyzed the corridor before her, raking for any hints of movement. She stalked forward, catching movement in the glass's reflection. She crouched down to move quieter, picking up her pace a bit and licking the blood from her lips.

She slowly approached the movement source, slowing to a stealthy crawl until she reached the corner. Speeding up a bit, she rounded the corner and made a quick strike before anything had a chance to avoid her attack. Rather than flesh and bone, her claws found a blank wall.

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Maddie and Jess backtracked and followed a second hallway to the doors, moving quickly but carefully. Their exit was within reach. Maddie glanced down the corridor, ensuring Syth was nowhere in sight. Safety secured, she reached for the handle of the door.

Suddenly both doors flew open, a sudden barrage of bright lights entered the room. Three heavily armed officers stepped into the corridor, one of them immediately spotting the two girls.

"Got two more civilians here." She reported, catching the attention of the other two, "Do a quick sweep, I'll secure these two." The other two officers started down the hall on command.

"Wait, you can't go down there!" Jess stopped them, "That thing is still down there!"

"Ma'am, I need you to calm down. We're with Douglas County SWAT, we're well equipped to handle this Casper character." the officer responded.

"It's not just Casper," Maddie explained, "It's this... thing... some kind of monster. You guys have no idea what you're dealing with here!"

"Movement!" one of the officers called out. Everyone turned their attention to the far end of the corridor, silence returning once more to the dreary building. Maddie and Jess backed towards the door, the officers moving down the corridor slowly.

One officer turned the corner, freezing in place. Suddenly, long claws pierced her torso, ripping right through the heavy body armor like flimsy paper. The officer seized up, dropping the rifle from her grasp as she was raised off the ground and tossed against the wall.

She lay twitching face down on the floor, torso ripped open. Syth stepped into view, brandishing her claws and barring her rows of fangs. Both remaining officers rapidly fired on the Sergal, to no effect. Syth charged forward, barely even flinching with each bullet tearing into her.

She closed the gap between them, lashing out with both arms. One officer was stabbed in the throat by the ridged talons, the other grabbed and lifted off the ground as the first was flung into the wall and sprawled to the floor.

Syth raised the final officer to eye level, taking in the expression of pure terror on her face. Finally, the beast snapped her jaws around the officer's helmet. With shocking ease, the reinforced helmet crumpled between her teeth, a gut-wrenching cracking sound sealing the officer's grisly fate.

Jess fumbled backwards through the doors, pulling a petrified Maddie with her as Syth tossed the limp corpse aside. Maddie locked gazes with the creature, the same unsettling gaze she had seen before so many times.

Syth started to pursue them, stopping as blaring sirens drew close. From the doorway she could see dozens of Police Cruisers pulling up to the building. She met Maddie's gaze one last time, confirming that no humanity was to be found in the Sergal's animalistic eyes, turning and prowling back inside in search of an alternate exit.

A few officers had come up to meet Maddie and Jess, directing them away from the building and taking them over to an ambulance. As Syth skulked away down the hall, the drifting door opened all the way.

Casper stepped out from his hiding spot, checking that no other law enforcement were nearby before heading a third direction. He made his way through the building opposite the direction the Sergal had traveled, using a side exit to reach the outside.

From within the cover of the building, he removed his mask and gloves, sliding them into his pocket and unzipping his dark jacket before pulling down the hood.

He took out his glasses and placed them on his face, then traversed the outer edge of the building to get to the road without being detected. Once there, it was simple to reach the nearby apartment building.

He climbed the stairs to reach the apartment he'd been hiding out in, shutting the door and letting out a soft exhale. Hearing more sirens approach, he went over to the window, watching as Police Cruisers and Ambulances showed up in droves, emergency responders swarming into campus.

A third SWAT van had arrived, a new team filing out. He smirked lightly, if what he'd seen was any indication these officers were just as doomed as the last team was. But the center of his interest wasn't on the SWAT team currently entering the wrong building, but on the most significant event of the night so far.

That twisted creature that had interrupted his planned spree. Such an intriguing beast, a formidable one at that. But he knew what he had to do. He would find it; he would kill it.

No one was taking Halloween away from him.