The car rumbled through the city, windows cracked just enough to let the crisp autumn air snake inside.
Cedric drove, sharp-eyed and calm. His girlfriend, Paige, sat beside him, laughing as she fixed her costume. In the backseat, Kaylen was wedged between Kyle — the loudmouth — and Miles, Kyle's easygoing cousin.
The music thumped low, barely covering the sound of their voices.
"Man, you better drink double tonight," Kyle said, grinning at Kaylen. "Birthday rules."
"I'll be lucky if I stay upright," Kaylen muttered, smirking. Miles chuckled. "One night to be reckless. You earned it."
Paige twisted in her seat to grin back at him. "And you better dance. No excuses." Kaylen just shook his head, smiling. Night was still young — but something about it felt different. Heavier. Like the air itself was holding its breath. Outside, streetlights blurred by. The city felt alive.
Ahead, the party house loomed, wrapped in lights, music already spilling into the night.
Cedric pulled up to the curb, smirking. "Showtime." Kaylen drew a breath, pushed open the door, and stepped into the night.
The bass of the music hit him first — loud, pounding, alive. Laughter, drunken shouting, the smell of cheap fog machines — it filled the broken schoolyard like a dream on the verge of collapse.
The party wasn't at some house like he first thought — it was outside an old, abandoned school, its broken windows and sagging roof barely visible behind the glow of string lights and makeshift decorations. Beyond it, the woods loomed, dark and restless. A perfect place for a bunch of twenty-somethings to drink and be loud, away from adult eyes.
Kyle and Miles charged ahead, whooping and laughing. Paige grabbed Cedric's arm, tugging him toward the crowd already gathering around fire pits and coolers. Kaylen hung back a little, letting the scene wash over him.
Then he saw her.
Framed by the cracked archway of the school entrance, half-wrapped in fog and flickering light, stood a girl in a nun costume — and nothing about it was holy.
Black stockings clung to long legs; the short dress swayed with every lazy shift of her hips. A smirk curled her lips, and her eyes gleamed with wicked mischief.
Clara.
Kaylen's heart skipped a beat.
He hadn't seen her since high school — Clara, the girl he'd admired from a distance but never gotten close to. Some people just burned a little brighter than others, and Clara had always been one of them.
Their eyes locked. For a second, everything else — the music, the lights, even the chill — faded away.
Clara's smile deepened, slow and daring, like she remembered him too.
Kaylen's heart stumbled in his chest.
Behind him, Kyle's voice boomed out, clapping him on the back. "Looks like birthday boy's got a personal angel tonight!"
Kaylen managed a laugh, though his throat felt tight.
Clara stepped closer, heels clicking lightly on the cracked pavement.
"Kaylen, right?" she said, tilting her head, that mischievous smile never leaving her lips.
He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. "Yeah... it's been a while."
"Since high school," she said, crossing her arms loosely, playful. "You kinda disappeared after graduation."
"Work. Life. You know how it goes," Kaylen shrugged. His voice was steadier than he felt.
Clara laughed — a low, easy sound that made something warm spark in his chest. She leaned in just a little, enough to make the space between them hum
"Well, happy birthday, mystery man," she said, tapping her finger against his chest before walking past with a sly glance over her shoulder.
"Don't disappear tonight."
Kaylen stood frozen, grinning like a fool.
Kyle hollered from across the fire pit, waving him over.
Reluctantly, Kaylen peeled himself away from the haze Clara left behind.
At the makeshift table —
The table was a mess — cheap plastic plates, half-eaten snacks, and a cake that looked like it had survived a small battle. In the middle, a single candle burned, flickering wildly in the breeze.
"Make a wish, man. Make sure it's worth it." Cedric clapped a hand on Kaylen's back.
Paige wobbled on her heels, holding a bottle of cheap champagne, grinning wide.
"We're not letting you drink until you blow out that candle!"
Kaylen laughed, feeling the weight of all their eyes, the buzz of the night pressing close. He closed his eyes for a second, the flame behind his lids dancing like a heartbeat..
Just one more year.
One more year with the people I care about.
He blew.
The flame died, and the crowd erupted around him.
Laughter. Cheers. The pop of the champagne cork.
Through it all, across the crowd, he caught Clara's gaze again — a flash of white stockings, a slow smile meant only for him.
Meanwhile somewhere, deep beyond the woods what he could not see or feel, something stirred awake.
And so the night began...
The music pounded harder, lights casting eerie shadows across the broken courtyard.
Kaylen leaned against a cracked pillar, laughing at something Clara whispered, drunk on champagne, beers and the way her fingers brushed his arm.
"You always this quiet on your birthday?" she teased, voice low.
"Only when I'm trying not to look stupid," Kaylen said, grinning. Clara smiling "So what costume did you wear? A shy guy?" Kaylen getting somehow provoked by the word smiles proudly "Hmm, today i cosplayed as your father." Clara laughed with mischief.
Nearby, Kyle and Miles leaned against a wall, each holding a red cup, grinning like fools.
"Look at him go," Miles snickered.
Kyle laughed loud enough for Kaylen to hear. "Halloween magic, man. It's real."
Kaylen shot them a glare, making Clara laugh even harder.
Around them, the party roared — drunk voices, bad dance moves, the crackle of bonfires.
Cedric and Paige were nowhere in sight.
Not that Kaylen cared. Not with Clara's hand still brushing against his.
Everything was perfect. Until the first scream split the night.
It cut straight through the music, high and raw.
At first, people laughed — Halloween, right? Just part of the act. Then a girl stumbled into the clearing.
Blood smeared her face and arms.
Her clothes were torn and some are missing, barely hanging onto her trembling frame.
Kaylen's stomach twisted.
"That's Paige," Clara whispered, horror freezing her voice.
Miles and Kyle tensed at Kaylen's side, every muscle going rigid.
From the tree line, something else moved.
A tall figure — unnaturally tall — stepped into the light.
It was wrapped in thick, matted black fur, skin stretched thin over bones that didn't seem built right.
Atop its shoulders, a bleached deer skull grinned empty and wide, like death itself had come to the party. In its jaws, dangling grotesquely, it held a torn human head. The beast twitched, its thin body jerking with a starved, famished hunger.
Before anyone could realize what was happening at the moment, a second blur erupted from the darkness.
It slammed into Paige.
A black claw pierced clean through her throat from behind, lifting her off her feet.
Her body hung there, twitching, before the creature ripped her in half tossing the upper body into the trees like a rag doll. The second monster dropped over her corpse, tearing and feasting with horrifying savagery.
The world froze.
For a heartbeat, there was nothing but the wind.
Then the screaming began.
Tables crashed. Cups shattered. The courtyard exploded into chaos.
Kaylen grabbed Clara's hand, heart hammering, and bolted.
Miles and Kyle sprinted with him, weaving through the panicked herd.
The creatures howled behind them, the sound that's sharp and unnatural, chasing the fleeing herd like predators at a slaughter. They didn't dare look back.
They didn't have to.
The silence that fell between the screams told them everything. Even without seeing, Kaylen knew.
Behind them, the massacre had begun.