Alice

Alaina pursed her lips and looked around.

“Something’s off, Casey,” she stood at the threshold of 13 Elm Street with a hand on the corseted waist of her Alice in Wonderland dress. Music pounded from behind the door, the hateful new Lady Gaga song blasting. Admittedly, it was still better than the rap played at most parties nowadays, but that wasn't the reason behind the nagging feeling in the back of her mind.

“Don’t be silly,” Casey breezed as she pounded on the door several times. “It’s Halloween! Of course you feel creeped out. Now are you coming, or do you need to be invited in?” she joked as a girl in a typical cat costume opened the door.

Alaina rolled her eyes with a smile at the Vampire Diaries reference and entered the house. It was a big one, not a cramped apartment, which was why she agreed to this in the first place. Actually, the place was huge. She’d lost Casey the moment they entered the house. That typical blonde. Sometimes, Elaina wondered if her heart was so big, it took over all the brain space. Then again, Casey’s heart wasn’t that big. Despite that the purpose of Halloween was to scare people, all of the people in masks unnerved her. Big parties are sketchy at best with exposed faces, let alone masked ones. People are capable of anything when they were hidden behind a façade, without the fear of getting caught.

Helping herself to an unopened beer from the fridge, she was startled by a loud “BOO!” and threw the full-sized metal door open. Someone groaned. Alaina slowly shut the door, peering over the other side to see a dinosaur holding his nose underneath the mask. She delicately plucked the mask off to see her friend Newt E. Hamilton, who now sported a bloody nose.

“Oh, Newt, I’m so sorry!” she gasped, trying to hold in laughter.

“Never again,” he groaned from the floor. Alaina helped him up.

“I really don’t do well with this Halloween stuff,” she confessed.

“I can tell,” his voice was thick from the blood, but also sarcastic.

“Well, can I make it up to you-” she shot him a dirty look as his eyes widened in excitement “-by giving you a tampon?” Newt’s face fell.

“Why the heck would I want that?”

“To put the blood on,” Alaina answered, rather boredly.

His face brightened again, although she couldn't care less. She was only friends with him by association, really. She handed him one from her brown leather cross-body and he stuck it up his nose.

“It’s perfect!” Newt cried ecstatically a minute later. “Man, these things are absorbent.”

“Great. Enjoy the party!” Alaina smiled with fake enthusiasm before beating a hasty retreat. She went into the expansive backyard, where couples who couldn't find a room were making out…among other things, making Alaina grateful for the darkness outside. She took a swig of the beer and sighed. Why had she come here again? Casey always dragged her out and disappeared once she found a guy to occupy her for the night. Alaina would always end up staying and drinking, alone if she was lucky, until Casey appeared a few hours later. But this only happened a few times a year, so she couldn’t complain too much.

Finding an abandoned jacket and a hidden corner of grass illuminated by a single light bulb, Alaina sat and pulled a book out of her bag. It was the only thing she’d bothered bringing, besides her keys and cell phone. She hadn’t even bothered to put on makeup except for mascara and didn’t use lip gloss.

Where’s papa going with that ax?

Before she could read any further, a shadow fell over the book. Alaina sighed, closing her book and looking up. She sipped her beer as she eyed a tall man in a crisp black suit with matching dark hair and eyes. He smiled, revealing pointed canines. He had red contacts on. A vampire, really? That had to be the most clichéd play in the book. He had dimples, which she supposed would have appealed charming to others, but she was utterly unimpressed. “Can I help you?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Why yes, you can.” He slowly revealed his arms, which were presumably clasped behind his back. Alaina’s eyes widened and he knocked her out.

.

Two hours later, Alaina awoke with a pain in the side of her head. She touched it gingerly with both hands. Blood. Wincing, she sat up on the cold cement floor. She immediately noticed 3 things. One, she was in her underwear, dress and bag gone. Two, her hands were zip-tied. Three, she was in a basement. The only light came from a candle.

I fucking hate Halloween, she thought irritatedly as she took the zip-tie in her mouth, adjusting it so the lock was above the gap between her wrists and tightening it even more.

One, two, three! She chicken-winged her arms and flexed, simultaneously slamming her wrists down onto her stomach. The strip of plastic snapped. She yanked off the ribbon she was using as a headband and tied her hair into a ponytail as someone applauded. Eyes narrowed, she spun around to face her attacker. “Who are you?!” she demanded.

.

Casey tugged at the short skirt of her purple bat costume, frowning as she looked around. She and Alaina arrived around 12, since Alaina didn’t want to stay long, and she’d gotten her list of guys’ numbers for the night. She’d searched the place for 15 minutes now, and called her best friend six times. Alaina usually picked up on the first ring...

She asked for a few people to keep an eye out, then went outside. Alaina obviously wasn’t inside, but Casey wouldn’t put it past her to hide outside and read a book. She made a full loop around the house, but stopped short at the sight of something blue. Walking over to get a closer look, she screamed.

“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!!”

A crowd gathered around, the music turned down since half the partygoers had either left or passed out so Casey’s voice was audible. Someone held onto her as she started to sob. All that was left of her best friend was her innocent blue dress beside a pool of blood.

.

“My name is Dunkan,” said the red-eyed man in the suit. “But that’s the least of your concerns.” He shot Alaina with a taser, immobilizing her. “You probably think now that Halloween is a terrible day. It isn’t. This day was coming for you regardless of the holiday.”

As Dunkan spoke, he wound electric cords around her wrists. “I have to say, Alaina, I’ve waited very patiently for this day. And before we do what must be done, let me prove it to you.”

Taking the singular candle from its stand, he lit dozens more with quick precision. Alaina’s eyes widened as pictures of her were revealed, papered all over the walls, dating back years ago. She recognized the older ones from Facebook, but most of them recent, zeroed in on her face. “Don’t worry,” he told her reassuringly as he lit the last of the candles. “This is my house, and no one knows about this place. It’s a basement beneath a basement, you see. No one ever thinks to look deeper than what’s on the surface. Our time together won’t be interrupted.”

A tank of water, similar to shark tanks from Escape Artist acts, sat in the corner of the room. Dunkan plugged an extension cord into the one around her wrists, then picked up a knife.

“Let’s get started, shall we?”