Trick-or-Treat

She sat near the window, watching kids laugh and play as they showed off their costumes. Parents lingered, not too far, enjoying the unusually warm Halloween. After last year, parents would never allow their children to be left unsupervised on this night. For a moment, her heart ached as she thought of her brother. Halloween had always been a family favorite: candy, cake and presents all in one night.

A knock at the door brought a smile to her face as she climbed to her feet. Even from inside the house, she could hear the excited giggles that seemed to be barely muffled by the wooden door. She grabbed the oversized bowl, filled to the brim with a variety of sweets, before swinging open the door.

"Trick-or-Treat!" The kids screamed before she had even managed to get the door open completely.

"Happy Halloween," Taylor smiled, holding the bowl out to them. "You all look so scary," She added, earning a few giggles.

Their little hands dug through the candy before grabbing what they wanted. A few words of gratitude came before they were running across the yard, moving on to the next house. One parent stayed though. One that Taylor was very familiar with. Sara's son and Taylor's little brother had been inseperable before the accident.

"Taylor, it's so good to see you," Sara said softly in the same awkward, hesitant voice one might use at a funeral to say condolences.

"Sara," Taylor said softly. "I didn't see Jax in that group,"

"I just wanted to see how you and your parents were holding up. My husband took Jax to the next town over. He was...upset about not being able to get candy with Alec this year,"

"We're okay. My parent went to a hotel tonight. They didn't think they could handle kids coming up to the door in costumes." Taylor murmrued. "I hope Jax wasn't too upset. Hoepfully, it will get easier."

"For all of us," Sara said softly.

Her tone was sad, and for a moment, Taylor though she might break into hysterics. Thankfully, a group of children ran up and Sara quickly said her goodbyes. Taylor did the same mindless exchange as she had done with the previous group before quietly slipping back inside the house.

She hesitated for a moment, looking at the light switch. Trembling fingers reached out to flip the porchlight off and she closed the curtains. She shoudl have gone with her parents. Halloween was still too hard for her, right now.

She settled on the sofa, ordering pizza so she coudl just watch a movie and drown out the sounds of Halloween outside her door. The doorbell made her jump and she scrambled up, surprised at how quickly the pizza had come. The doorbell rang again as she dug for the cash her parents had left. It hadn't even been thirty seconds.

"I'm coming!" She called, trying to inform him she was there and just needed a minute. The doorbell rang again, annoying her further as she slid across the wood floor to yank the door open.

She had been expecting a teenage boy with a pizza box. Instead, there was a little boy with familiar, wide, green eyes, a round face, and a mop of dark hair. It was the same face she hadn't seen since the funeral. He was even in the same skeleton costume that he had worn the year before. The same costume that he had been in when she and her parents had identified his body.

"Trick-or-Treat," He giggled, making her jump.

"Alec?" Taylor breathed, her voice wavering as her mind struggled to process what was in front of her right now.

"Hurry up, Alec. Everyone is going to bed," A voice called.

Taylor lifted her eyes from Alec to settle on a woman standing on the sidewalk, just off the brick walkway that led up to the porch. She wasn't anyone Taylor had ever seen before. They lived in a small town, everyone knew everyone. When she saw Taylor was looking, her lips turned up into a coy grin before she spoke again.

"Come along, Alec. I don't think she has any candy for you,"

"Wait," Taylor blurted when Alec turned to walk away.

"Don't worry, Tay-Tay," He giggled. "I'll be fine," Alec smiled up at her but it was wrong. It was too wide to look natural and her skin crawled just looking at him.

"What's going on?" She whispered.

"The words this boy spoke had been the same words her brother had told her before he left to go Trick-or-Treating the year before. They had been the last words her brother had ever said to her when she had been concerned about him going alone with Jax.

The woman matched Alec's stretched grin as they both stared at her in silence. The only sound Taylor could hear was her heart pounding in her ears.

"Say goodbye, Alec,"

"Goodbye, Tay-Tay."

His voice was wrong, garbled like he was gurgling water. She reached out her hand to pull him back, away from the stranger who seemed far too unusual to be safe. Immeditaly, she snatched her hand back, watching water run from his mouth as the whites of his eyes filled with red. His mouth opened in a gurgling scream that made her stomach fall to her feet as the noise pierced the air.

Louder and louder, the scream became and she expected the neighbors to come out, but no one came. She put her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the sound as much as she could but it was no use.

Alec's face was contorted now. His mouth was inhumanly wide, his tongue too long, hanging from it as teeth fell to the brick under them. Bloody tears flowed from his eyes, matching the water that poured from his mouth. His skin was gray and waxy with blue and purple veins visible under the surface. He looked like a caricature version of how he had looked when they had identified his body.

She fell to her knees as her vision filled with spots before she began to cough. Each cough sprayed water from her lips and still the screaming persisted. The last thing Taylor saw bfore dakrness consumed her completely was Alec standing above her as the woman placed her hands on his shoulders while she smiled the same, ugly, grin.