A Nasty Halloween Surprise

The location is an abandoned apartment complex on the outside of town, boards replacing many of the windows and parts of the exterior brick-work starting to shift and fall away. The time is 6 PM, just at that time where night meets day for a golden-bronze sunset. A tigress, age of 24 and dressed in a very skimpy cheerleader Halloween costume, the kind that has a skirt that just barely goes past the bottom of her buttocks and her cleavage rather exposed despite having only b-cup sized breasts, is running down the dark corridors of this building. Her name is Jennifer Tigre, but most just call her Jen. She is carrying a flashlight, the illumination helping to guide her down the pitch black halls even though the lens has a few cracks in it. She is panting as she sprints, her face wearing a strange mixture of fear combined with exhaustion. She wants to stop to catch her breath but she knows she can't. The tigress looks behind her a few times as she makes her dash, but nothing is behind her. As she reaches the end of the hallway, she makes a left into one of the empty apartments. Her friends, both new and old, are standing around, talking and joking, when Jen's sudden intrusion interrupts them all. Before any of them can speak, Jen blurts out what's bothering her so much.

"GUYS!!! BILLY'S DEAD!!!"

Hours earlier, in a small town that most people would sooner drive through than to visit, a platypus was planning yet another Halloween surprise for his friends. His name is Billy Plats, age 23, and every year around Halloween he tried to give his friends the ultimate scare. This year he decided to take his spooking to the next level, so he enlisted the help of his clone slash "cousin" Nega Jones. Nega and Billy looked exactly alike, much like anybody would a clone and the original, except where Billy had buzzed short brown hair and brown eyes, Nega's were grey. The two didn't always see eye to eye, but they were "family" so they did care about each other deep down. After weeks of planning, a trap was set. The two platypi would lure Billy's friends and other clone slash "cousin" Will to an abandoned apartment complex on the edge of town. Nega would be there ahead of everybody else setting things up while Billy lured his prey to the location.

A few hours, and many phone calls, later, Billy had his friends gathered into his car. The car comfortably seated four including the driver, but there were five bodies in it, so those sitting in the backseat were a little squished together. Jen was in the front passenger seat in her cheerleader costume, and Billy was of course driving. He was wearing a skirt and a baby pink tee, his costume simply being a female version of himself called Wilma. In the back seat, just behind the tigress was a squirrel named Jerry Squiral, age 24. He is a tall, lanky fellow with a golden heart, never putting himself before anybody if he could help it. He was engaged to the tigress in front of him, and offered her the front seat so she wouldn't have to be cramped in the back. He was wearing a clown outfit for his costume, with a painted face and blue curly wig. Next to him, in the middle, was a female arctic fox named Amber White, age 23. Despite her D-cup breasts and slender waist, she was a shy and slightly conservative woman. A rather disturbing event in her past shook her badly, but she has been slowly healing and starting to come out of her shell more and more, which is proven by her Halloween costume, a sexy nun where the skirt goes halfway down her leg length and a black blouse that revealed most of her clevage. It was an outfit far more revealing than she usually wore, so she was a little embarrassed about wearing it, but she was also having fun with it at the same time. Lastly was the man behind the driver, Geoff Bevar, with a statuesque build and only 24 years of age. This beaver was starting to gain fame for his ability on the baseball field. He was only in the minors for now, but his long distance hits and incredible stops at the plate as the catcher were getting him noticed. This attention certainly wasn't helping his already inflated ego though. In fact his rising fame even influenced his decision on his Halloween costume. He couldn't take his own uniform and wear it, so the muscular beaver bought a baseball uniform costume. These five were on their way to where Nega was waiting, Billy having convinced them that they were on a way to a Halloween party.

The five friends pulled up in front of their destination. It was a brick building that stood five stories tall. Many windows were boarded up, but some of the ones on the top floor weren't, though a few were cracked or broken out. The main entrance was boarded up as well with many "keep out" and "no trespassing" signs plastered all over it, though it appears that didn't stop people from entering anyway. With the cracking and crumbling brick walls on the outside and the lack of sun and light on the inside, one could assume most were entering for a cheap thrill, though a few were entering to see if they could find any lost treasures from the previous tenants. Tonight though, it would play host to a "party" and a prank. Nega was already inside, preparing everything for Billy, who was parking his car so everybody could climb out. With some adjustments to their costumes, everybody was ready to head inside. However, before they could move, a few new faces walking down the road stopped them from doing so. There was a red bearded dragon who looked no older than 22, and walking next to him was a busty mouse who looked a few years older. The mouse was wearing a sexy pirate costume, and the dragon was wearing a cop costume. They walked up to the five friends.

"Hey there!" the dragon shouted. He waved to the new arrivals as he walked up to them. "Haven't seen you guys in this neighborhood before."

"Yeah," Billy quickly replied. "My cousin is throwing a Halloween party in this building. Dunno why he chose here instead of somewhere with lighting, or less creepy..."

"Yeah, somebody always seems to throw a Halloween party every year in this building. I'm Rex by the way. The little lady next to me is Becky."

"I'm Billy," the platypus responded. "The cheerleader is Jen. The nun is Amber. The clown is Jerry. And the baseball player-"

"Oh my god!" Becky squealed. "Is that Geoff Bevar?!?"

The beaver grinned and nodded to answer the mouse's excited question. "The one and only."

Rex looked at the baseball star and scratched his head. "Uh...? Who?"

Becky simply sighed. She wasn't surprised that Rex didn't know who Geoff was. Even though he was a rising star, he was still just in the minor leagues, and Rex wasn't an avid follower of sports teams.

"He's a catcher. Baseball. He's starting to really catch fire. Sportscasters are predicting him to get a call up by the season's end," the mouse informed the dragon.

"Oh, ok. Cool," Rex replied in an uninterested tone. He then turned his sights back to the platypus. "So what brings you guys here?"

"My cousin is throwing a Halloween party."

"That figures. Like I said, there's always at least one here every year."

"I guess so. Hey, wanna join us?" Billy asked, a chuckle in his mind. Pranking his friends was good, but he doesn't get very many opportunities to prank strangers.

"We were on our way to a party of our own, but I guess we can spare a few minutes."

"Great! Lets go!"

The plat's enthusiasm was very clear in his last statement, but nobody thought anything weird or suspicious about it. The seven "party goers" then entered the building. The halls were dark, but Billy was prepared. He told Nega to leave a table with some flashlights inside the doorway so they could see, but not to leave exactly five in order to prevent suspicion. With the two newcomers to the prank, there should be even less suspicion that something was afoot. Everybody grabbed a flashlight, with a few leftover to spare to show others should be arriving, and Billy led them to one of the nearby apartments. It was dark, much like the rest of the building, and completely devoid of furniture or any other belongings. Whether it was picked clean or the previous tenants took everything with them when they left couldn't be determined, not that mattered much. The group was left scratching their heads as they entered the empty room.

"Where's the party?" Jerry spoke up, asking the question on everybody's mind.

"Oh, Nega's still getting set up. He asked me to have you guys wait here and then go help him finish. I'll be back to get you guys very shortly."

The platypus smiled at them and then wandered off back into the darkness alone. The last thing that anybody saw of him at that time was him making a right turn. The other six decided to pass the time by getting to know each other. They learned that Rex was a bartender at a strip club and Becky worked as a security guard at a nearby mall. They also learned that Rex was single and Becky was romantically involved with a female cashier at the mall she worked at. Though with all the new friend making going on, after ten minutes, the two new faces were ready to get headed on their way to their true destination. This is when Jen volunteered to go find the two platypi and find out what was taking so long. The tigress treaded out into the hallway and turned the same way she had seen Billy turn, starting to walk in that direction. Jen peered into every doorway she passed, hoping to find her missing friend, until at last, at the end of the hallway, the last room she looked in held her target. As she stepped into the door frame, she flashed the light across the room. This room, much like most on the ground floor, were empty, aside from one major difference. In the middle of the room was a lone office chair, one that was on wheels and could turn completely around if need be. Above the top of the chair was a head poking up, with brown buzz-cut hair. Jen could instantly recognize the back of this head as Billy. The tigress let out a relieved sigh as she walked up to the chair.

"There you are. Everybody's waiting. Is the party ready yet?"

She waited for an answer, but when she didn't get one, she put her hand on the chair and spun it. What her light caught next was something she could've never been ready for. It was certainly Billy in the chair, but there was something new about him. In his forehead, right between his eyes, a large chopping knife was plunged deep. Half of the blade was sticking out and blood was running down his face. His eyes was closed, but it was obvious that they no longer needed to be open. Jen screamed loudly, the shock of this horrific sight causing Jen to drop her flashlight, the lens cracking when it made contact with the floor. She had no time to think about what to do. Her instinct took over and started guided her. She quickly scooped up her flashlight and ran out of the room. She had to tell the others, tell them that Billy was attacked and that his assailant may still be in the building. Jen then bolts back out the door and makes her journey back to the others, letting them know the news.

"What do you mean Billy's dead?" Amber asked upon Jen's return and revelation.

"He's in the other room... and he's got a knife sticking out of his head... And oh my god..."

Jerry walked up his fiancé and hugged her tightly, trying to comfort and calm her.

"Shh... easy... I'm sure you were just seeing things."

"I know what I saw Jerry! It was a big kitchen knife! It was in his forehead!"

"Alright. Alright," Jerry responded as he looked to everybody else. "We'll go with you. We'll all check it out."

"Then will you believe me?"

"You do know this is another one of his pranks, right? It's a fake knife, some corn starch syrup and some red food coloring," Geoff scoffed.

"No... no no no... This looked to good to be fake..."

"One way or another we'll find out," Jerry answered, closing the conversation.

With Billy's well-being as well as their own safety now in question, the group followed Jen back to where she found the body. When they returned, all they found was an empty chair. Upon this new discovery, Jen rushed up to the chair and put her hand on it, completely struck with disbelief.

"He was right here! I swear!"

Suddenly the door slammed shut behind everybody. Geoff turned around and walked up to it. He turned the knob, but it wouldn't open.

"Hey... uh... guys... the door is locked."

"Don't even joke like that..." Rex replied in disgust. If this was an attempt at humor, it wasn't funny at all.

"I'm not joking. The door's not budging!"

"This has to be Nega!" Amber cried out. "He's the only other one left in this building!"

"But why?" Jerry questioned. "He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do something like this."

"Maybe he snapped... I don't know..." Amber groaned as she answered. "All I know is we need to get out! And get the police!"

"Yeah... that doesn't sound like a bad plan... as soon as we can figure a way out of this room..." Geoff agreed.

"You're a pretty bulky guy. Can't you break it down?" Rex suggested.

"I could. I could also dislocate my shoulder doing it. Or get wood shards in my arm."

"And we could also all sit in this locked room waiting for bad stuff to happen to us. I'll pay your fucking medical bills. We need to get out now!!!" Rex yelled at the reluctant beaver.

"Ok ok! Get off my fucking case!"

Geoff sighed. He knew this only worked in movies, but Rex was right. If he couldn't busy the door open, they were at the mercy of the sick freak who was tormenting them like this. He hunched his shoulder over and started forcefully ramming it into the wooden barrier that was keeping them in. With each failed attempt he would throw himself into the door even harder. Even when his shoulder started hurting him and his body was begging him to stop, he continued his barrage. Finally, when it felt like his shoulder was about to give before the door did, the locking mechanism broke free and the door swung open. Geoff didn't escape unscathed though. He couldn't move his shoulder at all. He didn't know if he broke it or dislocated it like he knew he would, but it wasn't good. He just hoped that this wouldn't ruin his career.

"Great job!" Rex cheered as he patted his savior on the back on the other side from the shoulder he used to break open the door.

"Yeah... great... my career's probably fucked now... but great..."

"Hey!" the dragon snapped. "Would you rather leave here with your career or your life?"

"Yeah... I guess you're right. Come on, let's get out of here."

Everybody rushed out of the room and back down the dark corridor toward their freedom. They had to get out and alert the authorities. Their only regret was that something bad happened to Billy, but they all understood that the same thing could happen to them if they didn't hurry. They drew closer to the front entrance, but all hopes disappeared when they got close enough to see that somebody had closed the door and padlocked it from this side. They were now stuck in here with a maniac.

"This door's locked too! Who's locking all the damn doors?!?" Rex cried in a panicked tone.

"It's gotta be that damn psycho Nega!" Amber answered.

"Do you think you can break this door?" Rex asked as he looked to Geoff .

"And completely destroy my shoulder? No! Plus this thing is padlocked. We can just pick it or cut it..."

"Great. Do you have bolt cutters with you? Or know how to pick a lock?" Rex replied sarcastically, knowing the answer to both questions.

"Well... no... but it's not a bad idea..."

"What's not a bad idea?" a new voice chimed in from behind everybody.

The group turned around with haste, all lights finding the same focal point. Behind them was Billy, just standing there smiling, looking like he was trying to hold the laughter back. He was succeeding, until everybody's faces changed from fear and terror to disgust, anger, relief, or some strange combination of the three.

"Ha ha ha! Oh my god! You guys should see your faces!" the platypus blurted out between fits of hysterical laughter, clapping his hands all the while. "I can't breathe!"

"Not cool dude! You get your rocks off on prancing strangers or something?!?" Rex snapped, very annoyed at the jokester.

"Not only that, but your friends too!" Amber added.

"I'm sorry. But it is Halloween! The time for pranks and scares. And I got you guys good!"

They hated to admit it, but Billy was right. Halloween was a time for ticks and treats, spooky scenery and scaring each other silly. He was also right about pranking them good. Though there was something missing now that everything was being revealed.

"So where's Nega?" Jerry questioned, noticing the absence of the other platypus.

"I figured he'd be here with you guys. He must be in one of the other apartments. Can you guys help me find him?"

They looked amongst one another before nodding. It's not like they had any other options. The front door was locked, and it was obvious Billy wasn't going to leave without his cousin. The best thing to do here was to just help him out. Billy smiled and then thanked everybody.

"Ok. I'm gonna go look where I last saw him. I think it would be fastest if we split up and took different floors to try and find him in case he went off on adventure all his own. If somebody finds him, start pounding on the ceiling and the floor hard. That way others can hear you and we know he's found."

With those instructions, everybody headed off in their own direction. With only five floors and seven people looking for the missing man, some had to go in pairs and some had others on their own. Billy, Geoff, and Amber went off on their own while Jerry partnered up with his fiancé Jen and Rex teamed up with Becky. Soon the abandoned building had somebody on every floor stepping around on every floor, looking in each room they passed. Though it was something interesting that Jen found on the second floor that was about to ruin the search. As Jen was looking into each room, her light caught something lying on the floor in one empty apartment. At first she didn't see it clearly, but as she stepped closer, she could make out that it was a body resting there. As she drew closer, she saw the knife sticking out of its forehead. It was obviously the dead Billy prank. As much as it disturbed her, Jen had to walk up to it and touch it. Doing so only made her more uncomfortable. It felt so real, and it was cold. However as she was touching it, she noticed something. Her fingers were starting to turn brown and some of the fake's fur was turning grey. Jen then decided to start rubbing it more, and more of the brown was rubbing off. It wasn't long before the tigress figured out that the fake was real and that it was Nega. She let out a horrified scream which brought Jerry running in.

"What is it?" he asked as he rushed to Jen's side.

"It's Nega! He's dead!"

"This again...?" the squirrel sighed.

"Except it's real this time! This is Nega's real body! Somebody killed him!"

"How right you are..." another voice spoke up from behind the engaged couple.

They turned around to find a cloaked figure with a hood that covered his face. One hand was revealed, and in that hand was a large shard of glass. Before either one could react to the figure, it dashed forward. Jen and Jerry tried to defend themselves, preparing to attack, but the figure was methodical in his attack. He brought the large shard of glass up and slashed Jerry right across his throat. The gash was deep and the blood poured out like it was coming out of a faucet. Jen shrieked in horror and started running past the figure to get away. He swung the glass at her, and he was able to cut her arm real well but it was something she would survive. She bolted straight out of the room, screaming. Though with everybody separated in the large building, they probably couldn't hear her. The figure stepped out into the hall way, walking at a natural pace. He spotted the tigress who had gained some distance on him down the hall. The killer lifted his weapon above his head, and then threw the large piece of glass at his target. He managed to impale the fleeing female in her lower back, which knocked her to the ground and immobilized her. She could no longer feel her legs as she tried to crawl away with her arm strength alone. Her attacker walked up to her slowly, almost like he was enjoying her misery, and withdrew the weapon from her spine. She continued to try and crawl away, as futile as it was at this point, but she was ultimately stopped when the cloaked figure drove the glass shard into the back of her head, killing her instantly. With this task done, the murderer returned to Jerry, who was still laying there, choking on his own blood as the life drained from his body. Knowing that there was no chance for the squirrel to survive the attack, the madman stepped over the dying man to retrieve the knife that was sheathed in Nega's forehead. Three down, five to go.

Geoff Bevar was wandering the third floor by himself when he heard the screams coming from the floor below him. He started running for the nearest stairwell to see if he could help whoever was in trouble. Just as he reached the doors leading to the stairwell, a figure jumped out from the other side into the hallway. Startled by this, the muscular beaver quickly made a fist out of the hand on his good arm and quickly swung it at the man that stepped out. The blow landed across his face and it knocked him flat on his back. Gaining the upper hand, the baseball star prepared another swing, but it was then that he recognized the figure he had punched down.

"Rex? Shit man... I'm sorry..."

The beaver extended a hand to help the bearded dragon back to his feet. The bartender accepted the aid and rose to his feet, dusting himself off when he was able.

"It's ok. I heard the scream from below and I came running. What's wrong?"

"That wasn't me. That came from below. I was about to check it out when I ran into you. Wait... Where's the pirate?"

"Oh, Becky?" Rex clarified her name for the egotistical star. "I left her in an apartment back on four when I heard the scream. I'd like to get back to her as soon as possible, so lets hurry!"

Geoff nodded in agreement and soon the two rushed down to the second floor. They were cautiously looking into each doorway that they passed, trying to find the source of the sound of terror, when Geoff's light caught a glimmer of something in the hallway in front of them. It was hard to make out what it was at first, but something reflected the light back at the beaver. It was glass, but part of it was tinted red. He then moved the light downward, and what Geoff saw brought him instantly to tears. It was a cheerleader, face down and motionless, with glass sticking out of her head. His friend was laying there, robbed of life, and he couldn't help her. He felt a put in his stomach from the sight as he fell to his knees. Even though she was engaged to another man, who also Geoff's friend, and although she never really shared the same feelings in the same way, Geoff cared very deeply for this woman, and now she was dead. He made a silent vow at that point to find whatever sick bastard did this, rip his testicles off one at a time, feed them to him, and then snap his neck. Geoff pounded a fist against the floor in rage, ready to snap, when Rex spoke out. Geoff turned his head to the dragon, who was looking into an apartment.

"Oh my god... we have a huge problem... And I'm sorry to tell you this... But two more of your friends are dead..."

"What? Who?" the beaver asked defeatedly, not ready to actually hear the answer.

"It looks like your friend Jerry and that Billy guy, except his fur is turning grey."

"That's Nega! Fuck... Billy's gonna be crushed... but we don't have time to grieve or mourn. There's a maniac on the loose and he's attacking and killing us all slowly!"

"Becky!!!"

Without another word, the dragon was sprinting back to the stairwell and running upward, skipping multiple steps at a time to gain as much distance as he could as quickly as he could. He dashed back up to the fourth floor and back to the apartment he left Becky in, only to discover he was too late. He didn't know how, but the killer got past him and Geoff on the stairwell and found Becky. The sight was unbearable. There was a body crumpled on the floor next to a rather large piece of cement, blood and brain matter smeared all over it and the floor as the body's head was smashed into a pulp. Rex started to curse himself under his breath for accepting this party invitation, because if he hasn't, his friend would still be alive. Geoff, being a larger guy, wasn't as agile despite being a professional athlete. It took him a few more moments to catch up to the dragon. When he saw what Rex saw, Geoff nearly threw up.

"Oh my god this fucker is sick... takes a really fucked up piece of shit to do that to somebody else..."

"We have to find him..." Rex finally was able to force out. "We have to find him and stop him. Kill him if we must, but he needs brought to justice..."

"Damn right!" Geoff agreed enthusiastically. "But we better find Billy and Amber first. That's if this psycho hasn't already..."

"The problem is which floor do we check? It's not safe to split up, but if we don't get to one in time, they could die."

"We should get to Amber first. Billy's able to defend himself a lot better than she can. And I think she went up to five."

"I like this plan. Let's go!"

With each other on the same page, the two men return to the stairwell and start climbing with haste, trying to get to Amber before something, or rather somebody, worse did. The footsteps were loud as they pounded down the fifth story hallway, eyes frantically darting through each doorway as the men sprinted. Though it wouldn't be the men that found the last woman, but rather she would come out of one of the doorways up ahead and stop their dash. Following close behind her was Billy who was supposed to be on the first floor.

"AMBER!!! BILLY!!! OH MY GOD THANK GOD YOU'RE BOTH SAFE!!!" Geoff shouted in relief as he saw his two friends unharmed.

"Yeah... Glad to see you two are safe too..." Billy answered with a sigh.

"Not to nitpick here, but weren't you supposed to be down on the first floor?" Rex asked the platypus.

"Yeah, I was. But then I heard the screaming from the second floor so I ran up to check it out. When I saw Jen in the hallway, I ran up to four to check on Becky and then five to make sure Amber was ok."

"Too bad you couldn't get to Becky in time..." Rex said with a sigh.

"What're you talking about? Becky was alive when I left her," the platypus informed the dragon.

"Really, huh? Well, I hate to tell you... you left her alone and she was attacked and killed."

"What?!? No! That can't be!"

"I'm afraid so buddy. The fucker is somehow finding out when we leave each other alone and taking advantage of it..."

"Ok. We gotta get outta here! And somebody should call the police while we're headed back downstairs," Billy commanded.

Everybody nodded in agreement as they started walking for the entrance to this death trap they found themselves in. Rex pulled his cell phone out and called the police. He told them of everything that happened, and they informed him that they could have officers arrive within a half hour. The four survivors just hoped that wasn't enough time for the killer to get away, but they weren't willing to risk their lives to ensure that he was still here when the boys in blue got there. They wanted justice, but they knew they were no match for the psycho, especially since he was armed and they weren't. So the survivors cut their losses, not even stopping to gather their friends' bodies, as the made it down to the ground floor and were headed for the locked front door.

"I just wish we knew who this guy was... really give him what for..." Billy lamented as he pulled out the key he had for the padlock on the door.

"Oh I already know who the killer is," Rex stated to the platypus.

"Really?" the plat questioned the dragon.

"Yup."

With that blunt answer, Rex quickly tackled Billy to the floor and started pounding his fists into the play's face. Billy tried to shove his attacker off of him, but the dragon was in such a blind fury that his strength seemed almost inhuman. Not even Geoff, with all of his strength, could pull the dragon off as he was starting to break bones in the Billy's head, the bruises and swelling starting to misshape his face. He quickly lost consciousness from the pain, and the dragon's fury eventually subsided, leaving him panting and gasping for air as he sat on top of the man he claimed was the killer.

"That... was... for... Becky..."

Amber just watched everything unfold. She couldn't believe what was happening in front of her. She knew Billy couldn't be the killer, but she also knew there was no way to convince Rex otherwise at this point. She walked around to the other side of the men, walking behind Geoff and putting her hand on his back. She smiled down at him, and he back up at her, as they all shared a moment of joy, knowing they were going to survive this night. Amber then closed her eyes. With a quick twist of her arm, a knife fell out of her sleeve into her hand, which she quickly swung down at Geoff's feet, slashing him through his Achilles' tendons. He screamed out in pain as he rolled over onto his back. He started crawling away on his only good arm, and all Rex could do was look on in disbelief. He just beat an innocent man within an inch of his life, and the real murderer had the drop on them all.

"But... Why...?" Rex questioned, knowing Geoff was now in no shape to defend himself or find any answers out.

"It's simple. Year after year... Billy pranks us. It's like clockwork. So all I had to do was wait for Halloween."

"BUT WHY?!?"

"Why? Why not? Maybe I got tired of the pranks. Maybe it's a delayed mental breakdown from what I witnessed years ago. Maybe I just got tired of being pushed around by my 'friends', always doing what they want and what they say. All I know is that it feels good to make somebody else physically feel the way I feel emotionally. Nice job, by the way, taking Billy out for me. He was the big threat. That venom of his, combined with his naturally defensive fighting style, made him the biggest challenge tonight."

Rex growled in frustration and rage as he quickly jumped up off the plat's body and charged her. He knew she had the advantage, holding a weapon, but he hoped he could knock the knife from her hands. He put his head low, but kept his eyes up, as he ran at the murderous woman. The fox brought her knife up to defend herself, and while she was able to cut him across his left eye, he ultimately succeeded in tackling her to the ground and knocking her weapon away. Amber instantly started flailing her arms around to find another weapon as the dragon started throwing fists at her face and body. She was able to find a rock and quickly brought it across his head, knocking him off her. She crawled a foot away before she scrambled to her feet and ran away from Rex, who was quick to give chase as soon as he regained his senses from the bash he just suffered. His vision was blurred, both from the blow to his head and the fact that one eye just got cut, but he was able to follow his friend's killer. Amber ducked into one of the apartments, trying to recollect herself and maybe find a new weapon, especially since she was sure he grabbed her knife as he pursued her. She quickly scanned the room for anything of use, but she couldn't find anything. Letting out a frustrated groan, she thought of something on the fly. She loosed the waistline of her skirt enough to push it down off her body, which she quickly picked up.

Rex slowly stalked his prey, ready to strike. Whether it was vengeance or justice, Rex didn't care anymore. He just wanted to hurt this psycho much in the same way she hurt everybody else tonight. He stepped cautiously through the doorway he watched Amber run through. He raised the knife, wanting to be ready to stab her. Though with all his planning, the one thing he wasn't ready for was for the killer to take advantage of the one real weakness every guy has. As he stepped into the room, he felt a strong force nearly crush his testicles against his pelvis. The pain was so intense that Rex dropped to his knees, the knife falling from his grasp, as his hands instinctively cupped his injured body. With the attack successful, Amber stepped behind the dragon, wrapping her skirt around his throat as she did, and started to pull the cloth toward her. Rex was now struggling to breathe, the fabric choking him. He grasped at the fabric, trying to pull it from his throat, but Amber was able to keep her leverage. Rex could feel his body getting weaker as the life started leaving his body. He was going to pass out from oxygen deprivation soon, and then he would die because she would continue to choke him afterward. Just as he felt the darkness starting to take him, Amber let out a scream of pain and the cloth loosened its grip on Rex's neck. The dragon turned around and watched as Billy took his hand off a knife that was now plunged into Amber's shoulder. She instantly fell, her body motionless. The pain was too much for her, never really having actually had to endure any true pain before. Billy looked to Rex, the left side of his face so swollen that his eye was completely hidden from view, and extended his hand to the dragon.

"You're... Not mad...?"

"Oh I'm pissed... But I'll get my payback when we get outta here."

Rex took the play's hand and stood up. The bruised and battered men then slowly limped back to the main entrance, happy this was finally over. Geoff would live, but both Billy and Rex knew his career was over. Then men didn't even have a proper chance to grieve the losses of friends and family, but now it was starting to set in, especially as they made it back to Geoff. He had passed out from the pain and loss of blood. Billy picked the key up off the floor, having dropped it in the struggle with Rex. He walked over to the padlock and started unlocking it. That's when he heard Rex scream, but it was more of a gurgling scream. The plat turned around and saw that Amber was back, and she slit Rex's throat with the knife Billy had impaled the fox with. The dragon fell to the floor, dying from his wound, as the murderer stepped past him. Billy groaned and prepared to defend himself again.

"This shit is getting ol- OOOOOHHHHH!!!"

His sentence was cut off by screams of pain. The plat was so focused on his lamentation that Amber was able to get in close and drive the knife she was stabbed with square into the play's testicles. She then lifted on the blade, starting to cut through his body and leaving a deep gash in his abdomen. His guts started to push out of the wound as Billy collapsed to the ground, dying instantly from the wound. Amber then pulled her knife from her latest victim and walked over to the fallen beaver. One last loose end to tie up. She simply stabbed the beaver in his right eye, which was a fatal blow. Amber left the knife in Geoff's face as she walked over all the bodies to the door.

Amber unlocked the padlock and pushed the door open. The sun had finished setting and the night's sky. The darkness was destroyed by flashes of red and blue as sirens drew closer to the building. Amber thought of the most painful memory she could dig up in order to force tears to run down her cheeks. By the time the cops arrived, Amber had managed to make herself look fully hysterical with fear and tears. She ran up to the squad cars as they were parking, screaming and flailing her arms.

"You've got to help me! There's a killer inside! All my friends are dead!"

She then put her face in her hands and continued to weep. One officer put his cost around the distraught fox to keep her warm as the others started to enter the building.

"Sshh... It's ok. We're here to help. We're gonna find whoever did this and bring them to justice. For now, lets just get you someplace safe."

An ambulance showed up a few moments later. Amber was loaded into the back and taken to the hospital. She was stitched up and given a psychiatric evaluation to determine if this event would leave deep emotional scars. After a few days, she was released and allowed to return to her normal life. Needless to say, the mystery of the murders was never solved. It was a horrific event where the killer disappeared into thin air. The families and friends of those who died that night got to bury the deceased, but they never got the answers of "why?" or "who?" to get the closure they so desperately wanted. Amber got away free with her crimes, though nobody ever got away free. Unbeknownst to her, from the spiritual side of the realm, a figure was stalking her. A horse man, half bones and half flesh, known as Mors, but more commonly Death, was waiting for Amber's time to come. He was going to enjoy reaping her for all the work she made him do that Halloween night. He just hoped it was a painful death and laughed, though nobody would ever hear it.