This is a contest entry for the Love Fades, Mine Has Facebook group. They held a Halloween one-shot contest and this is the day we were allowed to post to fanfic so here it is :) Richelle Mead owns VA, I don't. Thanks to my amazing beta ItaSaku1! :)
Ole Hallow's Eve
Beta-ed by: ItaSaku1
Banner by: ItaSaku1
Rating: T
Word count: 1734
RPOV
It was a dark and stormy night. The three young girls and their boyfriends were walking through the woods. Behind them, they heard a loud thumping noise. The girls started to get scared. The guys were terrified too, but wouldn't admit it for they were afraid they'd hurt their pride. The thumping got louder and louder with each passing step when suddenly, one of the girls shrieked. Another friend had played a cruel prank on them on Ole Hallow's Eve that caused seven deaths and a new ghost. A new haunting.
"They were all Moroi and dhampirs that went to this very school," I finish my story, "I say we go talk to the ghost."
"I don't think so, Rose," Lissa says, looking terrified. Christian pulls her closer to him.
"What are you afraid of, angel?" he asks his girlfriend, "There's no such thing as ghosts."
"Non-believer," Mason says, smirking. Eddie nods in agreement.
"I'm so in," Mia states boldly, "Even if there is a ghost, I'm not scared."
"I-I don't t-think we should d-do this," Jill stutters out.
"I want to go," Adrian mumbles, being as wasted as he is. Dimitri sits silently.
"What do you say, comrade?" I ask, smirking, "Wanna play? Or are you scared?"
"You're the only thing that scares me, Roza," he says, giving me a half smile. I stand up, straightening my Belle costume. It took forever to convince Dimitri to dress up as the prince from Beauty and the Beast. There had been a costume party earlier tonight and all of us dressed up as Disney princes and princesses. Except Adrian, he went as Hugh Hefner. Liss and Christian were Cinderella and her Prince Charming. Jill and Eddie were Ariel and Prince Eric and Mia and Mason were Snow White and her Prince Charming.
"Anyone who wants to come, let's get moving," I demand, heading to the door. Everyone gets up and follows me, some more reluctant than others. We sneak into the woods since it's way past curfew. I examine every tree until I find the one with three large claw marks in it. I run my fingers over the marks and tilt my head.
"It was this very tree where the seven students were killed," I state softly and close my eyes. I lean against the tree.
"I don't like the feel of this place," Lissa whispers. I shush her and continue my story.
"The six that were walking around here were just being pranked by a friend of theirs originally. But it went really wrong," I tell my group of friends, "The friend's the one who haunts these woods, because he was the least suspecting. He was the one who planned it all. It was his fault his friends died so he's forced to forever live with what he had done. He set up this prank, just for some Halloween fun and now he lures people here every Halloween to relive that fateful night. This year it's us, I assume, considering we're the only ones here."
"I think we should go back now," Mia says, obviously getting scared.
"But I'm not done with my story," I pout, then smile and continue, "He was trying to get his friends to believe a were wolf was following them, so a real wolf followed him. It was a large almost mutant wolf with claws the size of butcher knives and fangs as sharp as razors. He sliced the boy open from nose to navel and ate his insides. Since his friends saw it happen, the wolf killed them too. The boy haunts these woods, trying to make it go different, trying to save his friends this time. That's why every year, seven students go missing. Their bodies are never found."
"There are nine of us," Eddie points out.
"A better chance of survival I assume," I say, shrugging. I sit by the tree.
"I'm going to get some wood to start a fire," Mason says.
"I'll come too," Eddie says and follows Mase.
"I don't like them going off alone," Liss states, worried.
"They'll be fine," I tell her, leaning against Dimitri. He kisses the side of my head and I sigh softly. Mason and Eddie get back with the fire wood. They set it up and ask Adrian for his lighter. They light the fire and Adrian lights a cigarette. I roll my eyes at him.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Jill asks quietly.
"We have to, Jail-bait," I tell her, "We can stop it and then no one else has to die."
"Rose! Are you crazy?" Lissa exclaims. I cock my head to the side.
"Most likely," I state, thoughtfully, "But I'm pretty damn sure you all like me like that."
"You wouldn't be you if you weren't a little insane, Rose," Dimitri says as he tightens his arms around my waist. I glance around my friends and sense a change in the atmosphere. I know they feel it too. My eyes darken.
"It's time," I say, "On your feet, loves." Everyone stands. Mia, Lissa, Jill, and Adrian form together behind the fire. Eddie, Mason, Dimitri, Christian and I form a circle around them. The only reason Chris is in the front line is because of his fire. The Moroi need to be protected at all costs. The dhampirs all get into fighting positions, including me. Christian steals himself to use his magic.
Thump. Thump.
"Bring it on, bitch," I whisper into the night.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Is everyone ready?" Mason breathes. There are murmurs yeses and nods all around. Out of the thick of the woods, a large, hunched over figure appears. It snarls loudly, baring vibrant, white teeth that practically glow in the light of the full moon. Christian flares the fire towards the looming wolf and it cringes back. The large, grey, snarling wolf springs forward through the fire searing its fur. I pick up a large solid branch. Eddie and Mason do the same while Dimitri pulls out his silver stake. Christian lights a fire in his palm and throws it forward making the wolf scamper back slightly.
"Charge!" I scream at my friends and my lover. We storm the wolf, hitting it with all we've got. I cry out in pain as its claws dig into my stomach, ruining my yellow dress.
"Roza!" Dimitri cries, worried. I grunt and slam my branch onto the wolf's side. It howls in pain and attacks Dimitri. He grunts with the impact of the wolf and they struggle for a moment.
"No!" I scream, thinking the wolf has the upper hand. Suddenly, both the wolf and Dimitri still. I run forward and kneel beside him. He moans in pain and I help him roll the wolf off of him. He slides his stake out of the wolf's lifeless chest and wipes the blood on the grass. The others come forward and stand beside where Dimitri and I are kneeling. A vague mist rises from the wolf's body. It rises up into the sky, darkening and forming the shape of a teenage boy. It floats back down to our level.
"Thank you so much for freeing my soul," the mist whispers into the night, "I knew you could do it, Rosemarie." A tear escapes my eye.
"I'd do anything for you, Damien," I whisper back, "You were the best brother I could ever ask for. I'm so sorry this happened to you."
"It's okay, little sister," Damien's spirit responds, "You could never have stopped it from killing me or the others, but you and your friends stopped it from killing anyone else. I love you, Miss Rosie."
"I love you too, big bro," I say, smiling, "I'll see you in the after-life." He smiles a brilliant smile at us. It glints pure white in the night, brighter than the full moon above.
"I'll be seeing you," he says, rising away from the group, "Eventually." I watch my brother leave this world for good and a small sob escapes my throat. Dimitri pulls me into his arms carefully, do to our wounds. He got slashed by claws on his arm. Lissa heals Eddie, Mason, Dimitri, and I. Luckily the others weren't injured so she didn't have to use too much spirit.
"Help me bury him?" I ask. Everyone agrees and we bury the large wolf. To me it's like burying my brother. I cry quietly as we cover the grey animal with dirt. Dimitri lifts me into his arms and carries me back to my dorm. He holds me close and we talk about my brother and his sisters.
"I looked up to him so much," I confide in my lover, "When he went missing, I was crushed. But then he started coming to me in my dreams. He told me what he did. He thought it was his fault but it wasn't. There was a rabid wolf and he couldn't have possibly known that but he still blamed himself because of the prank."
"What was the prank? If you don't mind talking about it," Dimitri asks me softly.
"He told his friends to meet him in the woods and he was just going to fake attack them, dressed as a werewolf but there was the real rabid wolf. It attacked my brother, thinking another wolf was trying to take over its territory. Damien's spirit got trapped in the wolf but his friends were able to move on," I explained.
"I take it this wasn't long ago then?" Dimitri ponders.
"A year before Liss and I left the academy," I tell him, sleepily.
"It's been a long day," he says, "Get some rest, my dear. I love you, Roza."
"I love you, Dimitri," I murmur, falling into a peaceful sleep.
And so, once again on Ole Hallow's Eve, the new ghost is set free. The ghost that was a girl's brother and best friend. One that didn't want to hurt anyone but instead was forced by a power greater than his own. The moral of the story, children, is that things are rarely what they seem and behind every demon, every evil, there is at least some good, some light. And as the night ends, the truth is, Halloween can never be a happy holiday.
Happy Halloween!
Reviews taste like Halloween candy ;P