HALLOWEEN
It was a dark and stormy night, Halloween night, to be exact, and Sam, Kelley, Noah, Danny and I had just got back from the Halloween Dance at school. They were all going to spend the night at my house.
We all had a terrific time at the dance. Student Council decorated the gym with real Jack-o-lanterns, and even rented a fog machine. One corner of the gym was covered with sticky spider webs. It made the whole place feel creepy, as though a huge spider could jump on you at you at any minute. At the same time, it was really fun, with everyone in their costumes.
We walked back to my house, weaving our way through all of the little kids in downtown Estes, even collecting a little candy here and there. We were probably a little too old for Trick-or-Treating on Halloween, but hey, who can say no to free candy?
We finally walk up the steep road leading to my house, which actually looked kind of creepy with the jack-o-lanterns out on the deck. The only thing I can hear is the Estes Park wind howling like a wolf. I ring the doorbell, and hear the chime inside.
My mom opens the door.
"Trick-or-Treat?" She says, wearing her usual magenta-colored witch outfit. She's holding out a cauldron filled with candy.
"Hey mom, it's just us." I say.
"Nice costume." I hear Kelley say to my mom.
"Thanks!" Your costume's cute too!" she says, and Kelley smiles.
I should probably mention what our costumes are. Sam and I are being pirates. Kelley is being a she-devil, while Noah is being a frightening mummy. Last of all, Danny is being a teenage girl (Kelley dared him).
My friends and I stroll into the house. I see Dylan, my older brother, sitting with his friends on the couch, watching T.V.
"Let's go downstairs." I say to my friends. We all climb down the carpet stairs, Noah tripping and falling into Kelley.
"Noah!" I hear her yell.
"Sorry, I tripped!" he apologizes.
Once we are in all in the game room downstairs, I ask my friends what they want to do.
"What do you guys want to do?" I ask no one in particular.
"We should tell ghost stories!" Noah suggests.
"That could be fun!" says Danny.
"Ok, let's go inside my room." I say.
We all crowd into my bedroom, which is decorated with fake cobwebs and a red strobe light for Halloween.
"Should we leave the strobe light on?" I ask them.
"Why not, it'll be even creepier with the red," Noah says. He seems apprehensive about something. I leave the strobe on.
"Who wants to go first?" Kelley says.
"I will!" Sam offers. We all nod.
"Try not to make the story too creepy, though!" Noah says.
"It was a dark and stormy night. " Sam starts to say in his terrible impression of a British person. I hear Noah and Danny stifle a laugh, either because they are nervous or because they've never heard Sam's dreadful British accent.
All of the sudden, the room goes pitch black. I hear the television upstairs turn off.
Someone screams.
I call out for my friends.
"Hunter!" a voice says. It sounds like Danny.
I run over to my lamp, bumping into something on the floor in the process.
I turn the dial on my lamp, illuminating everything in the room. Danny and Kelley are sitting on my bed, looking terrified. Sam is sitting on the floor. I think he's what I tripped over in the dark.
"Do you think it was a power outage?" Kelley asks the rest of us.
"I would guess so," says Sam nervously.
I notice that my door leading out into the hall is opened, even though I clearly remember closing it. I also notice that I haven't seen Noah sense the power went out. I look around, and he isn't in the room.
"Sam, close my door, now." I command to Sam, who is sitting closest to the door.
"Alright?" he says, confused. He gets up and closes it.
"Lock it." I command again.
"Why should he?" Danny asks.
"Noah's gone, you guys," I tell them. It seems as though I was the first person to notice this, because they all look as though they had just been slapped. Sam locks the door quickly.
"Noah?" Kelley calls out.
I look in the corners of my room and even check in my closet, but he is nowhere to be found. You can guess what everyone is thinking, someone took Noah.
"Dylan? Mom? Dad?" I yell, hoping they will respond. My heart sinks when no one yells back.
I stare at my friends in defeat.
"Look, one of us has to go upstairs and investigate.