I hope you enjoy my contribution to Halloween! I'm not going to say much, so just read on. I hope to have this finished by Halloween, so it will probably be short.

Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar! :(

Neal Caffrey lay on the cold patio outside of his room staring into the night sky. Below him New York was busy, the sounds of the city blending together into something akin to white noise. It was one of those rare nights where you could see the stars through the smog, scattered across the sky like diamonds, beautiful and sparkling. There was no wind, only a slight breeze from time to time.

It was the perfect night, to say the least, and Neal was content to just lay there listening. He closed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, laying flat against the tiled ground. It took him a few moments to realize that the city had grown quiet. The silence was heavy, as if a hundred pound blanket had been dropped from the sky, covering the entirety of New York.

Neal struggled to get to his feet, like a weight had been placed over his whole body to keep him on the floor. When he was finally standing, he staggered to the edge of the patio. His entire body was swaying as he fought to stay upright. He stared at the city below, seeing emptiness where cars had been moments ago, blackness where people had been walking, and darkness where the city lights usually illuminated. The entire city was still, dead.

Straining his ears, he searched for even the slightest of sounds to ensure him that he was, in fact, still in the land of the living. It was the only explanation. The city would never fall to silence, for it just wasn't possible with the number of people that occupied it. If Neal were dead, that would definitely explain the stillness. Suddenly a sound hit him, nearly causing him to fall from the patio in shock. He staggered backwards before he could lose his balance and fall to the mercy of the concrete below. Even if he were dead, that would not be a pleasant occurrence.

Neal listened as the sound grew louder, a rhythmic clip clop on the street below. When it stopped, he held his breath and poked his head out over the edge once more. His gasp was the loudest thing in the entire city as he came face to face with what he assumed to be Death.

A smoky figure was staring at him from where it sat atop a monstrous horse, its coat black as night. The figures eyes were crimson, shadowed by a dark, shredded cloak. They seemed to stare straight through him and into his soul. The horse that he rode was pawing at the ground, steam pouring from its flared nostrils and piling in clouds around its hooves. Suddenly the horse reared and the figure held a hand up in the air, sleeve falling to reveal claw like fingers pointing directly at Neal. He found that he couldn't move, those blood red eyes were keeping him grounded, burning into his mind. As he stared into the figures eyes he felt something shredding inside of him, the Devil's claws tearing at his heart. He cried out in pain, the only sound in the too-still city, body writhing on the patio of his apartment. His screams rang in his ears and he couldn't breathe.

As he became deaf to his own howling he heard the figure's dark, sinister laughter that echoed in the back of his mind. Neal watched, panting for breath between his strangled moans, as the figure lowered its hand and snapped the reins, sending the pitch black horse galloping into the darkness. His eyelids felt heavy as he fought to stay awake. He needed to stay conscious despite the burning throughout his entire body. If he succumbed to sleep, he may never wake up again, he may truly be lost to the depths of Hell.

Neal's eyes slipped closed, and all that he saw was that creature perched atop his mount, the image burned into his brain.

Sleep…

Please let me know what you thought! I've only seen one or two stories even partially related to Halloween, so I wanted to put up my own! I'm not the best at writing scary scenes or anything of the sort, so please let me know how I can improve! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, anything!

Thank you for reading.