It was the weekend before Halloween. Shawn had gotten used to the decorations in the office (even the pineapple Susie'd carved). The lights were up, a pumpkin sat on the stoop with the word 'Psych' carved into it. Susie had even found a way to make the office phone's ring tone 'the death march', which scared the crap out of Gus the first time it went off. Shawn had gotten used to it all. But he wasn't sure he was happy about doing the fortune telling for a Halloween carnival.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" he asked Susie.

"Yes. Now hold still." She applied the finishing touches on Shawn's makeup. "There." She held up a mirror so Shawn could see what she'd done. It wasn't anything over the top. She'd just made his eyes more defined, and gave them a little bit of shimmer, to give him that mysterious all-knowing look. Compared to Susie, it didn't even look like he was wearing makeup. Susie was dressed as a rag doll, with patches on her dress, long striped socks and stitches drawn on her arms and face.

Shawn picked up the crystal ball Susie had found. "How do I look?" he asked.

"Like the real thing." Susie looked at her phone. "We'd better go. They want us there an hour before it starts."

"Okay. C'mon, Gus."

Gus simply sat at his desk, looking unhappy. He begrudgingly got up.

"Dude, fix your sash. It's crooked."

"Shawn, I didn't agree to do this. I look like an idiot."

"But I need an assistant to wash my ball."

"That's not funny, Shawn. Besides, why can't Susie do it?"

"Because I'm working everywhere else." Susie said, drawing on a last minute stitch. "Now stop complaining."

The group drove to the school, getting a few odd looks from the other people driving by. Gus pulled into a parking spot at the school and the three made their way in.

The school was decorated, but not nearly as much as the Psych office. Susie led Shawn and Gus to the gym, where there were a few stands set up. People, both with and without costumes, milled around, putting the finishing touches on the games and such. Susie led them to a corner of the gym, where a black tent was set up. Stars and moons covered the tent. Susie opened a flap of the tent and showed Shawn and Gus in. Inside, there was a circular table and two chairs across from each other. The purple table cloth was sprinkled with glitter. A few more stars and moons hung from the ceiling, along with tarot cards. A poster of a hand with an eyeball in the palm hung in the center of the back wall. Susie knelt down in the corner and flipped a switch, causing little white Christmas lights to turn on, giving the tent a dull glow, since only every other light worked. "Light these candles around 6:45." said Susie.

Shawn looked as Susie put two tarnished silver candleholders with two long white candles on the table. "Suze, did you by any chance decorate this area?"

"Yeah. Since it was my idea to get a fortune teller, I wanted to be the one to decorate for it. Why?"

"It just… has your touch."

Susie smiled and walked towards the opening of the tent. "I have to go make sure everything else is going well. I'll be back around five 'til seven, to set up Gus' table and make sure you know what you're supposed to do."

"Gus gets his own table?"

"Well, yeah. He's your barker."

"Excuse me?" Gus said.

"Yeah. You'll sit outside the tent and take people's tickets, and entice others to come in." Susie said as she left the tent.

Finally, it was almost time for the carnival to start. Susie came back to the tent and set up Gus' table. She taped the 'Fortune Teller: 2 tickets' sign on the front and set a glass fishbowl on the table. "Put the tickets in here." she instructed Gus. "So. You guys ready?"

Gus nodded and sat behind his table. "Where are you going to be?" asked Shawn.

"No idea. My job is to wander around the carnival, making sure everything is going well, and bringing refreshments to the workers."

Shawn nodded. "So, you're like, in charge of this?"

"Exactly. The school needed ideas of how to raise money. This was my idea, so they put me in charge."

"Surprising, considering the principal doesn't really like you."

"I know. If this goes well, maybe I can get back on her good side."

"Do you really want that?"

Susie shrugged and looked at her phone. "Doors are opening soon. I'll stop by later, make sure everything's okay. Text me if you need anything."

Shawn watched as she left, and went back into his tent and sat behind his table. His first 'customer' didn't come until 7:20. But after that things really picked up, not just at his booth, but all over.

Gus watched as people went into the tent looking normal, but coming out filled with emotion. Some looked scared, some looked extremely happy. Shawn was doing a better job than the other fortune teller the school had hired, Gus figured.

Susie was also busy, constantly checking that the staff was doing their jobs well and that the customers were happy. She was happy with the turnout. Around 8:30 Monica called her.

"Hey, I need your help down at the haunted house."

Susie quickly went down to the basement, which was usually the cafeteria. There was a line of people outside the entrance. Susie found her friend dressed as a vampire, standing under the sign that read 'Haunted House' in red letters that looked like they were dripping blood.

"What's up?" asked Susie.

"A kid went into the house and I guess he got scared and won't come out."

"What about his parents?"

"He was by himself. But a few people came out and said there was a kid crying in there. He won't move."

Susie nodded and went into the haunted house. It didn't start out too bad, but it got progressively scarier the further you went in. She found the kid about midway through the house.

"Hey," she said, coming closer to the boy, shining her flashlight on the floor near him. "Are you okay?"

The boy, probably a sixth grader, shook his head. He pointed at his foot, which Susie bathed in light. She saw that the kid had gotten tangled in some fake cobweb, and had probably gotten even more stuck by trying to wiggle out of them. Susie worked the boy's foot out and helped him stand.

"Thanks," he said, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

Susie nodded. "I'll walk you out."

The two walked through the haunted house, Susie shining her light on a few of the decorations, just to make sure everything was still holding up. She noticed something that looked like a foot sticking out from under a table. She took the kid through another room. "There's the exit." she said, pointing her flashlight at the curtain. The kid ran out, and Susie called Monica.

"I see you got the kid out," Monica answered.

"Yeah. Can you hold the line a little longer?"

"Um, I guess. Is everything okay?"

"I just need to check something."

Susie hung up and went back to the room with the table. She lifted up the table cloth. There was indeed a foot under the table. It just happened to be attached to a body. One that wasn't a decoration.

Susie quickly took a pulse. Well, she tried. But there wasn't one. She picked up her flashlight and left the haunted house.

"Everything good?" Monica asked.

"No." Susie turned to the group in front, waiting to get in. "Sorry, folks. This is closed for the rest of the night."

Susie ignored the groan and a few profanities. "Stay here, make sure no one goes in" she told Monica. Susie went back upstairs and up to Gus. "Is someone in there?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Don't let anyone go in when they come out. I need to talk to Shawn."

At that moment, a lady, probably mid-twenties cam out of the tent. Susie ran in behind her, hoping Gus would follow her instructions.

"Welcome to your glimpse of the future," Shawn said. "Please have a—oh, Susie. What are you doing here?"

"There's a body in the haunted house."

"Just one? That's not very scary, Suze."

"A real one, Shawn."

Shawn paused. "Are you sure it's not a decoration?"

"It wasn't there when I walked through before the carnival. And its skin is too flesh-like to have been made or bought."

"Well," Shawn said. "I didn't see this coming."