HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (I know, technically after midnight again, but I haven't been asleep yet, to it's still kinda Halloween :p)

I've been trying to get this ready all day, between writing my dissertation which I am ready to rip up, but ended up having to re-write it and still not completely happy with it. I think the next bit's better though :) I hope. It might end up a little longer than 4/5 chapters, but not too much longer :)

Thank you for all the reviews that made me continue this, even if it was a little later than intended! EmmaJ1996, pinkswallowsun, Charlotte88, Thyqua, Sally Mayhem and Ann1119. Seriously, thank you so so much! :D

Hop Tu Naa!

xXx

Trick or Treat – Part Two

Nikki Alexander stretched, feeling her body ache due to exhaustion as she did so.

The body from the recent crime scene had just been delivered to the Lyell Centre, and Nikki wanted nothing more than to put him in the fridge and go home to bed, starting the post mortem after she had managed to grab a few hours of sleep. But she knew she couldn't.

She wouldn't let herself. The body of the young male looked as if he had only been in the alley for a short time, but Nikki wanted to check it over now that she had got back to the Lyell, wanted to check that she hadn't missed anything at the crime scene. She could leave the actual PM until tomorrow, but she wanted to do an external analysis before then so she knew what she was dealing with in the morning.

She knew she had little chance of sleeping tonight anyway, after the day she had just had. The scene was already haunting her, she dreaded to think what she would be like when she had finally managed to close her eyes.

Nikki stretched again, opening up the bottom drawer of Harry's desk and taking out a blank case file, before folding it and beginning to fill in the details on the front, ready for when she had finished her notes on the PM.

Date body received: 31st October 2011

Suspected cause of death: Bullet wound to the head

No name, no age, no next of kin to contact. Not the reasons why someone had decided to put a bullet through his brain, just a blank report waiting for Nikki to detail every bit of damage that the bullet had caused as it ended his life. The family probably had no idea yet, thought that he was out partying with his friends for Halloween. He was dressed up after all. His clothes had been soaked in fake blood, torn and ragged, his skin covered in stick on scars.

What a startling contrast to the small fairy costume she had seen earlier, her soft blonde curls falling over her powder blue dress.

Nikki sighed, leaning her head in her hands and squeezing her eyes shut to stop the tears reappearing. There was another file sitting on her desk. Another completely empty case file that had the details on the front ready, and one which she wanted to tape shut and never open again.

Name: Scarlett Corrin

Age: 5 years

Next of kin: Nina Corrin (mother)

Date body received: 31st October 2011

Suspected cause of death: smoke inhalation

Post mortem scheduled for: 1st November 2011

Nikki felt her hands shake uncontrollably as she shoved the file into the drawer and leant her head back in her hands. She couldn't let herself do this again. She had to act professional, it was her job after all. She couldn't let every case with a child effect her so much that she couldn't focus. There was no way she was going to let Harry and Leo send her back to a psychiatrist, have them watch her every move until the case was over with again.

She'd never taken any of the sodding pills the last time, and she wasn't starting now.

Glancing at her watch, Nikki let out a groan. Eleven seventeen. How on earth could it be nearly half eleven already? Maybe, if she was lucky, she could be home and in bed by one. But without Zak to prep the body that was highly unlikely.

As she thought, it took Nikki nearly half an hour to prep the cutting room ready to start, although she knew that she could probably have done it in half the time on any normal day, when she was not too exhausted to move. Harry better be bloody grateful.

Quickly checking her mobile, Nikki was both relieved and disappointed when she found no message from Harry. That meant he must still be asleep, which is what he needed, but she still would have preferred to speak to him instead of sitting in the empty office on her own.

Nikki could hear the screams and shouts outside from the cutting room and could tell that the streets would still be littered with university students, their 'costumes' far too short and their bloodstreams swimming with alcohol. How she'd love to be young and care-free for just one more night…

Hitting play on the CD player, turning the music up until it reverberated off the walls, echoing slightly in the large room, Nikki turned towards the body. She needed the music loud tonight, just to stay awake long enough to get through the examination, but the fact that it drowned out the noise of the parties going on outside was a bonus. Her bed was calling her name, and there was a certain someone asleep on her sofa that she'd rather be cuddled up to, instead of having to stare at the body of another wasted life. A life cut short for no obvious reason.

The examination was pretty straight forward, and Nikki was scribbling down another note when she heard a crash in the background that sounded much closer than the ones outside. Nikki frowned, pausing in taking her notes and killed the music. The immediate silence was uneasy, yet that's what it was. Completely silent. She must be hearing things. She was tired enough after all.

Shaking her head, Nikki turned back to the slab, just as there was another bang from the locker room.

"Harry, I didn't take your call for you to come in to work and join me, did I?" she laughed, spinning round towards the cutting room doors. "I could have gone to bed you know. I could have woken you up, told you it was your call and gone straight to bed you lazy bugger."

But there was no answer as Nikki addressed the glass doors, expecting Harry to open them and stick his head through, shooting her his trademark grin that always let him away with whatever he wanted from her.

"Harry?" she put down her clipboard and pulled off her gloves, making her way across the lab. "Harry, you're not funny you know. I know its Halloween but you can't scare me. Your face is scarier than any mask you can find, and after all these years I think I'm getting used to it by now."

She tried to keep her voice light hearted, knowing that Harry would be able to hear any hint of fear no matter how small. He was just getting her back for calling him this morning before he had managed to get to bed.

"Harry?"

There was another bang, and Nikki jumped back just as her hand was about to touch the glass door. The unmistakable sound of laughter rang out through the locker room and Nikki felt her heart thump in her chest. It was a girl laughing, not Harry. There was someone else here, this late at night when the building should be locked up and secure.

Nikki stepped back slowly, pressing her back to the wall and trying to focus on breathing steadily. Her mobile was in her pocket, all she had to do was phone Harry and get him to come down to the Lyell to meet her. He wouldn't be happy at being woken up, but right now, she couldn't care less.

"Pick up Harry," Nikki whispered as she held her phone tight to her ear. "Pick up your damn phone. Shit!"

She had put it on silent. She remembered now. Nikki had picked up Harry's phone just before she left and put it on to the silent setting so it wouldn't disturb him. And now she couldn't get a hold of him. He wasn't picking up.

"This way," she heard someone shout and Nikki froze again, her mobile still held at her ear.

And then everything seemed to click into place, her limbs started to move, and before she knew it she was back in the middle of the cutting room, a scalpel replacing her mobile in her shaking hand.

"They'll go away," Nikki whispered to herself. "It's just kids messing about. They'll go."

She wished she believed her own words, she really did.

"Sim, this way!" his voice sounded again and suddenly the doors flew open, a tall male in his late teens standing in the doorway with a cruel smirk on his lips. "Hello there."

Even from a distance, Nikki could tell within a split second that this was not someone she wanted to be facing right now. He might have been in his teens but he was huge, powerful, and somewhat intimidating.

"Get out," Nikki trembled, her hand gripping the small blade. "You shouldn't be here. How did you get in?"

"Through the front door," he shrugged. "Seriously, you're a doctor, you're supposed to be clever. How else would we have gotten in here?"

Bloody receptionist. She was unreliable at the best of times, but for the last week she had complained to Nikki every chance she got that she had to work late tonight when she had a Halloween party she wanted to go to. All she had to do was check that the doors were locked and turn the lights off. How hard could it be?

"Tyler, what are you doing?" came a girl's voice as she ducked under his arm, grinning at Nikki. "Oh, you found a friend."

"Please put that down," Tyler said, glancing at the blade still held tight in Nikki's hand. "Do you really think we're going to hurt you? It's Halloween, we only want to have some fun and ask you something."

"What?" Nikki asked, her eyes widening as more people appeared behind the other two.

"Well," Tyler smirked, walking towards Nikki. "Trick. Or treat?"

There was silence as they stared at each other, Nikki desperately trying to keep her breathing under control before it was broken by the sound of laughter from one of the girls.

"Please put that down," Tyler spoke again, reaching up to take the scalpel, but Nikki flinched away.

"What do you want?"

Tyler shrugged, the smile never leaving his lips.

"A party. You see, my girlfriend," he turned towards the girl behind him and held out his hand. "Simone. I promised her a good night. And that's what we're going to get."

"Look," Nikki said, lowering her hand slightly. "I have a bottle of wine in the office, what about that? Trick or treat, right? Well I choose treat."

"Hmm," Tyler frowned, turning to face the others who were all standing in the doorway. "Liam, why don't you decide for the pretty little doctor. Trick or treat?"

Liam made his way to stand next to Tyler, smirking before throwing his hand up towards Nikki, a gun pointing in Nikki's direction.

"Bang!" he shouted, pulling the trigger.

Nikki jumped, dropping the scalpel to the floor which was quickly kicked away by Tyler as the group erupted into hysterics.

"I'll take that as trick then," Tyler said. "Good choice. Now, doctor, I need you to do one more thing for us. I need you to destroy everything you've written on that paper."

"Tyler, what are you talking about?" one of the girls asked, but Tyler didn't get to answer, as one of the other girls let out a scream and stepped away from the group, her hand covering her mouth and her eyes fixed to the body on the slab.

Nikki turned away to throw the sheet over the top, covering his blood soaked features.

"M-Mark," she stammered, her eyes flying to Nikki. "Was that Mark? What happened to him? Why is he here?"

"I don't know who it is yet," Nikki shook her head, glancing to the slab. "I can't let you see him, we don't know who he is."

"But its Mark!" she shouted again. "It's Mark Fell, he- he was with us only a few hours ago!"

"Kelly, calm down," the other girl moved towards her."You're probably seeing things."

"Fran, it was Mark, I know it is! Please, let me see him," she turned to Nikki, her eyes pleading. "Please."

"I- I can't," Nikki shook her head. "He- he was shot. In the head. It's not a nice sight, you won't want to-"

"Please!" she cried. "He's my cousin."

Nikki sighed, turning back to the body and nodding her head.

"Leave it," Tyler said loudly turning to Kelly. "I don't care if he was your cousin or not, he was an arse."

"What do you mean?" she sobbed. "You were talking to him earlier. You were talking to him at Eddie's. You-"

The colour seemed to drain from Kelly's face, her thick dark eyeliner standing out even more as it began to streak down her face. She was wearing a pair of dark hot pants and a skyscraper heels, accessorised with a small clip on witches hat and a pencilled on spider web above her right eye.

"You left with him," she stuttered. "We didn't see you for hours. What did you do? You know how drunk he was, and you left him on his own, didn't you. And now someone has killed him!"

Tyler smirked, walking past Nikki towards the slab and taking hold of the sheet.

"No," Nikki followed him, putting her arm out to stop him. "I can't let you touch him."

But Tyler pushed her away, throwing the sheet back and exposing the bloodied body.

Kelly took one look at the body and bent over, throwing up on the lab floor, her whole body shaking.

"What did you do?" Liam questioned Tyler, before turning to the other guy who had remained reasonably quiet, as if looking for backup. "Tony, did you see him leave?"

Tony, who had dressed as a hotdog, shook his head, his eyes wide.

"Why are you actually here?" Nikki questioned, resting her hands on her hips and trying to ignore the huddle of girls that were now comforting Kelly. "I mean, I get it. You're young, you're wanting a good time. And Halloween is the perfect time to drink too much and enjoy yourselves. So why here? Why do you want to spend your night in here with the dead, instead of out there where you can feel so alive?"

"Why do you?" Tyler asked with a smirk. "Why do you spend your time in here?"

"I wouldn't be if your friend hadn't been shot through the skull, would I?"

"You just keep telling yourself that love," he laughed. "Now, sit down."

"What?"

"Sit down. Now. Over there, by the wall," he tilted his head to Nikki, who narrowed her eyes in reply. "Now!"

Suddenly, his hand shot up and Nikki found herself looking down the barrel of a gun, inches from her nose, but this time she could tell the difference between Liam's plastic toy and the one in Tyler's hands.

"Ok," she said quickly, holding her hands up and moving back slowly until her back made contact with the wall.

"You stupid bitch," Simone laughed, draping her arm over Tyler's shoulders and kissing him on the cheek. "It's not real, you don't need to look so shocked. See, Tony's a hotdog, with a rifle. Don't ask. Liam's a cowboy and Tyler's a gangster. And then we're a cat, a witch, a rabbit and a devil…"

"Simone?" Tyler turned to her.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Simone frowned, her eyes growing dark.

"Stop telling me to shut up! I never wanted to come in here in the first place. This is boring. Put down your stupid toy and lets go find somewhere that'll let us in!" she moaned, pulling on his arm, but Tyler shrugged her off, the gun remaining inches from Nikki's skin.

"Sit down," he said, his voice monotone. "Simone, sit next to her."

"No," Simone laughed. "Stop messing, come on. Let's go."

"Now!" Tyler yelled, turning the gun in the direction of the group behind him. "I mean it, all of you, sit down. Along the wall. Or you end up on the slab next to Mark."

"Ty, mate, I think you've had too much to drink," Liam spun his plastic gun around his finger. "It's not real. Let's get out of here."

"It's real," Nikki said, and the group turned to look at her. "The gun. It's real. Sit down."

"No, it's not," Liam rolled his eyes. "He's a gangster. You know, Eminem mixed with street gang rapper. God, you really are stupid for a doctor."

"It's a real bloody gun, now sit down!" Nikki shouted, her patience wearing thin. This had been a ridiculously long day, and the last thing she wanted to be doing was arguing in front of a deranged teenager with a loaded weapon pointed at her head. She'd been here before. And that had ended drastically. She didn't want to have to mop up any more brain matter from the Lyell Centre floor after it was blown out in front of her eyes.

Some of the teenagers, Kelly, Fran, Tony and the other girl that Nikki did not know the name of, seemed to sense the fear in Nikki's voice, and moved at her words, positioning themselves along the wall, with the girls clinging to each other, their bare skin covered in goose bumps. Liam and Simone however stood where they were, a defiant look on their features.

"Tyler, you're scaring me now," Simone said, placing a hand on his arm. "Come on, we don't blame you for leaving Mark on his own. We know how annoying he is when he's drunk. It wasn't your fault he got shot."

"Sit down."

"It's not a real gun, look," Liam shouted, aiming his own plastic gun at Nikki and pulling the trigger, causing it to make a small popping noise. "Wow, scary. This is getting ridiculous!"

"Sit down!" Tyler bellowed, pointing his gun at the glass doors in to the cutting room and pulling the trigger, the bang of the gun echoing through the lab and causing the girls to scream as the glass door shattered.

"It's a real gun!" Liam stammered, stepping away from Tyler.

"No shit Sherlock," Nikki muttered, unable to help herself. "I've only been telling you that for the last ten minutes."

"Sit. Down," Tyler smiled, pointing the gun at each person standing until they did as he asked, Nikki sliding down the wall to sit next to one of the trembling girls. "Now, I told you all that we were going to have a good time. And this is where the fun starts."

"You're crazy," Simone stuttered, wrapping her arms around her knees, her clip on devil horns beginning to slide down her hair.

"I know," Tyler smiled manically. "But it's Halloween. It's time for the freaks to come out to play."