Halloween short from my In Which collection.

A power cut on the 31st of October, it's evening and Gordon is snooping around the island. Nothing to worry about is there? Scott knows different. This means only one thing, get the power back on before the prankster-loving brother can do any more damage.

Gordon had been creeping around the house all day dressed as the Grim Reaper, and his siblings knew that there were traps and tricks set up all over the place. The lounge was decorated with spider webs and pumpkin lights, and the centre table was covered in snacks. There were bowls of crisps and other savoury items on the shelves and on top of the piano, where Virgil was sitting playing his own takes on horror film soundtracks. He had decided to dress as the Angel of Death and wore a pair of sweeping black wings that draped on the floor behind him, being held in place by a brace hidden under a black suit. A devil ring sat on his middle finger, and he had gelled his hair up into sharp spikes. Scott walked into the lounge dressed as Dracula with a cloak that swept along the floor behind him, and he grinned at his brother showing off his fangs.

"All ready Virg?"

"You bet. Have you found any of Gordon's tricks yet?"

"Thankfully not."

Virgil reached forward and helped himself to a pretzel, "he's lost his subtlety anyway."

Suddenly the lights went out and the room was plunged into darkness along with every other light in the house. The sun had gone down and there was no moon. Before anything was said, there was a loud crash followed by a curse as someone tripped down the steps into the sofa ring.

"What the hell?"

"Gordon, this had better not be your doing?" Scott's voice was angry even without being seen.

"Give me a break, I've just fallen down the steps! And no, this wasn't me, I was on my way here. Who else is in here?"

Virgil, knowing the piano keys backwards, played a tune, "up here. I wish we had lit those pumpkins."

Kayo entered the room using the torch on her phone and three screams echoed around the lounge, "it's just me guys. What happened?"

"A power cut. Are John and Alan with you?" Scott asked walking towards Kayo with the aid of her torch.

"Afraid not, I have no idea where they are. We need to get to Mateo and switch on the backup power."

Scott frowned in the darkness, "this is a good time to tell us if this is your doing, Gordon?"

"Scott, why would I want to plunge the house into darkness?"

"Alright. Kayo and I will go to Mateo. You two, find John and Alan."

"Awh man, I can't see a thing!"

Virgil leaned on his hand, "well, we've found Alan."

"Virgil? Where are you?"

"At the piano, want me to guide you there?"

"Yeah, I know there are snacks there."

Virgil smirked as he played the theme to Mission Impossible then yelped as Alan walked into his back, "okay, you've reached the piano."

"Sorry. What's with the darkness?"

"Kayo and I are about to find out, stay here. If the power comes on that means we've reached the generator," Scott looked over at where he thought his brothers were gathered.

Gordon grinned as the room went black, "good luck."

Virgil stood up, "let's split up and look for John, he loves space but you know he's scared of the dark."

Gordon nodded. "Good idea. Break," he walked swiftly out of the lounge and took a shortcut to catch up with Scott and Kayo. "First things first," he pressed a button which slammed a door ahead of his siblings and heard them yell, then happily knowing they couldn't go the way they wanted he went round to the bedrooms.

"Damn, the power cut has locked this door," Scott pressed the button over and over.

"We'll have to go the other way, come on," Kayo turned the corner into another corridor. "What the!"

Scott walked into something sticky and found he couldn't move, "Gordon!"

Gordon turned a couple of fans on making some ghostly figures he had set up float in front of the bay windows, "now, when Virgil and Alan come across these, that'll give me more time to find John."

Virgil led the way with his phone torch and smiled at Alan's glow-in-the-dark skeleton costume, "you okay, Al?"

"Yeah, this makes Halloween all that more frightening."

"Hold that thought, I can see a light," he raised his phone and turned the corner with a yell.

"Virgil?" Alan caught up with him and screamed at the apparitions blocking their way. "Ghosts!"

"There's a logical reason for this," Virgil narrowed his eyes and expanded his wings knocking the projections over. "This is Gordon's doing."

Gordon cursed under his breath, "dammit. Minor setback."

Virgil smiled at his shaking brother beside him, "hey, it's okay, they were just projections and bedsheets. Let's find John."

Alan sighed as he felt Virgil's hand on his shoulder, "how did you know they were fake?"

"Gordon is my co-pilot, I'm used to his tricks."

Gordon quickly set up his next prank above the main door into the corridor of bedrooms then ran down to John's room, he knocked on his brother's door, "hey space case? It's only me."

"Gordon?"

"Uh huh, can I come in?"

"Sure."

Gordon pushed the door open and smiled at his brother who was reading with the aid of his battery-operated globe light, "good idea."

"You know how I feel about the dark, and Halloween. What's happened?"

"Power cut. Scott and Kayo have gone to the generator, but something tells me the power should come back soon."

John nodded. "Good."

"Nice costume, very simple."

John looked down at his outfit, "I always loved Bowie."

Virgil pushed a door open as Alan followed and let out a scream as something wet fell on him, "ew, what?"

"They're spiders!"

Gordon smirked, "now then?"

"What was that?" John asked.

"Not sure," Gordon pressed a button on his phone subtly and the power came back on.

"Phew," John smiled.

"I think we should find our siblings," Gordon smirked as he stood up and opened John's door, at the end of the corridor he spotted Virgil and Alan cowering on the floor. "Oh guys, what happened?"

Virgil grimaced, "Gordon. You little rat."

"A fish is preferred."

"This was your doing!"

"Ah, I think I'll come back when you've calmed down. Oh, and there's a spider in your hair. I need to find Scott," he took a photo quickly and sprinted down the hall before his brothers could stop him, he ran into the corridor the webs were in and burst out laughing seeing Scott and Kayo tangled up in them. "Are you guys okay?"

Kayo freed herself and launched herself at Gordon knocking him to the ground, "dammit Gordon, that was so stupid of you!"

"Hey, easy. You're actually hurting me."

"Kayo, let him go," Scott said gently as he pulled the webs off himself.

Kayo let go of his collar, "what were you thinking?"

"Having some fun. Lighten up," Gordon brushed the fake cobweb off his shoulder and threw a spider at Scott.

Scott pulled Kayo up gently, "you're an idiot Gordon, where are the others?"

"Also tangled up with spiders."

"Right," Scott pushed his brother forwards along the hall back to the lounge and sat him down on the sofa. "Don't move," he left in the direction of the bedrooms and quickly found Virgil and Alan. "He's locked up."

"What?" Virgil got up and tidied up his hair.

"Get the glitter gun."

Virgil brushed the spiders off his arms, "what's your plan?"

"You'll see, come on," he helped Alan to his feet and opened his bedroom door cautiously. "Here. Take one each."

"Have you been planning this?" Virgil chuckled as he looked at the glittery pumpkins inside the water gun.

"Maybe."

Alan grinned, "let's go!"

John smiled, "pass me one then? I want in on this."

Scott gave him the one holding a sticky liquid, "spray this first, he'll think it's water, but do not hit Kayo. When I yell move, she will and you'll fire, okay?"

"FAB."

"Okay, follow me."

The group entered the room lit with pumpkins and fairy lights, Scott walked down into the ring with the others and Kayo looked up from where she was sharing popcorn with Gordon.

"Move!"

Kayo leapt up and threw herself to the ground as John sprayed water at Gordon, he laughed at them.

"I'm not scared of water guys. Come on, you know that?"

"Now!" Scott fired his glitter gun along with Alan and Virgil, and confetti fell onto Gordon's head and costume sticking to every wet surface. "Happy Halloween, little brother!"

Virgil burst out laughing as Gordon picked colourful pumpkins out of his hair, "that's what you get for turning off the power."

"You're all going down!" Gordon snatched the gun out of John's hands and Kayo armed herself with a cushion, everyone got into a fight as confetti littered the floor and Virgil ran up to the piano.

"This is still a party right?" He began to play amongst the laughing and yelling, and soon alcopops were cracked open and Scott began to make mocktails.