Chapter 31

The teens kept quite as they approached the house of Garou. They paused just before it, and then the battle of wits came among them. "You go first!"

"No you go first, it was your idea!"

"No, you go, you are always the first to chicken out!"

"I do not!"

The four bickered until the one who decided on the challenge offered to go on in first before his friends. "You're all a bunch of pussies! No one is home, they are all at that old fart's haunted dojo!" With that, he approached the front door. Much to his surprise it was unlocked… since the door opened on its own.

He froze as it creaked open, revealing the house and allowing him passage. He made one final turn to look at his friends who appeared petrified now. So, donning a brave face, he walked in. His feet stressed the wood, making a hunting, creeping sound. It only echoed in the house as he began to hear things, sounds that shouldn't belong in an empty home. Strange noises filled his ears, like something peeling and crackling, then the scraping against the floor and side of the walls.

The TV turned on.

The teenager jumped as he looked about, but found no one. His eyes turned to the walls and he saw the light switch. He tried to turn them on but no light would come. "What the hell…" he muttered.

BAM

A pan dropped out of nowhere. It teetered itself back and forth until it came to a stop on the ground. The teen felt his heart race in his chest, he decided to turn tail and run! He rushed outside as his friends waited for him. "Well? You get the bra?"

He shook his head. "Something is up with that house! Nothing is working, the TV went on but the lights don't work… something dropped… I don't know man…"

"Look, how about we all go in, that way no one is labeled a coward, and no one is left holding the bag on this huh?"

The four made their pack and agreed. With deep breaths they went back into the house. Their feet crossed the threshold, they took a few steps in when the door slammed shut! The jumped and braced each other, but quickly broke apart.

"The wind."

"Yeah, yeah the wind!" his friends said.

They began to divide up. Two went down the hall. One to the kitchen, the other to the living room. They looked about the house, trying to find the rooms of the girls. The two who went down the hall were startled. There was something on the floor, something tacky. "What the hell is this?" one teen whispered.

The other was brave enough to reach down and pick up the strange substance. Pulling out his phone, he brought the light to it. His hand trembled. "It's skin! Snake skin!" he whispered.

"Wait, they got a snake guy living here right? He probably shed recently."

"But… it's tacky… this… is fresh."

A door slammed. The two in the hall backtracked as their friends cautiously made their way towards them. "It's everywhere, this skin… the snake guy can't be that big, can he?"

Suddenly, they heard it. The sound of scales scrapping against the hardwood floor, the slink of monster flesh moving as it glided from side to side. They could hear it, but couldn't see it!

"Where the hell is that coming from? I don't see it, I can't see it!"

They all took out their phones, with the light they shined it around the room. But they dropped them in shock. They were surrounded by a serpent body! The teens clenched one another as Amai Mask appeared behind them, his eyes blood red, the veins protruding from his face and neck and throughout his snake body. "BOO!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The teens tripped over him! They crawled across the ground as they rushed to the front door, but found it was locked. They were face to face with a serpent Amai Mask, he began to eye them oddly. His forked tongue whisked through his lips as a devious smile came over him. Amai said no words, he bared his fangs and gave off a demonic hiss. They became desperate; the teenagers threw themselves out the front window. They ran out back to the haunted Dojo and screamed all the way down the stairs.

Amai Mask grinned. "Hunter was right, this is a monster's Christmas!"

#

As Halloween came to an end, the night proved to be full of surprises. One, Amai was able to get in on the haunted house action. It was a good thing three monsters did show up. He was able to eat them before the trick or treaters for that little extra fear factor. Pity though, they weren't bigger. Second, Metal Bat and his sister came by around 8 to help out. They dressed Metal Bat up as a demonic looking vampire. Zenko kept behind the scenes with Pac to help out with the effects.

When the last person went through the dojo, it was midnight. Bang came back up the steps with more money then he could carry! The look on his face said it all. "It was our best year yet!" he announced. "I have never seen so many people come to the haunted dojo before."

"Well, it's official." Garou said with a sigh. "Amai has to help us next year,"

He grinned. "Really? You want MY help? Well, I think something can be arranged."

"By the way, where did you go? I saw you here one moment, then gone the next. Couldn't pick a spot?" Melee asked.

"Oh, I had some… trouble makers to tend to. Some teenagers thought it would be amusing to break into your house and to steal a bra from Melee or Alley."

"Damn teenagers!" Garou said with a sneer. "Damn it, I was going to scare them too! They do this every year, and it's not always a bra they are after either."

"No need to be concerned, I took care of it… it was delightful." Amai said with a devious grin.

"Uh oh, you really scared the piss out of them didn't you?" asked Metal Bat.

"More or less, if I did. I will certainly clean it up, speaking of which I got to get my shedding off the floor before everyone gets back… added fear factor. Oh, Snek. I got a moisturizer for you! Place this on and you will glide out of your skin when you shed!"

"Uh… thanks?" said Snek. "Well, I got to head back, it's way pass Kid's bedtime. No doubt I will not hear the end of it from your mom!"

Kid laughed. "This has been the best Halloween ever for me!"

Snek ruffled up Kid's hair before saying goodnight to everyone as Alley gave them a lift home.

"So. You enjoyed yourself?" Suiryu asked Amai.

His head nodded back and forth in thought. "I enjoyed it more than I anticipated."

"He had fun," said Melee.