It's time, it's time! Halloween time, of course!

October. Cooling air, colorful leaves blowing around, and the sound of bare branches scratching against windows in the night…

I love this time of year. So here we go, Halloween! Twilight and all its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I like to play in the world she's created.

Halloween Card – Chapter 4 - Sleep

Tucking her sheet around body like a toga, squaring her shoulders and thinking, this is for Jessica, Bella opened the bathroom door.

The blond man was standing there waiting for her, still stark naked. She gasped. Was this it, were they going to kill her now?

He put out his hand, touching her reassuringly on her arm. "What is it?"

She blushed, trying to look anywhere but below his shoulders

"Where are my clothes?" Bella asked.

"Oh, clothes." He looked around, picked them up from the floor and brought them to her. He leaned against the bathroom door, so she dressed under the sheet, thankful for those Girl Scout camping trips where she had learned to change clothes in a sleeping bag.

Meanwhile, he didn't put on anything.

Once she was dressed, she smiled nervously as she looked around the room. Her stomach growled.

He moved from the bathroom door, touching her stomach casually, giving an answering growling of his own. "Hungry?" he asked.

"Yes." Eat something, keep up your strength. If, that is, they give you food.

He pushed her gently into a sitting position on the bed. "Wait here." He was gone, through the door in a flash, though he closed it gently behind him. She got up and went to the window. When she opened the curtains, she saw wooden shutters. She pushed on them, but they didn't budge. They must have wooden slats that slid in place on the outside, allowing the cabin to be closed for the winter from the outside.

She heard a low murmur from the living room then silence. She quickly sat back down on the bed, just before he reentered the room. "We'll wait," sitting next to her and patting her leg reassuringly.

"What's your name?" she asked. Maybe this would give a clue to their intent. Would they tell her? Or if they were going to kill her, why wouldn't they? Would he tell her the truth?

"Jasper," he said softly, reaching over to stroke her chin. "And you're Bella?"

She nodded.

"It's lovely," he said. "It means beautiful in Italian or one of those languages."

Bella smiled. Keep him talking, make a connection. "It's short for Isabella," she said.

There was a tap at the door. "Just a moment," Jasper said and opened it. Someone handed through a small item and a bottle of water. From the size of the hand, she thought it was Emmett.

She stood up. Jasper handed her a granola bar. She recognized it as the brand Jessica's mother bought. They would have been in Jessica's car. Her knees felt weak, and she sat down on the bed for support.

Jasper crawled behind her and lay next to her on the bed, turned on his side, stroking her side. It felt so wrong, yet something felt right. She should be filled with fear, but she was feeling something very different. Like lying down next to him. It would be so easy.

Jessica. Focus. What had happened to Jessica?

After she finished eating her bar and drinking the water, she turned to him. He took her hand and started to pull her toward him. She leaned forward and smiled, then stopped. How to do this? Look compliant until you got the answers, even if they weren't what she wanted?

"Jessica?" she asked.

"Who?" he said, looking surprised, reaching up and pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

She felt herself melting beneath his touch. What was wrong with her? Stay strong. For Jessica.

"My friend. They sent a text to my friend last night."

His hand stopped moving, though he didn't pull it back. Part of her wanted to say, "Keep going." The other part needed to know.

"Do you want to know?" he asked.

She closed her eyes, feeling her stomach drop, then immediately felt herself longing for his body in ways she had never felt with a strength and depth that made the separation of their bodies feel completely wrong.

"Yes, tell me," she said.

"You're strong," Jasper said. "Emmett told me you were strong."

There was a familiar laugh from the next room.

Jasper stared into her eyes. The blood red color lost its scariness and Bella leaned forward. She put her hand on his chest to stop herself.

"Jessica," she said, her words barely able to leave her mouth.

He understood. "All right," he said.

He stood up, not bothering to put any clothes on, and walked her to the next room.

The group from last night sat in the living room. In the light, they looked posed, unnatural. They had been joined by two new people. The brunette, Esme, was standing with a taller blond man. The demon pixie was sitting next to a boy with copper-colored hair. They appeared ready for a magazine shoot, immaculately dressed and made-up.

"Jessica," Jasper said.

"Jasper, are you sure?" the tall blond man asked.

"Yes, Carlisle," he said. "She asked."

"In the car," Carlisle answered simply. Jasper's nudity didn't seem to affect anyone in the room.

Jasper took Bella's hand and led her outside. Bella's heart thudded in her chest, and she felt drained and terrified. Her legs turned to jello, but she walked. She had to know.

Jessica's Acura was behind the cabin.

Jasper opened the door, slid into the driver's seat and fiddled around the dashboard, feeling for the trunk lever. He popped it and got out of the car to stand next to her. "You're sure?' he asked again.

Bella couldn't produce any words. The tears that had started when the man said, "In the car," began to fall.

He stood next to the trunk, one hand on her shoulder. He looked at her again, and she nodded.

He opened the trunk, his hand slipping from her shoulder to around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

In the trunk, Jessica and a boy she didn't recognize wearing a Batman costume were curled up together, spooning. Jessica's eyes and mouth were open, a look of terror on her face. Her neck and blouse were bloody.

Bella staggered back, putting her hands to her mouth, screaming.

Jasper swung her up into his arms, taking her back inside. She closed her eyes, pushing back against the relaxing feeling, screaming, "No," gasping between screams, tears running down the sides of her face.

She pushed at him. He wasn't going to do that to her, she was sure, though she couldn't say how. She couldn't even think about what he wanted from her instead.

"Shh," he was saying to her. "Shh, it's OK," he said.

"No," she said, repeating, pushing at him, and pushing at the feelings that were coming at her and from inside her, drawing her to him.

"No," she said again, more emphatically.

He stepped back. "And can you put on some clothes?" she asked.

He laughed. "Is that really what you want?"

"Yes, no, maybe. But I can't talk to you like this," she said, turning her head.

He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know this isn't easy, but I've been waiting for you so long." They went back inside, past the group that had barely moved, and back into that bedroom, where he disappeared into the bathroom.

He was back in a second, wearing jeans. Still barefoot, but she appreciated the effort. At least she could look at him now. And admire the view. She felt herself flush.

Jasper picked up the green foil wrapper from the granola bar she had choked down. "Crunchy Oatmeal Honey," he said. "How's it taste?" He sniffed at the wrapper and made a face.

"They're OK," she said. "What do you eat for breakfast?"

He sat across from her and his face went blank. Then he caught his eyes with hers. "What do you think, darling?"

She gasped. They had been having almost normal interactions, and here he was, taking it somewhere else.

"I don't know," she said.

"I think you do. It shows in my eyes," he said.

He took her hand softly, nuzzling it, pulling her closer to him.

She felt herself go limp. He had just been toying with her. She believed him though.

"What's going on in there?" he asked, touching the side of her head lightly, stoking her.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

He looked at her sadly.

"You're going to kill me, right?" she choked out.

Before he could answer, she said, "Just make it quick, and don't let those people out there in on it, please?"

"They won't come anywhere near you," he said. Somehow that sounded reassuring.

He pulled her close, taking her arms in his hands so she wouldn't fight. She gasped and started to cry.

"Shh, shh. Lean back," he said. "It's going to hurt, but later. It has to hurt but the pain will go away."

Tears ran down her face and she gulped, trying to get air. She felt a wave of peace rolling over her. He pulled her against his chest. A low rumble built from his chest, like a purr. He turned her so his face was against his chest while he stroked her back. Somehow, it was comforting.

"You see, my kind, our kind, we have mates," he said, stroking her back in circles, massaging away the tension. "That's why, despite your fear, you feel something with me. I know it's terrifying, but it will be OK. Soon."

"What?" she said.

He ran his hands down her arms, touching her, then wrapped his arms across her middle, nuzzling against her neck.

"You'll see," he said. "You'll still be you, but you'll be with me. Like me," he said.

"I'll do things like you did to Jessica?" she asked.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Jasper said. "We'll go away, where you won't know anybody. It's hard at first, but gets easier. Actually, it's not so hard at first. But you'll find out."

She sobbed. "I want to talk to my dad."

A noise came from the next room.

"You can send him a text. Tell him something, whatever you want. Let him know you're happy." He kissed her neck. "Because you will be, I promise."

She sat, trying to think of what to say. He sat next to her, touching her back, her shoulder. "Don't take too long," he said. "Maybe you shouldn't. What can you say?"

She typed in, "Dad, I love you. So much."

"That's enough, really it is," he said. "But take your time to think about it."

"I'm sending the same message to my Mom," she said, typing quickly, wiping tears from her face with her sleeve.

When she was done, he took the phone. She heard a ping and reached for the phone. He held it up, out of her reach. "It's a reply from Charlie," he said. "You can read it in a little while. Sleep, now."

Bella had no wish to sleep. She knew they were about to do something to her, something terrible, and she was longing to know what her father had said. "Please," she pleaded, reaching for the phone.

"Sleep," he whispered, touching her shoulder. "You can read this later."

Suddenly, she was exhausted, really tired. She felt her eyes dropping. "Lay down, sleep," he said softly. "Sleep is one of humanity's greatest gifts. Enjoy it. Just sleep."

She did. He started humming something, a tune that she didn't recognize. He lay down behind her, pulling her close, spooning. She flinched at his touch, as it made her think of Jessica and her brave friend who lost his life coming to Bella's rescue. New plan. She would pretend to sleep. The phone was still in the room, and when Jasper fell asleep, she would get it and call her Dad. Wait. That whole group might still in the next room. She would send Charlie a text, telling him she was in a cabin…

"Shh, sleep," he said. "It's a luxury not allowed to our kind. Sleep, one last time."

Bella slipped off under Jasper's ministrations, feeling her body relax and blackness surround her, welcoming her. So tired. Not sure if she would ever awaken but unable to fight any longer.

A few hours later, she barely felt the nip, but quickly felt the fire that spread through her, burning and scalding away her immortality.

THE END

xxx

So, the end! That's the end of the Halloween stories for this year. Hope you have enjoyed them. Thanks for reading.

Please leave a review. Reviews make my pumpkin smile. It needs to smile, thinking about Thanksgiving coming next week, and our insatiable need for pumpkin pie…and pumpkin bars…and pumpkin latte…all things pumpkin…