Chapter Two: All Hallows Eve


Lovino rolled to the side, grumbling. He shifted his feet, kicking at a weight dragging his ankle down. While he nestled back into the pillows, he yawned, dragging the blankets back up to cover his face. Again the weight pulled at him, tugging at the blankets now. Scowling, he kicked, hard.

"'tonio st'p." Rolling onto his back, Lovino rubbed his face. "'m sleeping…"

Slowly opening his eyes, he stared at the ceiling. There was a light blue light that flickered intermediately with shadows. He turned and squinted at the muted TV. Some shitty late night news show was on.

Suddenly, something yanked hard on his leg and Lovino shot up swearing.

"Anto-"

Black hallow eyes stared at him from over the couch arm. Bit by bit, she raised her head. She smiled at him. A low creaking, almost chirping noise came from the creature that fisted a claw into Lovino's sweatpants.

Slowly, she struggled to haul herself over the couch and canvas the young Italian.

She squawked at him in irritation as Lovino began to hyperventilate. With a sickening snap of joints, she grabbed at Lovino's thigh, moving faster now.

He screamed. In a flurry, Lovino began to flail. He kicked at the thing crawling up him.

"G-Get away! Get away!" Grabbing a pillow, Lovino slammed it full force against the creature's face. He froze, a shiver running up his spine when its neck cracked.

She stopped moving, looking to the side now. Long, stringy hair covered her face. Several protruding lumps along her neck indicated sickly, twisted vertebra trying to escape their leathery casing.

Suddenly, it began to chatter, teeth clicking together. Her head whipped to face him, twisted and hanging awkwardly. Screeching, she raised her claws and launched for Lovino's neck

He screamed and kicked her hard in the chest.

"Lovino?!"

She fell to the floor as Antonio rushed in. The lights flipped on and Lovino screamed for Antonio to leave.

"She's here! She's on the ground, Antonio! Get out!"

"What are you talking about?!" Dripping wet and clinging to the towel on his hips, Antonio rushed over to Lovino. On the other side of the couch, the creature scurried into the shadows where she sank back, growling at the two.

"Get out, get out!" Lovino shoved at Antonio. He tried to stand and drag the man out of the room.

Suddenly, the record screamed back to life with a fever high pitch. It blasted through the old turntable, shaking decorations off the wall and knocking over a glass. Lovino slammed his hands over his ears.

Wincing at the volume, Antonio tried to walk to the record player. Lovino threw himself into the Spaniard, stopping him. "What the hell is going on?!"

"Antonio, don't! She's there! She's right there waiting!" Lovino clung to the damp Spaniard. He pressed his face against Antonio's chest and maintained a death grip around his waist. "Don't, please!"

Then in one horrible second, the record scratched. A quivering voice replaced the deafening music.

"Lo-Lovi? Lovi, where are you? Please, p-please! It's so dark, Fratello!"

Lovino spun. Now it was Antonio that held him back from rushing to the record. Antonio wrapped arms around Lovino's waist and lifted the smaller man from the ground. Lovino kicked at the air, squirming; desperate to get away.

"Lovi, what is going on! Talk to me!"

"Feli!"

Around them the house twisted. The longer they listened to the feeble please begging for Lovino the more it grew dark. Shadowy hands reached for them. A quiet voice laughed in Lovino's ear and he screamed in protest to his brother's recorded sobs.

"Stop it! Let me go- Let me go!"

"Lovino, no! He's not here! Remember?! Feli's not home! He's safe!" Antonio winced when, in a moment of feral desperation, Lovino bent over and bit the Spaniard's arm. Lovino slipped free in the aftermath and ran off into the house. "Lovino!"

Feliciano's voice continued to throw itself around the brownstone. It dragged Lovino around as if he was tethered to it by a rope. Bare feet slapped against the wooden floor as Lovino raced after the continuous screaming and sobs. The voice slammed him against the front door.

Then, it brought him to his knees on the stairs.

Sobbing in the front yard, Feliciano held his hands out to Lovino. The gentler twin yelped when his chin was forced up, exposing the soft expanse of his neck. Behind him, a twisted mirror of Lovino smiled back. His eyes were bloody, black; his smile was made of fangs.

"Y-You bastard," Lovino managed to grind the words out between the tremors that over took him. His throat closed in as Feliciano whimpered. A shining kitchen knife pressed against him. "I'll destroy you!"

The ghoul paused for a moment. Then, he smiled. It was so wide, so distorted. His fangs were so bloody.

"Good."

Lovino screamed as the blade slid across Feliciano's throat. He shot to his feet, racing down the steps.

Then the world went quiet. The image wavered like a simple mirage and all of Feliciano's distress was muted. Lovino looked around wildly, freezing on the damp yard. He was deafened by the thudding of his heart beat as it dominated his senses.

He jerked away when Antonio grabbed his arm. Stepping back, the Spaniard slowly raised his hands when Lovino turned on him, still breathing hard. "Lovi, please…come inside." Lovino faltered, his eyes locking onto the angry red mark on Antonio's arm and how it lightly oozed blood. "I stopped the record, its ok."

Lovino snapped his eyes to Antonio's face. His heart fell to his feet at the fresh claw marks stretched across Antonio's cheek. Stepping forward, Lovino reached out to gently brush his fingers over the marks. He hadn't made these.

In a flurry, he shoved past Antonio.

"You think you can scare me?!" Bellowing as he walked down the hall, Lovino took a hard left. "Do you think you can come into my house and manipulate me like that?" He ripped the record off the turntable and snatched the sleeve from the floor. He growled down at the black disk. "You think you can touch them and I'll ignore it?"

Lovino exited the brownstone like a typhoon. Antonio was on his heels. Marching through the back yard, Lovino stopped at his brother's small garden and picked up a rock, large and fat. Placing the record onto the back patio, he brought the rock down hard, again and again, until nothing but slivers remained of the twisted vinyl.

"You don't get to have them too," Lovino staggered back, dropping the rock by his feet. He glared at the shattered remains.

Turning to go get a garbage bag, or perhaps some lighter fluid and a match, Lovino stopped short when a quiet laugh circled up on the wind. He turned, looking slowly from the record to Antonio. The Spaniard was frozen where he stood, staring at the record. Shaking.

Antonio never shook.

Slowly walking back, Lovino latched onto Antonio's arm. The Spaniard twisted under the grip until his fingers laced between Lovino's.

"ThaNk YoU."

A woman slowly began to rise from the remains. She looked to the two, grinning much like the pumpkin on her prison's sleeve.

"She tRAppeD Me. buT yOu…" The spirit chattered at them, tilting her head to the side. "thE dAGgeR…shE…PUt the DaGGer iN." Slowly, she reached for the two. Lovino stepped back and Antonio tightened his hold on the younger man's hand.

She froze. Suddenly, the soft light around her went bleak and dark. Her chattering subsided into a low, panting growl. Her smile turned sinister, demanding blood. "SiStER! BetRAYer! sISteR! I LoVEd!" Claws grasping, she flew at Lovino, screeching. "hE Was FoR Me, sIsTEr! giVE hIm BaCK!"

Antonio pulled Lovino to the side, crashing him against his chest as the ghost flew by. She stopped, shoulders hunched, and turned to look at them. With another curt scream, she stepped towards them. However, she faltered, her body shaking under her own weight. She began to sob. The gentle glow returned as she turned back into the image of a lonely woman, reaching for the two men.

"MiNE. He….wAs…..miNe. THieF! tHIef!"

Throwing her head back she let out a wail. Antonio covered Lovino's ears, shielding the younger man's eyes. Piece by piece she began to shatter. Crumbling like dry ashes, the spirit staggered. Every step left a piece of her behind. Finally, she collapsed and fell into a pile of dust on the grass.

An early November gale swept her out of the yard.

Lovino looked up, staring blankly at the ground where the rest of her ashes were turning into small tornadoes on the wind. The grass looked diseased now, a brown spot on the otherwise green landscape. Turning away, he placed his forehead against Antonio's chest. "…we should burn the fucking thing."

Antonio shook his head. "…it's just a record now, Lovino. Let's just throw it out."Lovino hesitated before nodding silently. Pushing away, he walked back to the house. Antonio looked back at the record sleeve and frowned.

The pumpkin had been scratched out, over and over again, until it was impossible to tell what had originally been there.

Minutes later, Lovino stood on the front steps. He watched Antonio throw the black garbage bag into the dumpster across the street. With his phone pressed against his ear, he scowled as it continued to ring.

"…ve?"

Lovino's heart jumped into his throat the instant he heard the soft, questioning noise his brother made on the other line. Glancing quickly at his watch, Lovino cursed. 3 a.m., of course the little Italian would have been asleep.

"It's…nothing, Feli. Don't worry about it." Looking across the road, Lovino saw Antonio beginning to walk back. "I just…wanted to check in. You're always doing stupid shit, and I never got your text…"

Feliciano mumbled something in the affirmative. Lovino smiled, closing his eyes and ducking his head down. He could imagine his little brother clearly, sitting up in bed and rubbing at his eyes like a child. "Lovi, I'm ok. Just…really sleepy. Are you ok?"

"Course I am!" Snorting, Lovino looked away when Antonio climbed up the stairs. "Just...Feli, I need you to promise me something."

"Huh? Wha-"

Antonio laughed as he walked past Lovino. He dodged a half-hearted punch. Lovino followed him, closing the door behind them.

"Please just…no more yard sales."


Author's Note:

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this Halloween interlude to your usually scheduled story updates. I'll admit, I scared myself a bit writing this (I'm also a super big chicken and was writing around 3am so that should tell you something, haha). Have a nice holiday and be safe if you go out trick-or-treating!

Until next time! - Midnight Muse