Chapter 7

John of course, was not packing. He was instead dialing his girlfriend's number, and wondering why Buffy had been staring at his house. He supposed it was because it had been the only one on the block, indeed, in several blocks, that had no decorations up.

Still he couldn't help a slight twinge of uneasiness about it. Buffy was known to be kind of an odd duck. Was it her instant choice of fight when it came to fight or flight when he'd startled her that had him checking the window to the back yard? That had had him feeling like someone was staring from the hedge? It must have been. There was no one there. Or maybe his mother's paranoia was getting to him.

"Hey." Molly's voice was exactly what he needed to hear just now. "What did your Mom want?"

"She changed her mind about Yosemite." he said, looking at the permission slip.

There was a trace of uneasiness in Molly's tone. "So, you're going?"

John smirked, and crumpled the slip in his hand. "I wouldn't say that." This had mostly been to throw his mother off the track. Which granted did have him feeling a tad guilty.

"It's almost a shame that nothing happens on Halloween this year." Giles mused aloud as he watched the kids board the buses that would take them away.

"Bite your tongue." Buffy said, shocked.

"Well I just mean," he said a bit defensively, "Of all the times for so many potential victims to be out of harm's way, it has to be on a night they should be perfectly safe anyway." After the buses were gone, he sighed and turned to his Slayer. "Right. Now tell me more about this ehm, creeper, you saw?"

Sunset in Sunnydale. Normally it was a time those who knew what went on in town dreaded. But tonight the only monsters on the loose were of the fake variety. Or so most thought.

Not that there were many people in town who really knew what went on. And Ronnie was not one of them. Of course he was new in town so he could be forgiven for that. He had noticed the unusually high mortality rate among teenagers here. Particularly for a small town. But like most, he somehow dismissed it. He put it up to the usual things. Bizarre accidents. Gang related violence. That was why he'd been hired.

It was almost time for him to go out on rounds again, but with Snyder gone, he felt that he could use his time as he saw fit. And right now he needed his wife's input on his latest attempt.

He read the latest scene to her over the phone, leaning back in his chair. He was pleased with how it was going, particularly since his audience seemed to be approving.

There was no 'security office' so to speak in the school, but Ronnie had been given an unused office near the main drive so he could keep an eye on things. Which he actually thought was a little stupid. Surely if something were to go down, it wouldn't happen in such an obvious place.

He looked up from his notebook and frowned. A car had just pulled up in front of the school.

"Oh shit baby, someone's here. Can I call you back?"

"No no I'll hold on." she said. "I want to hear what stupid line Tanya falls for."

"The same one you did." he teased her. "Hang on."

Ronnie stepped outside the building, eying the idling car warily. As he got closer, he could see that there was no one in the driver's seat. He shone his flashlight in the window, checking the car. No one. The driver's side window was down, and he reached in, turning off the engine. This was creepy.

He cast a quick look around, then hurried back into his office. If he'd had any hair on the back of his neck, it'd be standing up right now.

He picked up the phone from where he'd rested it on the desk. "Baby I'm gonna have to call you back." he said.

"Why what's goin' on?" She was worried. Ronnie hadn't told her all the stuff he'd heard about the town and the school, but she'd found out on her own. It was another reason she wanted him to go to work for her father. It would be a lot safer.

"I don't know." he admitted.

That was when the phone went dead. This, could not be good.

The usual crowd was in the library. The difference was of course, that the mood was not one of tense research or training, but light hearted revelry. There was food and snacks and drinks on one table, a TV appropriated from the AV room up on the circulation desk, and another table piled with arcane texts.

"Do please endeavor not to get dip, crumbs, or greasy fingerprints on the arcane texts." Giles said.

Willow gave him a fake scowl. "Giles, when have I ever gotten any of those on the books?" There was usually some sort of food during their research projects after all. And of course she was the one who did most of the researching.

Now was no exception, though Oz was finding a book about Urban Legends (and how true many of them actually were) rather interesting.

While the others were mostly enjoying the party, Giles was hard at work. Given that there were very few exceptions to the Demons Staying In tradition for Halloween, it hadn't taken long to discount those as possibilities. They didn't quite fit with what Faith had found, or the figure Buffy had seen from the classroom.

That left something far more disturbing. He was so much more comfortable when dealing with Demons and Spirits. They had rules, patterns. Their behavior was predictable, understandable if not condonable. Humans on the other hand...

He started looking into the various religious sects and cults, from the earliest days of Halloween. He gradually ruled out the more ritualistic groups. The slaying of the Demon, and the masked man did not fit. But the timing still seemed important. Adding the strength and brutality it would have taken to kill the demon, and the wearing of a mask, to the date...

"Oh good Lord."

It was already dark by the time Keri Tate left for home. On her way out she heard laughter from the library. Giles' crime club, burning the midnight oil as usual.

At least someone was enjoying themselves tonight. Herself she expected to spend the evening trying to live up to her promise to John and herself to forget...

Something was walking towards her. A humanoid shape, but any details and features were hidden by the shadows cast by the parking lot lights. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. He wasn't really there. But when she opened her eyes, he was still there, still coming. She tried again. In the past this had been enough to dispel the hallucinations. But again when she opened her eyes he was even closer. He passed under one of the lights and she could clearly see the death-like mask, the familiar jumpsuit.

Desperately, she closed her eyes again.

Not real, not real, not real.

He grabbed her arm.

With a cry, she jumped back and opened her eyes.

"Woah!" Will started, rearing back himself. "I keep scaring you today." he laughed sheepishly. "What are you doing?"

Keri struggled to regain her composure, finally succeeding. "Nothing." she said. "What are you doing?"

"Working late, like you. I was hoping I could have the honor of your company tonight."

This, this might be just what she needed.

"I'd like that."

After Charlie and John boosted Sarah and Molly through a window, the girls helped Charlie up and in. Then John passed them the supplies they'd plundered from their various homes. And of course the booze Charlie had gotten earlier. Just as he was about to follow them, a rustling in the brush caught his attention.

He spun, searching the darkness.

The others called to him to come on in. After a moment he decided that his mother's paranoia must be rubbing off on him, and he dismissed it. He climbed in the window without another glance.

"Giles what's wrong?" Willow asked, her face going from peaceful happiness to worry in 0 seconds.

Buffy sighed. "Really Giles? Can't I have just one week where you don't say that?"

Giles couldn't blame Buffy for her irritation. Whether he always acknowledged it or not, he was fully aware that fate had dealt Buffy a bad hand. He would love to give her more than just a night off if he could. But it wasn't up to either of them. So he ignored her gibe.

"I believe I know what's going on." he said. "I'll need to contact the council for confirmation, but I believe that someone in Sunnydale has been placed under the curse of Ahroun."

Tonight called for the good stuff. Keri had determined that tonight, in addition to finally letting her son out of her sight, she would take another step towards "recovery" by telling Will all about her secret, sordid past.

And if she was going to do that, the usual just wouldn't cut it. She pulled the bottle of vodka out of the freezer and filled a glass just a touch more than half full. She downed it fairly quickly on her way to the bathroom.

She also hoped to do other things with Will tonight. Things that would be more pleasant for him if her breath didn't smell like a Russian distillery. A quick rinse with some mouthwash would take care of that. She knew that from experience.

For a moment, she looked at herself in the mirror. Trying to reconcile the sight before her with the innocent good girl she'd been 20 years ago. When she'd first started drinking, she thought for sure she'd be able to keep it under control. She hated the taste of most alcoholic beverages after all. That had eventually turned out not to be the case, as she liked the numb feeling booze gave her, more than she disliked the taste.

With a sigh she turned away.

Fresh start remember? Letting John grow up, letting myself let go. That means not dwelling on my own shit too.

When she opened the door to Will, she even managed to be genuine with her small laugh at the pumpkin he held in his arms.

"I thought we could do this right." he smiled.

To Be Continued...