"When is your cousin moving here?" Karl asked.
"Soon," AJ answered.
"What's her name again?" Luke asked.

AJ parked the car and looked at the house.

"Tristyn," AJ answered.

Both Luke and Karl were quiet. The house looked creepy in the darkness. There were no windows. Instead all the holes were covered by wooden planks.

"Whose great idea was it to visit a haunted house late at night and on Halloween of all days?" Luke asked.
"AJ," Karl answered.
"Come on, guys. It'll be fun," AJ said. "Besides, you don't actually believe it's haunted, do you?"
"Yes, I do," Luke said.

AJ chuckled and got out of the car. Luke and Karl followed. All three men took a moment to look at the house again.

"Is your cousin single?" Luke asked.
"No," AJ answered.
"Damn!" Luke said.
"Even if she was, you're not her type," AJ said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Luke asked.
"You got too much dick for her liking," AJ said.
"She's a lesbian," Karl chuckled. "He already told you that."
"I forgot. It's this house creeping me out and making me forget things. Let's go back. I don't like this idea anymore," Luke said.
"Or you can stay out here alone while we go check it out," AJ said.

AJ started walking towards the house. Karl looked at Luke, shrugged, and followed AJ.

"Wait up!" Luke yelled.

Luke ran up to his two friends, and all three of them made it up to the house.

"It's probably locked. We shouldn't break in," Luke said.

AJ grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open.

"Not locked," AJ smirked. "Man up, Luke. The red lady isn't going to get you."
"The red lady? What red lady?" Luke asked.

AJ turned on his flashlight and stepped inside the house. Luke looked at Karl who once again shrugged.

"What red lady?" Luke asked.
"I've never heard that story," Karl said.
"They say the red lady walks this place. I don't know if she's supposed to be wearing red or be covered in the blood of her enemies," AJ said. "Maybe both."
"You're not making it any better!" Luke growled.
"It's just a story," AJ said. "Who knew big, bad Luke Gallows would be so scared of a house?"

Luke gritted his teeth and stepped inside the house too. Karl followed as the last one. Both men turned on their flashlights too.

"We're leaving the front door open so we can exit fast if we need to," Luke said.
"Fine with me," AJ said. "Let's go explore."

AJ walked over to the stairs and started walking up.

"What are you doing? Let's explore down here," Luke said.
"You do that," AJ said.
"He's doing it on purpose to freak you out," Karl chuckled.
"I know that," Luke sighed. "Fine! Let's follow him and get this over with."

Luke and Karl moved over to the stairs and followed AJ up to the first floor.

"There's nothing but dust here," Karl said.
"What did you expect? No one lives here," AJ said.
"I don't know," Karl shrugged. "Maybe some abandoned furniture or a doll inside the wall."
"Sure, gang up on me to scare me, why don't you?" Luke grumped.

AJ and Karl looked at each other and laughed.

"He's not going to be any help if the red lady is real and she catches one of us," AJ said.
"No, the big man will run out of here and leave us to die," Karl said.
"But I'll say some nice words about you at your funeral," Luke said.

AJ and Karl laughed again. Even Luke had to chuckle a little. He knew he shouldn't be this scared but the whole thing freaked him out. He had never been one to explore haunted houses or abandoned places.

"I wonder if this place has a basement," AJ said.
"We are not going down in any basement!" Luke said loudly. "It's a hole in the ground we won't be able to get out of. We're gonna die down there."
"You're being overly dramatic," AJ said. "Fine, let's go. This isn't fun anymore. You're being..."

AJ was caught off by a loud female scream. All three men held their breaths for a second while trying to figure out where it came from.

"What was that?" Karl finally asked.
"The wind," Luke whispered. "Please, tell me it was the wind."
"That was not the wind," Karl said. "That was..."
"The red lady," AJ said. "She's real."

Another female scream tore through the house.

"I think we should go," Luke said.
"Get out of my house!" She screamed.
"Yup, we're going," Karl said. "Now!"

All three men ran down the stairs. Luke and Karl made it outside the house but AJ tripped.

"Guys!" AJ screamed.

Luke and Karl turned around and stared in shock at a woman with long, messy, rust red hair and a pair of piercing, ice blue eyes. She wore a long, old fashion, red dress and her face and hands were covered in blood.

"Help!" AJ screamed.

The red lady grabbed AJ's ankle, and ran back with him. Everything went so fast that Luke and Karl didn't have time to react before AJ had been dragged into the next room.

"We gotta save him!" Karl screamed.

The front door slammed in their faces and they couldn't make it open. They ran around the house, looking for an opening. There was no way in. They had to get help.

"Get in the car!" Luke yelled.

Inside the house AJ laughed while removing the wire around his ankle that had dragged him fast across the floor to make it look like the red lady had a strength unlike any other. He looked up at her bloody face and smiled.

"Hi, Tristyn," he said. "Well done. They're scared shitless."

She laughed and walked over to hit the light switch. The room lit up and the house didn't look creepy anymore.

"I see you installed a lamp already," AJ said.
"Sansa did," Tristyn said. "She's really good with her hands."
"And she doesn't only mean that when it comes to doing handywork around the house," Sansa said.

AJ looked in the direction of the front door. Sansa had been the one to slam it and lock it in his friends' faces. Her hair was short and dark brown, and her eyes were a beautiful blue. A shade darker than Tristyn's eyes but still as beautiful. They made a great couple. It was also Sansa that had installed the whole wire thing and made sure it worked by testing it on herself. The two women had had a lot of fun with this prank. They had bought the house and was in the process of moving in.

"What if they call the police?" Sansa asked.
"I made them leave their phones back at Luke's place. He lives the closest. When they weren't looking, I left a note by our phones saying it's all a Halloween prank and to come back here," AJ said.
"It gives us just enough time to set the table with snacks," Sansa said.
"I'm gonna go wash the fake blood off me," Tristyn said.
"Welcome to my town," AJ said. "I'm really glad you moved here."
"Me too. I hope your friends will like us after we apologize for this prank," Tristyn said.
"They'll love you," AJ said.

Tristyn smiled and walked out to the bathroom. Meanwhile Sansa and AJ went to the kitchen to grab the snacks.

"When will the windows be fixed?" He asked.
"Tomorrow," she answered. "Tristyn picked some really pretty ones. She really has an eye for aesthetics."
"She sure does," he agreed.
"Moving trucks will arrive Friday with all our stuff. Until then we will make good of the air mattress and each other's company. We do love to snuggle," she said.
"I don't need any details," he chuckled.

She laughed, held up her hands, and wiggled her fingers.

"Sansa!" AJ laughed.
"What?" Sansa asked innocently. "She did say I was good with my hands. I never disappoint my woman."
"You sure never do," Tristyn said.

AJ and Sansa looked over at Tristyn who had come back. Tristyn walked over to them and gave Sansa a kiss.

"How long until they're back?" Tristyn asked.

AJ looked at his wrist watch and smiled.

"They should have made it to Luke's by now so I'm guessing they're currently cursing up a storm while getting back in the car," AJ said. "Maybe 15 minutes."
"Let's quickly hang the banner," Tristyn said.

Tristyn and Sansa grabbed the banner and hung it up in the living room. AJ opened the front door and stood there waiting for Luke and Karl to come back while looking at the two words on the banner that would be the first thing they saw when they entered the house again.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN