The Witch’s Plan

“Hey, hey, have you heard?” I whispered to Maria. “They say that every year on Halloween, a witch is born!”

“What?” My best friend tilted her head, her long, brown hair strands sliding down her shoulder. “Where’d you hear that from?”

I shrugged. “I heard it from a creepypasta forum. Hehe, I thought you might be into that.”

Maria sighed and planted her hands on her hips, her purple-webbed skirt swaying by her thighs. “Oh, Blanche, you’re just saying that because I’m dressed as one!”

“Exactly! You look like a bonafide witch!” I wriggled my fingers and inched closer. “Hey, do you have any cool magic spells on your sleeve?”

“Oh, spare me the teasing!” She flicked a finger on my forehead.

“Wah!” I squirmed and cupped my forehead.

“Now, be a good familiar and hold still,” she said, applying some makeup on my cheeks. “I’m almost done.”

I pouted. “But you know that stuff feels itchy on me.”

“If we want to win that Halloween costume contest, you should deal with it just this once.”

“Hm…”

To be honest, the contest awards weren't all that appealing—it was some simple trophy and some cash. I was the one who introduced the event in the first place, but I never imagined she’d be so excited about it. If anything, my intuition betted on the cash.

As for me, well, I couldn’t care less. It was only some Halloween party, and I only agreed because I had nothing else planned. Besides, I couldn’t say no to a fun time.

All I had to do was go with the flow a little longer, only until the party ended. They did say that good things come to those who wait.

Surely tonight, things would be as thrilling as I’d hoped.

“Mmm, yeah… Money’s nice, I guess,” I murmured, leaning an elbow on a vanity table.

“Pfft, you only agreed to join because of the free food at the party, didn’t you?”

Nope. Far from it—but I decided to play along anyway.

“Eeheh… Was it obvious?”

“Mhm.” Maria planted a pair of black cat ears on my head and patted it. “Why’d you think I suggested that you should be a cat?”

I dramatically gasped. “I don’t eat that much!” I pointed to the listener chilling out on a bean bag, eyes on his phone. “If anyone eats a lot, it’s Ray!”

Ray blinked at me and looked down at his silver wolf costume, realization creeping on his face. He gaped at Maria and pointed at his fake ears. “Wait, Maria, is that why you told me I should dress as a werewolf?!”

Maria giggled. “Hey, I never said that! I just thought the costume matches your hair.”

Ray sighed and scratched his head while I giggled. “It’s okay, Ray,” I said, tossing a thumbs-up, “I know you want to join us to watch our backs.”

“Mhm.” He folded his arms. “There’s been cases of our classmates going missing recently. There’s no way I’m letting you guys go without a guy watching.”

A knot formed in my stomach as I dropped my playful smile.

He had a point. Recently, a few students went missing from our high school, and they were all girls around our age. Honestly, I wasn’t all that afraid, considering I knew a thing or two about self-defense, but no matter how much I tried to persuade him, he’d insisted on joining us at the party to watch over us, even if he wasn’t interested in the event itself.

Seriously, this guy could drive me crazy sometimes. Even the simplest gestures of consideration made me want to squeal and bury my face in a pillow.

Heat crept up to my face, and I looked away.

Not now, damn it, I screamed to myself. Play it cool!

I coughed and shyly murmured, “Y-You’re too sweet sometimes, Ray.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Friends gotta look out for each other, right?”

I bit my lip and spun my chair away.

Ahh, that smile! That glow in his amber eyes! Why is he so cute?!

“Aww.” Maria ruffled his hair. “You’re such a good boy!”

I balled my fists and hitched my breath, eyeing my best friend as she teasingly played with his hair. Worse enough, he slightly blushed as he moved her hand away.

No, no, don’t make assumptions. Calm down, he’s just embarrassed… I inhaled, brushed aside my thoughts, and said, “Come on, guys. I think it’s almost time now.”

The two stopped and turned to the wall clock as it struck seven in the evening.

“Oh, yeah it is.” Maria grabbed her handbag and made some last-minute adjustments to her witch’s hat. “Okay, is everyone ready?”

I spared a glance at the body mirror and briefly checked myself out. The black cat costume blended well with my hair, and I admit, I didn’t look as bad as I thought. “Yeah, I’m ready,” I said.

“I was ready hours ago,” said Ray, stretching his arms and legs. He stood up and left the bedroom first with a wave of a hand. “Let’s go.”

“Oh, wait! I almost forgot!” Maria fumbled around in her handbag and pulled out her phone. “Let’s take a picture first!”

Ray and I sighed as the three of us huddled up close, grinning at the camera as Maria snapped our photo.

***

We expected that there’d be plenty of noise when we arrived, but all that greeted us was an owl’s hoot through the night sky and some crickets singing their nightly tunes. The three of us stood before an iron-wrought gate and exchanged glances.

I pulled out my phone and peered at the address resting at the bottom of the website. I glanced back at the eerie mansion and said, “Yep, this is the place."

Maria surveyed the front yard with not a single grass blade alive. “Really? Why does it look kind of… dead and empty?”

“Fitting for Halloween if you ask me,” I said, shrugging.

“Are we early?” asked Ray, tilting his head. “Or did we go at the wrong time?”

“No, we’re right on time,” I said, pointing at the brightly-lit windows. “If there’s light, then there’s people in there!”

“Okay, so… what do we do?” asked Maria. “Just ring the bell?”

“Seems like it…” I stepped closer to the gate and pressed a button beside the lock. It briefly buzzed before it all went quiet again. When the silence stretched into minutes, I pressed on the doorbell again. “Huh, what’s taking so…”

Something snatched my wrist.

“...Eh?”

Before I could scream, the gate abruptly swung open, and a grotesque hand yanked me through.