Into the Spider’s Web

Out of instinct, I punched the silhouette and wrung myself free. The next thing I knew, I broke into a sweat before a broken zombie animatronic, still jerking its arms around.

“Woah!” said Ray. “What the hell was that?!”

“Blanche, are you okay?!” asked Maria.

I swallowed and took a deep breath, glaring at the puppet. “Yeah, I’m fine. Geez…” I massaged my wrist and glared at the giggling little girl, dressed like a vintage doll, standing on the balcony. “What the hell was that for?”

“Ehehe, did that scare you too much? Sorry about that,” said the girl, still giggling. “I can’t help it. Halloween is all about uncertainty…” She stretched a creepy smile. “After all, it’s the night of the supernatural…”

“Right, erm… is this Claire’s Halloween Party?” asked Maria, showing an advertisement on her phone.

The doll girl glanced at the phone, at her, Ray, and at me, grinning mischievously. “Mhm! Absolutely! Welcome to my party, my dear guests! You’ve arrived right on time!”

“Wait, you’re Claire?” asked Ray. “You’re hosting this?”

“Hehehe, yes, I’m Claire,” she said, shrugging. “Don’t concern yourselves with me. You’re here to have some fun, aren’t you?” She giggled, spun around, and skipped to the door. “Come in, come in!”

The three of us traded unnerved glances as we stared at the open door. Ray frowned and muttered, “This is kind of sketchy. Maybe this was a bad idea after all…”

“Oh, I think she’s just roleplaying,” I said, scrolling through my phone. “It says here that everyone is encouraged to roleplay a little for the Halloween spirit.”

“Ugh, there’s no way in hell I’m barking and howling,” said Ray.

I cracked a smile and giggled. “It’s okay, you don’t have to.”

Maria also laughed. “Roleplaying will be easy then! I’m a witch, and you guys are my familiars—and I say, let’s have some fun!”

I snorted and rolled my eyes. “Whatever you say, Master.”

“Now that’s the spirit! Let’s go!”

***

For a mansion with a creepy exterior, the interior sure was entirely the opposite. The moment we stepped in, music and noise blasted through our ears. As expected, plenty of other guests hung around the halls, wearing traditional costumes: ghosts, zombies, vampires, werewolves, merfolk, demons, cats, grim reapers, and the like.

“Huh, I’m surprised no one’s cosplaying any anime characters,” said Maria.

“Can you blame them? It’s such a hassle,” said Ray.

“And besides, tonight’s costume contest said it has to be original only,” I added. “Cosplaying is not allowed.”

“Oh, right. I forgot,” said Maria.

“Didn’t you come here for the contest?! How’d you forget already?!”

“O-Of course I didn’t forget that! I meant the rules!”

“Speaking of that, how can you tell if someone’s cosplaying?” asked Ray, observing the other partygoers. “Their costumes look pretty detailed for an original.”

Maria and I followed his gaze and watched the others casually chatting around. For sure, their garments and accessories looked rather authentic for basic costume ideas—actually, they looked a little too real. On top of that…

“Wow, they even have flying drones,” said Ray, staring at the jack-o’-lanterns hovering high over the halls. “They really went all out on this.”

“Yeah, it’s even colder here than outside,” said Maria, shivering. “This is crazy! Why isn’t this place popular?”

“Uhm…” I looked down at my phone. “I guess they started hosting parties this year? I assume they wanted to go all out on their first big event.”

“Yeah, you don’t see people using holograms like that!” she said, pointing at the floating wisps phasing through the walls. “That was so cool!”

Hearty laughter interrupted our conversation, and the three of us turned to a tall man wearing a sack over his face and straws stuffed inside his ragged, gray clothes. A fake crow perched on his shoulder, bopping around as he sauntered toward us. He tipped his straw hat and bowed.

“Happy Halloween!” said the scarecrow, scanning each of us. “I don’t believe I’ve seen your faces around here before. You’re new here, ain’t ya?”

“Yep!” said Maria. “Your costume is amazing, by the way! Is that real straw?”

“Hah! You bet! Straight from the bales!”

“Wow, doesn’t it get itchy?”

“Nah, I’m perfectly fine. Anyway, you’re also here for the contest?”

“Yeah, the three of us signed up as a group.”

“Ahh, splendid! The contest is gonna start soon, so feel free to hang out in the meantime.” He pointed to a bowl of candy resting at a table. “We got some nice, human-friendly food over there if you're hungry, heheh.”

“Uh, thanks,” I said. “We’ll check it out later.”

The partygoer nodded and tipped his straw hat. “The name’s Crowley, by the way. Let me know if ya got yourselves tangled in a web. I’m so bored, I’d kill for fun, heheh…” He casually walked away, hands stuffed into his already straw-stuffed pockets.

“...Talk about creepy,” Ray muttered.

“You think so? I think he’s pretty cool,” I said.

“I can’t believe a guy would go so far as to stuff himself with straws and wear crazy gloves!” said Maria, gripping her fist. “Is this what the contest meant by ‘authenticity?!’”

“Or, maybe he’s just creative.”

“Hmph, we can be creative too!”

“‘We?’ What are we gonna do?”

“Erm…” She scratched her cheek. “Well, we’ll figure it out.”

I sighed and folded my arms. “Count me out—I’m not good with that stuff.” I looked around and also said, “Anyway, I gotta use the bathroom.”

“Be careful,” said Ray. “Don’t stray too far.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said with a shy smile. “Be right back.”

I departed with a wave and walked away, wandering through the hallways packed with ambient music. The floorboards creaked with every step I’d made, and gusts of unnaturally cold air brushed my hair and shoulders as I crossed paths with other partygoers.

I gave them curious glances as I passed them, and so did they. None of them chose to strike up a conversation with me though. Maybe they knew I had business to do.

Anyway, it took a bit until I finally found the restroom after asking for directions, but right after I stepped in, the floor directly beneath me gave in.

Heart stuck in my throat, I held back a yelp as I found myself falling through the floor.