[October 31st, 1990]

All the boys laughed.

"Okay, okay," Jack began once he started to calm down, a smile still lurking on the ends of his lips. "Who's in the mood to actually get this party started?" He asked with yet another laugh.

"Oh god. What's that supposed to mean?" Zack implored uncomfortably. "Do you really need to make things worse than they already are?"

"No, I mean yes, but it's nothing bad." He began making his way out of the kitchen and back towards the front door where the duffle bags had been dropped, both Rian and Zack in tow. "I just mean who wants to get wasted? That's all." He added with a sly smile. Jack wasn't too fond of drinking. He didn't like the way it tasted or the way it burned his throat going down. What he did like, however, was how much it changed him.

When it mixed with his blood and went straight to his head he felt like he could do anything. He felt invincible almost. Confident, tall, handsome, not to mention smart, brave. He, unlike Jasey Rae, liked parties. Simply for this though; He could drink and let go. Jasey didn't drink. Ever. Jack figured that was more than just part of the reason she was scared shitless more than anything else.

Jack squatted down and reached his hand deep into one of the bigger duffle bags. "This bad boy right here has got us covered. I mean, if you wanna."

Rian ran a hand through his hair. Zack coughed.

"Is this a no? Come on guys, I came here to actually have fun!" Jack shouted.

"Gimme one," Zack demanded holding out an open palm to Jack. "Blackout or blackout, I guess!"

"Yes, let's go!" Jack slapped a beer can into the other boy's hand and laughed. "Rian-"

"No." He cut him off. "I-I mean, yeah, fuck yeah, but I wanna find Jase first. I just have a weird feeling about this whole thing, guys. Really." Rian switched his weight to his right foot and ran his hands through his hair again. "I do really wanna have fun tonight, though. Don't you worry, Jacky poo."

Zack choked on a mouth of beer at their old inside joke.

"Okay, okay. Quit rambling." Jack threw his own already empty beer at the tile kitchen floor. "Should we find those lovebirds or keep to ourselves?" Jack implored, already fishing through the duffle bag for another can.

"I'm fine with either," Zack stated with both the other boys nodding in acknowledgment.

The flashlights were the only things lighting up the room at the moment. The big windows on the wall weren't letting in enough light anymore to be able to see anything comfortably. The sun was now completely set. Even Jack agreed that things were eerier than they were before with the sun and a pretty sky. This was the next level. Especially with the strong breeze that was now picking up as well, forcing branches and over-grown weeds to sway outside creating outlines of scary-looking shadows.

"Okay, then let's do both. We can find them and also explore. I guess." Jack was enjoying this. It was, after all, his first Halloween with Zack and Rian since Jasey. He had grown very fond of her since the summer, however. Jack really liked the idea of having her around forever after even just that first day in the arcade. He loved her tough act and her positive outlook on almost everything.

The double staircase looked extra pessimistic in the eerie light. Climbing up it, all three boys felt a chill climb up their spine. The old, soggy wood creaked beneath their feet and the long hallway beckoned them forward. Zack took a long sip from his respective can. He figured he would need it.

Jack pulled himself up onto the second floor and ducked into a huge bedroom with a connecting bathroom. Pieces of plywood covered the broken windows, glass littered the floor, a huge closet loomed on the other side of the room, the bed sat underneath the boarded window with its legs collapsing in on themselves, big leather chairs, a desk, a small sofa, and other things sat amongst the room, covered in dust and filth. Jack motioned the other boys to file out, wanting to explore the place himself in peace.

Zack and Rian obliged. They went a few rooms down and explored the closets. It was too dark to really see the blood on the backs of the walls or the hand sticking out from the attic door on the top. Zack was laughing too loud to hear the groans from behind the walls. Rian's own heart was beating too loud in his ears to notice the odd noises coming from just right next to him.

Jack, on the other hand, was in his element. He enjoyed the creepy side of things, especially things like this. He dragged his feet to each nook and cranny looking under the bed (too dark, even with the flashlight), in the closets (nothing really, was that a finger?), in the desk drawers (creepy drawings, wonder where they came from), and he oh so desperately wanted to check under the floorboards, but the anticipation of checking in the bathroom was killing him.

Jack pushed one of the final drawers of the desk shut and picked himself up. He could hear Zack and Rian laughing down the hall. He rolled his eyes. Pulling his flashlight back up next to his face, Jack gently placed his hand on the bathroom doorknob. Slowly, he pushed the door open in front of him. Some terrible smell hit him in the face like a ton of bricks.

"Jesus." Jack crinkled his nose and shut his eyes. "Fuck."

The bathroom was a fair size. Not as big as you'd except for a bedroom the size of the one he was just in, but bigger than Jack's own bathroom. There was a standup tub with a shower curtain drawn shut, a toilet, a nice sized sink, a medicine cabinet, a rotted beyond saving plant, a painting with a huge hole where the face should've been; everything you'd expect from a bathroom. Except, for whatever reason, no mirror.

Jack coughed at the smell. It seemed to be getting into every cranny of his body. His eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his head from the stench.

The cracked granite of the countertop and the chrome faucet sink seemed to mock the boy as he tried to remain from doubling over and vomiting at the smell. The liquid courage coursing through his veins hadn't fully kicked into effect just yet, I guess.

Jack looked down at his feet. His dirty, white sneakers seemed to be clear as day against the almost blackened, white tile floor.

The boy's eyebrows scrunched in confusion at
the sight. He braced himself and finally let go of his grip on the door handle. The door creaked in response. The light from Jack's flashlight was then moved, slowly, from the shower curtain ahead of him and down to the floor.

Jack gasped.

Fresh blood had snaked itself in huge puddles from, apparently, the bathtub. "What the hell?" Jack bent down to get a closer look, finding nothing unexpected. The red, irony-smelling liquid looked back at him blankly. Jack dipped a finger in and held it up to the light. His head picked itself back up and faced the shower curtain one final time.

His heart pounded so uncomfortably fast in his chest.

Suddenly, he propelled himself off the ground. Walking to the tub, he felt the waves of confusion and frustration wash over and through him. He grabbed at the curtain, wishing only to pull it back and expose whatever the fuck was behind it.

A scream emerged from down the hall.

Jack whipped his head around. Instantly, the curtain was dropped and so was the flashlight, cracking against the force of the ground. The light dispersed in a flash. Jack sprinted out of the bedroom and into another room with what he thought would be Rian and Zack.

"Guys. Guys?" Jack panted, his breath slipped in and then out of his lungs. The walls felt like they were closing in, his chest tightened, the ceiling spun. "Guys! Not funny, idiots."

Something grabbed at Jack's arm. He pulled it out of the grasp and screamed. Blood rushed into his ears. "Rian, Zack, you assholes!" Jack's eyes strained in the darkness, trying to make some sense of the situation. His heart pounding in his chest.

Jack fell to his knees, his head pounding. Tiny shards of glass pushed into his knees. He longed for his flashlight, another can of beer, his mom's couch and a bag of Halloween candy, his friends near, anything. "This was such a bad idea," Jack put his head into his hands, sobbing.

Until he heard the screams of Jasey Rae from somewhere on the other side of the second floor.