I peek through the window with my lamp in my room off. It's dark, even with the dim street lights. Little kids in various costumes pass my window on the bottom floor of my home, without knowing I'm there.

They walk up to my front door and knock. A few minutes later, they turn around, giving up on getting candy from my house.

Most people like to give children treats, some even make them do something for it (Geez, trick-or-treating with my baby brother is horrifying when he needs to sing for his candy).

So before I give candy, I like to scare them first (so it's a trick and a treat!).

Before the kids pass my room, I turn on the light and quickly open and hide behind the curtain.

My window is opened of course, so I hear them say, "Huh?" altogether.

Their footsteps come closer as I put on a mask.

When I'm sure they must be close enough, I jump up with a roar.

The poor little children scream, especially a kid who screeched like a girl watching a horror film at the movies (haha, what a cute boy…).

I see them bunch together, laughing after I take off the mask.

"Thank you, thank you." I say, taking a bow. "For being such a great audience, I'll give you each candy."

They all politely thank me before leaving.

"You're awesome for giving us a lot of candy, lady." the boy who I'll remember most says (the one that screamed like a girl).

Well, really, I'm not a lady. I'm just a normal (ish) girl. I'm sixteen, but my parents still think of me as a child. They won't let me drive, go on trips, or even go out with friends by myself. At least they let me stay home with my brother instead of going trick-or-treating.

I scratch my head…I'm feeling like I'm forgetting something. Wait…Toby?! Where is he?!

I practically have a scavenger hunt for my baby brother. He's not ANY-WHERE!

My thought's rewind and replay verbally. "So I went to school today, went to the library," I say. "Then walked to Toby's school to pick him up, looked inside the new mall nearby school (thankfully)…THE MALL!"

I have to get him home before mom and dad come back. I look at the clock and see it's already nine! The mall closes at ten!

Frantically, I grab my jacket, throw on denim jeans, a blue blouse, combat boots, and I head out, locking the door to my house.

(At the new mall, which I have no idea what the name is.)

Security is already outside, guarding the front entrance. One is slim and tall like my lamp's stand, while the other has a belly the size of my lamp's valance shade (no offence to them, but really, they actually match). I run up to them and explain my situation.

"Miss, I doubt you're telling the truth. No one's inside." One of the two guards tell me (the chubby one). "The cameras are on and there isn't any people detected since we checked an hour ago."

"But my-" I start.

"No buts." the other says (the skinny one). "Look for your brother tomorrow."

"I mean it. My-" I start again.

"Leave, or we'll have you arrested." the skinny guy says.

I inhale deeply to stop myself from shouting some choice words of mine. I bet they think I'm just going to steal from the place. Although, there has been a lot of thefts going around. Half of the police think it's by the criminal who has escaped from jail (a reason why my parents don't trust me by myself). Then the other half think it's just teenagers.

I storm off and end up kicking the dirt. What's with adults and not understanding?! I just don't get it!

My anger makes me decide to throw a pebble the security guards' way. It hits the wall and I hear a thump.

"What was that, Birney?" the skinny man asks.

"I don't know, but I'll check." Birney says.

He walks towards the dark side of the building, so I throw another pebble and it hits Birney's head. My mouth opens, but no sound comes out to gasp.

"I've been hit, Jake! I've been hit!" Birney shouts, while stumbling to the ground.

"I'm coming!" the skinny man says, running over to him. "And my name's Jeremy."

I take this time to run into the mall. The automatic doors still work until ten thirty, as my friends told me. So I have less than half an hour until the store locks and my brother and I will be trapped.

I rush over to Toby's favourite aisles since today, the action figures aisles. (There are around eight of them)

"Toby?" I whisper a little loudly.

I stop calling his name at the seventh aisle. Then I slowly move to sit on an empty shelf, with my face buried in my hands.

"He's gone. I can't find him…" I mutter to myself. "He could've wondered off or just gotten himself kidnapped…"

Then I hear voices.

I take a glance at the eighth aisle, which I didn't bother checking. A little boy with blue eyes identical to mine, blonde hair, wearing a Transformers T-shirt, shorts that go farther than his knees, and sneakers sits beside a stranger. He's my age with messy black hair, jeans, a red T-shirt, and runners that looks like the kid's but is a bigger size. That must be Toby over there! He's safe! I think…

"My big sister ditched me." Toby says.

"That might not be true." the stranger says in an emotionless voice.

My clumsiness makes a life-sized superman doll drop (I guess he's invincible to everything but me...okay, jokes I make really aren't good).

I find a blue light sabre beside me with a mask. I put the mask on, and click a button on the toy, which makes it light up. The boys turn around to see me.

"I am his sister!" I shout in Darth Vader's voice in attempt to scare the stranger. "Give him back to me or I'll use the force!"