In the year 2012, kids all around were running from door to door, yelling out giddily "TRICK OR TREAT!" and all holding out bags expecting them to be filled with wonderful treats that were sure to make them all sick in excess. A certain group of these young children, specifically a young Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Iron Man, and Captain America ran back from a brightly lit house on a street to meet a black-haired, teenage girl, apparently their chaperone dressed as a medieval vampiress. Superman spoke up cheerfully.

"Look Emmy, look! I gotta Smickers bar from that house!"

Next Batman decided to chime in. "We did too you dummy!"

"It's Snickers Jay, and yes I see. And Milo, that's a bad word. Come on, one more house, guys."

The band of superheroes followed the vampire to the last house on the street at the corner of Main Street and Treehouse Lane. The boys ran up to the house as Emma walked from behind. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow move in the woods next to the house. She panicked for a moment. The children were running up the steps at this point, and the shadow was getting closer. She kept her eye on where the shadow was and ran up to join the boys. The shadow appeared to stop moving, and she stayed on the side where the shadow was. The boys got their candy, and as she turned to follow the boys a hand grabbed her shoulder with a big "ROAR" emanating from the thing that the hand was attached to. Emma turned with fright, but then laughed when she saw her friend.

"Conner! You asshole! You are positively horrid!"

"I know!" He grinned.

"Conner, Conner!" The group of young boys squealed with delight.

"Hey guys!" He laughed. "Did I get ya?"

"Nah, I wasn't scared!" protested Jay.

"You are lying!" Kyle in the Captain America costume said.

"No I'm not!" Jay whined.

"Alright guys!" Emma said. "What did you guys get?"

Ronny held up a homemade wrapped candy bar. "Looky!" He said. "What kind is it?"

Emma looked at it with suspicion. "Ronny, could I see that for a sec?"

Spiderman held the chocolate bar up to her reluctantly and Emma took it. She started to unwrap it and Ronny started to protest. "No Emmy! You can't, that's mine!"

"Hold on!" Emma snapped harshly. The young Spiderman shrank. She unwrapped the chocolate and she broke the candy apart, finding a thin razor blade in the seemingly innocent candy. She sighed and showed it to Conner.

"Son of a bitch." He said.

"Alright guys give me all of the candy you got from that house." She said as she pointed to the last house they went to.

The boys whined. "Whyyy?"

She showed them the blade. "Because they are dangerous."

The boys scrambled to get the dangerous candy out of their possession.

"I'm going to take care of them." Conner said.

"I'm going with you." Emma said. "Boys, stay here and don't move. If someone you don't know tries to talk to you, what do you yell?"

"Stranger Danger!" They all said in unison.

"Very good."

Emma and Conner walked together to the front porch. Conner raised his hand and rapped harshly on the door.

They heard a creaky voice from inside. "What do you say, children?"

"We aren't children you sicko! Who are you?" Emma said.

They heard shuffling inside, and the slam of the back door of that house.

"He's running." Conner said as he took off after the man around the house. Emma took off after him, but she couldn't keep up as they got into the forest. After about five minutes of running, she stopped. She couldn't keep up with them. Nevertheless, she jogged in the direction that Conner seemed to have gone. Then she got tired and stopped again.

"Conner?" Emma said softly. Then she piped up. "Conner?!"

Nothing.

She kept walking in the same direction. She couldn't see anything; it was too dark. Trees surrounded her, blocking her view of anything in front, behind, and above.

Meanwhile...

The five boys were patiently awaiting their chaperone's return, all talking about what candy they got and what trades were going to be made. That is, until Jamie in the Iron Man costume got a bright idea.

"Hey! I'm bored!"

"So?" Kyle asked.

"Sooo! We should go check out that house that gave us the bad candy! We should see who's inside!" Jamie replied.

Jay piped up. "But Emmy said to stay here and wait! She said to wait for her and Conner to get back!"

"Fine!" Jamie said. "I'll go in all by myself since you guys are too chicken! Bock-bock, Bocka!" Jamie taunted.

"We aren't chicken!" The rest of the boys yelled in unison.

"Fine then!" Jamie said with a grin as he made his way to the house.

All of the rest of the boys, except Jay, started to walk towards the house with Jamie.

"What are you guys doing?" Jay asked. "We got to stay! Emmy said-"

"We don't care what Emmy says!" Jamie interrupted. "We are goin in! You comin or not?"

"Well..." Jay began. "No, I'm not! I'm waiting for Emmy!"

"Okay, chicken!" Jamie taunted.

"Fine! Call me a chicken! But I won't be in trouble with Emmy when she gets here!"

Jamie brushed off Jay's comments and started towards the house. The group stayed where they were.

"Well are you comin or not?" Jamie demanded.

"I'm not getting in trouble with Emmy...I don't like her when she is mad." Kyle said. The rest agreed.

"Fine! I'll go in by myself!" Jamie move to the front door and entered, effectively disappearing from sight. The group waited expectantly to see what would happen.

Not long after the door opened, Jamie's head popped out. "It's not bad in here you guys! Come look and see-ack!"

Suddenly Jamie was pulled into the house with a yelp. The boys were startled. All they heard was screaming – Jamie's screaming – from the house. Jay ran to the door and began tugging at it, but it wouldn't budge. Then, the screaming stopped. And the door unlocked. Jay opened the door and peered inside. Blood covered the inside of the house, and Jay shut the door in shock, and then puked over the side of the railing of the porch. He slowly made his way back to where his peers were. All the boys could hear were the rustling of trees, the bugs of the night, and the sound of their own breathing. They didn't know what to do.

Where was Emmy when they needed her?

Back in the forest, Emma continued searching for Conner. She had to know if he was okay. She found a trail moving through the forest, and began to follow it. It would at least lead her back to civilization so she can get back to the boys. She walked until she heard a rustling in the nearby woods.

"Conner?" Emma paused. "Conner?!" She said louder.

She moved into the bushes to get a closer look. About twenty feet in, she found a bloody Conner, not moving and not breathing.

Back at the house, the remaining four boys were discussing what they were to do. No more people were out trick-or-treating.

"We could go to one of the houses next door!" Ronnie suggested. "They can help us!"

The rest of the boys agreed, but Jay stayed silent. Three boys started running to the next house over, but Jay found a nearby tree, and sat down in silence.

In the forest, Emma kneeled over her dead friend, in tears. She felt like she had let this happen. There was no way she didn't have a part in it. If she had run faster, or longer...

"I am quite proud of my work. It is very nice, don't you think?" A voice asked behind her. A voice that was very similar to the one from inside the house earlier. Emma spun around while simultaneously trying to wipe tears from her eyes to see the man clearly. She tried to back up once she saw the man, but she tripped and fell backwards over Conner's body.

"W-what do you want?" She whimpered as she crawled backwards, trying to put as much distance between her and the man as possible. The man in the black coat chuckled to himself, and mumbled "Your soul."

The boys were unaware of the screams the emanated from their chaperone that night, not the ones from her friend, but the screams from their peer would always haunt their dreams forever. Police searched the house and forest, but no trace of Emma, Conner, or Jamie was found.

Epilogue - 20 years later

"How did that day make you feel Jay?" Doctor Emerson asked. After a few moments, Doctor Emerson repeated, "Jay?" Still no response from the adult in the chair at the center of the room.

"Jay, your peers have all moved on from this event, isn't it time you did as well?"

He shifted slightly, but not because of the question, but because the straight jacket he was wearing was chaffing his neck.

Doctor Emerson sighed, and wrote on her clipboard.

No response. Still silent after twenty long years. Upping dosage.

The Doc turned to her assistant. "Make sure he's comfortable." And she walked out.