"What?" Misty snapped, but as soon as she turned her head, her jaw dropped.

Deep red blood dripped from his eyes and down his cheeks, the corners of his mouth had turned blue and were foamy with spit, and his hands were clenched so tight into fists his knuckles had turned pure white. The blank, emotionless expression was wiped clean from his face and was replaced with a twisted, snarling rage.

"What did you do?" Misty whisper-screamed at her sister.

Millie opened her mouth to defend herself but she didn't get the chance to answer. The boy reached his arms out and lunged at her, causing Millie to jump back. A high pitched yell escaped  her throat and filled the dark woods with terror. The boy showed his teeth and growled as he took two heavy steps toward Millie. Standing tall, Misty stepped between the boy and her sister. Still shaken from being lunged at moments before, Millie ducked behind her older sister. Misty held her hand out and began chanting. She felt the power surging through her and the ground shaking beneath her feet. The air whipped behind her, shooting bits of broken twigs and leaves off in all directions. But it had no effect on the boy. He kept walking towards her with the same twisted anger. Misty chanted louder and concentrated as hard as she could, but still it was useless. Her magic slowed him ever so slightly, but it wasn't worth the effort she was putting in. Exhausted and on the brink of a migraine, she let her hand fall to her side and grabbed Millie by the arm. With her magic having little to no effect, Misty decided the next best thing they could do was run.

"Meadow," she said and extended her other hand. "Give me your hand."

Meadow took her sister's hand. They turned to run away, but quickly realized they were surrounded by crowds of people with the same blood stained cheeks and frothy mouths. They moved in a slow, robotic fashion but they were gaining speed with every step. Misty's heart pounded as she looked desperately for an opening for them to escape.

"This way," she said finally.

She jerked her arms forward, pulling her sisters in front of her. She gave them both a push and yelled at them to run. They did as she said and took off towards the opening. Needing protection, Misty grabbed the heaviest, sturdiest stick from the pile of kindling next to the fire. The opening had closed so she had to fight her way out. All eyes were focused on her with devilish intent. Every single pair was bloodshot and unblinking. As they closed in around her, she closed her eyes tight and swung the stick as hard as she could. She heard a hard thump hitting the ground. She swung again and another body dropped with a thud. She hopped over them and hurried to catch up with her sisters.

"Should we try a transportation spell?" Millie asked.

Misty looked behind her. The mob grew faster, angrier, and more determined with each passing second. The two she hit had arisen and were leading the pack despite the fact that their heads were smashed in and mangled. Blood spurted out the side of their heads like a faulty water fountain. Misty suspected she had only angered them further.

"There's no time," Misty said. "Just run."

The girls dipped and ducked around tree branches and pushed their way through the mud and leaves.  The mob grunted and growled as they chased the three sisters through the woods. The farther they got into the woods the darker and more twisted it became. Tangled roots and loose rocks covered the surface beneath them. Their ankles began to buckle over the uneven terrain and their chests tightened as they desperately tried to suck in as much air as possible as they ran. They were getting tired, but the mob showed no signs of slowing down. The sisters needed a new plan.

"Let's split up," Meadow shouted.

She took a sharp turn to the left before either of her sisters had the chance to protest. She knew they would want to stick together, but there was no possible way they could simply outrun them. They had to outsmart them somehow. Or at the very least, split the pack.

"Wait, Meadow!" Misty yelled after her sister. "No!"

But it was too late, Meadow was already gone. Misty watched in horror as a couple members of the mob peeled off and began chasing after Meadow. Misty had little faith that Meadow would be able to take them on her own. She instinctively grabbed Millie's hand and commanded her to stay with her at all costs. Then she yanked her sister to the left and circled back around. Their youngest sister had disappeared into the dark, but she had left visible footprints in the mud. Misty pushed harder and tugged at her sister to run faster, even though her legs felt like they were seconds away from collapsing. They managed to break away from the pack and established a somewhat comfortable lead ahead of them. If she squinted hard enough, she could just make out Meadow's silhouette in the distance.

"I think I see her," Misty said and sped up even more.

She was practically dragging her sister at this point. Just as they got close, Meadow shrieked as a possessed party-goer reached forward and yanked the back of her ponytail. He pulled hard and fast, jerking her backwards and leaving her laying flat on her back in the muck. She screamed and begged for mercy as he dragged her by her hair through the broken twigs and leaves to a nearby creek. A second boy reached for a big, heavy rock and smashed her over the head. She went completely silent as her body fell limp. One grabbed her arms while the other grabbed her legs and then they chucked her into the creek.

"Meadow!" Misty shouted. She dropped Millie's hand and ran as fast as she could to her sister. "Meadow!" She screamed again, her voice cracking.

The zombie-like boys craned their necks towards the noise. Once they determined where it was coming from, they charged straight towards Misty. But she didn't stop. She didn't even flinch. She ran towards them at full speed with her stick held high in the air. In a fit of rage, she beat them both to a bloody pulp. They laid there lifeless on the ground as Misty stood over them, her chest heaving and face splattered with blood and dripping with sweat. Even so, Misty knew they wouldn't be down for long.

"Millie," Misty said to her sister once she finally caught up. "Grab Meadow and let's go."

Millie nodded and then ducked down to pick her sister off the ground. She stopped cold when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something moving through the trees. She didn't know what it was, but she was absolutely positive it wasn't what had been chasing them.

"Wait. What was that?"

"Don't stop," Misty snapped. She could hear the footsteps closing in behind them and the awakening grunts of the two boys laying on the ground. "We don't have much time."

"There it is again."

With a shaky finger, Millie pointed to a tall, shadow-like figure darting through the trees at high speed. The figure disappeared behind a tree and then reappeared seconds later. Millie spun her head around as she tried to keep up. Suddenly, it let out an ear-splitting demonic squeal that ran through Millie's body like lightening and sent shivers down her spine. Her ears rang even after the sound had evaporated into the night.

Seeing the fear shake her sister's body kicked Misty's protective instincts into high gear. She had already lost one sister and she would go to hell and back before she let another be ripped away from her. She didn't know where, who or what evil was after them, but she was determined to face it without fear and do whatever she had to do to prevent Millie from facing the same fate as Meadow.  She stepped in front of Millie and gripped her stick tightly in her right hand as if it was the only thing between life and death.

The figure squealed once more and reappeared; this time it came charging towards the girls. Misty raised the stick high above her head, ready to strike as hard and as fast as she could. Right as she reached the top of her arch, her hand froze in mid air. Her heart pounded as she tried desperately to jerk her arm forward, but some mystical force was pushing against it on all sides.  Her hand un-clenched involuntarily, causing her to drop her only protection.

As soon as the stick hit the ground the figure disappeared into thin air and the night was quiet and calm once again. The grunts and heavy footsteps of the deranged mob, her weapon, the blood caked on her face with sweat, even the two boys laying next to them, they were all gone. Confused by the sudden stillness, Millie and Misty turned in a full circle. Off in the distance, they saw the gentle glow and quiet roar of the party had returned, full of happy chatter. It was as if nothing had happened.

"What the-" Misty whispered under her breath.

Then from out of the woods stepped a man with black curly hair and a knowing smile. Misty and Millie stood in shock as they watched the man they knew all too well emerge from behind the trees. They both sighed and let their shoulders drop as they came to an incredibly annoying realization.

"Markos?" Misty said. "What are you doing here?"

"You're supposed to be at school teaching," Millie added.

"What?" He said. "I can't be in two places at once?"

In the blink of an eye, Markos disappeared, only to reappear a few feet behind them. Misty turned quickly to face him, but as soon as she turned, he blipped behind her back. Then to the left and the right, causing her to spin around in circles trying to keep up.

"Ugh, stop that," Misty demanded. She picked up a pebble and threw it at him. It went right through him and he just laughed.

"I hate that you can astral project and I can't," she huffed.

Markos just chuckled lightly and sighed.

"You'll get it someday, little sis," he said, a condescending smirk planted firmly on his face. "In the meantime, maybe you could lay off the mortals, huh?"

Misty couldn't help but roll her eyes. She hated when Markos popped up out of the blue and tried to assert himself as the oldest sibling. He left that position willingly years ago to teach and she had every right to it now that he was gone.

"You still didn't answer my question," Misty said. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh and by the way," Millie said. "I don't know what you did, but our sister is dead."

"Come on," he said. "You know I wouldn't let that happen."

"Do I?" Millie said defiantly.

"If you don't believe me just ask her," he said then pointed to Meadow who began to squirm around on the ground.

She coughed a couple times before bursting into a fit of giggles. Meadow shot up into a sitting position and looked to her brother.

"Did it work?" She asked him eagerly.

"Oh yeah," Markos said. "I would say they were thoroughly convinced."

"So it was all fake," Misty said. "All of it. None of it was real. It was just some kind of...dumb joke?"

Millie's eyes shot daggers at her youngest sister.

"I liked you better when you were dead," she said.

"What?" Meadow said with a smile as she stood up and dusted herself off. There was not a scratch on her. "You were the ones that told me to practice my powers of persuasion."

"Mmm," Markos said. "What was it again that they said you lacked?"

"Foresight and initiative," Meadow said with grinning confidence.

Markos and Meadow both shared a smug smile.

"Well," he said, feigning disappointment. "I guess some people never learn."