Puuurrfect Halloween
Written by: Lady_Clair_Voyant

I let out a long sigh. Partly due to boredom. Partly due to defeat. It was Halloween night, and I was stuck at work while everyone else and their friends were out partying and having fun. Outside of the burger joint, I could see groups of friends walking the streets with glow sticks and bags filled with candy. Now, you could say that I was too old to go trick-or-treating. Once you enter high school, it is pretty much frowned upon to be going door-to-door unless you have a little one with you that you are chaperoning. Not that it mattered if I did or not, considering that I was going to be stuck at work until midnight. So stupid. Who would be coming in to get a burger and fries tonight? No one. We hadn't had a customer in hours.

I swear that I'd wiped this counter for the last forty minutes straight, stuck in autopilot. I was beyond bored, sure. But besides that, I knew that when I got back to school on Monday, I would have to hear about all the fun everyone had while I was stuck here. It was infuriating.

At least I wasn't alone. Thankfully, I had Darren with me. While he wasn't the most reliable colleague, he was better than nothing. We weren't exactly friends, but we got along well enough. He filled the silence with random shower thoughts and off-key singing. He had even decorated a little to make the shop have a little bit of spirit for the holiday. The annoying thing was that he was always going out back to smoke. I lost count of all his smoke breaks. But then again, it hardly mattered tonight. We were dead. I leaned on the counter and rested my chin on my folded arms, watching a group dressed as pirates play fight with their swords in our empty parking lot.

"Chin up, butter cup." Darren let the back door slam shut behind him when he entered the building again. He wasn't really one to care about property value. Or manners. "Don't look so blue."

"This sucks, man." I groaned. "I mean, come on. This place is a ghost town. We shouldn't even be here. I don't know why we were on the schedule."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Holiday pay."

"I'd rather be anywhere else." I looked back to the festive scenes outside. I felt like I was stuck in a fishbowl. Seeing all the wonderful things beyond the glass yet never being able to enter into that world.

"It's not all bad." Darren nudged me with his elbow. "I think I managed to score just the thing for a situation like this." He sounded far too proud of himself. He fished around in his pocket. I could hear the loose change rattling against his lighter and whatever else he had stuffed into those pockets that I only just now appreciated how deep they were.

"Ah." He pulled his hand out to reveal a handful of individually wrapped gummy candy. "What do you saaaaaaay?" He nudged me with his elbow with a singsong tone.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes when I smiled, "Trick-or-treat." I took a couple of them. It may not have been much, but it was the most I could hope for tonight. Not that I was a big fan of candy anyway. It was the principal of the matter. But leave it to Darren to have something to cheer me up.

I unwrapped one and popped it into my mouth. I looked back out the window while I chewed slowly. I didn't want to be rude to Darren, but the candy tasted a bit stale. No telling how long he had had those things in his pocket. I didn't want to make any expression that would indicate that I didn't like it. I simply chewed the rest and watched a set of scary twins skip past our door that was collecting very real cobwebs.

I mindlessly opened the second package and popped that onto my tongue as well. Might as well just get rid of them as fast as I could. The flavor just wasn't the best.

"Bro." Darren gasped.

"Hmm?" I glanced back at him to find him staring at me like he had seen a ghost. His eyes were wide, and he seemed to have gone a little pale. His eyebrows creased in a look of concern.

"Wow." He finally said, still astounded. "You really went all in. I didn't expect that from you."

"What do you mean?" I was confused. It wasn't often that I saw him look like this. He hardly seemed to care about much. Always so chill.

"You wanna take a seat, rockstar? No need to show off to me." He held up his hands like he was shielding himself from the sun.

"What are you even talking about?" I asked him.

"I meant for those to last us the whole night." He chuckled now, "You really should have slowed down. I only eat about half of one gummy myself, and I have practice. I mean, in my experience, just that will do it for me. But two whole gummies? Bruh..."

"What the-?" Suddenly, the weight of his words hit me like a 747 nosedive straight from above. I felt a heat rising in my stomach, "Darren!?" I gasped, "Was that? Did I just!?"

"What," He was the one who looked confused now, "You've never taken an edible before?"

"Oh my God!" I grabbed the sides of my head. Panic began to boil my blood under my skin, "NO! Darren, I've never dong drugs before!!"

He was shocked yet again, "Wait, never? For real?"

"FOR REAL!" I screeched like a pterodactyl while fear gripped my guts.

"Oh, yeah. You are definitely gonna wanna sit down, my dude." He nodded.

"YOU CAN'T JUST GIVE PEOPLE EDIBLES AND NOT WARN THEM FIRST!"

"My brother in Christ," Darren's tone was far too calm for my liking. I had practically been poisoned! He went on, ever so smoothly, "You don't wanna panic. If you panic, you're gonna have one bad trip."

"WHAT!?" I gripped the counter and started to dry heave. I needed to get these things out of me! If I could just throw up?

"Take it easy..." He cooed, "I'm right here. I'll be your spiritual guide for this journey you're about to take."

I was beyond furious, "I DON'T WANT TO TAKE ANY JOURNEY!"

He patted the cushion of the chair behind the counter, "Well, you'd better buckle up cause you're going on a trip whether you like it or not, buddy."

"YOU POISONED ME!" I stuck my fingers into my throat, but nothing came up. I began to hyperventilate. I hugged myself and leaned against the counter again to steady myself.

"Remember," he repeated ever so unhelpfully, "Don't panic."

"STOP TELLING ME NOT TO PANIC!" I shrieked, "IT'S MAKING ME PANIC MORE!"

"Relaaaaaax." He shushed me. His cool and collected demeanor was intended to likely soothe me. But all it did was infuriate me all the more. Who keeps edibles on them and passes them out like literal candy? What sane person passes those out without telling other people?

I rubbed my temples and tried to focus on the countertop. If I could just focus. Maybe I could think myself out of a high. Maybe I could just play it cool and casually. Just act like it is nothing. Pretend I never took it. Maybe I could play it off like some placebo. It's only going to work if I think about it working.

"You good?" Darren leaned over to check my face. I wanted so badly to punch him right now.

"Don't even talk to me right now!" I snapped, then quickly had to readjust my mindset. "Of course I'm not good!" I took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as I could. Breathe. Just breathe. You're good.

"I'll be okay." I told him at last. "I'm chill." I was lying through my teeth. But I had to do something. Maybe I could lie to both of us and eventually make it through this night. Just four more hours of my shift to go. Should be fine, right? Maybe it would wear off within an hour or so.

At least I had a distraction. Work. All I had to do was my literal job. Just focus on my tasks, and that should keep my mind busy enough. Too busy to be high. This was my deepest hope. I wasn't feeling any different at the moment, so maybe there was something to it.

"Time to lean, time to clean." I uttered the very overused phrase our manager always said to us. "Let's just... clean up." I grabbed the broom and headed out to the dining area. I took my time to meticulously sweep under every table. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Was I really taking so long? It felt like I had been sweeping for hours.

When I looked at the clock, I could see that only thirty minutes had passed.

I took the dustpan to the trash only to notice the trash can was full. More work. Great. More to keep me busy. I could take out all the trash in the restaurant. I went about collecting as many bags as I could carry. "Going out back!" I hollered out to Darren before pushing open the back door and trudging over to the dumpster. Every step felt labored. Like lifting my legs was a chore.

I tossed a couple of bags into the dumpster when I felt something fuzzy rub across the back of my calves. I jumped nearly out of my skin, flying forward and smacking my chest against the grimy, cold, metal surface of the bin.

I flipped around to check my surroundings. Only to find a black cat sitting where I was once standing. I gasped into a laugh. Typical Halloween stereotype. Jumpscared by a black cat. This could have been in some movie.

"Oh my God." I laughed, still trying to steady my legs, "You got me, little guy. You definitely got me."

"I'm a woman." The cat corrected me matter-of-factly.

"Oh, of course. My bad." I shrugged, "Makes sense, I guess. Sorry for misgendering you."

"Understandable." She reassured me, "It's hard to tell sometimes."

I was about to take a step back towards the store when my heart suddenly launched into my throat at the realization, "YOU'RE TALKING!" My back smacked into the dumpster again as I tried in a rush to put some distance between myself and this freaky talking cat.

"Yes."

"A TALKING CAT!"

"Yes. Although, sorry to correct you again, but I'm not exactly a cat." She let out a sound that could have been described as a chuckle, "I know, it's kind of hard to tell."

"Oh.. my.. God." I rubbed my face hard with my hands. My skin felt like putty, mushing, and molding around my hands. "I am tripping balls..."

"Oh no," she wrapped her slender tail around her tiny little paws around herself, "You aren't tripping. I am definitely real. I am definitely talking to you."

"I'm toasted." I started to hyperventilate again.

She suddenly took a serious tone, speaking very smoothly and deliberately, "Look, I know your time and sanity are precious. As is mine. Therefore, I'll get straight to the point. I need your help, kid."

"Nope! This isn't happening. NOT happening!" I covered my ears and dipped around the cat like it was some kind of giant cockroach. I ran back into the restaurant and slammed the door behind me, locking it with trembling hands.

My back was flat against the door, and my heart was threatening to pound right out of my chest. I couldn't catch my breath. Darren came to the door with a couple more trash bags. The one time he actually was going to help take trash out.

"You good?" He asked me for the second time since he poisoned me.

"No." I said in a struggled whisper. "No. I'm not. There's... there's a cat."

He looked at the door behind me, then back to my face with some hint of confusion, "You're... scared... of cats?"

"Talking." I wheezed, "A talking cat!! It was talking to me!!"

Darren stared at me for a short moment before he started laughing, "Okay, buddy." He gave my shoulder a pat with his free hand, "I'm sure it was. Now, I'm gonna finish taking the trash out."

"It's still out there!" I hissed at him, "Don't open this door!"

"I've seen all sorts of things." Darren shrugged, "You think a talking cat is bad? Relax, I'll shoo him off."

"He's a WOMAN!" I don't know why that was so important to be the first thing I spit out, "And she isn't even a real cat, I think! I don't know! She didn't exactly make a lot of sense and I am way too high to understand what she wanted!"

"Shhh." He chuckled, "there, there. It's okay." He eased me away from the door. Felt like he was pulling me through water. Like I almost glided away from the door and came to stop where he let me go.

He unlocked and opened the door. "There's no cat." He peeked through a crack in the door before opening it up. "See?" He began to walk towards the dumpster. Ever so cautiously, I followed him. I looked in every which direction. I had to see a cat. As much as I didn't want to. I had to see one just so I knew I wasn't going crazy.

"It was a black cat." I told him.

"It still is a black cat," said an almost stern feminine voice.

I turned to look next to the dumpster. There she was. Still sitting ever so tall, as if she were royalty.

"THERE!" I pointed. "The talking cat!! Tell me you hear her, too!"

"Huh." Darren looked down at her. The fact that he looked very unimpressed frustrated me beyond belief. "I'll be darned. A talking cat."

"I TOLD YOU!" My hand shook as I pointed at her. I didn't dare tear my eyes away in a fear she would disappear if I did.

"Not exactly a cat." She told Darren the same as she told me, "Which brings us to the point. As I was trying to tell your friend there, I need your help."

"Sure. What's up?" Darren didn't even need any convincing. He was just up for anything, apparently.

"We aren't helping a cat!" I shot it down quickly. "This isn't even real life right now!"

"I keep telling you that I am very real." She seemed insulted.

"How can we help?" Darren asked, "Need some food or something?"

"No. Though, thank you." She purred. "I'm not a cat. I am a witch. Or at least, I was. Until I was cursed."

I shook my head, "We are seriously not getting an exposition dump by a talking cat right now."

"Shh," Darren shushed me, "the plot is happening. Let it roll."

"I was cursed." She repeated, a little louder this time. "And I mean to get my human form back. Although, I will need help. I only have until midnight to reverse the curse."

"Of course you do." I scoffed.

"How can we help?" Darren was ever so helpful.

"Well," she hesitated to answer. She looked around, then back at us as if she were going to share her deepest secret. "I need a body to possess. It must be one of a virgin."

"What about him?" Darren pointed at me. "He's never done edibles, ain't no way this dude has ever touched a woman."

"Excuse me!?" I snapped at him, offended that he was actually right.

"Or touched a man." Darren held his hands up defensively, "No judgments from me. Hey, I've been drunk enough to do some things, if you know what I mean."

"Be that as it may." The cat rolled her strikingly green eyes, "When I said I wanted a body to possess, I was referring to a female body. Because I am, you know, a woman."

"What do you need from us exactly?" Darren pressed further. "Like, you need us to bring you a virgin then? Just like that?"

"Hold on, just a minute!" I protested, "Didn't you hear her? She's literally going to possess an innocent girl and steal her body! That's practically murder! She's asking us to help her murder someone, Darren!"

"She never said murder." He tried to reason.

She repeated, "I never said murder. I just need a host body. Think of it like this. I am just a tenant. She will be the landlord. Until I eventually overpower and consume her soul for sustenance."

"That's murder!" I pointed at the cat while looking at Darren. "She wants us to commit murder!"

"Doesn't sound like murder." He disagreed, "It's not like we are moving a body together. I mean, she's still walking away from this. Technically."

"Why are you even so willing!?" I threw my hands up, "I'm out!" I turned to walk back to the store. This was out of control. I just wanted to lock myself in the bathroom and ride out the rest of this high. This was too much. I had heard before that people would see and hear all manner of things. But I never signed up for this! I washed my hands of it.

"I wouldn't recommend it." She hopped in front of me to stop me in my tracks. "My time is running out. I've been cursed for years now, and I am ready to break this. If I fail tonight, I must wait an entire year again. And I don't plan on using a litter box anymore or showering by tongue. I'm getting my virgin tonight! And it looks like I've already found one."

"But you said you wanted a female?" I reminded her.

"I have my preferences, but I want out of this body more than anything."

"I say we help her, she seems nice." Darren shrugged.

"What?" I questioned him, shocked, "You've known her all of five minutes, and all she's done is ask for help killing a chick."

"Or a dude." She showed her fangs in her toothy smile.

"Why can't you get your own virgin?" I snapped in my bitterness.

"You see how hard it is for me to talk to people." She said with a cat-ish shrug.

"So, to understand," I tried to break it down rationally, "You want us to go out there in the streets – high as kites – asking girls if they're virgins. And then, if they say yes, we are to ask them to follow us to the dimly lit alleyway by the dumpsters?"

"Bingo." She nodded. As if it were such a simple task. "Glad we're on the same page."

"This isn't happening." I looked back to Darren, feeling that denial phase hitting me once more. "We can't do this. Bro, we'll be in the back of a squad car before ten o'clock. A couple of creeps getting arrested on Halloween. My parents are gonna kill me." To be fair, they were probably going to kill me either way since I was high. God, I couldn't wait for this to wear off.

"We got this." Darren grabbed my shoulders to steady me. "It will be easy."

"Do you hear yourself?" I asked, "Are you crazy?"

"No. I'm high." He said this as if this was supposed to comfort me.

"I am so dead." I cradled my head in my hands. Either way, no matter the outcome, I knew this would end horribly for me. Well, and one virgin somewhere. But mostly me.

"Hello?" We could hear someone calling from inside.

"Crap!" I shuffled around the cat, "I'd love to help, but I literally have a job to do, if you'll excuse me!" I rushed inside. Suddenly, I felt a panic bubbling in my guts again. What if they could tell I was high? I just had to act naturally. What was natural?

I came to the counter to see a couple of teenage girls waiting at the register. One dressed as Cleopatra. The other dressed as a clown. Frankly, if I had dressed up, I would have gone as a clown. Because that is how I felt right about now.

I positioned myself behind the counter and tried to lean in a natural and not at all suspicious manner. Which led to me readjusting my stance in a fidgeting manner. It probably looked like I needed a bathroom. "Helloooo." I said in the tone of a spooky ghost. Why? I have no idea. It seemed right. "What can I help you ladies with tonight?" Which I felt like an idiot for asking. It was definitely going to be obvious. I needed to readjust again, "Obviously, food. Which I will be happy to help with. Once you tell me what you'd like. Please." Nailed it. They hadn't a clue.

Darren came up next to me, "Don't forget to mention, we've got a special going on for virgins tonight! All virgins get 50% off their order! Any virgins in the house? Testify!" Darren raised his hand and eyeballed these girls so hard that I could have folded in on myself in embarrassment.

The girls laughed, much to my shock and utter disbelief.

The clown spoke, "I'll take a number four, please. Large."

The Egyptian queen spoke next, "And I'll just take a large drink, thank you."

The clown laughed again, "she'll take your discount, too!"

"Shut up!" Cleopatra playfully slapped the clown's arm. They giggled together.

"Oh really?" Darren raised his eyebrows, "How very... interesting."

"Bro." I elbowed him. Without context, he must have looked like such a creep. Even with context, I felt weirded out. What was even weirder was the fact that Darren wasn't in any amount of danger. His soul wasn't on the line. Why was he so into this? Talk about being up for anything.

"You talk too much." Cleopatra jested with the clown.

"Ring up the discount." Darren put his arm around my shoulders. "Make sure she has a great deal. I'll get a number four going!" He gave me a shake and then went towards the back.

I looked at the keys. To be honest, I seemed to have forgotten how the register worked. I watched the keys swirl and swim together. The buttons I was looking for were lost in the mix. I couldn't seem to find them. I watched the buttons dance for what seemed like a lifetime, waiting for them to go still.

"Hello?" The clown checked in on me. They must have noticed that I hadn't rang them up.

"It's uh..." I swallowed hard, "It's on me tonight." I waved my hands like I had just performed a magic trick. Anything to keep from pressing any buttons.

"You're so cute!" Cleopatra laughed. "I mean -" She shook her head, "You're so nice!"

"Thank you." I mumbled, probably sounding more awkward.

"Oh, how cute!" The clown pointed. I followed her finger to see a black cat with green eyes walking towards us from the back door Darren must have left open. "Probably not sanitary, but how adorable! Is that your cat?"

The cat jumped up onto the counter and stretched her back out with a yawn.

"Can I pet her?" Cleopatra asked. "Could I take a picture with her? She'd go perfect with my costume!"

"You can have her." I said quickly. The cat meowed loudly and purred when Cleopatra picked her up.

Cleopatra nuzzled her face into the black fur. The clown took out her phone to take a picture.

"Oh, good. They've met." Darren met me back at the counter with the burger on a tray.

"Yeah." I felt a sense of dread wash over me, "Now what?" I didn't even want to be a part of this. Sacrificing the life of a young woman just to save myself? Was I just being selfish? I mean, obviously, I was. But was it worth it? Was I so evil for wanting to live? What was going to happen? Was I about to watch this girl die?

"What's her name?" The clown asked me, petting her behind the ears.

"She's not my-" I started.

"Mistress." Darren declared it boldly. "Mistress is our precious little dumpster kitty."

"She doesn't have a home?" Cleopatra gasped.

"That's right." He said. "Sad, really. She's such a good cat."

"Yeah." I rolled my eyes, "If you ignore murder."

The girls laughed as if I had told a funny joke.

"I wish I could take her." Cleopatra sighed. "My parents already have a cat. She wouldn't like another cat coming into the house."

"But you have to take her." I tried my best now. "She is starved to death out here. We don't always have scraps for her."

"Maybe I could take her." The clown offered.

"No, no." Darren shook his head, "Mistress has chosen Cleopatra. Look at that." Mistress - for lack of her real name - snuggled up into Cleopatra's neck and nuzzled her face.

"Ohh," Cleopatra ran her hands down the cat's back, "I'm sorry, Mistress. I can't help you."

Mistress jumped onto the counter. Her green eyes burned into mine as if to say, "Her or you, boy."

"She has kittens!" I said suddenly, looking back up to the girls. "She has babies, and they can't be left alone! They're out by the dumpster!"

"Wanna see them?" Darren asked, sounding ever more like a creep. This was like some serial killer documentary playing out. No way were these girls stupid enough to-

"Sure!" Cleopatra exclaimed. "I'd love to meet her babies."

"Me too!" The clown raised her hand.

"One at a time, ladies." Darren nudged me. "They spook easily. Why don't you enjoy your meal and Cleopatra can take a look at them first?"

"Oh, yeah." The clown gave in way too easily. These girls practically came to us on a silver platter. She took her tray to a table. Darren nodded at me to take her out back. He must have been joking. I wanted to be left alone. I didn't want to be the one to hand her over. If I wasn't the one doing it directly, I could act like I didn't have a hand in this at all. How was I going to sleep at night now?

"Let's go!" Cleopatra smiled.

"This way, this way!" Darren ushered her behind the counter and pointed towards the back door. He then shoved on me to get me to move my feet.

Ever so reluctantly, I meandered out the back door. Darren shut the door behind us, leaving me feeling extremely uncomfortable with this entire situation. Was I actually doing all this? Why? All because a cat told me to? A literal cat? This was insane. Maybe none of this was real. Maybe I was clutching my legs while hiding under a table while I hallucinated this entire thing. That would be ideal.

"Where are they?" She looked around. Mistress walked toward the bin. Strolling with a bit of a knowing and confident strut.

"Just... over there." I pointed at the dumpster. "Behind there." I didn't even feel like it was me saying the words. They were coming from someone or somewhere else. Couldn't be me over here sacrificing someone. It didn't feel real. Everything was out of order anyway. This had to be some kind of delusion. I didn't need to feel guilty over something that wasn't real.

Cleopatra followed Mistress behind the dumpster.

I cringed. Hard. I didn't know what to expect.

Was there supposed to be something happening?

Just then, I heard Cleopatra scream. My heart clutched in my chest, and I backed up against the door. Was I supposed to be witnessing this? What was happening back there?

There was a loud slam of a body hitting the dumpster followed by more struggling screams. In a panic, I looked around to see if anyone was coming around the back of the restaurant.

"Help me, you foolish mortal!" Mistress cried out to me in a hiss.

My body moved like a puppet pulled by strings. I ran to the dumpster and found Cleopatra hunched over on the ground, bleeding from the neck, and she fought to pull the cat away from her. Thin claws were digging into her scalp. "Hurry, you fool!" Mistress commanded, "Hold her down!"

"Help me!" Cleopatra screamed now. I wanted to explain to her why there was a talking cat, but I figured her screaming was probably more due to pain than to shock.

I couldn't help myself. It was either me or her. I grabbed Cleopatra's shoulders and held her down. Hard to believe I was even capable with how much I was shaking. This couldn't be real. This wasn't real.

Mistress bit into her own paw now, hard enough to draw blood.

"Get it off me! Please! I won't tell anyone!" Cleopatra continued to scream at the top of her lungs. I had to do something. I crammed my palm over her mouth.

"Please!" I begged her just the same, "I'm not gonna hurt you! I swear! It's this cat! She has to!" I didn't feel any explanation would soothe her in this terrifying moment.

Mistress dug her wounded claws right into Cleopatra's bloody neck. It must have been some sort of blood ritual. Mistress began to chant, all while holding on for dear life as Cleopatra kicked and writhed under my hold.

Mistress' eyes began to glow, and the combination of blood began to hiss and smoke.

Cleopatra fought for her life, but her strength was no match for my own. I felt so horrible. Still torn on whether or not I was even living this chaotic scene or not. How vivid could the hallucinations be? "Hurry!" I yelled at Mistress. Cleopatra was horrified, but she wasn't the only one getting trauma out of this experience. She'd never understand the predicament I was put in. She'd never understand why I had to do this. I didn't fully understand it.

The chanting was rhythmic and repetitive. Every time she would repeat the lines, she would boast more loudly and forcefully. The wind began to pick up, and Cleopatra tried her best to elbow my ribs. I yanked her back into a more secure position. Even though only Mistress was chanting, I could swear that I heard multiple voices. All female. All with just as much conviction. Mistress' fur was rising as she carried on.

The wind was howling now. I could have sworn I was on the edge of a tornado. I was losing my grip on Cleopatra. My shaggy hair was whipping my face harshly. My clothes flapped wildly in the whirlwind. There could have been a train blaring next to me, and even its sound would have been lost in the cacophony of chaos. I couldn't help but let out a scream myself as I thought for sure that I would be whisked away in the wind and flung into a nearby car. I closed my eyes, trying to stop the world from spinning. My stomach felt beyond sick. I was certain I would hurl at any moment. I was stuck on this carousel, and I couldn't get off. I clung to Cleopatra more now for my own stability than for her capture. The chorus just about ruptured my eardrums. My organs felt as though they were in free fall within my torso. My scream was swallowed by the eruption of the final and most furious chant. After the final word, the world went deathly silent.

I could hear my own breathing first. My gasps. My arms ached from how tightly I was clinging onto Cleopatra. My knuckles were white and tense. I finally opened my eyes to look around.

Mistress still sat on Cleopatra's chest, although there was no longer a struggle beneath my arms. Cleopatra was still. Everything around us seemed normal. Nothing had been blown around or destroyed after the tornado had rushed through the area. It was as if none of that had even happened. Like it wasn't even real. I looked down at Cleopatra's face. Her eyes were open, looking up at me. Mistress suddenly jumped off of her chest and took off behind the dumpster in a hurry.

I very slowly released my grip on Cleopatra.

"Are you...?" My arms were shaking as I laid them to finally rest at my side. "Did it work?"

"Did what work?" She looked confused. "Where am I?" She looked around and rubbed her head, "Where is Katy?" I could only assume that was supposed to be the clown. She looked back towards the dumpster, and it was as if the sight brought most of everything back to her. "The... kittens." She stuttered, "We were... looking for the kittens?"

She didn't know what had just happened. She didn't remember. How could she forget something like that?

"Where are these kittens at?" Katy, the clown came walking out with Darren. He rushed next to her as if to stop her, but didn't manage to catch her in time. Once he saw that a whole bunch of nothing was happening, he relaxed.

"She must have moved them." I lied. "She just took off." I looked at Darren trying to convey every horrible thing that just happened through a single glance, but we were nowhere near that kind of close. Not to mention, that would be one heck of a powerful glance. So, instead, I am sure that I just conveyed a look of absolute horror like I had seen some things no man was meant to see.

"So she is... done?" Darren tried his best to use code with me.

"I think?" I got up now and dusted myself off, not sure of what to think. I didn't exactly have a lot of experience with this.

Katy helped her friend up, not bothering to ask why she was on the ground. That could have looked very, very wrong. But with Cleopatra's memory loss, she wasn't about to say anything that would incriminate me.

"What happened to your neck, girl?" The clown had her concerns there.

"I don't know." Cleopatra looked even more confused, cupping her hand over the shallow wound, "I guess I... fell?" That seemed to satisfy them both somehow. Good thing neither of them asked me. I didn't have a lie picked out for that one.

The girls walked back into the restaurant first. Darren and I were making all manner of mad, silent hand gestures to each other as we followed them, each trying to ask questions while simultaneously sharing our side of the story. We only stopped at last when the girls had made it to the other side of the counter and turned back to us.

"My drink?" Cleopatra asked.

"Right." Darren handed her a large cup for her to fill at the drink station. Then, in a truly anticlimactic fashion, she filled her cup, and they made their uneventful exit.

"So." Darren finally broke the incredibly icy silence that had been left by their departure. "The cat?"

"She left." I shrugged, "I think that means she got what she wanted."

"Did she?"

The door opened again for someone else to enter. We both fell silent when we saw him. Here, I thought it was frowned upon when teenagers dressed up. This man was huge. Built like a lumberjack. Wearing head to toe gear that I could only really describe as Van Helsing wear. Long leather trench coat, heavy boots, gloves, hat, even a set of circular sunglasses. Which, kind of lame to be wearing them at night, but I wasn't about to tell Mr. Muscles that. He stared at us hard.

Oh God. I felt the panic again. He knows I'm high. I leaned against the counter again in an attempt to look casual.

"Hey there, pal." Darren was the one to greet him, "What can we get you?"

He didn't answer right away. He seemed to be studying us. It was as if he was taking this whole character thing way too seriously. The tall, dark, and mysterious figure that comes in during the night. He gave the empty restaurant a once over. Then, he brought his very judgmental eyes right back to us. Finally, in a voice as rough as gravel, he spoke, "I'm looking for a cat. Black as night. Green emerald eyes. Seen it?"

Darren and I both looked at each other, unable to have our telepathic conversation. We looked back at the man. I noticed now that he even had all the weapons you'd expect a vampire hunter to have strapped under his coat. They didn't look like props. They looked very sharp and very real.

"No?" I have no idea what possessed me to lie to this man. Heaven forbid he decides to interrogate me. I would tell him absolutely everything he wanted to know if this dude moved even half an inch closer to me.

"You sure?" He tried again, "It's a wild thing." He opened his coat and slowly unholstered his firearm. "Ridden with disease." He checked casually to make sure his weapon was loaded. It was. "Extremely dangerous." He locked eyes with me again, gun in hand. "Would hate for you to stumble upon it."

"We're sure." Darren nodded. "I'd remember if I saw a black cat on Halloween."

"You know what they say about black cats." The man informed us, "All kinds of bad luck. Let's hope you haven't crossed paths with it recently. It would surely be a shame if something unfortunate befell either of you gentlemen." He tipped his hat to us now, "Night. Stay safe." With that, his heavy steps lead him right out the door.

Darren and I looked at each other again. While the panic of the high was beginning to wear off, a whole new panic was setting in. A panic that felt like the weight of the whole world was pressing down on my shoulders. A weight that was beginning to squeeze my lungs and clutch my heart and make my head spin. Oh my God. What had I done?