This short story is a Halloween Vault 2023 Contest entry.

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I can feel a certain chill in the air. Like something sinister is lurking just around the corners of the dark streets of Sta. Fe, our small, rural town in the south of Luzon. The moon stares from the night sky, a witness to whatever ghostly scenes that would unfold before its glowing eye. Do witches gain more power during this night? Does evil roam freely across the lands tonight? And as the veil separating the living and the dead is at its thinnest, how many wander from the other side? How many are the undead and the dead on the streets of All Hallows Eve?

"Are you sure about this, girl?" Chrissy is dressed in a dead nurse's costume--all white, tight, and super short, with splashes of fake blood all around the tiny garment. It doesn't suit her childish fifteen-year-old face, but she's always one to dress like she's over eighteen. Her thick makeup cannot hide the uneasiness in her eyes. Hands clutching her arms, she shakes her head. "I really don't like this. Guys, it's Halloween. We should be partying and having fun, not this." She angles her head towards the haunted house before us.

Known to the people of Sta. Fe as Mansyon Duyog, the two-hundred-year-old colonial mansion has been abandoned since its last owners, a family of seven, all died in a plague that killed many of the residents in our small town three decades ago. Since then, rumors about the mansion have been circulating among the townsfolk. They say it is haunted, and that whoever enters it becomes cursed. "Remember that poor boy," they say, "he entered the gates to get his ball at the lawn of Mansyon Duyog and then he died in a car accident not a week later." "And that one woman," says another, "she looked for her daughter inside that cursed place and never came back."

"This is spooky." Gwen bravely steps towards the tall rusty gates. She flips her short brown-dyed hair as she looks at us, saying, "I like it." Typical Gwen, always ready for an adventure. It's funny that she's dressed like Dora the Explorer, complete with straight bangs, a pink shirt, orange shorts, yellow socks, white Velcro sneakers, and a violet backpack. Our group had laughed out loud when we first saw her earlier.

I smile at her. Halloween is my favorite night and this particular night will be a blast.

I'm sure of it.

An arm around Emily, who's dressed as a nun, I guide my friends closer to the looming structure. Excitement boils in my veins. "You all agreed to help me perform a seance to summon my grandmother," I remind them. "Don't chicken out now."

"We need to ask her about the secret treasure she's hiding," shy and petite Emily supplies.

But Gwen snorts, smoothing her straight bangs. "What bullshit. I'm sure she's just joking with her grandkids. You seriously believe that, Desiree?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I begin opening the ancient steel gates. "Maybe she was. But we'll never know if we don't ask her, right?" The black gloves I'm wearing become stained with rust, but I don't mind. It actually makes my black and red demon outfit look even better, more frightening. The gates creak and we step inside the untended lawn.

"Yikes! Buggies! Shit! What is that?" Chrissy is being loud, like a cat in heat.

Gwen rolls her eyes and matches my steps. "Why didn't you invite Danny?"

Danny Hernandez. The boy is two years older than us and my boyfriend, my love, for more than half a year now. I remember his smooth, silky hair and twinkling gray eyes. He's a typical jock (soccer player) who can charm any girl he wants. I answer Gwen, "I don't want him joining us tonight. I'm sure he's busy with his group right now." I bet his soccer team is having a great time getting wasted in a random house.

We reach the wooden doors of the mansion. "Ready?" I ask everyone.

"As ready as I can be," Gwen quickly replies. Chrissy gulps and Emily makes the sign of the cross.

As soon as I open the door, we inhale the dust coming from inside. We cough and wave our hands in front of us, trying to free ourselves from the decades-old dirt. The mansion is mostly empty, save for a few broken wooden furniture (a wooden chair missing a leg, a third of a small table meant for design, and a wooden grandfather clock perpetually stopped at 12:00). The rays of moonlight from the gigantic windows are not enough illumination for the interior of the dark mansion. We hear a wolf's howl nearby.

Perfect.

I carefully land my feet on the fragile steps of the old wooden staircase. When I reach half of the stairs, I glance back at my friends. "They're okay. Come on. We'll do the seance in the attic."

"T-the attic?" Chrissy shakes her head frantically. "No, no, girl. This place is spooky enough! Let's just do it here."

"We can't, Chrissy. We'll be lighting candles and the windows here are big enough for the trick-and-treaters to see our light. This is private property. Someone might tell the police that we're here. We can't risk that. We've been planning this for days. Let's not waste it and kill the fun, okay?" I need to convince all of them to proceed with the seance. Everyone must participate in it. It must be a success. It's really important to me.

"Here." Emily takes tiny steps in the frightened Chrissy's direction and hands her a little glinting rosary. "You'll be braver if you hold on to it. Works with me every time."

Chrissy thanks her and, though still looking scared, follows Gwen, who's already climbing the stairs with me.

"Be sure to be ready to stab the vampire lurking here with your little weapon, Chrissy-cakes!" Gwen jokes.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Chrissy grips the cross of the rosary hard like her life depends on it. "I wonder how many ghosts are trapped here..." she whispers but loud enough for us to hear. Something inside the mansion creaks. "Ah! What the hell was that?" Chrissy exclaims and I worry someone passing by might've heard her. We all look at her as she plants her feet in the middle of the grand staircase, again shaking her head. "No. No. I don't know why I agreed with you guys, but I don't want to be part of this now. I'll just go to the soccer team's party at Julio's and make out with a hot jock."

No way!

"Actually," Emily chirps in, "I'm also starting to think this is not such a good idea. I think it's against my faith."

No!

Gwen puffs out a sigh. "Guys, come on! We're already here!"

"Right!" I walk closer to Chrissy and Emily and hold their hands. Chrissy's hand is cold and trembling while Emily's is warm and sweaty. I look straight into their eyes. "There is no reason to be afraid. We all agreed on this. We're all in this together, all in the Solid Circle--"

"Not all." With Chrissy's comment, the rest of us become silent for a while. "Don't forget. Our friendship group is not complete without her."

Of course.

How can we forget about her?

No one who met Bella ever forgets about her.

Bella's long black hair swaying with the wind appears at the back of my mind. But I ignore it and break the ice. "Of course. Still, there's no reason to be afraid. We need to go through the seance." Then I add a heartfelt "Please."

"In case you're worried about them, the rumors are not true," Gwen assures them. "And, Emily, you already agreed."

The two teens who were reluctant before look at each other and finally nod at me. "Okay." "Alright." They both say. I give them my warmest smile and, together, we all proceed to the attic.

The mansion is enormous, and the grand staircase is long. With our cell phone's flashlight on, we pass the second floor and then reach the third. In the third floor's rightmost part are the narrow stairs behind a wooden door leading to the attic. I kick the door open and cough again when dust surrounds the air around us. I light the way with my cellphone's flashlight and see more bugs and rats scurry around the narrow stairs. Never minding the pests, I climb the stairs, my friends right behind me.

At last, we open the old door of the attic. Surprisingly, the little room is empty, aside from the years of dust and dirt and more pests.

"Did you bring what I told you?" I ask the group.

Emily points at Gwen. Gwen, our Dora, reaches for her violet bag, singing, "Backpack, backpack." She opens it and takes a box of matches, thirteen candles, three plastic cups, and a bottle of water from within. Then--

We hear laughter.

A series of them. Not quite loud, but enough to spook us. The group and I shriek in fright.

What the heck was that?

I look at the moon from the attic's window. It's blood red. The wolves start howling, answering each other's cries, like they are afraid. Afraid of what?

"The devils are teasing us." Emily makes a sign of the cross and mutters, "Or maybe rejoicing at what will happen next."

Bollocks. I don't care about the damn devils. Let them laugh all they want. I refuse to be spooked and back out. We need to go through the seance and no demon or even god can stop me. In a quick motion, I take the thirteen candles and place them in a circle on the attic's dirty wooden floor. Before fear takes hold of me. Gwen, Emily, and Chrissy each take a cup and we sit around the candles.

"Place the empty cups in front of you," I tell them, and they comply.

The laughter can be heard no more.

After a deep breath to steady my frayed nerves, I start the ceremony. Determined and now calmer, I stand up and as I light the thirteen candles one by one I say, "We are gathered here to call upon a fresh spirit--one whose life was just taken away from her earthly body." I chant, "Naggnikap, naggnikap gna gnika gawat." The light from the match I'm holding dies. "Naggnikap, naggnikap gna gnika gawat." I light my match again and proceed to light the rest of the candles. And when the candles are all lit, I go back to my place and take a dagger from my pocket. The little weapon is old and has certain markings on it. Bella had said it was a language used by a few tribes in the Philippines before the Spanish colonization.

"What the hell?" Chrissy gasps. "Why do you have that? You'll freaking stab yourself to ask your grandma about a treasure we don't know really exists?"

I just smile and point the dagger to my palm. "Don't worry," I assure them, "this won't hurt much." The dagger slices my skin and I feel the pain. Don't mind that. This will all be worth it. Slowly, blood trickles down in front of me. Ignoring the burn of the wound in my hand, I draw a star inside a circle on the floor using my blood. "Naggnikap, naggnikap gna gnika gawat." All the candles' flames flicker and burn brighter.

Emily yelps but doesn't complain. I know what she's thinking. That maybe I do not know what I'm doing. That it would've been better if Bella was the one doing this. Not me. Because Bella was always better. Because Bella was perfect.

"Naggnikap, naggnikap gna gnika gawat!" I shout the chant and go closer to the three. One by one, I let them taste my blood. I see my reflection in Gwen's eyes; my eyes are all black. She flinches but doesn't move as her lips touch my bloody finger. Next, I go to Chrissy, then to Emily. It should be okay now. So, I stand, feel the new surge of power in me. The spell will be cast soon.

Damn you, Bella.

Always the pretty.

Always the one.

Always the angel.

Well, I say fuck her. She's nothing but a witch and a devil in disguise.

"Naggnikap, naggnikap gna gnika gawat!" Cool breeze enters the attic and chills us to the bone. The three girls utter their cries.

"What is happening?" Gwen tries to move, but she can't. The idiot. Why is she even asking the obvious?

Emily starts praying to whatever her god is. Poor thing doesn't want to believe that no one can save her. Ever.

And that Chrissy, her eyes are so large they're bulging out of their sockets. Bitch finally shut up.

I continue the ceremony. "Alum as gnoyi nagnilaggnanip oyamuh at tipamul as nika!" The flames of the candles rise even higher. The three squeal and call my name. They are frozen like ugly statues, glued on the floor.

"What the heck is this, Desiree?"

"Stop this, please. I don't like this anymore!"

"It's not funny!"

"Desiree!"

"Desiree!"

"Desiree!"

But I ignore them and finally call the spirit we are summoning from the pits of hell. "Akilah! Alilah o awululak!"

The part of the floor in the middle of the symbol I drew cracks. From it, flames rise, stealing the cold of the night away. A lone figure, thin with long black hair, emerges from the crack. She, herself, surrounded by fire. The three girls who are unmoving recognize the ghost in front of us. She's not my grandmother, obviously, but--

"Bella." Emily realizes. "But, why?"

Images of the beautiful Bella enter my mind. I remember her, in our school uniform, walking beside me and holding my hand. We were the best of friends. She'd been the one closest to me in our circle of friends. Then, she broke my heart and killed herself, jumped from our apartment building, and plunged herself into the depths of hell.

"You still don't know?" I wipe my bloody hand on my black and red pants and refuse to answer Emily's question. "Or maybe you're not aware that I know."

My words meet a long, agonizing silence. The rage within me is lit like the tall fires of the candles on the floor, hot and blazing.

Finally, Gwen has the courage to say, "It's Danny."

"Bingo!" Taking the dagger, I start my way towards Chrissy, who's crying ugly and trying to free herself from her invisible binds. "Uh-uh. No escape now, slut."

"I-i-i-is this about last month? I really thought you and Danny broke up! My gosh! Are you really that angry? Please, w-w-whatever you'll be doing I don't think I-i'll like it. Please, stop Des! This is crazy!" The scared Chrissy is shouting, the veins on her neck showing. Her tears make puddles on the floor.

But I don't care about her excuses. "Bella told me everything she knew before she died."

"But did she tell you that she's the worst?" Typical Gwen typically blaming her faults on others. "Chrissy might've fucked Danny, but it was Bella who seduced him, brainwashed him into cheating behind your back!"

"Oh," I exclaimed, "of course, I know about that, too. Isn't she right here?" I motion to the dark figure in front of my friends. The band of betrayers all complete for the most exhilarating ceremony in the world! I fucking hate them! "And Chrissy didn't just fuck Danny. They fucked like rabbits whenever Danny and I had the littlest arguments! The slut!"

"I have nothing to do with this!" Trembling, Emily suddenly shouts.

"You hypocrite!" I shout back. "Bella was called an angel although she didn't pose as one. It was just the others calling her that. But, you! You act like you're a saint when all you do is hide and shut up, even though you are witnessing your friend's betrayal before you! I read all the messages on Danny's phone. You are in the group chat. You were with them when Danny and Chrissy were together!" My chest hurts, but my eyes are dry. It's like all other emotions but anger has left me.

Emily doesn't talk back, but Gwen does. She squints her eyes and looks straight into mine. "What exactly are you planning to do to us?" Her tone is cold and distant like we never shared a friendship before. Maybe, in truth, we really didn't.

I've always been a loner. When we were younger, I was always an outsider and didn't have them, or anyone, as a friend. It was only during the start of middle school, when Bella moved in from the Metro, that the Solid Circle was formed. Bella, Gwen, Chrissy, Emily, and I--we became the best of friends, my only friends. That is why the hurt was a gazillion times painful when I learned about their betrayal.

I know Danny is hot, but is that enough reason to go behind my back and cheat with him?

I also know that Gwen let Danny fuck her once or twice.

And, Bella, it was all Bella's idea.

I don't know the reason why, but this--this ceremony--is my vengeance!

"The Dragger to Hell," I, at last, explain to them, "is something Bella, herself, taught me. And it is a fitting punishment to you all, including her, of course."

Emily looks like she's about to faint, but she shouts, "This is a work for the devil!"

"Oh, yes, of course it is." I kneel in front of Chrissy. She's still sobbing and her eyes are blood red. She retches, but nothing comes out of her mouth. "Chrissy, Chrissy, the little bunny. I'll start with you." Slowly, I raise the dagger to her face.

"No! No! No! Please! I'm sorry!" she exclaims.

"Too late for that." The dagger's blade slices smoothly around her face. Then, painstakingly slow, I take her skin and rip it off.

Chrissy lets out a series of agonizing screams. Blood from her skinless face trickles like waterfalls to the empty cup before her, some spilling to the floor. I laugh, grab her hair, and finally slit her throat. More blood squirts from the wound, splattering to my demon garb. With her pretty face gone as well as her pulse, Chrissy's dead head hangs on the top of her immobile body.

Emily, too, is screaming "No! Chrissy! What have you done, Desiree!"

"You fucking murderer!" Gwen tries to squirm her way out of my punishment, but like the two, she cannot. "You'll never get away with this! I will never forgive you and the police will get you!"

"Oh, don't act like victims now." I walk towards Gwen next. "This is revenge, right? I was the victim--is, actually. And this is justice." I go behind her and stab her as many times as I can. "You backstabber! I read your messages to Danny about me! It wasn't enough that you fucked him. You wanted him to turn away from me!"

Gwen coughs blood, unable to speak. The thick, red liquid flows to the cup in front of her.

I continue to stab her until her head becomes limp and I'm sure she's dead. I exhale, tired of my vengeful activity, but, of course, not stopping. I won't let it end here. One more and then the final event. I walk towards Emily. She tries to shake her head but she can't.

"Desiree, please," she pleads through snot and tears.

My answer is to smile at her and plunge the bloody dagger straight into her heart. Like Gwen, she coughs blood, but it trickles down her body. I grab her head and let her blood flow to the cup in front of her.

Emily, too, dies.

I inhale the metallic scent of fresh blood in the tiny attic room. Looking outside the sole window, I make sure the ceremony hasn't attracted the attention of anyone. The people, mostly trick-or-treaters, pass by the abandoned mansion without a care about the world, minding their own businesses.

Good.

Time for the final act. I can taste the victory on my lips, my vengeance well served. I look at Bella. With the spell she taught me, she'll drag the cheater, Danny, to hell and they'll be there forever!

An ending that'll suit them both.

I hear the laughter again, now more pronounced, louder, and more sinister. Ignoring them, I dip my finger into the cup with Emily's blood and wipe the bloody finger on Bella's forehead. It's amazing. Bella's dead soul seems alive, although colder. Much, much colder. I do the same with Gwen and Emily's blood.

Bella's ghost hisses.

The ceremony is complete. Now she'll do what she'll have to do--drag to hell that whom she loves most. And that is Danny, no doubt.

"Awululak! Awululak! Naggnikap, naggnikap gna gnika gawat!" The attic's window opens. Cold Halloween night air sweeps from outside, harsh breeze after breeze. With a demon's voice, I command her, "Drag your love to hell."

Bella's ghost gasps and then trembles. It starts to walk not away but towards me. It stutters, "I-i-i l-love D-d-desiree."

What the hell?

I take a step back, but it steps closer to me.

"Bella, this is stupid--" My words are cut off as Bella grabs my arm.

Suddenly, her memories jumble with mine.

"You're dying soon," a man in white tells Bella. They are in a hospital. "I'm sorry but we cannot cure your disease."

I see myself in Bella's eyes. She holds my hand and thinks, "I want to be with you forever."

She sees me and Danny. Jealousy fills her and an idea forms in her mind. She seduces Danny and makes him cheat on me with our friends.

She teaches me about the curse.

She stands on the rooftop of our apartment building. Her last words were, "Soon, Desiree and I will be together forever." Then she jumps.

Back to the mansion's attic, with our friends' corpses, the last thing I hear is the devil's laughter as I am dragged to hell.