"I'm gonna get you, Holly!" Little Greg said, chasing the smaller girl around the yard.

"Not with those stubby legs!" Holly shouted back as both children ran into the kitchen.

"Mom, Holly and I are going to camp in the backyard tonight, okay?" Greg grinned over at his mother.

"Only if your father says it's okay, Holly," Brenda told them both.

"He won't mind, him and my mommy are going to the talking doctor," Holly grinned right back, despite Brenda's frown.

"Well, okay, but I'm going to put some extra blankets in the living room incase you guys get scared and need to come inside like last time," Brenda chuckled, smirking at them both.

Later that night, the two children were eating snacks and talking in the tent. Although not as peaceful as the wilderness, the simple act of being outside the house excited them.

"I like your mom," Holly smiled to Greg who was eating two s'mores at once.

"Me too," Greg replied, a bit muffled. "She says she is my dad's better half."

"I like your dad too," Holly continued, watching Greg as he munched away on their snacks and grabbed a handful of chips.

"Me too, I guess," Greg shrugged. "Hey, Holly?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't we ever see your mom anymore?" Greg asked, making Holly look down at her s'mores covered in chips.

"I don't know. My daddy says it's because she likes this special candy a lot and she wants it so bad that she wants it more than see wants us," she explained sadly.

"That must be really good candy!" Greg exclaimed, his eyes wide. "I wanna try some!"

"Hey!" Holly huffed as Greg happily kicked and knocked the bag of chips over. "You don't need anymore candy! You're too fat!"

Laughing carelessly, Holly teased the other boy and started to throw chips at him.

"Am not!" Greg pouted, throwing some back.

That's when they both heard a cracking noise close by.

"Wha... What's that?" Holly whispered, her voice trembling.

"Pr-Probably nothing," Greg reassured, but when the noise sounded again they both bolted inside

Not too long after falling asleep inside, the children were stirred awake by Brenda.

"Come on, kids, let's go sleep in my room," she spoke softly, ushering them upstairs. The children were too groggy to hear the urgency in her voice and obeyed without question.

As Greg fell back asleep, he heard his mother on the phone.

"I know... I think I do... Hurry, Jack."

Just when Greg lost consciousness, he swore he heard the back door open, too.

The next morning Greg woke up to the sight of a man in the room watching Holly sleep. In his tired, young mind, all he could think to do was let out a short cry before he realized who it was.

"O-Oh... Hi, Mr. Jackson," he said softly, rubbing at his eyes with his tiny hands.

"Daddy!" Holly cried happily as Jack burst through the door.

"Greg?!" he exclaimed, hearing his son's startled cry.

"It's nothing, Dad," Greg said. "I just got a little freaked seeing Holly's dad all of a sudden."

Jack blinked blankly, pulling his hand from the revolver on his belt as he peered over at Theodore Jackson.

"Damn it, Teddy, I told you that you'd scare them if you just stood there!" Jack scolded the man who shrugged innocently, smirking subtly.

"Oh, I see! Because I'm black, I'm scary!" he laughed, growling playfully at his daughter who screeched in joy.

"Or is it because I'm as big as the Hulk?!" he continued, flexing his boney arms, making Greg laugh too.

"Are you gonna be Hulk for Halloween, Daddy?!" Holly exclaimed.

"Oh, right. Trick or treating..." Jack sighed, rubbing his face in exhaustion.

"Hey, don't sweat it," Theodore said, patting the man's shoulder. "I can take them myself, Jackie Boy."

"I can't leave that all on you. You have enough on your plate as it is," Jack smiled weakly.

"Me? You're the one overwhelmed with work not to mention what happened last night. I'll handle them and you can handle next Halloween. These two are inseparable, so there's definitely gonna be a next one," Theodore said, smiling down at the kids.

"What happened?" Greg asked, breaking the happy mood between the two men.

Jack went to speak first, but Theodore interrupted.

"Just some broken glass."

"So don't come down for a little bit," Jack added quickly. "We'll bring you some breakfast."

"Then we can go trick or treating?!" Theodore joked, making the kids beg with him.

"Ugh, fine! You can start getting ready early! Just let me tell Brenda!" Jack laughed as the kids cheered.

• • •

Greg and Holly bounced happily in their seats on their way to a candy filled evening.

"I bet I get enough to fill the car!" Holly teased, waving her cowgirl gun in the air.

"I bet I get enough to fill a whole moving truck!" Greg countered, waving his ninja sword around.

"I bet I get more than both of you!" Theodore teased back, however, the man had an uneasy smile.

"Daddy... Why are you all sweaty?" Holly asked with a bit of confusion in her voice.

"Nothing, baby, just a little sick, that's all," the man said weakly.

"I can't wait! Maybe we'll get some of that candy your mom likes so much!" Greg said happily, not bothered by his friend's father.

"Candy, huh?" Theodore said in such a flat, emotionless tone that it completely silenced the children's laughter. "Why don't we go get some special candy?"

Making a sharp U-turn, they pulled up to a dilapidated apartment and the man turned around to face them.

"I'm gonna be right back, okay?" Theodore said, even more nervous and sweaty.

"But I wanna go trick or treating..." Holly whined, but her father ignored her and left the kids in the car.

"Whose house is this?" Greg asked softly, a little rattled, but not necessarily afraid.

"I think it's my mommy's..." she said even softer. "I don't come here a lot."

It was silent for a while, but then the children heard muffled yelling, Theodore banging on the door of an apartment.

"Open up, you stupid bitch! I want my money!" he yelled, his voice completely different from what the children were used to. Unsure of what to do, they both simply pressed their faces against the closed car windows, wanting to see what was going on.

"Fine, you wanna play like that?!" Theodore continued to yell, his voice unrecognizable.

They watched as Holly's father stomped back over to the car, violently yanking open the door and snatching Holly up by her forearm. The girl cried out in pain and Greg tried to lash out in panic, but Theodore threw the boy to the pavement, knocking the wind out of him.

Greg was helpless as he watched Theodore drag Holly back to bang on the apartment door once more.

"I got Holly! Let me in and you can see her!" he yelled even louder over the cries of his daughter, the girl begging for Daddy to stop.

"Last chance! Open up or I'm going to kill her!" he screamed again, his voice so loud that spit flew everywhere.

Greg was in a full blown panic, slowly wobbling to his feet and running to Holly, both of them watching in horror as Theodore pulled out a large knife.

"One!" Theodore called out, his eyes resembling some kind of raging monster. Greg was trying to pull on Holly's other arm, but a little boy was no match for a grown adult man.

Letting out another rageful yell, Theodore firmly thrust the knife into his daughter's neck, jerking it back and forth.

Immediately shocked and instantly traumatized beyond comprehension, Greg screamed and threw himself at the man, but Theodore easily shoved him away and yanked the knife back from the girl's flesh.

Turning his attention to Greg, he overpowered the child and sank the knife multiple times into his small torso while screaming profanities. He would've continued if he didn't feel a tiny hand on his leg that drew back his attention.

"Da... Da..." Holly gurgled, blood dripping from her mouth and pooling around her little body.

Like a raging bull, Theodore once again focused on his daughter and this time didn't stop until he completely severed her head from her body.

In and out of consciousness, Greg tried to scream, but the act was too painful. He watched as Theodore bolted from the scene, leaving behind the still trembling body of his daughter, the little boy watching as her head twitched as well a few feet away.

Greg, too young to understand, crawled over to her, cradling her head in his tiny arms as blood poured from his stomach.

"H-H-Help!" Greg cried out as he slowly stood up, turning towards a group of adults out trick or treating. Though shocked at first, the group began to laugh and comment to each other on how realistic the scene looked.

"H-Help!" Greg cried again, yelling for his parents before everything went black.