A/N: It's been months since my last update. Unfortunately, this isn't one of my regular updates, as this is a special chapter. But I hope you would enjoy reading it!

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LOKI
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ONE THING I really hate about Halloween is the stupid costumes that people wear. They dress up as a vampire, a zombie, a mummy or any other scary characters that plagued the pop culture world. They think it's cool, they think it's creative, they think it's spooky. But all I could see was a bunch of dumb people trying to spread the spirit of this unholy event.

Of course, this sort of stupidity isn't only exclusive in parties. Even in school, students had been bitten by the fangs of dumbness. Enter the Halloween booths days before the All Saints' Day holidays. I don't know what the student council was thinking for allowing these monstrosities—pun intended— to be built at the campus square of our campus.

To the left, a photo booth was put up where students can pick Halloween costumes and have their pictures taken with a "spooky effect." And people are into it! Why not take a selfie and apply some Halloween filters instead of paying P100 for a lousy photo? See how people are getting dumb?

To the right, there's also this booth that sells sweets shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats and other Halloween symbols. Jamie bought me one of those skull candies and it tasted like a Home Economics candy project of a Grade 2 student. Do you know how that tastes? It's ungodly awful.

Of course, a Halloween-themed event wouldn't be complete without the traditional horror house. Yeah, that makeshift building where the people inside dressed as monsters try to scare you, but to no avail? No one wants to spend P100 to be spooked by amateur monsters.

Well, as an evil incarnate himself, my brother Luthor wouldn't let this timely event for him to pass. I can imagine him dressed up like Count Dracula, staying in the student council's office and waiting for the sun to set so he could finally roam around. He gets burnts once he steps into the sunlight. Maybe that's why he doesn't want stepping into the spotlight.

"Loki dear, tara! Pumasok na tayo sa bahay ng kakatakutan!" Jamie clung to my arms and dragged me toward the horror house. I kept my feet rooted on the ground. She tried to pull me, but she couldn't make me move an inch.

"I'll wait here outside," I told her. Aside from me thinking that the horror house wasn't spooky at all, I did not want to wait in a long line.

"Minsan lang 'to, Loki. Huwag ka nang killjoy," Lorelei joined in the conversation, tapping my shoulder. "Keep that annoyed look on your face, at pagkakamalan ka nilang Halloween monster. They will start printing Halloween masks with your face on them."

I rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh of exasperation. Halloween is stupid, so why was I just a few meters away from this horror house? The answer's simple: This is for a case. Do you really think I would waste my time here? I'd rather lock myself in the clubroom than go out and feel the Halloween vibes.

"Tara na, Loki dear! Huwag ka nang matakot! Pwede mo naman akong yakapin kapag natatakot ka na," Jamie mused, dragging me to the direction of badly designed house. I would be more scared that the walls might collapse on us than the so-called monsters inside.

I tried to stand my ground, but my right foot moved.

"We shouldn't force Loki to come with us if he doesn't want to," Alistair said, smiling. That's right. Tell them that this whole exercise is pointless. I rarely find an ally in him. "Lagi naman niyang sinasabi na hindi totoo ang mga multo kapag may iniimbestigahan tayong supernatural case. But look at him now. Huwag na nating pilitin ang takot, baka kung mapaano pa siya kapag sumama siya sa atin."

What the hell, Alistair? I thought he would defend my decision not to go? Does he want to return to his comatose state? Because I could make that happen. I already did it to Stein. I could do it again. Was there any chair around?

"Oh, are you a scaredy cat?" Lorelei asked, arching a brow. Oh, yes. She wouldn't miss the opportunity to tease me. "If Freya was here, she would have entered that horror house bravely."

Wait, that's an unfair comparison! "Who are you calling scaredy cat—"

"Kung hindi ka takot, sumama ka na sa amin!"

Alistair pushed me from behind while Jamie pulled my arm. I had no choice but to move. For the record, I wasn't—in any way—scared of anyone or anything. I just thought that this event was plain stupid.

I swear I would prank Luthor for letting this whole thing happen.

"Takot ka ba na baka masaniban ka ng masamang espiritu kapag pumasok ka riyan?" Lorelei asked as we lined up for the horror house. The past few days, not that many were interested in a trip inside. But thanks to the rumors about students being allegedly possessed after going in, it became a blockbuster hit. Instead of scaring people, the rumors only piqued their curiosity.

Sometimes I'd like to think that curiosity is way scarier than the monsters that we are afraid of. It can lead you to the most dangerous of situations, and sometimes, the result is not that rewarding. Almost everyone in this line must be thinking, "Totoo kayang sasaniban ako? Ano kayang meron sa loob?"

"I bet you P1,000 that none of us here would get possessed," I whispered to my companions. "The rumor was just a marketing ploy by the horror house people. The ticket sales was stale so they needed to make some noise."

"Pero 'di ba kagaya 'to ng mga napapanood natin sa news?" Jamie asked, her hands wrapped around my right arm. "May mga estudyanteng nasasaniban habang nasa classroom sila."

"And then the school officials suspend their classes due to the alleged demonic possession," I added. "It's a desperate stunt to pull off if the students are about to take an exam that day and they aren't prepared. I wonder why we haven't done any of that possession thing here in Clark High."

"I guess we finally have an idea on who's the mastermind behind the rumors of alleged possession," Alistair said, pointing at the horror house entrance.

Lo and behold, the evil spirit himself: Stein Alberts. He looked grayer than usual, like a zombie who has recently risen from the grave. He had these stitches drawn on his forehead, all over his face, around his neck and on his arms.

"Isn't that Frankenstein?" Jamie asked, looking at me. "Now that reminds me, nag-volunteer ang Repertory Theater Club para maging monsters sa horror house. Aside from acting, gusto rin nilang ipagyabang ang make-up skills nila."

"That's Frankenstein's monster, not Frankenstein himself," I corrected her. Maybe the mastermind chose that character because there's "Stein" in the name. How witty. "Victor Frankenstein is the name of the young scientist who created a hideous monster that Stein is dressed up for this Halloween event."

"I never thought he would volunteer," Lorelei commented. "Akala ko magiging busy siya sa pagpaplano kung paano magiging mas nakakatakot ang Halloween dito sa Clark High. You know, him plotting crimes... and other stuff."

"Well, he must have a lot of free time in his hands," I said. "Or he's planning something horrific inside that horror house. We must be on guard. Always."

Twenty minutes later, our dreaded turn came. The staff at the entrance greeted us with a scary smile. Thanks to our fame, he recognized us as the QED Club. Usually, seven people are allowed to enter the house per turn, but he said that we are special. He only allowed the four of us to come and asked the next-in-line students to wait for the next turn.

"Pwede na kayong pumasok," the staff said.

I felt the cold breeze coming from the dark hallway. Only lit candles guided us through what seemed to be a labyrinth. An eerie music was also playing, hyping up the horror feels. What an obvious trick. To make our trip here scary, they had to manipulate our senses of sight (the darkness inside), smell (the scent of burning candle), hearing (that scary background music) and feeling (the coldness).

Jamie tightened her grasp around my arm while Lorelei and Alistair stood side by side.

"Alistair, if a knife-wielding zombie comes running to us, subdue him," I instructed him.

"What? Why do you want Al to tackle a zombie to the ground?" Lorelei asked. I couldn't see her clearly, thanks to the blanket of darkness, but I could feel her curious gaze.

"Because zombies do not wield knives. If they do, obviously that means they intend to do us harm," I explained. "Stein's a part of this charade, so we should expect the worst."

"I doubt he would ask one of his lieutenants to hurt us while enjoying a horror house trip."

I looked ahead, seeing some movement in the shadows. "One mistake that a strategist can make is underestimating what his enemies may d—"

"BOOOO-HOOOO!"

"KYAAAAAAAAH!"

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I opened my eyes slowly. What happened? What was I doing in our school clinic?

Ah, yes. We were taking a stroll inside that horror house... I instructed Alistair to take down a knife-wielding zombie... I was telling Lorelei why we should be prepared... and then... something really scary appeared in front of me.

"Gising ka na pala, Loki." A young woman with braided hair came close to my bed.

I tried to sit upright in the bed. I must have passed out while I was in the horror house. Or maybe someone hit me in the head and rendered me unconscious? Let me ask my companion here.

"What happened to me, Jami—"

My mouth froze as I stared at the girl's face. Her hair that reaches past her shoulders was braided and hanging on one side. At first I thought she was Jamie because of her looks. But something made me think twice.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The young woman looked at me strangely. "Are you pretending to have an amnesia? Loki, you got spooked inside that horror house. Pero hindi naman siguro gano'n ka-traumatic para makalimutan mo kung sino ako."

Those hazelbrown eyes. Those pinkish lips. And that angelic voice. I can't be mistaken.

"Lori! Loki is acting weird!" the young woman called. I can't get my eyes off her. I tried to, but every time I looked away, I found myself looking back at her.

The door creaked open. The spell broke and I managed to divert my attention. Lorelei went in, looking amused. She must be suppressing her laughter that I lost unconscious in that horror house.

"You've been with him for almost a year, Rhea," Lorelei said, folding her arms. "Loki acting weird is not weird at all."

What? My eyes returned their gaze at the young woman with braided hair. What the hell was going on here?

"Rhea?" I echoed. My voice was cracking, my eyes blinking. "Ikaw ba talaga 'yan?"

The young woman who looked like "Rhea" and was called "Rhea" looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "You're always acting weird, but not this weird."

She then leaned forward to me and gently touched my forehead with her soft hand. "Hmm... Wala ka namang lagnat. Ang lamig-lamig mo nga, eh. Gano'n ba katindi ang impact ng pananakot nila sa horror house?"

"Kaya pala ayaw niyang sumama sa atin noong una," Lorelei, giggled. "He's scared that he might passed out because of the spooky monsters. You should have admitted na natatakot ka para hindi ka na namin pinilit."

"But Loki isn't the type of person who would admit he's scared of anything," Rhea said, smiling at me. I only stared at her in response. It's been a while since I saw that curve across her lips.

Something's not right here.

"No... no..." I slowly shook my head. "This can't be true. You can't be here!"

She seemed visibly taken aback by my reaction. Who wouldn't? I almost shouted at her. "What do you mean 'I can't be here'?"

I chuckled. Then I giggled. My giggle then turned into laughter. "Can you two stop messing with me? 'Di mo ako maloloko, Jamie. I don't know how you did it, but you look exactly like Rhea. You even mimicked her voice. I must say I'm impressed. But game's over now. You two won."

Confused, Lorelei and Rhea exchanged glances. They looked as if they were communicating telepathically.

"Who's Jamie?"

My jaw dropped. I could tell from the look on their faces that they were really clueless about the girl I mentioned.

"Jamie! One of the four members of our club!" My forefinger pointed at the "Rhea." "And she somehow looks a lot like you."

"But we don't have a member named Jamie," "Rhea" answered, turning to Lorelei for any reaction.

"We also did not have any rejected applicant with that name," she said. "And what did you mean by four members of our club? Tatlo lang kaya tayo."

"Three?!" I exclaimed. "Have you forgotten about Alistair?"

"Who's Alistair?" "Rhea" flashed a puzzled face.

Lorelei seemed to recognize that name. "Alistair is my childhood friend. How did you know about him? Hindi ko matandaang naikuwento ko na siya sa'yo noon."

"Remember that day where you asked me to be your fake boyfriend and introduced me to him?" I recalled that scene very well. Who would forget when a murder happened inside the coffee shop where her friend and I met? "He then transfered here in Clark High and applied to our club."

Lorelei's eyebrows knitted, looking more confused. "Alistair's studying in San Bartholomew High School in Manila, not here. And you haven't met in person."

Wh-What's going on here?

Rhea is still alive. Jamie isn't part of the club. Alistair hasn't transfered in Clark High. How could these happen?

"Namumutla ka na, Loki," "Rhea" said, looking deeply concerned. "You need to go home and take a rest. Baka sobrang napagod ka lang kaya masyadong magulo ang isip mo ngayon."

"He probably read too much last night," Lorelei sighed. "He's been reading a new detective novel since two days ago. Nakakalimutan na nga niyang kumain minsan. Let's go?"

They helped me get out of the bed. Strangely, my knees felt weak so they had to assist me in walking. Lorelei joked that I got spooked too much that legs started trembling. She was saying something about the case we were investigating, but my attention was at the girl on my right.

Rhea... I still couldn't believe that she's here, walking beside me. How I've missed having her around when we were investigating cases together.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Padaan po muna!"

A man around his twenties in blue uniform was running toward the clinic door. He's carrying an unconscious body of a female student.

My eyes widened in shock as I recognized the face.

"Officer Bastien..." My elbow nudged on Lorelei's arm. "What is he doing here?"

"He's part of the campus police. Nakalimutan mo na ba?" Lorelei asked. "Baka may nahimatay na naman sa horror house gaya mo."

"Yeah, I know. But isn't he supposed to be dead? He shot himself in the head when he got arrested," I explained, recalling that bloody scene in the police station. Thanks to him, we got a hint about one of Moriarty's generals.

"Arrested? For what?"

"For being one of Moriarty's minions! He took the lives of a number of people here! Even Rhe—" My eyes glanced at Rhea who's staring at me curiously. He killed her, as he confessed when we confronted him. Now he's still alive, as well as the one who he supposedly killed. I must hide Rhea away from him as quickly as possible!

"Moriarty?" Rhea repeated. "Are you referring to Professor Moriarty of the Sherlock Holmes lore? 'Di ba siya ang archnemesis ni Holmes na na-introduce sa The Final Problem"?

"Yes, and also that's the codename of the criminal mastermind in Clark High who's been responsible for a bunch of murders, thefts and blackmails here. We've been chasing that man for months already!"

"This is news," Lorelei muttered. "You haven't told us anything about a certain Moriarty."

My eyebrows furrowed. How could she have forgotten already? I turned next to Rhea. "Remember M? The one behind those murders disguised as suicides that caught our interest?"

Slowly Rhea shook her head. "I don't remember anyone with the name 'M.' At wala tayong sino-solve na kahit anong murder case dahil wala namang nangyayaring murders dito sa Clark High. We only solve petty cases mostly."

What? They do not know anything about M or Moriarty? T

"Malala na talaga itong si Loki," Lorelei clicked her tongue. "Mukhang totoo nga ang sinasabi nilang nasasapian ang mga taong pumapasok sa horror house. Kung sino-sino ang naaalala niya."

"Kaya dapat magpahinga na siya para mahimasmasan na," Rhea giggled. "Ihatid mo na siya sa apartment n'yo, Lori."

"I would want to, pero may gagawin kasi kami ni Rosetta ngayon," Lorelei said, looking at the clock display on her phone. "I already promised na sasamahan ko siyang mag-trick or treat kasama ang members ng Paranormal Club. Is it okay kung ikaw na muna ang maghatid sa kanya?"

"Sure! No problem!"

"I-text n'yo na lang ako kapag naihatid mo na siya," Lorelei said. "And tell Tita Martha about his hallucinations para mabantayan siya. Baka kung ano ang gawin habang mag-isa sa apartment."

"Ako nang bahala sa kanya. I've been taking care of him since I joined the club anyway," Rhea smiled.

Lorelei excused herself, leaving Rhea and me on our own. We started walking across the campus square where students lined up for the horror booths.

"Sayang, hindi tayo nakapagpa-picture doon sa photo booth," Rhea frowned. "The vampire costume would look good on you."

"You think so?" I glanced sideways at her.

"Luthor dressed up earlier as a vampire," she recalled. "Dahil magkapatid kayo, it would make sense kung pam-vampire din ang magiging costume mo. Si Maggie nga, nakasuot ng pang-witch kanina. Imagine how long it took me to convince her to try on the witch hat and cape. Oh, look! Nandoon sila."

Not far from where we were walking, I saw the figure of my brother Luthor still dressed in vampire costume. And he's being mobbed by some students for a picture. Beside him was the witch Maggie, who was telling everyone that they had to let them through. They must be inspecting the horror booths before the day ends.

"I wonder how Maggie convinced the vice president to wear that costume the whole day and get out here," I commented, enjoying the scene where Luthor was awkwardly smiling in front of a camera. I also wonder how Maggie would treat me now that Rhea is still alive. Or so it seems.

"Vice president? Luthor is the student council president," Rhea corrected me. "Maggie is his vice president."

"Oh, I see." So even their positions in the student government changed, huh?

My eyes gazed at Rhea again who seemed to be enjoying the festive aura in the campus square. Jack-o-latterns lit up the corridors. Students dressed in their Halloween costumes were running around, scaring the unaware.

I used to hate the Halloween gimmicks, but at this very moment, I appreciate every second of it.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I must be dreaming. Maybe this is a product of my imagination. Maybe this is an alternate universe. Because there's no way in the world that this is real.

How I wish it is.

I wish that Rhea's still alive.

I wish that Moriarty didn't exist at all.

Things would have been different. Life would have been normal.

"You're really acting weird, you know?" Rhea said.

"Huh?" My eyes opened.

"Normally you would tell me a trivia about the Jack-o-lattern or you would dismiss the whole thing as plain stupid," she went on. "Pero ngayon, ang tahi-tahimik mo. Nakakapanibago. Are you really the Loki that we know?"

"Of course, I am. I just can't—"

"Teka!" she raised her voice, halting. "Baka naman kinidnap ng alien ang Loki na kilala namin at ipinalit ang isang kauri nila? Kaya pala parang may kakaiba sa 'yo ngayon!"

"What?" I chuckled. "Ako talaga 'to. Alam mong maraming tumatakbo sa isip ko kaya minsan natatahimik ako. You know that more than anyone else in this school."

"Of course, I do. Your mind is like a cluttered desk." Rhea beamed. "But I wanna make sure that you are really the Loki Mendez that I know! What's the first case that we solved together?"

"Serial suicides," I answered confidently. How could I ever forget that case?

She nodded. "Ikaw nga talaga 'yan."

And we walked in silence for a few minutes. I do not know what to tell her. Every now and then, I was glancing at her (and she was returning my glances). She was humming a familiar tune. A children's song.

We stopped at the crossing, waiting for the traffic light to go green for us pedestrians.

"Do you mind if I ask a question?" I said, breaking the silence.

"Fire away!" she replied.

"If something bad were to happen to you because of your, let's say, friendship with me, will you blame me?"

Rhea looked up at the orange skies. Another moment of silence ensued. A few seconds later, before the light turned green, she gazed at me. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

"I won't. Why? Because you are my friend, and I am yours. You will never let something bad happen to me. You will be there to protect me. Always."

I swallowed the lump in the throat. My fists clenched. I wanna say something, but the words got stuck. In the end, I let the moment pass without uttering anything.

"Let's go?" she smiled at me again before crossing the road.

It took five seconds for my consciousness to snap back to reality. She was already a few steps away from me, so I had to run after her. Just when I was about to reach her—

BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP!

"LOKI!"

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I opened my eyes. Once again, I found myself lying in the bed.

"Are you okay, Loki?" Lorelei, Jamie and Alistair were staring at me.

q.e.d.