Tyler and Brendan crouched by the back door and listened. They couldn't hear a sound.

"Do you think he's still in there?" Brendan asked.

Tyler raised his hand as if to smack the smaller boy. Brendan flinched. "Of course he's in there. Where else would he be?"

"This place is scary. Maybe he jumped out a window when we weren't looking and went home to cry to his mommy."

The abandoned mansion up on the hill had a terrifying history. That was why Tyler had chosen it for Justin's initiation into their gang. They weren't really a gang, per se. It was just the two of them. There'd been no initiation for either Brendan or Tyler, but Justin didn't' know that. And, didn't all great things have to start somehow. With another guy or two, they'd be able to rule the school.

Tyler did slap Brendan this time. "No way. Justin wouldn't dare."

The blow landed on the back of his head, and his coifed hair fell out of place. Brendan massaged it back into position quickly with only minor annoyance. He was nothing without Tyler, and Tyler took full advantage of it.

"Should we go in and scare him now?" Brendan asked.

"Not yet. It's not even midnight." Tyler moved to a bench at the rear of the patio and sat down. "Let's let him stew in his own juices for a while longer."

A weeping willow tree cast the entire area in shadow. The long branches scraped the concrete. They sounded like nails on a chalkboard in the cool autumn breeze. A black cloud pushed its way in front of the crescent moon, and the yard went pitch black. Leaves rustled and caught in the tall grass. A twig snapped.

He looked behind him, but no one was there.

Regardless, a shiver ran up Tyler's spine like a cold finger plucked each vertebra.

It was stupid. He was letting his childish fears get the better of him, but he couldn't shake it. The overwhelming sense of being watched made him want to jump out of his skin. Gritting his teeth, he clamped down on his nerves. He wasn't a baby, so what if it was Halloween. If he showed fear, he'd lose Brendan's undying devotion. He couldn't allow that.

Playing it off, he pulled out his vape pen and hit the button several times. The light on the device turned green and he inhaled deeply. Brendan sat down next to him, and Tyler passed him the pen. They each took a couple tokes, passing it back and forth without a word. No more unusual or creepy sounds gave Tyler pause. He convinced himself that it had all been in his head.

"Are the stories about this place true?" Brendan asked.

Tyler nodded. "What have you heard?"

"I heard that a crazy guy chopped up his wife and baby with a dull ax."

"Yep. That's what happened. This house was owned by the richest family in town. The old man was some big fancy lawyer who left it to his only son in trust. The son wasn't that smart, but he was big and strong. I think he worked construction, so he knew how to swing a hammer. Or an ax."

Brendan shifted nervously in his seat. "Why did he do it?"

"His wife was sleeping around. She was a high school biology teacher. The rumor was that she was messing with several of her students."

"Was she hot?"

Tyler wolf-whistled. "Smoking hot. A total ten, for sure."

"How come we don't have teachers like that?"

"Probably because guys would try to sleep with her."

Brendan nodded. "How did the guy found out?"

"He was looking at his wife's textbook and found the chapter on blood type. He figured out that the baby couldn't be his."

"I thought you said the guy was dumb."

"No. I said he wasn't as smart as his old man, but he was smart enough to figure that out. He chopped up the kid first and made the wife watch before he went to work on her."

Brendan's face turned pale. "The baby! Gross! The guy is a total savage."

"Got that right."

"When did this happen?"

"Like five ago."

"I thought it was longer. So, he's still sitting on death row?"

"Nope." Tyler stood up and shoved the vape pen back in his pocket. "He got away before they could catch him."

Brendan wrapped his arms tight across his chest. "Shut up. You're just trying to scare me."

"No. I want to scare the crap out of Justin. Let's go."

He pulled a long knife from the sheath at his belt. The mirror-like finish reflected the scant moonlight. The sharp edge looked like it could split a hair in two.

Brendan freed his own blade. "I don't understand why we have to use real knives. Someone could get hurt?"

"Quit being a baby." Tyler frowned. He pulled two rubber masks from inside his jacket and tossed one to Brendan. They were both imitation Michael Myers masks that Tyler had found on clearance at the Halloween USA store. "Put this on and go around to the front door."

Brendan set his knife on the leaf-covered patio and pulled the mask over his head. With his voice muffled, he asked, "Which room is he in?"

"The first one at the top of the stairs. I told him he had to sleep in the room where the murders took place."

"And, what are you going to do?"

Tyler slipped on his own mask. "I'm going up the back stairs. When he sees you and goes running down the hall, I'll be waiting for him."

Brendan nodded. "This is going to be great."

"Yeah. I bet he poops his pants."

Tyler pushed Brendan towards the back corner of the mansion. The smaller boy broke into a jog and was swallowed up by the shadows. Tyler moved to a back window and pried off the plywood used to deter trespassers. The rusted nails protested their release loudly. He tossed it aside and climbed in.

The place was pitch black. He couldn't see a thing. Cursing his stupidity for not remembering a flashlight, he used the glow from his phone to guide him to the rear servant's stairs. The boards creaked with each step. Near the top, he returned his phone to his pocket and waited to hear Justin's screams.

Through his sweaty mask, the house smelled of damp and decay. He was tempted to take his mask off but decided against it. The second he did was when all the action would start. The seconds ticked by. Nothing happened. Where was Brendan? The loser was taking forever finding a way in. He couldn't do anything without Tyler's help.

Finally, he heard a rustling followed by some shouts and a scream. All right. It was game time. He jumped into the hallway and brandished his knife. But, no screaming Justin ran his way. Instead, at the end of the dark hallway, he saw two figures wrestling. Damn it! Even with a mask and a knife, Tyler couldn't scare someone properly. It was up to him.

He ran down the dusty hallway, yelling like a madman. The tiny eyeholes barely offering him enough visibility to not bang off either wall. He screeched to a stop in front of the two boys. Justin sat astride Brendan who still managed to have his mask on. Justin held Brendan's knife. The blade poised high above his head.

"Stop it!" Tyler screamed.

Justin turned to see him, a second masked man looming over him. His eyes wide with fright. The absolute look of terror oozed from every pore in his body. Brendan wriggled underneath him but couldn't free himself.

Tyler saw it all happening in slow motion and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The muscle above Justin's left eye twitched uncontrollably. His hand shook before the long blade plunged into Brendan's chest.

Brendan screamed a first time, so loud it nearly pierced Tyler's eardrums. He let out a second cry that was not so loud. His body shuttered and then stopped. Justin climbed off of him. The knife left protruding from his chest like a flagpole.

Tyler ripped off his mask. "You idiot. What did you do?"

Justin stumbled backward. "Tyler? Who's that?"

"Brendan. You killed Brendan."

"No, I didn't." Justin took another step back. He teetered at the top of the stairs.

"You did." Returning his knife to its sheath, Tyler bent down and gently removed the mask from his weak friend's head. A look of pain was frozen on his face. "See."

"It wasn't my fault. You guys made me."

"We didn't make you kill anyone."

Justin's shoulders slumped. His chin rested on his chest. "It's your fault. Why did you bring real knives to scare me?"

A twinge of guilt stabbed at Tyler's gut. It was kind of his fault for hanging out with such dimwits, but he wasn't' taken the fall for the murder. He had a bright future ahead of him. He wasn't giving it up out of some false sense of friendship.

He pulled his phone from his pocket. "Explain it to the police. It was a childish prank. You're the one who took it too far."

"The police?"

"Yes. I'm calling 911 right now."

"No. Please. Don't' do that." Justin took another fatal step back.

He pitched backward down the stairs. Tyler dropped the phone and lunged for him but he was too late. Justin cartwheeled to the foyer. His head, torso, and limbs hitting and slamming into every step along the way. At the bottom, his neck snapped. His body lay in a heap. His head twisted at an impossible angle.

"You moron."

What was Tyler going to do now? His mind raced through the hundreds of possibilities, but only one made sense. He had to get out of here. With any luck, it would be days before they found the bodies. Plenty of time for him to solidify his alibi.

He tried to remember what he touched. Only the window sill and the banister on the back stairs. He'd wipe his prints clean on the way out. Tyler scooped up his phone. The screen was shattered. He stabbed at it with a shaking finger. It didn't respond. The damn thing was broke. Great. He jammed it in his pocket. One more thing to add to his terrible night. He turned to leave.

Down the hallway stood a large dim figure. Crap. Tyler hadn't heard him come in.

"Hey buddy, I don't know what you saw or heard, but I just got here myself and found these two kids dead."

The man didn't respond.

"You got a phone that we can use to call 911? Mine is broke."

The man walked towards Tyler, menacingly and slow. Each step produced a dull echo in the old hallway. He dragged something behind him. It carved a trail in the dirt. Metal scraped on rotting floorboards.

"What's your problem? Are you deaf?"

The man lifted the object up. It kind of looked like an ax. The dull rounded blade hung above his head, nearly rubbing the ceiling. He said, "Are you here looking for your slut of a teacher?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You won't find them. I killed her and your baby too."

"You've got it all wrong. I'm just a stupid kid." Tyler blubbered.

"Old enough to bone my wife. Now you're going to die."

Tyler screamed like a little girl. In a panic, he ran into the bedroom behind him. The windows were boarded up. He punched and kicked at them, but they held tight. Trapped. He curled up in a corner and cried.

The man followed him into the room. He slammed the door closed behind him. The sickening thuds and Tyler's screams couldn't be heard outside the thick mansion's walls.