Pandora had spent the rest of the day in her room after Michael had left her to continue with his interviews. The brunette stood in her shower with the cold water pouring down from the head, splashing down on her dark damp hair. She closed her eyelids to avoid the droplets falling in the eyes. Pandora felt something sliver past her foot but she passed it off as the water running down her legs and onto the floor. 

The girl reached a blind hand out to turn the shower off. Pandora pushed some wet strands from her face and rubbed her eyes until she heard a hissing sound. She removed one of her hands away from her eyes and furrowed her brows as she looked down.

A fairly large black snake was wrapping itself gently around her ankle, but the girl did not screech or flinch to her surprise; she simply knelt down and untangled the serpent from her calve and instead allowed it to wrap around her arm. The silky head fit perfectly in her palm as its body twisted around her arm and over her shoulder blades. 

The confused girl stared down at the friendly snake in her palm. "What are you doing here?" She asked the slippery serpent. "You must be good at hiding, you would have been in that dreadful snake stew a few days ago if you were in Emily's room. But don't worry, you'll be my little secret," Pandora smiled down to the snake. "Well, if I'm gonna keep you around, I've got to give you a name, don't I?" 

Pandora tapped her free fingers on her chin in thought. She suddenly smiled and glanced back down to the snake on her arm. "I like Cain. Do you? Of course, you do. It's perfect."

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Pandora didn't really know what to do with Cain so she just placed him on her bed as she got dressed in a purple dress. She was finishing tieing the laces on the back of her gown as she heard a faint knock from the door. 

"Yes? Who is it?" Pandora asked behind the door. 

"Jessie, ma'am. Ms Venable called everyone for an emergency meeting in the library." Jessie, a Grey, called from the other side. 

"Thank you, I'll be out in just a second," Pandora called as she pressed her ear to the door until she could no longer hear her footsteps, indicating that she had walked away. The brunette turned back to her new pet and point a slender thing his way. "Stay here and please be quiet. See you in a bit, Cain, be good." 

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"These past several months have been difficult for all of us. And perhaps, in my efforts to keep us safe, punitive measures have been taken too far. I believe now what we need is a moment of celebration, camaraderie. Which is why this weekend, as a gesture of goodwill, we will have a Halloween soiree in the style of a Victorian masquerade ball," Ms Venable stated to everyone in the library resulting in everyone's eyes to light up, including Pandora's. 

"It's Halloween this weekend?" Gallant asked with excitement. But with sudden sadness and an awkward cough. "If only Nana were here to enjoy it with me." Evie's death was so sudden, that it caught everyone off guard. Pandora was quite fond of the woman - she always saw the positive aspects of a bad situation, it was quite admirable, except when she continued to eat the stew that everyone was certain was Stu. Pandora rubbed her small hand on Gallant's arm with a sad smile. 

"We've all lost track of time a bit. And this festive occasion is the perfect opportunity to remedy this. And I encourage you all to use your imaginations, to create what I am sure will be exquisite costumes. Attendance is mandatory." Ms Venable carried on before she walked off with Ms Mead hot on her trail. 

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It was the day of the famous Halloween soiree. Pandora was sat on her bed fiddling with a mask for the event occurring later that evening. Pandora knew exactly what she wanted her mask to look like. She envisioned a white lace mask with purple detailing, on the crown of her head sat a set of ram horns wrapped with the same white and purple lace. She knew exactly she was to wear with her mask too. In the closet sat an extravagant lilac ball gown, all she needed to do was to sew some of the same lace from her mask onto the neckline and cuffs of the dress. Pandora had finally finished fixing her outfit and slipped it on. 

The woman looked at herself in the full-lengthed mirror and placed her mask over her face and her headdress on top of her head. Pandora grinned at her appearance and turned back Cain. "Alright Cain, I'll be back as soon as. Don't miss me too much." Pandora gently spoke as she patted his silky head and walked out of the door.

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There was nothing exciting happening during the 'party' so far. That was until Ms Mead and another person dressed in black brought out a barrel of water and placed it in the middle of the library. In the water, there were multiple rich red apples bobbling along with the tender ripples. Pandora gasped as did the others around her. They had not seen fresh fruit in over a year. Andre reached out to take one but was stopped with a slap to the hand by Ms Mead. 

"No treats until the time comes." Ms Mead simply said. Andre continued to complain about how desperate he was to have an apple already. Pandora smiled and walked away to talk to Mallory who, in her opinion, looked distressed but was trying her best to hide it. 

"Hello Mallory, you seem a bit tense. Is everything alright?" The brunette asked softly to the blonde girl. 

Mallory sighed heavily. "Am I that obvious? It's not going too great. My interview was...strange. And Coco's a bitch, but there's nothing new there."

"What happened in your interview?"

"Even if I did tell you, you wouldn't believe me -"

"No, Mallory, that's where you're wrong. I'm gonna listen and believe you. Ok? Now tell me what happened because it's clearly bothered you." Pandora placed a reassuring hand on Mallory's shoulder and beamed. "I'm all ears."

Mallory relaxed a bit and smiled. Mallory proceeded to tell Pandora all of the unusual events in her interview. From how Michael almost soul-searched her to how she believed she caused the fireplace to engulf the entire room in flames. Mallory expected Pandora to laugh, to dismiss her and walk away and joke about her to Coco and Gallant. But she didn't, she simply nodded and soaked up all of the information that Mallory was spilling. 

"Well, that is interesting. Honestly, it sounds impressive. I don't know how to explain it, but whatever caused you to do that sounds powerful. Make sure that power to get out of hand, channel it, control it. Use it for good."

Mallory sighed with relief at Pandora's answer and went to reply but was cut off when Ms Venable's voice scared both girls. "Tonight is All Hallows' Eve, which marks the beginning of the dark half of the year, when the boundary between this world and the Other thins, and lost souls pierce the firmament, desperate to find their way home. It is a night to remember the dead, and there have been far too many to mourn. But also to celebrate that we have yet to join them. We delight in the small things that were once taken for granted. To eat. To drink. Music and dance. Everyone - and I mean everyone - should savour this night as if it were their last."

Pandora grinned and grabbed Mallory's hand as music poured into the room. The brunette pulled the blonde girl towards the centre of the room to dance to 'Baby I'm-a-Want You' by Bread. The two girls giggled and laughed as they sloppily danced together. After a while, Mallory stopped to take a breath. Gallant tapped the brunette on the shoulder. "Well hello m'lady, care to dance?" The bleach-blonde man mockingly bowed in front of the younger woman and reached a hand out above his head, waiting for her to place her smaller hand in his large one. 

"Oh good sir, I'd be honoured!" Pandora mockingly exclaimed as she curtsied and set her hand in his. Gallant planted his free hand on her waist as Pandora sets hers on his shoulder. The man pulled her closer to his chest. The two simply swayed in silence. The two good friends hadn't spoken in a while since Michael arrived. "I've missed you, Gal."

"I've missed you too, Pan." The two friends used their nicknames for each other causing them both to smile widely. The two continued to dance until Ms Venable announced that everyone could begin bobbing for apples. Mallory went first and successfully grabbed one in her mouth and went to bite into it, but was quickly stopped when ms Venable said; "Let's all wait until each person has had an opportunity to participate in tonight's activities." 

Pandora furrowed her eyebrows at Venable's hidden panic but brushed it off. Everyone eventually had their turn. "We give thanks to The Cooperative for this blessed fruit and the bounties they have bestowed upon us. Our humanity. It is time to enjoy our good fortune. You have your treat." Ms Venable and ms Mead raised their own apples as did everyone else. Everyone proceeded to bite into their apples. 

But before Pandora could sink her teeth into the fresh fruit, a black latex hand covered her mouth and began to drag her away from the library.