"Are we ready?"
"Sure as all hell Laf."
Alexander straightened the ruffles on his shirt as he said so. The four were huddled together in front of the only full body mirror in their dorm, making the final touches to their costumes.
"It's at times like this I almost wish I was born in the seventeen hundreds," John said wistfully as he examined his reflection.
"What, you wish you were shot to death?" Alexander asked.
"Well no, but I like the coat. It has style."
"Despite the blood stains?"
"Despite the blood stains."
Hercules' lips twitched into a small pleased smile. And as the maker of said coat he probably had all right to be. The four looked stunning.
They were dressing up for the Halloween party they were soon to attend, which was supposedly the biggest event of the fall. Invitations had been mailed out to a large portion of the student body and it was the only thing that had been talked about for the last week. The hosting group of seniors had somehow managed to clear out an entire dorm building just to house this party. Alexander had no idea who they'd blackmailed to succeed in this, but he was not going to complain. If this party was half of what it had been hyped up to be it would be the coolest thing he'd ever go to.
"Should we leave?" John asked, tearing Alexander away from his daydreaming. "It's almost eleven o' clock."
"Which means we have a full eleven minutes to get there," Lafayette grinned. "But sure."
Alexander threw a last glance into the mirror. They matched perfectly, which was good as they had gone for a group costume. Sure it was a bit nerdy, but it was also epic. It had been Hercules' idea of course. The guy had researched old military uniforms for some design project, and blurted out the idea over dinner one night.
"How about we go as fallen soldiers for halloween?"
And so it came that the four of them were dressed in bloody uniforms from the Revolutionary War. They hadn't been able to find any age-appropriate guns, so instead they'd tried to look like they'd been shot by some. Lafayette sported a spectacular wound to the head, which was dripping blood down his face. Hercules had smeared the same substance all over the front of his shirt, much the same as Alexander who'd made a smaller, but all the more splattered, wound between his ribs. John had gone all out and had
his killing shot go from his hip all the way to his arm, as well as adding deep gashes all over his torso. Because as he said himself, "If I have to die I'll go down fighting."
All in all, as they walked out into the halloween night to the sound of a distant church bell, they certainly looked like the fallen soldiers of a past war. And they would make damn sure their service was not forgotten.
"I was about to ask how we'd know if we were at the right house but I think that gives it away," Hercules said and gestured towards the ominous lanterns that popped up on the ground. Indeed, the candles led straight to to the porch of one of the nearby buildings.
"Yeah, that or the fact the all the windows are mysteriously covered," Alexander pointed out.
"I guess," Hercules said as they begun to walk along the illuminated path, which somehow seemed a lot creepier than it had any right to be. Somewhere in the distance an owl cried. Alexander shuddered.
"Are those real claw marks," Lafayette said in horror when they reached the front of the house. The door was cover in deep gashes, as if a wolf had dragged its paws down the wood. The full moon cast its light over the grooves which made them seem even deeper.
Alexande laughed softly. "Are you asking if an actual werewolf attacked the door?"
"No you idiot, I'm asking if they actually carved up the door!"
"Huh, I don't know. Maybe."
"Vandalism fees–" John murmured, "the true horror."
Hercules, chuckling, pushed open the scarred door and stepped inside.
It was dark inside. Heavy shadows hung from the walls, as if fabrics had been draped across them. Alexander took a weary step forward and felt his boots sink into a thick carpet. The door swung shut behind him. Without the light of the moon the hall was pitch black.
"Uh, do we, um..." John's voice trailed off, fading into the silence that was spreading throughout the room. Alexander got a feeling that something was very, very wrong.
He reached for John's hand in an attempt to calm down, but the dark made it impossible to find him. He felt his way around, fighting against the panic rising in his stomach. His fingers finally grazed against a hand and he grasped it in relief. A hand that was very cold and very much not John's.
Lafayette screamed.
Lights flared up around them, illuminating the room.
Bent over them stood a skeleton maid with a wicked grin. She had one hand resting on Lafayette's shoulder, explaining his scream. Alexander was clutching her other.
"This way, my dears," She crowed as Alexander snatched his hand back. She gestured up a narrow staircase adorned with skulls.
"You don't want to leave them waiting." Her order turned into a high pitched laugh, revealing missing and yellowed teeth. The boys did the one sensible thing, they ran up the stairs.
As soon as they reached the top floor Lafayette slumped against the wall and let out a long string of curse words.
"That surely is the best introduction to a halloween party I've ever experienced," Hercules concluded when Laf was done.
"And the worst." John said, with Alexander nodding along. "Let's find something that's less likely to give us a heart attack."
They took his advice and walked down the corridor the stairs had led up to. Though wickedly decorated it didn't give off the feeling that you were about to be murdered, with Alexander appreciated. At the hall's end was an open door from which the sound of loud music and laughter poured out.
Lafayette straightened his shirt and grinned.
"Let's party!"
The open dorm acted as a dance floor, apparently. The main space had been cleared out in favour of the dozens of people currently dancing various dances, some in rhythm, some not. If the sounds coming from the other rooms were anything to go by then this wasn't the only dorm open to visitors, and Alexander could see more than one bowl filled with unidentified liquids.
"Where do we start?" Hercules half yelled over the music. The lights hidden in the apartment showered his face in red light.
"Let's get a drink!" John called back. No one argued.
The four snuck their way into and adjacent dorm which seemed to be the main room for foods. They found a big bowl filled with some sort of neonic green liquid and filled their red cups with it.
"Cheers!" Lafayette said.
"Cheers!"
"Well look who we have here," said a voice behind them.
Alexander turned and quickly swallowed his drink, which violently burned his throat. Whatever had been in that punch had been strong.
"Hi Angelica," Laf smiled.
Angelica grinned at him, revealing pointed fangs. If Alexander had thought his friends had put a lot of work into their costumes then Angelica wasn't far behind. She was dressed in a stunning black and red dress in victorian style. The heavy material clung tightly to her bodice and swooped down in an elegant black skirt and drooping lace sleeves. Her hair was pulled up in a complicated braidwork and adorned by a shimmering black diadem. It's gems matched her lips, which were painted bold red and were accentuated by the heavy gold makeup around her eyes. As if that weren't enough her irises, normally dark brown, were brilliantly red. She looked both terrifying and beautiful.
"I see you took the costumes seriously," she said after looking them up and down. "The war seems to have taken it's toll on you."
Hercules beamed.
"Well, we can't all be pretty ladies haunting castles," Lafayette said with a wink.
"Oh I'd much rather be haunting the dance floor," Angelica answered with a quick glance towards Alexander. "But alas, my sister found it quite too cramped."
"Talking about me behind my back are you?"
A shadowed figured emerged from an adjacent door, and Alexander almost spilled the remainder of his drink. Had it not been for Angelica he would have never guessed that this person was Eliza. Maybe it was the dim lights, but as she drew near her skin took on an ashy, almost decaying tone. She wore a simple white dress and her face was almost fully covered by a sheer veil. The thin fabric was attached to her head with an exquisite diadem, much more elegant than Angelica's. In her hands she clutched a bouquet of wilting roses, bound together by spider webs. The overall effect was quite startling.
Anglica smirked, clearly noticing the dramatic effect of her sisters entrance.
"May I introduce to you, The Bride of Death."
After a short conversation with the two girls the group decided to head back to the dance room.
"But I think you should leave that here," Hercules laughed as he took John's almost empty cup from him.
"Hey!"
Hercules glanced at Angelica and Eliza. "John get's drunk way too easily."
"I don't!"
Lafayette coughed pointedly. "I beg to differ, mon ami."
"I haven't even finished one drink yet!"
Hercules smirked. "And that's probably for the best too. Come on now, you can get more later."
John groaned, but followed the rest out of the room.
The dance floor was just as loud as Alexander remembered it, and full of people. Everybody was dancing and cheering, and the atmosphere was almost intoxicating. It was as if the music was pulling people in, ensnaring them and causing their bodies to move.
"You said you'd rather haunt the dance floor, would you do me the honour?" Lafayette half yelled at Anglica.
She smiled, her fangs catching the light.
"It would be my pleasure."
Lafayette led her out onto the floor, and soon they were spinning around. Angelicas skirt flared up as she took the steps with ease. They looked like ever the perfect couple, the stunning victorian vampiress and her fallen soldier.
Hercules snorted.
"Laf can't dance for shit, just wait until he falls."
But his words fell on deaf ears, as Lafayette continued taking flawless step after flawless step. Maybe it was Angelica's skill keeping him upright, or maybe the drink he'd downed helped, but the two continued their hypnotizing dance without fail.
