Five years ago . . .

Sunday, 07:48 PM
October 31.

Winter Whit Lane

The soft purr of the car slowed to a halt as Carlotta Archer killed the engine. They had stopped on the street before the next house the children were planning to go into.

At the back of the car Melody Acosta sighed. She was a bossy ten year old and the only one in the backseat who felt she was too old to be going trick or treating. She already made up her mind; she was just going to go for the last time this year. Next year, she'd be in middle school and would go to the middle school Halloween party instead.

Jax was the one sitting beside her and he impatiently elbowed her. "Aren't you getting down, Melody?"

She pulled him her best scowl (a feat that was made more possible by her grim reaper make up) and rolled her eyes. Jax was currently on the list of kids she disliked. That he was Carlie's little brother only made it worse. And did she hate her brother's girlfriend.

"Come on, out. Out. You guys," Mackey drawled from where he was riding shotgun with his girl friend.

"Chop chop," Carlotta put in.

And Carlotta and Mackey turned to grin at each other.

Melody felt sick to her stomach.

"Mackey, I don't wanna go. That place looks cweepy," Madison whined. At four years of age, she was the youngest of the group and was dressed in a cute Harlequin outfit with a bulging orange pumpkin bag on her thighs.

Mackey turned to the back to face his little sister. "Maddie, there's nothing wrong with that house. To punctuate his assurance, he turned to his window to stare out at the old house in front of them.

It was an old, wooden storey building with a high wrap around porch surrounded by an overgrown garden and glowing army of scarecrows.

"Maddie's right," Milo said. "Why is it, like, the only house on this street?" His brown-green eyes  darted back and forth the street in fear.

"There are other houses on this street, Milo. You saw yourself."

"He wasn't talking to you, Carlotta." Melody sighed and reclined back into her seat, rolling her kohl-lined eyes. "This car is crampy."

If Carlotta heard, she made no indication of it as she pulled down her visor mirror to reapply her black lipstick.

"Shut up, Melllie," Mackey warned.

"You shut up, Mackey. This whole street is dark and creepy. I wonder how you don't find it strange that only that house has their lights on."

"Ooh, somebody wants their Mommy," Carlotta sang.

"I said shut up, bitch! If you aren't scared, how about you go out there yourself and stop pretending to 'babysit' us?"

"Millie, you're gonna get slapped if you don't stop!"

Melody did a double take. "Oh yeah? You're gonna slap me over your bitch of a girlfriend?" She chuckled. "I'd like to see you try, sir." Although she was a good five years younger than her brother.

Mackey's face contorted in anger and he really looked like he was contemplating going true on his threat, but then he seemed to remember his mother's warning and he glared at his immediate younger sister instead.

"Spoilt brat," he murmured under his breath.

"Whose idea was it to bring her along again?"

"My mom's," Mackey grumbled, palming his face.

"I thought so," Carlotta said. She turned to the kids at the back. "Now, can y'all get out of my car and go gets your candies? Me and Mackey have to be at a party by eight and I ain't gonna let nobody delay me."

"Yeah, that party where you all go smoke pot."

Carlotta flashed her finger at the girl in reply and turned to the others. "Milo, open your door and let the good kids get out."

Milo's hand went to open the door and then stopped. "Carlotta, I don't wanna go out. I feel creeped out, let's go on to the next street."

Carlotta rolled her black eyes at him. "Come on, Milo. You're dressed as Frankenstein, nothing's gonna scare you out there."

She pointed to the house. "Look, it's just a house, and the lights are on, so people definitely live there. And you have the others with you. Don't y'all wanna go? Jax? Maddie?"

"I wanna go get more treats," Jax agreed, earning a smile from his sister.

"Of course, it's only 'Jaaax' who wants to go. Where were you born, a cemetery, huh?"

"Meanie Melody, just admit you're scared." Jax stuck his tongue out at her. He and Milo were both eight and in the same class although they weren't really friends. Jax didn't like Milo because he disliked Melody too, and Milo didn't really like Jax because Jax didn't like him too.

Milo frowned at him. "You should be scared too, Jax."

Carlotta threw her hands up in frustration. "Okay, I've had enough of this. Y'all get down and out, let's fucking get this over with, please." She shook her head. "Mackey, please remind me to never volunteer to drive kids trick treating again."

"That makes two of us," Mackey agreed with an exaggerated sigh. "They don't wanna get down? Fine. Carlie, let's just go. We're driving them home. Halloween's over for them. And—"

"What was that?" Milo shouted. He was the only one who had had his eyes on the lit building in front of them.

"What was what?" Mackey was frustrated.

He pointed a shaky hand up at the building. "A shadow. A shadow pulled closed the curtains upstairs. It . . . it had no head."

Silence erupted in the car for a few seconds . . and then the two teenagers at the front started to laugh. Loud boisterous laughter.

"Okay, you got me, kid bro."

Milo scowled, tearing his eyes from the building to look at his brother. "I'm serious, Mackey."

"Of course, you are." Carlotta hiccupped back a laugh.

"It's probably just a costume," Jax suggested.

"Yeah, right, Sherlock. I know what I saw." But he was also starting to reason with Jax and thought it might really have been a costume he had seen. But that still didn't allay his fears of the house and the whole street.

Everything felt wrong about the place and he had a strong feeling of being watched from all angles and was creeped out. And he was always right when he got that feeling.

"Carlie, please let's go. Do we even know where  we are? This street isn't part of the town."

Mackey slammed his hands on the dashboard and glared at his brother. "Milo, will you stop this, please? Yeah, we're kinda not in town, but this stupid place is on the GPS, okay?"

Milo stared at Mackey for a long time and finally looked down, frowning. "Okay."

It was Carlie's turn to get pissed off. "Melody, if you don't get out now, I'm going to tell your whole school you're a fucking pussy."

"Carlie," Mackey warned, "Language."

"Yeah, yeah." Carlie said and continued, "The whole of your grade six is gonna know that you chickened out."

Melody's face had gone from pink to red with anger. "Fine, bitch! I'm going to go out there and into that house and you can seat here and cower in the car with that idiot and lick your faces off. I ain't scared of you, bitch!"

Melody shoved the car door open and got out. "Come on Maddie, Milo."

"Seriously, is 'bitch' the only word in your retarded vocabulary?"

"You know I ain't no retard, bitch. I got more brains than you can ever have." Milo and Maddie had now come out and were waiting for her. Melody swallowed the fear bubbling in her throat and strode up the linear driveway to the house, closely followed by her siblings and Jax.

Carlotta relaxed back into her seat with a long exhale. "It only took goading to get your fucking sister out of my car."

Mackey laughed and leaned towards her. "Always works."

Carlotta rolled her eyes at him. "Seriously, how do you cope with her on a daily basis?"

"Sometimes I just want to tie her up and seal her fucking mouth shut with an iron." His mouth touched her finger tips and he flicked his tongue at them.

Carlotta drew back her hand with an excited shudder and started to climb over to his seat. "You know how long I've been wanting to do this tonight?" She plopped down on his thighs, straddling him.

"Hmm?" Mackey hummed into her shoulder.

"Since all fucking morning."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But the kids never go away long enough. I hope the owners of that house delays them long enough."

Mackey looked up at that. "Yeah. I mean, no. They shouldn't take long. We can always have time to ourselves at the party."

Carlotta chuckled at that as a memory surfaced. She touched her mouth to his, running her tongue over his lips and earning a deep groan from him.

"The corn maze," she said and opened her mouth to admit his probing tongue.

"Hmm." His hands had slid low and were now cradling her butt, drawing her higher towards him.

Of course, Mackey remembered the corn maze very well. That had been exactly a year ago. While on a quest through the corn maze, they had discovered they couldn't wait any longer to be inside each other and had found a tangled spot nobody seemed to pass through and fucked like animals in heat. That had been their first time each and they'd gone at it like high horses. In their Harlequin and the Joker costumes, they had been a perfect fit.

And now this year, maybe they'd pay a visit to the corn maze again. Or upgrade and go at it in the horror house. Mackey smiled. That would be so much fun, now that he thought about it.

Her fingers were now in his thick black hair and he moaned at the feel of them cradling his scalp. He kneaded her soft butt in response and yanked her higher to him, arching his pike straight arousal into her wet heat. Thank God for the black mini dress costume.

"Let me drive this time," he murmured when he broke the kiss. He started to trail his mouth down her neck.

Her body sang high with satiated pleasure as she reached behind her on the dashboard for the keys.

"Why?" she asked as she dropped the keys in his small breast pocket, twirling a finger around his clothed nipple.

A groan rumbled through him and he dipped his head into her cleavage. Her fingers went back to his hair and she applied slight pressure to draw him closer in, softly crying out when his teeth found a nipple.

That sound seemed to bring him back to earth. He jerked up with a startled, his eyes  still swimming with lust.

"Carlie, our siblings could be coming back anytime soon."

"Ugh, why did I offer to babysit again?" she grumbled. But she slid off him back into the driver's seat.

"Soon, babes." Mackey was referring to the continuation of their body exploring and what would follow.

He peered out at the house. The whole porch had been glary bright with multiple lights but now only a lone porch light remained on. A trickle of fear crawled up his spine and combed at his heckles. "They should have been out since."

He  was already opening the car door. Just as a muffled scream and a crash sailed in the air. And the remaining porch light exploded. In that second, Mackey's heart staggered to a stop in his chest and a pocket of air stuck in his throat.

"Fuck!"