No, no, Not again!

I burst out of my office, heart pounding. It's only Eve and Daren here with me.

Most people didn't come to work today because of the holidays, November first and second.

It is said that the founders of our small, quaint town were set to open its doors on the first but two out of three of them claimed that they saw actual ghosts on Halloween, the day before and wouldn't come out of their houses all day.

Then due to an unfortunate gun incident because of ghost paranoia by my great great something grandfather, Maude Morgin, it had to be pushed forward again, to the second.

Anyway, back to why I nearly broke down my door.

"Look! Look! Outside, there!"

Eve and Deren turn to where I'm pointing.

I wait for the alarm to match mine but instead Eve says, "Uh, Derrek, I don't see anything. Are you OK?"

My jaw drops. What?

I look across the street from the bank. How can they not see it?!

It's right there! A little different than this morning but still. You can't miss it!

All big, black, hooded. And pointing at me with a bony index finger. It's only finger. The rest are gone, missing from the palm. And what seems to be coagulated blood marks the other four points.

A lady walks by. For a moment I think she'll follow up with a scream when she turns her head and gasps. But the cause turns out to just be the clothing shop showing pairs of shoes at the window and she goes in.

The man that passes next doesn't even turn.

So, apparently, you can miss it.

Then, just like in the books, a twelve wheeler drives past and it's gone. Vanished. Not even a bit of the eerie black smoke that surrounded the ends of its ripped coat is left.

"I have to sit down," I say, bringing my hands to hold my heavy, throbing head.

"I'll go get you some water," Eve says and stands to go to the fridge. I collapse in the other chair.

Eve Bayer's fire red hair and slim figure contradicts the motherly personality that's on full display now. She might think I'm nuts but she won't say it. She rubs my back and tells me it's OK as I gulp down the cool water.

Daren is looking at us, phone in hand. With matching red hair and grey eyes, they look like siblings.

Because they are. Eve's elder to Daren, who's my age.

"Dude, I don't even know what to say. Maybe you should go home, watch romantic comedies or something and get halloween out of your mind?"

I'm actually considering it. Because in all my twenty three years, this is the only time I remember Halloween getting me scared.

Daren has spent all of those Halloweens with me and I remember a few shrieks of terror from him- and a few more people- curtsey of me.

"Drive safely OK. And say hi to Bel for us. "

I manage a smile."Yeah, bye."

"Bye, "they chorus.

As I leave I hear a held back laugh from Daren. Must have looked at his phone. Glad he can laugh.

That thing's following me.
Looked creepier but maybe because of the very early hours.

It had horns the length and sharpness of knives and the falling moon's light was passing through the holes in its head. It was wearing an even more tattered cloak that seemed to be made of darkness which didn't cover misshapen legs.

Believe me when I say, there is nothing more irritating than having to be behind crazy and or annoyed drivers when you're crazy and annoyed yourself.

On a good day, it would take me about fifteen minutes to get home.

But like that guy decked in spooky black showed, today is not a good day. And by the time I get home, I'm hungry too. Joy.

Belinda, my girlfriend, hugs me as soon as she opens the door. Then, "What's wrong? What did Daren do?"

I smile for the first time in thirty minutes. "Not him. This time. "

"Come on, I just finished making lunch. You can tell me all about it after. "

Ah, I love this woman.

I tell her it's appearance at work. But toward the end of my story, before I tell her about an especially slow driver that nearly made me rip tuffs out of my brown hair, she bursts out laughing.

I stare at her. And stare. Scratch my short beard a little. Stare a bit more. But I don't see what's so hilarious about hellish apparitions which seem to have taken a liking to me.

"I'm sorry, babe," she manages to choke out, tears coming from her eyes. She finally stops.

"So this, me going mad is... Funny to you?"

She looks as if she would laugh again but she holds it in. "It's a prank. "

I blink. And blink again.

What?

"Cade was in the costume. "

Then she goes on to elaborate on the ruse.

The smoke machine.

How Eve and Daren are into it too.

How the bakers sweet twins Kaitlyn and Katharine stood out of sight of the bank to warn people about the prank.

How Cade went into the clothing shop when the truck passed.

Then from the kitchen, Cade walks in, my other best bud with a guilty look on his face. Closely followed by him and Eve is Daren who doesn't even have the decency to look sheepish.

"Went to visit your Ma huh, Cade?"

He runs a hand through his hair and averts his blue eyes, similar to mine.

"We got you! Ha!" That, as you may have guessed, was Daren.

I turn to Eve, "Derrek and therefore Cade I can understand but you too, Eve?"

"We're sorry, Derrek, " Eve says, after which I hear a whisper of "I'm not." She ignores Daren and continues, "But I can't recollect one year that we got you. It's always us. "

I just didn't except it, didn't think of the possibility. Was too busy freaking out. And they let me freak out. I don't do that! Well, not for as long as they did me, at least.

But after a while I drop my grumpy mood.

I can't stay mad at them. And I'm glad I'm not actually seeing ghosts. Plus it was a great prank, I watched it on video with them.

Turns out Darren wasn't laughing at his phone. And it was his fault, his idea.

We had a small impromptu party and they begin to leave just as it starts getting dark.

"You're lucky I didn't figure you out," I say to Cade, hugging him. Eve and Darren are already down the steps.

"Yeah, and I will forever remember the one time I scared the Derrek Morgin." He grins and waves. "See ya. "

I don't answer. Because what about this morning?

I close my door. And again, even though my friends are driving away- can still see their tail lights- I could have sworn I saw a flash of fiendish black.

"Babe, please bring out the rom coms!"