I walked down the sidewalk very slowly, looking around as I did. Not a soul in sight. That's very weird, especially during this hour of this day. Usually, there's a parent who chaperones a child or a teenager carrying a carton of eggs. Not in this case, though.

It was very cold out, which I suppose is to be expected for late October; however, I wasn't exactly dressed for the weather. I'm still sporting the tattered brown coat and blue jeans I've worn since I became homeless, which isn't a bad wardrobe, but it could certainly be improved! Thankfully, I have a beard to keep my face warm. Sort of.

Finally, I made it back to the alley. I slid my way in and found my tent. After pulling out my lighter, I lit my fireplace and sat down. Well, by 'fireplace', I mean 'barrel full of kindling'. Either way, I grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around me, and stared at the fire.

I gave a small smile as my mind wandered back to my past. Halloween was always my favorite holiday. The candy, the costumes, the craziness. Looking back, I think that would explain why I was so calm during my first job back in the late 80s. Of course, that job was the reason I was here.

I sighed and held the blanket tighter to me. I'm just glad nobody was dressing up as one of...them...this year. I've rarely seen it happen, and it gives me the chills every time. This year, though, I've seen nothing. No bears with top hats, no bunnies with guitars, no chickens with cupcakes, and no foxes with evil intentions.

My stomach got very tight as a loud gurgle echoed through the alley. Bracing the cold, I stuck my arm out of the blanket and reached into the Jack-O-Lantern basket full of candy. One advantage of being homeless on Halloween is that you can get free treats without question! Sure, some questioned my motives because of my age, but most were compliant!

I unwrapped the fun-sized chocolate bar and shoved it into my mouth. I smiled as I closed my eyes and chewed the delicious candy. I did this a few more times before I felt a bit more satisfied. After that, I felt myself give a big yawn. It was getting pretty late, and I did have a long day. I better get some rest.

I lied down on my side and closed my eyes. Hopefully, all the candy I collected today would be enough to last a while; it's a lot better than the leftover scraps at Candy's Burgers and Fries.

* * *

I heard a door slam nearby. I gasped and opened my eyes with fear.

"Who's there??" I instinctually called out. Shocker; no answer.

I slowly reached over and grabbed my flashlight. Hopefully, the batteries still worked. Before turning it on right away, though, I got out of my bed and quietly looked out of my tent. My fire had gone out, which was to be expected at...whatever time it was.

That's when I turned on my flashlight and looked around. It looked perfectly normal. It wasn't pleasant, sure, but it was normal.

"hElLo?"

I froze with fear. That voice...I haven't heard it in over 30 years! For good reason, as well...so why did I hear it now? And why did it sound so...distorted?

"hI!"

There it is again...! He can't be here...he can't!

I shone my light towards the back of the alley, where the voice was coming from. I instantly regretted it; I didn't want to believe it, but he was there. Somehow, he was there.

Sitting at the back of the alley was a giant and demented version of a familiar animatronic child. His tiny, toothless mouth was replaced with a big and wide grin bearing two rows of sharp teeth. His round, fingerless hands were replaced with giant claws. His giant blue eyes were replaced by small red lights.

There's no doubt about it; it was BB.

"You little shit..." I murmured at the character.

I just stood there and stared at him while he stared at the floor. I wasn't entirely sure if he was real. There's no way something as scary as this can be, but I know firsthand that anything is possible, especially with his kind.

I finally shook my head and turned the flashlight off. Real or not, staring at that little demon was giving me a headache.

"hElLo?"

Quickly turning the light back on, I saw him duck into one of the doors of the buildings! I stared in disbelief; was it really real? If it was, then I need to stop him from terrorizing people! Even if he does nothing evil, I want to get a second helping of Mashed BB!

I sprinted towards the doorway the spawn of Satan ran into and bolted through. Using my flashlight, I looked around the place. It was an abandoned structure that I believe used to be a toy store. Huh. Kinda fitting.

"hI!"

I quickly shone the light around and found him behind the counter. Only the top of his head was showing because he was so short, but there was no mistaking that ugly propeller hat on his head! I ran after him and jumped the counter, tripping and crashing down in the process. Man, I gotta learn to stop doing that...

That's when I heard something else. It wasn't BB. It was...static.

Slowly looking up, I couldn't help but notice the white and silver mess on the ceiling. I could also make out some patches of pink and red. It was all mangled up in a bunch, but that's also what gave away its identity.

"You...!" I gasped.

Before I could say anything else, it dropped down with a loud metallic screech! I screamed and rolled away. When I did, a loud metallic thump could be heard. As much as I wanted to look at the cause, I also wanted to get the hell away from here!

Before I could do anything else, I started hearing music coming from somewhere in the store. Very familiar music. Music from a music box. I then felt something tightly grab my shoulder and pick me up! That's when I saw a white face with giant black eyes, smile, and teeth.

"Oh shit...!"

Suddenly, the Prize Puppet threw me across the shop, causing me to crash into a bunch of unstable shelves! Groaning as I got up, I looked in front and saw all 3 abominations standing together, staring at me. It was like something from a nightmare.

"Stay back!" I screamed at them. "I mean it!!!"

That obviously didn't help; the Puppet then lunged at me, wrapping its hands around my throat, just as it did decades ago. This time, though, I was older and stronger! I quickly punched it in the head as hard as I could and it loosened its grip just enough for me to push it off!

After it fell to the floor, I didn't hesitate to run to it and repeatedly stomp it on the face! Its long arms reached towards me, trying to get a grip on my legs, but it didn't work; one final stomp caused its face to crack down the middle, thus causing it to stop moving.

The static noise in the background suddenly got louder as I looked above me. Mangle was dangling from a ceiling lamp, but not for long; it then dropped down towards my head, a sight quite familiar. This time, though, I didn't have anyone next to me to protect me, so I jumped out of the way, causing the busted robot to crash into the floor again.

I ran over to it and grabbed its...I think it was its arm, but it could've been a leg. That's not important, though; I pulled back hard, and after a few hard yanks, the limb ripped right off! I then threw it behind me, grabbed another limb, and repeated the process. I must say, I don't understand how children tore this thing apart so easily; this is wearing out my muscles!

Finally, though, I was left with the upper half of a white fox's face. Everything else was just busted scrap metal. I continued to stare at the head, though...and how it once stuck out of my brother's head when it could've been mine.

"hElLo?"

That's when I remembered I had one more pain in the ass to deal with.

I then grabbed one of Mangle's limbs and swung behind me. As expected, I heard a loud SMACK and saw tan pieces of plastic fly across the room! Half of BB's head was broken and shattered, which only added to his already creepy look. I took this as a sign to hit him again!

"Hahahah-!"

CRACK!!!

More of his face fell off, revealing more of a metal endoskeleton. I didn't care, though; I kept smacking and swinging and shattering the evil bastard!

Finally, I was left with the head completely gone, leaving a fat body and sharp claws. I dropped Mangle's limb and slowly walked towards the way I came in. That was it. My nightmare was over.

* * *

"Jeremy?"

I opened my eyes again and saw a familiar woman standing next to me. Her smoky red hair glowed in the morning sunlight.

"Oh, hey, Courtney!" I said as I sat up and stretched. "What brings you to Casa del Fitzgerald?"

"I'm just curious if you wanted to go out for breakfast."

"Breakfast? Why?"

"I think you could use a good meal. One that's not, you know, candy and more candy."

"Eh. Why not; I'll go."

I stood up and we both walked to her car.

"How did you sleep?" she asked. "It must be rough on Halloween night."

"Actually, the streets were pretty dead. No action from anybody."

"Really? That's shocking."

"Yeah! Though, I did have a weird nightmare about BB, Mangle, and the Prize Puppet."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but it's all good; they can't scare me anymore."

"I guess that's good, then!"

We were both silent as we drove to the restaurant. I couldn't get those images of the animatronics out of my head, but I'm glad I managed to stop them, even if it was a nightmare.

"What happened to your neck?" she suddenly asked.

"Hm?"

"There; those bruises! What happened?"