Grace mentally flip-flopped all afternoon about agreeing to go along with her new friends. On the one hand, she'd just met them, and from what she'd witnessed during lunch, they seemed like nothing but trouble. On the other hand, she'd been in this town for more than two months without having fun once, and it was Halloween.

If there was any night a little mischief could be forgiven, it was on this one.

The rest of the school day passed by at an excruciatingly slow pace. Luckily, Mom and Tommy had Scouts and Dad was working late as always, so she had a chance to get ready for the night in peace.

Not that she was planning on wearing anything special. Her regular attire of black-on-black – slimming, easy to accessorize, as well as always in-style – was perfect for what Jack, Maddie, and Luke had roped her into. Releasing fifty-thousand ladybugs in Mountain View High School sounded just wild enough as a starter prank, but not serious enough to warrant any criminal charges.

Sneaking out of the house through her bedroom window after she knew no one would look for her, Grace ran to the end of the block where a car was waiting. She hopped in the back seat next to Maddie, and Jack floored the gas pedal.

They drove on silently until they'd left the residential area. Because her stomach was already in knots, Grace tried to make light of the situation. "Are you guys sure the bugs will be all right? I mean, they won't have anything to eat inside the school, unless you count whatever they serve for lunch as food."

Maddie grimaced. "Uhm, we kinda had some change of plans."

"What kind of change of plans?" Grace's eyes widened at the news.

Luke turned around in front of her. "We heard there was something going on out at Beckett's Farm and figured we'd check it out."

Grace's palms began to sweat. "What kind of something?"

Maddie threw her arm around Grace's shoulder. "Stop worrying about everything. You'll see soon enough."

Soon enough turned out to be about ten minutes later, when the car carrying the four teens turned off the rural highway, drove up a winding, dirt road, and – emerging from a thicket of trees – arrived at a run-down farmhouse. It wasn't the residence that caught Grace's attention, but rather the dozens of vehicles parked around it.

"Where are we? What's going on?" She asked, as Jack parked and they got out of the car.

"We are at Beckett's Farm, and this is the best Halloween party in all of Montana." Luke pushed her forward.

Even before rounding the rickety house that looked like it could fall apart in a good wind, Grace smelled burned wood. There were also the clear sounds of a celebration wafting through the air: music, laughter, and other indications of fun that she hadn't heard in a really long time.

"This is freaking awesome!" She exclaimed, seeing the huge bonfire surrounded by what looked like to be every teenager in Gallatin. "Oh, my God! Is that my brother?"

Grace stared wide-eyed at Tommy. The fifteen-year-old was illuminated by the light of the fire as he chatted-up a fellow Freshman, both holding a ubiquitous red Solo cup.

The girl was about to head toward her brother when Luke grabbed her arm and grinned. "Hold up. Let me take care of this."

Grace watched as the blonde teen weaved his way between the students milling about, rounded the pyre, and approached her brother. Waiting until a small group of girls passed by the duo, Luke expertly bumped into Tommy.

The boy's drink spilled all over his T-shirt, making him step back and throw his arms up. "Aww, shit. Watch where you're going, will ya'?" He yelled after the girls, oblivious to Luke who'd slipped out of view.

Maddie giggled next to Grace. "Brothers." She shook her head cheerfully. "Hey, do you want some beer?"

Grace shrugged. "Sure. I'll come with you."

"No, I got it." Maddie was already on her way toward the keg on the other side of the clearing.

"Get me one, too, babe," Jack yelled after her before turning to Grace. "Have you ever been to a bonfire?"

She shoved her hands in her pocket and shook her head. "No, but this is pretty cool. How did they get away with it? With there being a curfew and ban on parties, and all?"

"Oh, you know, kids and rules don't mix, right?" Jack smiled his million-watt smile, making Grace's heart beat a little bit faster.

"Right, I—" she began when a scream rang through the crowd, audible even above the pervading sounds of merriment. "What the hell was that?"

Craning her neck, Grace scanned the crowd. Some of the other kids had also turned their attention to the disruption and eventually their eyes all landed on a girl standing in line in front of Maddie at the keg. "What do you mean you're out of beer?" She continued to complain, making everyone around her laugh at the dramatics.

Grace scoffed and turned back to Jack, but he'd disappeared.

"All right then, don't mind me," she muttered to herself before deciding to look around. Luckily – or not – the other kids treated her the same as they did in school, meaning they completely ignored her very existence. Silently walking around them, she was increasingly reminded of why she hated this place and actually began to appreciate her new acquaintances earlier efforts to befriend her.

Reaching the spot where Tommy had stood a few minutes earlier, a commotion drew Grace's attention to a group of students. Pushing herself up on her toes, she peeked over a boy's shoulder to see two others fighting. The attempted punches and kicks were pathetic, and the duo were entangled in each other's grip more than actually doing damage. Occasionally yelling things like "he started it" or "did not, you tripped me, man" they were egged on by the students outside the circle.

Their immaturity disgusted her, so Grace turned away, but not before catching a glimpse of Luke out of the corner of her eye among the gaggle.

No sooner had she stepped away, that another shriek stopped her in her tracks. Stumbling toward her, Maddie looked totally out of it, covering her abdomen with her hands and her eyes glazed over.

"I think . . . I think I spilled something on myself," she muttered, lifting her hands.

Even in the fire's light, Grace could see it wasn't water or beer on the girl, but rather a dark, viscous substance.

"Oh, my God. That's blood, Maddie!" She exclaimed, feeling her knees wanting to buckle under her. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

The girl's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed. Grace didn't have time to completely catch her, but shielding her from the brunt of the impact, she gently lowered her to the ground. "Luke! Jack! Help! Help me!" She yelled, frantically searching the celebrating partygoers around them for the two boys.

Not getting a response or reaction, she pulled Maddie out of the way, leaving her next to a hay bale. "I'll be right back. Hold on." She whispered to the still unconscious girl.

Running back to the fight, she found Luke where she'd spotted him minutes earlier. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him toward the fire. "Maddie's hurt. You have to come, now!"

"What are you talking about?" He was reluctant to believe her. "Where is she?"

"I left her over there." Grace pointed in the direction they were heading, seeing the bale in the distance. "She needs to get to the hospital, but if I call 911 they'll send police, too and everyone will be in trouble."

Luke's strides quickened, but when they got to where Maddie should have been, the spot was empty.

"Is this a joke?" Luke crossed his arms and furrowed his brows.

Grace's breathing accelerated, almost to the point of hyperventilating.

"No. No! She was right here. She was bleeding. You have to believe me. Maddie! Maddie, where are you?" She spun around, calling out to the girl, but getting no response.

There was no response to her cries, but another commotion replaced the previous exuberant atmosphere. Another group had assembled around the fire, and Grace could partially hear their exchange.

"Holy shit!" Exclaimed a boy who looked like the same football player type Maddie had thrown grapes at earlier. Around him, several girls began to cry as they looked toward something on the ground. "I just saw him," one wailed. "He was my ride home," another added.

Others had begun gathering around, and Grace stumbled nearby to get a better look. Another boy had just said "we have to call the cops, man," when Grace saw a pair of sneakers.

Actually, she saw the soles of the sneakers. They were on the feet of a boy, lying flat on his back on the ground. He was motionless, and from the escalating crying around him, things weren't looking good.

What in the world was going on? First Maddie, now some other guy? Had they all lost their minds?

That's when all hell broke loose.

Sparks flew out of the bonfire, as something large landed in the middle of the burning logs. Crackling as they ascended, the tiny particles made the air smell like soot, and Grace began to cough. A tall, lanky girl nearly ran into her, making her stumble backwards. She regained her balance just as the pyre exploded into a huge fireball.

For a moment afterwards, there was complete silence. The students were all either too surprised or disoriented to react. After a few seconds, however, the calmness disappeared, and everyone began to scream.

Grace had never seen anything like it before. She could only compare the scene to a herd of cattle, stampeding from a sudden fright. But these were kids, not cattle. The fear in their eyes ripped at her insides, making her want to throw up.

And then it happened.

At first, Grace wasn't even sure she could trust her own eyes. She must have been imagining it. Surely, it couldn't have been real.

But when the second student suddenly disappeared from view – as if drawn backwards by an invisible force – she knew something even worse was happening. The commotion around her became a blur – of kids running toward their cars, some trampling each other, others helping their friends along. Screams mixed with cries, as burned and bloodied teens stumbled or crawled along.

A pudgy boy sat cross-legged on a hay bale, rocking back and forth in terror, when two hands reached around his neck from behind and pulled him backwards. A few seconds later, Maddie – with her familiar blonde tresses and wide smile – emerged from the same spot.

Clearly uninjured, she calmly walked toward Grace, joined by Luke and Jack who'd also stepped out of the chaos. Both had blood on their hands.

"What did you get me into?" Grace screamed at the trio.

Maddie smiled and crossed her arms. "What do you mean, darling? We didn't get you into anything."

"Of course you did!" Grace exclaimed through gritted teeth. "You came to me in the cafeteria. You brought me here tonight. It's all your fault."

Jack laughed. "Silly girl. Haven't you connected the dots yet?"

Grace began backing away and shook her head.

Luke took a step towards her and extended his hand. "You're just like us, Grace. Ignored, snubbed, disregarded, even. Why do you think that is?"

"Because I'm new, I guess." she answered, her voice quivering with fear.

"Wrong." Jack interrupted. "It's because you're an outcast. It's because you're dead."

"Yup." Maddie nodded. "Dead. D-E-A-D. Dead. Making sense now?"

Grace's eyes widened. Continuing to back away from the advancing trio, her foot caught on something and she fell to the ground. "No. That's impossible."

"It's very possible, I'm afraid." Luke continued. "Why else do you think your family moved here? Easy. A family tragedy spurred them to pick up their roots and move as far as they could to forget their pain. You're the tragedy, Grace."

"Just like we were ten years ago." Luke took up the explanation again. "I'm sure you heard about us. Car accident, fiery inferno, yada-yada-yada. But instead of mourning us, the locals spin crazy tales and come up with draconian restrictions on their kids. It's quite amusing, actually. And by amusing, I mean ironic."

Grace was left speechless. Sitting on the cold, hard ground, she could no longer make sense of what was real and what wasn't. The lawbreaking teens of Gallatin were either gone or dead, their lifeless bodies scattered around the now dying fire.

Holding his hand out to her again, Luke winked. "We're all you've got, kiddo."

***The End***