Page 27 of The Girl on Hallow's Eve

He heads past her and Mindy grabs at his jacket, but he shakes her off. She can’t be responsible for them. She has to let them go. As the guys run back in the direction she came and the girls trail curiously after, Mindy runs.

Cory nudges Brandon beside him and laughs.

“The girls are following us,” he says under his breath. “They want to see us catch a monster.”

Brandon laughs. “Maybe it’ll be empty back there and we can chase them around a bit.”

Austin on the other side of him rolls his eyes and shakes his head at his friends. “You two are dogs.”

“You know you’re thinking the same thing,” Cory says and Austin shrugs, making all three of them laugh.

They go around the corner to the atrium and Cory holds out his arms to his sides, spinning around in the dancing lights.

“Alright, villain. I’m here. Come down and face a real man.”

He chuckles and looks around. A few other people who must have overheard the conversation with Mindy or seen her running have wandered into the atrium and are looking around, some laughing, some just curious. It has to be a Halloween joke. They aren’t sure of the point of it, but it has to be something good.

“She’s still back there screaming,” one of them says. “I heard her when I was heading into Moments.”

One of the girls beside her laughs. “Sounds about right.”

The first pretends to be offended by the not-so-subtle implication. “I was looking for a bra.”

“Mmm-hmmm.”

They join the others collecting in the atrium, some starting to dance.

“Maybe that was it?” Brandon says. “She just got all made up like that to run around and see if she could freak people out?” He sounds disappointed.

“No,” a girl from the crowd, Vicky, says. “No, I know Mindy. She doesn’t just do things like this. Something’s going on.”

“Oh,” Cory says, a smile stretching across his face. “Maybe you’re in on it, too. Are you going to start spurting blood?”

“I’m serious,” Vicky presses. “This isn’t like her. And where’s Gloria? They’re always together.”

“A part of it, too,” Brandon offers. “Probably hiding around here somewhere ready to jump out and scare us.”

Even as he says it, those in the growing crowd who know her feel uneasiness starting to settle in. It was easy to think of the girl running through the mall telling everyone there’s a killer as a joke. A sick joke, but it’s nearly Halloween after all. That’s the whole point. And the popular kids are used to having control and making people do things they want them to do. It’s not exactly unheard of for them to do things just to make people look and feel stupid. It’s usually the guys of the group, Peter and Grant and Zeke. Guys who crave attention and love when people are talking about them. But that doesn’t mean the girls can’t get in on it, too.

But not Mindy. It’s never been Mindy. It’s easy to see this as a joke. But not for it to involve her. Something feels off.

“I’m waiting for the ghoul,” Cory says. “I’m calling you out, buddy! Come out on here and show me what you’ve got.”

He laughs. Some of the crowd joins him. Others start to pull closer together, feeling the same strange energy that’s starting to filter through them. The pulsing music and spinning lights suddenly feel dizzying and uncomfortable. Above the loud song thudding in their temples, some think they can still hear Mindy’s screams.

“Cory,” Austin says, his voice no longer holding any laughter.

“What’s going on here?” another group says as they join them.

“There’s a dead body!” someone shouts, rushing into the atrium before anyone can answer the last question. “There’s a body in the food court!”

“Cory,” Austin says again, louder this time.

“Here we go!” Cory says, tossing his head back to laugh. “So, now we’re supposed to go to the food court? Is this some sort of scavenger hunt?”

“I don’t think that’s what’s going on,” Vicky says. “I’m telling you, there’s something wrong.”

“Then why are you here? If you’re so scared, why did you come here?”

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