"No, no. About the sharpshooter."

"SWAT showed up at the cemetery?"

"That's what it sounds like. According to Bret, it sounds like maybe a dozen or so kids got grabbed off the streets tonight and taken to the graveyard. A couple of older gals, too. Bret sounded like they were his good buddies, but I'd never heard of them."

"Shannon and Laura?"

"That's it. Yeah. You've heard of them?"

"Not before tonight. That's their house right there."

"Oh. Well. Maybe that explains the bodies."

"What the hell was going on?" Jeff asked.

Again, Sue shrugged. "Apparently, a bunch of nutjobs were planning to sacrifice the kids and everyone in some sort of midnight ritual."

"Like... Satanists or something?"

"Something. I don't know. Bret didn't seem to know, either."

"Holy shit," Jeff muttered again.

"Or unholy shit, as the case may be."

He almost smiled. "But everything's okay now? Except for Mandy's arm?"

"Some other kid got hurt pretty seriously, I guess. I don't know. It sounded like all sorts of crap hit the fan. But yeah, it's okay now. Cavalry arrived. Ambulances. The whole nine yards."

"Let's go see the kids," Jeff said.

"Good plan."

Holding hands, they walked down the driveway.

Sue turned her head. "So how did the trick or treating go?"

"Great. Up to a point."

"Next year, it's all of us or none of us."

"All of us."

"I should've gone with you tonight," Sue said. "If I'd been along, none of this would've happened."

Jeff chuckled. "Probably not."

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR.

They crept closer to the lights, then ducked behind a large marble tombstone and peered around its sides.

"What do you think happened?" Al asked.

Whitney turned around and sat down, her back against the slab. "The cops showed up, that's what."

Al sat down beside her, leaned back and stretched out his legs. "Guess we lucked out," he said.

"You can say that again."

"Guess we lucked out."

Whitney nudged him with her elbow.

He laughed softly.

"Dope," she said.

"Don't call we a dope. I'm the one figured we oughta stay away. I knew there was gonna be trouble."

"Only you wanted to come back and warn 'em. Talk about bonehead moves. Like they woulda thanked us for letting that bitch get away."

"You think she's the one called the cops?"

"What do you think?"

"Maybe her boyfriend called 'em."

"Nah," Whitney said. "Nobody gets away from Eleanor. It was that bitch we went after."

Al sighed. "Guess no ceremony tonight."

"I figure it's bullshit anyway."

"Yeah, me too," Al said. "I'm gonna miss it, though. I mean, shit, what a rush, you know what I mean?"

"Just a glorified orgy."

"But all that blood," Al reminded her.

"Yeah. The blood."

"Nailing all those kids."

"Yeah."

"Shit. I'm really gonna miss it."

Whitney raised her hand in front of her face and pushed a button to activate her wristwatch light. "Still a couple of hours till midnight."

"So?"

"Plenty of time. Let's haul ass outa here, grab a couple of kids and have our own ceremony. Who needs the rest of 'em?"

Al looked at her. "You serious?"

She reached over and patted his thigh. "Hell yes."

"What're we waiting for?"

Hunched over, the two robed figures rushed away from the tombstone and ran into the trees and the dark Halloween night.

And they all lived happily ever after.

end.