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"No! I'm telling you, don't!" Alicia angrily presses the end call button on her cellphone's screen. "Bastard." She slams the phone on her bedside table so hard she panics a little in fear that it will break. Darn that Nathan.

The guy's one of her many boring exes. Now he's been endlessly pestering her with calls after their break up a week ago, enraged that Alicia decided to suddenly end their three-month-long relationship. So what? So she broke his heart. So he's crying his eyes out and not getting why she broke up with him. Again, so what? Alicia is young, smart, rich, and beautiful. And she knows that. She also knows that she can get any man or woman she desires. And she can damn well break up with one when she wants to the moment she gets tired of them. She's done with Nathan. It's over. Period.

Another ring.

"Fuck off." She doesn't even pick up her phone and ignores the call. There is no way she's letting her ex ruin her night. Sitting in front of her vanity mirror, she finishes doing her makeup. Just a tint more of dark red lipstick and some more blush. Then, she wore her tight, red tube dress. Perfect. She looks as beautiful and hot as always.

Suddenly, the light of her room flickers and, in a quick moment, she sees a masked man appear in the mirror's reflection, standing a few feet behind her, dressed in all black with a white expressionless mask on his face. His hair is short and white, his skin wrinkled.

Creeped out, Alicia rotates on her chair to look at the man behind her, but she doesn't see him. And although her heart skips a bit due to slight fright, she shakes her head and thinks that it must just be her imagination. Her room is locked. Nobody but her is in it.

Another ring cuts into the silence of her room, making her jump in surprise. Nathan. She swears, gets her phone to check who it is, and turns it off.

This time it's her doorbell that rings. Done with her ex's antics and now furious, Alicia storms toward her front door and opens it. "Fuck you, Nathan! I told you not to come here!"

"Whoa, she swears." A man around six feet tall and wearing a white shirt and worn levis is standing in front of her. Brown hair. Freckles. And a cute gummy smile. "I'm sorry I'm not Nathan."

"Freddie!" She almost hugs him in relief. Alicia met the man two days ago, helped her with her heavy groceries. She instantly liked him and, the night of that same day, they shared the bed and woke up next morning next to each other.

"I'm supposed to drive you." The man hesitates. "Are you going? I mean, you're dressed and all but you look kinda off-- Whatever. I can just go and tell the others that you're not--"

"No." Alicia shakes her head. "I'll go." She flashes him her sexy smile. "Hold on, I'll just get my bag."

The two drove to one of Freddie's friends' place in the neighboring city, the sound of their fun, loud chatter filling the space inside the car. Later, the man parks on one of the empty parts of the street near an ancient-looking mansion. The other houses, although beautiful in their own ways, are dwarfed by the enormous structure.

"Nice." Alicia gets out of the vehicle and starts walking to the mansion.

Freddie walks to her side and holds her hand."Better than yours?"

"No way."

Loud music with a Halloween theme is blasting from inside of the house, its noise mixed with the laughs and shouts of the people within.

A partygoer dressed in a white fake blood-stained dress opens the door. "Ooh, Freddie, you've got a beauty with you. Shame you're not in costumes." She extends her right hand. "Name's Claire. What's yours, sweetie?"

Alicia is about to answer when she sees the same masked man she saw before inside, standing in the middle of the crowd. Not joining the fun, no, but seems to be looking straight at her. Unmoving. Creepy. She gasps.

"Hey, you alright?" She hears Freddie ask.

She looks at him, then back at the masked man. He's no longer there. Alicia nods her head and tries to calm her frightened heart. "I'm okay." She faces Claire and shakes her hand. "Alicia. Nice to meet you."

As they enter the mansion, a couple of men and women can't help but stare and watch her, obviously taken by her beauty. Freddie puts his arm over her shoulders possessively. She smiles, liking the bold show of affection. The man shows her around the room and introduces her to some of his friends. And when they reach the dance floor, they dance as if they do not have any care for the world. Hands over her hip, over her waist, caressing her back, she leans on Freddie, enjoying every moment before she gets bored of him.

But her cell phone rings.

She ignores it, swaying her body with the rhythm of a Halloween song she doesn't know, too close to Freddie.

It rings again.

"Shit." Alicia fishes her phone from her pocket and sees that Nathan texted her twice. She should delete it, but before she could, she receives another message from him and accidentally opens it. "Together forever," it says. "Fuck you," she silently curses him. She shouldn't have turned her cell phone on. Turning it off the second time tonight, she drops it into her pocket and shares a kiss with Freddie.

Instantly, she feels the heat building up between them. They make out until they find a corner for just them two, other couples sharing their own passionate moment all over the room. Alicia catches the bottom of Freddie's shirt and places her hands beneath it, stroking his well-toned abs. The man's hands are all over her body.

Her eyes open slightly and she sees him again -- the creepy masked man. She's seen enough horror movies to know that seeing a weirdo in a mask isn't funny. No way the creep's friendly. And he's been following her all night. Inside her house, at the party, near her. She trembles in fear. She should tell Freddie and then call the police.

"Why, darling? Afraid?" Alice can hear Nathan's voice ring in her ears. It's coming from... Freddie lifts his head to look straight at her. Only, he's not Freddie anymore but he's Nathan, hugging her and pinning her to the wall. His eyes are hollow and dark, red blood oozing from the empty holes. He wears a sinister smile as he says, "Together forever, right?"

Alicia screams at the top of her lungs, loud enough to stop the music and for every partygoer to look at her.

Freddie is Freddie again. He fixes his shirt. "Damn, girl, what the hell is your problem? Just say no if you don't want to." He straightens his back, thinks, looks at her frowning, and then says, "I didn't know you're this weird. Shit, what a turn off." He walks away from her. "Is she crazy?" he mutters. Another beautiful girl from somewhere in the crowd touches the man's shoulder and leads him to the other end of the room.

Breathing hard, Alicia tries to calm her nerves. Darn, what is happening to her? Maybe Freddie is right. Maybe she is going crazy. She looks around the room to look for the masked man but he's gone again.

She picks up a glass of beer from the table and gulps the liquid as fast as she can.

"Slow down, sister, the alcohol ain't going nowhere." It's Claire. She's sitting at the edge of the table, smiling at her. "You made quite the scene back there."

Alicia sets the empty glass down on the table. "Yeah. I did. Don't know what came to me." She faked a laugh and then sees a familiar-looking pendant hanging on the other woman's neck -- two crows, one standing on top of the other with its wings spread wide. "I-I've seen that," she points at it.

"Oh, this Double Crow? It's from a group that I'm a member of." Claire touches the pendant with her fingers.

"Really? What kind of group?" She's calmer now. Glad to have company, maybe a new friend, on this shitty night.

"We practice witchcraft."

"Witchcraft?" In this day and age? Alicia cannot contain the surprise in her voice.

Claire doesn't seem offended, obviously used to Alicia's reaction. "It's pretty weird for others, I guess. But there's really more to it if you'll just give it a try. Where'd you see this symbol, anyway? If it's from someone else I may know them. Our group's pretty small."

"Ugh." Alicia picks up another glass of beer. "My ex, Nathan."

Claire's eyes suddenly widen, and her smile leaves her face. "Nathan Dark?"

"Yeah."

One of her hands clasps her gaping mouth. "Oh. I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be. We broke up a week ago--"

"You don't know." The woman's sad eyes pierce hers. "Nathan is gone. Found dead in his apartment this morning."

"What?" Without taking a sip, Alicia puts the beer back on the table. No way! He was just calling her. And texting her. "T-that can't be true. We were just... we're just--"

"Look. I know he's just an ex, but I know this surprised you, especially since his cause of death was to curse someone. The others think it's about some girl who dumped him-- Oh my gosh!" Realization and fear appear in her eyes as she stares at Alicia.

But Alicia had enough of it. Nathan died this morning so that he could curse someone? And his ghost had been calling and texting her? What a load of bullshit. She turns away from Claire. She knows what's going on. Nathan sent Claire to the party to spook her. Happy Halloween, fucker. She starts walking away but the other woman stops her.

"Wait." Her voice is quivering. "The curse he did. He gouged out his eyes for a special offering. One for himself. The other is for the one who broke his heart. Two crows should've gone down to eat them. Then, three times the death reaper of hell should've shown himself, and on the fourth time--"

Alicia's heartbeat quickened in fear. The face of Nathan she saw earlier had hollowed eyes. And she's been seeing a weird masked man. How many times? Fuck, three. Could it be? It sounds crazy, but what if... "Is the death reaper a masked man?" she asks, voice suddenly becoming tiny.

"Y-yes."

She clenches the hem of her dress. "Tell me more about the curse." It wouldn't hurt knowing a little. Heck, maybe it is important to know.

But Claire is not Claire anymore. Her body still is but her head is that of Nathan's. Eyes hollow and mouth smiling. "Together forever," he says. Behind him is the masked man, one wrinkled hand reaching for his mask and taking it off, revealing a pale face that looks like it had been drenched in acid, eyes red, mouth showing sharp teeth, and a pair of sharp horns on his forehead. He's a demon. Alicia doesn't know what a demon looks like but she just knows that he is. He's not human. He's the demon death reaper. Alicia tries to run but the demon's hands are already around her feet and the last words she hears before she's taken is from Nathan saying, "Together forever... in hell."