"Good morning, sleepyhead," you hear your husband say as you groggily open your eyes in annoyance and see his freshly shaved face right next to yours.

"Ugh, what time is it," you groan with a yawn.

"It's 9:00 AM," Nick said, chuckling as he handed you a cup of... wine?

"Is this wine?" you ask, confused.

"Something like that," he says with a smile, "Don't worry. It will replenish those old weary bones of yours."

You were about to snap that you're only 32 years old, but you were too lazy and exhausted for that, so you just kept quiet as you take a sip of whatever concoction Nick had whipped up. It tasted... sweet. Aromatic. With a hint of fresh blackberries in the summer and dried grape leaves in the fall.

You watch as Nick stands up and opens the window blinds, letting the sunlight blast its rays all over the room... and onto you.

"Nick!" you yelp, closing your still-sleepy eyes from the intensity of the sudden light.

The bastard grinned, while still keeping away from the light. Weird, you think, but you shake the thought away as you finish your drink and lick the remaining liquid from your lips.

"You didn't forget what today is, did you?" Nick suddenly asks you, as he stands by the door.

"Hmm?" you ask genuinely as you try to shake off the remnants of sleep from your brain.

"Halloween. Today is Halloween, babydoll. Don't tell me you forgot the most important day of the year." He says, furrowing his eyebrows at you.

"Of course not, honey!" you say, shocked at his accusation, "I would never!"

But you think to yourself that was weird, as he never referred to Halloween as the most important day of the year. At least, not in the 6 years that you've known him for.

"Good, because I have a lot planned for today," he says, rubbing his hands together with a malicious look on his face, "Come on, hurry up and get dressed. We have a lot to prepare for tonight."

Once he left, you groan again, flinging yourself backwards on the bed. You hate Halloween. The costumes, the money spent for buying decorations just to impress the neighbors. The money spent on the candy for the ungrateful little shits who will steal all your candy and give you the finger.

You sigh in irritation and exhaustion, forcing yourself to get out of bed. After you showered, brushed your teeth, and dressed up in your beloved black cargo pants, combat boots, and camo hoodie, you trudge downstairs with a sudden burst of energy. Huh, maybe Nick was right, and that drink did replenish your "old and weary bones", because you feel refreshed and ready to do whatever was needed to be done.

You enter the kitchen to the sweet and aromatic smell of bacon and eggs sizzling on the stove. Your stomach grumbles in protest, and you quickly clear your throat in hopes that Nick didn't hear your complaining stomach. That hope diminished when you hear him chuckle as he plops the bacon strips and poached eggs onto a plate and sets the scrumptious looking breakfast in front of you on the table.

The bacon is still sizzling a little as you look a little bit closer at it and notice that the color of the meat was... different somehow. Perhaps it was a bit pinker than normal, but your stomach grumbles again and you decide to just eat it without asking why it looked different.

You take a nibble, and you close your eyes as you moan out loud in pleasure, the juicy crunchiness of the bacon strip melting in your mouth.

"That good, huh?" You hear Nick say. Opening your eyes, you see him leaning against the counter with his arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on his face, clearly enjoying your make-out session with the food.

"It's... delicious!" You say after swallowing the bacon. After all, you're not the type of person to talk with food in their mouth, despite your inappropriateness with food, "Did you try some new recipe or something? Or is this some sort of different meat?"

"A bit of both," Nick answers, pushing himself upright with his leg, "Nothing makes me happier than watching you being satisfied."

You immediately feel your face heat up at his last words, knowing full well that part is true in every aspect of your relationship.

"But you should hurry up. We have a lot of work to do," he adds as he begins to walk towards the front door, "Meet me outside once you finish making out with that bacon."

He smirks again at the last part, and you glare at him before he walks out the door.

You've never seen him this eager to be celebrating Halloween, but the scrumptious bacon quickly pushes away those worries as you finish eating your food and proceed to meet him outside.

A blast of chilly air hits your face as you open the front door, causing you to gasp a little at sudden change. Typically, at this time of the year, it's warm outside with temperatures ranging from 70s Fahrenheit to mid 80s. Yet not only did it feel like it was 45 Fahrenheit, but there was also a light breeze, and the previously cheery sun was covered with dark and gloomy clouds that stretched as far as you could see. You're not able to spot a single spot of blue sky.

After rushing back inside to put on your hoodie, you wrap your arms around you in an attempt to warm yourself as you trudge down the path and approach Nick, whose back was turned towards you. You see that he's talking to a couple already dressed for Halloween as vampires. They were laughing with your husband, and you noticed that he leaned down as if to smell their hands.

However, as you walk closer, they immediately leave and don't glance back. Nick turns towards you, and you are startled by the dark red stains on his face and the realistic looking heart that he is holding in his hands, the red liquid dripping from between his fingers.

The sweet, metallic smell hits your nostrils once you're 3 feet away from him. You think that's oddly strange, since to your knowledge, fake blood doesn't carry the coppery smell. Fear starts to consume your mind.

"Nick?" You ask, unable to hide the hint of dread in your voice, "What are you holding? Please tell me that it is fake."

But instead of him trying to deny it or anything, he smiles at you. His grin grows wider, exposing his blood-stained teeth. At this point, you were ninety percent sure that it was real blood. There's still a tiny part of you that hopes this is all just a prank of some sort.

"Fake? Babydoll, nothing is fake around here," he says, taking a step towards you. You instinctively take a step backwards. "I thought you were aware of our ways of life?"

"What? What ways? Nick, please, stop. This isn't funny anymore," you say. By now, you're terrified as you continue to walk backwards, with him following after you.

"Come on, babydoll. Don't play dumb," he chuckles in amusement, "After all, you really did enjoy your breakfast this morning."

At that, you suddenly stop, and so does he. He smiles at you as you slowly realize the horrifying truth. The odd color of the bacon. The extra juiciness. That red "wine".

You abruptly vomit the contents of your stomach onto the path, gasping as you struggle to breathe. Panic takes over your mind as you again heave out the remains of your breakfast. You finally stand upright and notice that the daylight had faded, and the entire neighborhood was lit up by the bright moon that shone through the chilly air.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Mr. Huyng, your neighbor who sometimes watches your house when you and Nick went away on vacation. You were about to shout out to him for help, but instead you watch in horror as his body ripped his clothes and hair sprouted all over his enlarged naked body, his head changing into a wolf's. He throws his head back and howls at the full moon, and your blood runs cold as you hear not one, not two, but an entire chorus of howls from all around you.

You return your attention to Nick, who has been watching your reactions with keen interest. Suddenly, you hear the front gate slam against the fence that surrounded your yard, and you notice the vampire couple from earlier saunter inside like they owned the place.

"Have you fattened her up?" The male vampire shouts at Nick, who looks at you not with keen interest... No, his look is that of hunger.

"Oh, you better believe it," Nick replies with a grin, and this time you almost scream in horror as you notice that his teeth have been replaced with shark-like fangs, "Oh come on, don't be scared. I'm your husband," he juts out his lower lip like you just hurt his feelings.

"You're not my husband," you say, as you calculate your next move. The front door is 5 feet behind you, but for you to rush inside, you would have to leave your back exposed. Plus, the house isn't exactly a fortress. The gate is 40 feet away, but your car is parked right there and as luck would have it, you have the car keys in your pocket. You think that the car must still work, even in this place that you have no idea how you ended up in. But there is an obstacle, and that was the vampire couple that blocked the gate.

"You're right. I'm not your husband," Nick's voice cuts through your thoughts, "Your real husband is in your Earth dimension, where you are currently missing for... 69 days," he chuckles in amusement.

You suddenly stop breathing as you attempt to process his words. Missing... 69 days... Dimension...

"And now, you're going to be our food," he says in a demonic growl as he swiftly lunges towards you and bites down on your arm.

You scream, the sound piercing through the moonlit dark night. You hear the vampires snarl as the sweet scent of your blood reaches them. You manage to break free from "Nick's" bite hold on your arm and you bolt towards the front door. As you run inside and slam the door close, you press your back against it as you breathe heavily, the sharp burning pain on your arm feeling like someone was stabbing it over and over again. Your legs tremble and threaten to give way as what felt like several "people" banged at the door.

"You think you can just escape me?"

You suddenly hear someone say that in front of you and as if on command, the bangings ceased. You attempt to locate the owner of that voice, but all you can see is pitch-black darkness. A deep rumbling laugh echoes throughout the house. You attempt to force out a scream, but no sound escapes your mouth.

"Happy Halloween, babydoll."

I'm proud to say that this story has been picked by the AmbassadorsUS profile for the Halloween Vault 2023