"How interesting," Coran hummed. "And you do this every year?" he asked the blue and green paladins.

"Heck yes! It's one of the funniest days of the year!" Lance cheered. Pidge nodded in agreement holding up her phone where she was showing the current date on Earth to Coran. October 30th, tomorrow would be Halloween.

"Perhaps we can find something to carve tomorrow to make these jackel lanterns," Coran stated with excitement.

"Jack-o-lanterns," Lance and Pidge corrected at the same time.

"Yes, those!" he said without missing a beat. The two smiled at the Altean, excited for what the man might whip up for them in the morning. They were about to explain the concept of haunted houses to the man when the alarm started blaring and Allura's voice instructing them to meet on the bridge. As they walked in Allura turned to them, a beacon on the holoscreen blinking red behind her.

"We've received a distress signal from a nearby planet," she announced. "It appears to have been activated a few quintents ago,"

"Do we know anything about this planet Princess?" Shiro asked looking at the map. She pulled up a different screen that was relaying information in Altean.

"According to our scanners, the planet seems to be full of lush vegetation," she answered turning back to the leader.

"What about where the beacon is coming from?" Pidge asked walking up beside Allura. She smiled at the girl and pushed the screen to her level pointing at the spot on the map.

"It seems to be coming from the middle of the planet's city, we will most likely meet the leaders here," she answered. "Everyone get into your paladin armour and meet back here as quickly as you can,"

Everyone nodded and shot out the door. Keith and Lance pushing each other as they bolted down the hallway to their rooms. Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge laughed at their antics lagging behind slightly. Allura and Coran watched them go with a smile before turning back to their work and watching the planet come closer into view.

______________________________________________________

Luckily enough they were able to land the massive Castle ship a short distance away from where the beacon was coming from. After ensuring that there wasn't any Galra waiting to ambush them, they decided that there was no need to fly the lions to the city. Instead, they climbed on their speeders and flew down towards the planet's surface and towards the centre of the city.

"Where is everyone?" Hunk asked nervously looking around at the empty streets around them.

"Maybe, they're all with the beacon?" Keith suggested. "It would be in the safest spot on the planet," he reasoned. Although Hunk looked like he barely believes the theory, he nodded his head and focused on the road in front of him trying not to let the deafening silence get to him too much.

"I can't believe I'm gonna say this but... Keith is probably right," Lance admitted cruising his speeder beside Hunk's. "Don't let it bother you too much, there'll be crowds of aliens screaming our names," he said with a cocky grin. Hunk let a small smile slip across his face and allowed himself to think of the people they were about to help.

"We're here," Shiro stated after driving for a couple of minutes. They looked dubiously at the building they were standing before. It didn't look big enough to house the entire city like they hoped instead, it only looked to be a small city hall. Allura took the lead and confidently walked up the stairs and into the lobby. Just like the streets before, it was completely abandoned without a trace of life.

"Hello?!" She called out hoping for an answer. "We've received your distress signal, we're here to help!" They continued forward checking every door they pass, searching for any sign of movement. Their careful footsteps were the only thing that disturbed the silence of the building. They could see the doorway at the end of the hallway, unlike the others it was open a crack, immediately creating a sense of unease.

"Lance, cover the door," Shiro hissed. Lance nodded and carefully took aim as they crept forward as a group. Shiro placed his hand on the door and looked back to Lance, who gave him a solid nod before focusing back on the door.

"1, 2, 3," Shiro whispered and slammed the door open, leaping back out of Lance's way. He quickly entered the doorway and scanned the room.

"Clear," he breathed out, lowering his gun. His heart was hammering in his chest and he looked back at his teammates with visible relief. They filed in and wandered around the room; Pidge immediately went to the computer which still had the beacon symbol flashing on the screen. With a few clicks of the keyboard, she had it shut off and it was returned to its main screen.

"Can you figure out where the inhabitants of this planet may have gone?" Allura asked leaning on the desk beside Pidge.

"I might be able to, hang on a second," Pidge muttered already lost in thought. Allura nodded and turned her attention to the other four paladins. They seemed to be scanning through some of the papers that were attached to the walls, but she could see the uneasiness that was piling on their shoulders.

"Are you all right paladins?" She asked drawing their attention away from the fliers. They looked at her with what she could only describe as disbelief.

"Are you serious Allura?" Hunk asked with a shutter. "Doesn't this place give you the creeps?" She raised a brow in confusion and shook her head.

"Well, it gives me the creeps!" Lance exclaimed hanging onto Hunk's arm. Allura gave an amused quirk of her lips and turned back to the computer.

"Got it!" Pidge said with a smile. "It looks like the inhabitants evacuated only a couple vargas after they first sent out the distress signal,"

"That's strange, why wouldn't they wait for a rescue?" Keith asked crossing his arms.

"Yeah, it doesn't even look like anything happened," Lance added.

"Who cares? Now we can get out of this creepy place," Hunk said gesturing to the door. The others looked at him, then over to Shiro in question who only shrugged his shoulders.

"There isn't much we can do if they already evacuated," he reasoned. "Let's head back to the Castle," There were many sighs of relief from the team as they left the room, silently shutting it behind them and down the hallway. Although the quiet of the streets was the same as before, they took comfort in the fact that they would not be returning anytime soon.

"Coran, we're approaching the ship," Allura said into the coms.

"Yes, Princess," Coran replied. He turned to the screen and opened the hatch for the speeders. After they were all safely inside he issued the closing command and turned away to begin the journey to the hangers to meet with the others. He didn't notice the strange orange creature that slunk in after them.

______________________________________________________

After the mission debriefs, several vargas of training and dinner, the paladins were dismissed for the night.

"Man, I'm beat," Lance yawned as they headed towards their rooms. He stretched his arms above his head and let out a groan when his spine cracked.

"Bro, same," Hunk grunted giving him a fist bump. Soon enough they were all comfortably laying in their beds and falling asleep.

"Good-night Coran," Allura waved as she sleepily closed her bedroom door.

"Sleep well, Princess," He said fondly. He turned from where he escorted the Princess and walked down the hall towards his own bedroom. He let out a tired sigh as he sat down on his bed. With a happy groan, he laid back on the mattress and closed his eyes, and fell into blackness.

He didn't see the creature slink into his room from the vents.

He didn't see it crawl onto his bed.

He didn't see it loom over his head.

He was lucky when he didn't feel his life come to an end.

______________________________________________________

"Man, I got so much sleep last night!" Hunk said cheerfully leaning back in his chair at the kitchen table. Keith, Shiro, and Allura walked over plates of food goo in their hands.

"I know! Isn't it great!" Lance replied shoveling a spoonful of food goo in his mouth. For the first time in a while, he was able to get a full night's rest and was feeling the positive effects of it. They looked over when Pidge ran into the kitchen with a big smile on her face.

"Happy Halloween guys!" She cheered bringing up her calendar to show everybody.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot," Lance said snapping his fingers. He looked around the room expecting Coran to be around. He quirked a brow in confusion when the Altean was nowhere to be found.

"What's wrong Lance?" Pidge asked as she sat down in her seat.

"Where's Coran?" He asked still looking around the room as if the man would suddenly appear out of nowhere. "He was really excited to celebrate with us, not to mention he's usually up by now anyway," he scratched his head focusing on his teammates instead. Before they had time to wonder any longer the door to the kitchen slid open reveal Coran, only his was replaced by a jack-o-lantern. There was a moment of confused shock before they were out of their chairs and approaching him with grins on their faces.

"Whoa dude, is this because of what me and Pidge told you yesterday?" Lance asked with excitement. He waited for a cheery reply but only got a strange silence from the man. "Um, I know that we told you that Halloween was for scaring people but you really outdid yourself with this, it's real creepy!" He tried again, only for Coran to tilt his head towards him. He gulped when the pumpkin's eyes seemed to look right into his soul. Ignoring Lance, the group continued to admire Coran's mask and comment on it. It wasn't until Keith took a stumbling step backward after taking a look at the mouth of the pumpkin did they pull their attention away.

"Keith, what's wrong?" Shiro asked putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. He was surprised to feel that it was trembling under his palm. Keith couldn't rip his eyes away from the smiling face of the pumpkin. He lifted a shaking finger and pointed to the jack-o-lantern.

"H-he doesn't have a head," he whispered. "Its full of b-blood,"

"What?" Hunk asked turning to look at Keith in surprise. "What are you taking ab-" he was cut off by the fist that collided into his jaw and he fell to the ground in pain. He looked up at the pumpkin that was staring down at him in shock. Everyone was frozen as their once friend crouched down slowly over top of Hunk's head. He held out his hand and from it grew a large pumpkin. He brought it up over his head and bashed it down on top of his head. Hunk let out a pained yell before it was muffled by the second hit that brought it down over his face. They could only watch in shocked awe as Hunk clawed at the skin of the pumpkin and let out muted guttural screams. His body shook as black liquid bubbled and dissolved a face into the front of the pumpkin. He stilled and the head rolled to the side as blood leaked from the side of the mouth. With that Pidge let out a terrified scream. The paladins shook out of their trance and sprinted towards the door.

"Ack," Allura grunted when she suddenly hit the floor. She looked towards the door and already saw the others gone. Her eyes widened when she felt the tight grip on her ankle. She slowly looked back and felt her heart start to beat out of her chest as Hunk slowly sat up from the ground and looked at her with an impossibly wide carved . She dug her fingernails into the ground and tried crawling away from the monster but a foot smashed down on her hand. She looked up with tears rolling down her cheeks at her second father figure.

"Please no," she whispered. The face didn't change, only lifting a hand out in order to grow a second pumpkin.

______________________________________________________

Shiro and Keith sprinted around the corner determined to make it to the quarters and try and barricade themselves in until they could come up with a better plan. They could see the hallway leading to the quarters coming up and both nearly cried in relief. Their relief was short lived though, the hair on the back of their necks stood up when they heard footsteps running behind them. They didn't dare try to look behind them, knowing that it would only slow them down. But with only a single swat, Keith was thrown into the wall. He yelped when a foot started crushing into his back. He looked up to see not only Hunk leaning down his weight onto his back but also Allura eerily observing with demonic eyes and a sharp .

"Keith!" Shiro cried slipping on the floor in an effort to turn back to help. He got only a few steps before Keith yelled at him to stop. His arms fell limply to his sides in shock. He could see Coran walking slowly to them from the end of the hallway. His hands shook in fear as he tried to walk closer to the creatures.

"No!" Keith repeated looking into Shiro's eyes. He was still squirming underneath Hunk's foot and had trails of tears on his cheeks from fear. "Go, Shiro! You have to go now!" he cried.

"B-but," Shiro stuttered taking a half step forward.

"GO!" Keith screamed. Shiro stumbled back with a short sob but listened and ran the other way back towards the lounge. He tried to ignore the scream of terror that echoed down the hallway from where he left Keith. He ran through the hallways in an effort to confuse the monsters that chased him. He thought of Lance and Pidge and hoped that they found a safe place to hide. He ran through the lounge out the other door and almost ran right into Lance who was shaking like a leaf and holding onto an equally terrified Pidge like a lifeline.

"Lance, Pidge," he gasped in relief. They quickly gripped onto him in a hug which he returned shakily. Their heads popped up in alarm when they heard the first lounge doors open and several shuffling feet enter. They were approaching the second door and Shiro pushed Lance and Pidge away.

"Go to the hanger, try and escape using a pod," Shiro whispered hurriedly. They nodded without a word and ran around the corner. Shiro looked around and turned the other way they went. He choked when he came face to face with Keith's new . He screeched when he lunged at him toppling him over and crouched on top of him like some sort of cat creature. He wept when his brother's blood dripped from between carved fangs onto his face.

"I'm so sorry Keith," he whimpered in regret. Keith did nothing but stare at him in silence as Allura, Hunk, and Coran surrounded them.

"Oh God," he whispered.

______________________________________________________

"We're never going to make it to the hangers this way, they're too quick for us," Pidge stated quietly. Lance silently nodded in agreement as they ran through the hall. They stopped in their tracks when they heard footsteps approaching in front of them. They turned but heard them there too.

"They're ambushing us," Lance said in realization. He scanned the hallway and crouched down when he noticed a duct cover. "We're going to have to go through the air ducts," he explained ripping the cover off of the wall uncaring about any noise at this point. He quickly climbed in, hearing the footsteps suddenly pick up. He heard Pidge climb in after he and he started moving forward. He froze when a loud bang rattled the air duct. He looked behind him to where Pidge face planted into the metal.

"Lance help!" she shrieked trying to grip onto the smooth metal walls. He grabbed onto her hand and tried pulling her back but he was weaker than the other. He could see the Galran arm wrapped around Pidge's ankle and knew that he wasn't stronger than Shiro but he needed to try. He nearly let go at the chill that went down his spine when Shiro's peered into the vent, making direct eye contact with him. He clamped down harder and pulled as hard as he could, not willing to lose the last of his friends. Pidge looked Lance in the eye with sadness and acceptance.

"Please get out of this alive," she said solemnly. Lance's eyes widened and he looked at her in shock.

"What are you talking about?" He asked sorrowful wrinkles lining his face.

"Let go so you can escape," she said emotionlessly.

"No," Lance whimpered closing his eyes.

"Let go, Lance," she demanded. He only shook his head this time and refused to look at her.

"Fine," she mumbled. He looked at her in confusion and yelped when she slipped her hand from his and flew out of the vent. He jerked back and slammed into the metal of the vent. He made to crawl out of the duct after Pidge but stopped when he saw Hunk staring into the vent. He knew that he wouldn't fit but it didn't make it any less disturbing. He turned and scrambled down the length of the vent before he allowed himself to rest and break down. He pressed his forehead into the metal floor and let himself sob his eyes out. In only one hour, he lost a lot of the people that he cared about. Like they were nothing. He considered crawling out of the vent and letting them take him, but he remembered that Pidge had sacrificed herself for Lance to have a chance and he was going to take that chance. He crawled towards the hanger unable to stop his weeping. This time he quietly unhooks the cover and pulls himself out of the vent. The hanger was dark and he carefully crept forward between two of the escape pods.

He peeked out and almost fell to his knees when he saw a small figure just standing in the middle of the hanger looking forward.

"Pidge," he whispered silently. She was standing completely still with her bent almost vertically. She stood at the far end of the hanger near the airlock as if waiting for him to try and escape. He gulped and looked at the entrance to the hanger and decided that it was his best shot. He shot forward and sprinted towards the door. He kept staring ahead even though he could see through his peripheral vision that every time he passed a pod one of his teammates were standing there silently. He almost slammed into the door and slapped the hand reader. It beeped but didn't open for him. His heart froze in his chest and he tried again. Once again it didn't open. He lurched to the side and sat in the dark corner and curled his arms around his knees to tuck them to his chest. His shaking was beginning to become uncontrollable and his whimpers and cries were becoming louder. He could see the glow of the jack-o-lantern's faces wandering around the hanger looking for him. Involuntarily he let out a pitiful hiccup and watched in horror as each of the faces turned to look at him.

He couldn't escape them. He could only try to plead with them before he started screaming.

Too bad in space, no one can hear you scream.