The cobblestone path that led to the graveyard was worn with age, the once rough stones now smooth. The sting of mid-winter clung to the air, making the bare skeleton trees quiver. Fog drifted slowly along the ground, and a light gray haze played tricks with the eerie glow of the streetlights that lined the sidewalk. Scarlet stood on this cobblestone path, her black cloak masking her pale, round face in shadow. She stared at the Red Moon that hung in the night sky, her dark brown eyes narrowed with concentration. The jeweled rings on the fingers of her right hand sparkled as she reached up to push the hood of her cloak aside. It had been a year to the day that she had last been to this graveyard - a year to the day since the previous Halloween night, when she had spoken to the dead and become one with the spirit realm. She fiddled with the talisman that hung from around her neck and looked around before proceeding further into the ancient graveyard. Scarlet came to a chipped tombstone and knelt before it. Crossing herself three times, she reached into the pocket on the inside of her cloak and pulled out a small bag of salt. Scarlet began to trace a pentagram with the salt, afterward closing her eyes and saying a small prayer to the Dark Gods she served. "This night has special meaning," she whispered, more to herself than anything. "This night is sacred, it is worshiped. Tonight is the night when the dead walk and the spirits play...and tonight...is the night when I release myself from this...human prison." Her upper lip curled in a snarl. "Pitiful," she spat. "Worthless, despicable human scum." She stared down at her clothing. "Look at what I've limited myself to...all this time...born mortal, die mortal, is the way it has always been. Oh no...but not tonight..." The ground beneath her knees began to stir, rolling and bubbling like a boiling sea. Scarlet backed up slightly, watching with anticipation and delight as the ground moved. "Yesss...come to life...tonight is the night of union, tonight is the night of death and rebirth! Wake...wake, and in my blood find sanctuary." A boned hand ruptured from the earth, grabbing Scarlet's leg and pulling her down. She screamed, but was given no leave. Down into the earth the boned hand pulled her, until she was to her neck in the rotted, sacred soil. "Hold on, hold on..." Jonathan stared at Nathaniel, his arms crossed in front of his chest. His skeleton make-up was smeared and his beady black eyes glittered in the streetlights. The mess of blonde hair atop his head was matted with sweat. "Let me get this straight," Jonathan said. "So this girl goes to the graveyard...that one right over there" - and he pointed to the old cemetery - "and poof, she gets sucked into the ground and was never heard from again?" "That's what my dad told me," Nathaniel replied, nodding. "Said her name was Scarlet and that she started summoning spirits and stuff, and then she just like, disappeared." "You don't really believe that, do you?" Nathaniel blushed underneath his clown make-up. "Nah, not really. Just a stupid story." Suddenly, Nathaniel's eyes widened as he stared at the entrance of the cemetery. "Look...Jon, look!" Jonathan turned around and saw a cloaked figure enter the cemetery. The two boys stared at the figure in wonder. The figure turned to them, and from under the hood of the cloak, a pale, dark-eyed girl stared back. She gave a small, knowing smile, and disappeared into the fog of night. HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!