1. What Happens After Dark
The night outside was cold, and the clouds covered the sky in a way only the October air knew how. Shivers went down my spine as my coat flapped in the wind and my honey-colored hair flew in my face. The gun felt heavy in my hands.
“Come on, Silas.” Mike snickered into my ear. “Are you too much of a coward to join us?”
He gestured to the rest of our friends with a wild wave. He pressed his palm flat against my back, hoping to coerce me to go along with their plan. Halloween was tonight, and children had just begun to trickle onto the streets in masks and capes. Tonight was the night we were supposed to plan our epic prank, but now, it no longer felt like a prank.
“Where did you say you got this again?” I asked hesitantly.
“Dude, my dad’s an actor, remember. We get cool props like this all the time,” Troy laughed as he joined Mike. “I just stole this from his closet, and he didn’t even notice.”
Braden high-fived him.“That’s wicked cool, man.” He smirked. I turned the gun around in my hands one more time.
“It’s not real... right?”
“Bro, if it was real, do you think I’d be handing it to you?” Mike’s expression shifted into irritation. He snatched the gun back from me in a swift motion, not concerned at all by the weight of it. “So, are you coming or not?”
The street light outside felt too bright for a conversation like this. The autumn leaves fell to the ground, and the breeze carried the scent of something old and musty. All the guys were staring at me now, waiting intently for my answer. For a minute, no one moved.
“Come on, man. Just come with. You don’t have to make it weird,” Darren finally spoke up. For years, we had known him as the “quiet one,” but it seemed that tonight he had finally found his voice.
“Fine,” I whispered. “I’m down.”
