There had been a perfect storm of circumstances that had led the vampire, the gangster, and the witch to find themselves lost on this unlit wooded road, engulfed by the gray fog. First of all, Halloween was kind enough to fall on a Friday this year. The second happened three weeks ago, when Josh, the vampire, received his seventeenth birthday present: a brand new Ford Explorer. And ultimately, it was the scantily clad witch, Katie, who invited Josh – and because he was also in the room at the time, Connor – to her cousin's party, forty minutes away, at Wardale. It was far, but the trip was almost a straight trip through the woods on Buckley Highway, with a free cup promised to anyone in costume. What high school student could say no? Google Maps made it look easy and Connor ran home to make a costume. The costume was questionable: sweatpants, a black Raiders jersey, and a bandana tied around his head. Then again, a kid who was on a ten-cent lunch plan at school and whose house perpetually smelled of piss, mold, and smoke could not be expected to go to town and get overcharged at one of those seasonal Halloween stores. He had already prepared endlessly, what are you supposed to be? investigations that would bombard him once he arrived at the party. Although at the moment the most appropriate wording would be if they reached the party. As they turned onto the snake-like Buckley Highway, the Explorer was engulfed in the mouth of a vast fog that Google Maps had neglected to mention. Connor stared out the window at the swirling gray river, briefly imagining that the truck was a spaceship speeding through the belly of a vast wormhole. He thought the whole scene was cool: the dark road with no sign of a house...... middle of paper ...... in the rearview mirror: two crazy eyes separated by a twisted, throbbing blue streak . “Come drive and tell me how much fun you’re having right now.” "Dude, I don't even have my Li-" "So shut up! Maybe you should start thinking about the future instead of now so you don't end up piss poor like your fucking alcoholic , your turkey neck, your pushover, your piece of shit, your dad who takes pills!” Josh's cold eyes held their homicidal gaze in the rear view, daring a retort. Connor kept his eyes out the window, grateful that the darkness could hide the tears that were beginning to swell. Just before the Explorer resumed its exploration in the darkness, Josh added, "And you're lucky I don't throw you out here and make you walk, you smell like dog shit." That's when the back door opened and Connor mumbled something. When it closed a second later, Connor was gone..