Friday is Slasher Movie Night

Chiara was getting super excited about the coming evening. It was a bit early to be holding a Halloween Party, but most of the children would be busy trick-or-treating on the actual night. And none of the parents had complained that she wanted to entertain their children the weekend before the big night. So this Friday night she'd be surrounded by a dozen kids, filling them up with sugar, soft drinks and scary stories. It wouldn't be easy, she'd probably wonder why she'd wanted to do it before the night was halfway through but the lure of Halloween just had been too great. Plus she'd decorated her house so abundantly this year that it would be sad to not have people visit. 
And she wouldn't be alone. Her best friend Corey would be there to help her coral the kids and this other young man from school would be helping with the night walk of courage. Well, more like evening walk with lots of giggles. She'd been delighted to have found just the right type of gloomy. She'd had to beg and nearly stalk the guy, Chris, but in the end he'd caved and she hadn't even have to promise to pay him much. Once she'd told him where she lived he'd come around quite easily. A lot of people were interested in her house after all. 
The doorbell rang and Chiara hastily dropped the little starch dumpling bunnies that would bleed red syrup when bitten and hurried to the door to invite the first child inside. She was just about finished. So far so good.

~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~

Corey tried to ignore the ruckus and reached deep to find some measure of calm to keep from screaming. He smiled broadly and turned to the small boy that was tugging at his pants. His very expensive designer pants. With fingers that were probably sticky. And maybe dirtied with stuff that wouldn't come out in the wash.
"Yes dear?" he asked, "Do you need anything?"
"Jonah got sick." the boy said and pointed.
"Of course." Corey sighed and wondered why he was here on a Friday night. Ah yes. He didn't have a boyfriend and his best friend was crazy and should be institutionalised. But he loved her. Not to mention that she'd owe him. Owe him big. So Corey sucked it up and went to find a mop to clean up the mess while the offending child seemed to be perfectly fine and was already gorging on the soft candy. No wonder he'd thrown up.
"I'll be taking that or you'll have to barf again." Corey said pointedly and put the bowl of candy on the top shelf of a closet. The boy gave him a dirty look but luckily Chiara chose that moment to dim the lights and start with the scary stories. None of these children would sleep a wink tonight. Though Chiara had told him they'd all be out like lights when they'd finally hit their beds, Corey had a hard time believing they would. At least the parents would come pick up their children at 10pm so he wouldn't have to actually experience which one of them would be right.

~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~

Chris lounged against the cold wall of the storm shelter. He could hardly believe he was here. Normally Friday evenings were for quiet reading or maybe visiting a graveyard. He'd always liked their quiet, stately air. So the storm shelter wasn't all that bad. It was certainly better than being in the house with a dozen wild children. Even if they were telling ghost stories, a pastime he quite enjoyed. 
He took a deep breath and wondered if he had time to look around for a bit. Chiara's house had been built on a place that had been used for rituals in the distant past. There were quite a few rumours about it having been an old Indian burial ground but those were just urban legends. As far as he'd been able to gather, this land stood on top of leylines and it was one of those places where the light of the solstice sunrises and sunsets pointed in a straight line toward cosmic convergence. Interesting, but hardly scary. Since no-one had actually seen ghosts or none of the owners of the house had died mysterious deaths, no-one was actually scared to come here. But Chris was very interested and had read up on the place. He was certain he'd be able to find the right place. If only he could sneak away and look for it. 
He checked his watch and saw that the kids would leave in less than half an hour. He'd wander around for fifteen minutes and then scramble back to scare the kids as he'd been instructed. Maybe he could sneak away later. 

~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~

The kids were standing close together. Some already looked frightened and had taken hold of their braver friends. Others were at the head of the untidy row, looking eager to venture into the forest. They claimed not be afraid of ghosts. Chiara grinned and started the bit of prose she'd practiced for this night:

'T was on a dark night just like this, 
When Alicia heard something amiss.
She went out to search for the culprit
unafraid, brave and with torches lit 

Chiara held a lighter to a torch and suddenly the night wasn't as dark anymore, but at the same time her night vision decreased. She passed the torch to Corey who happily continued the story:

Whispering she heard though it might be the breeze
Shivers she felt but the air was cold enough to freeze
Onward she ventured, on the road before
Down she travelled to the cave below

The children walked through the forest, lighted by the torches while Chiara and Corey told a story of a sad ghost who was looking for his long lost dog. The story wasn't too frightening aside from the fact that it dealt about ghosts. Even the most cared of the children should be able to take it. Just walking in the dark grounds around her house with the torches was ambience enough. 
"Do you think Chris jumping out will be too scary?" Chiara suddenly asked Corey.
"Hell yes." Corey said, "But they came to be scared."
Chiara laughed nervously. It had all seemed like such a good idea in the daylight. Corey squeezed her shoulder and told her: 
"Don't worry, we'll have Chris come with us afterwards so the kids can see it was just an act."
"You always know what to say." Chiara sighed, feeling a bit better.
"That is if he isn't a loony killer." Corey quipped, earning him a slap from Chiara.
"I hate you." she mock-said.
"You love me and you know it." Corey taunted back and skipped away before she could do bodily harm.
Corey decided to stick close to a group of girls who'd seemed the most scared. If they did panic, he'd gently lead them back to the house for treats. The female mind was easily calmed with chocolate and he would take all the advantages he could. He wasn't so worried about the boys, they'd act all big once they'd realise it was a scam. 
Chris heard the children approach and got ready to jump out as he'd been instructed to do. Somehow though, his body moved on it's own. Or didn't move and instead his voice rang out with some chanting that sounded old to his ears. Kids turned the corner and saw him standing in the light of the shelter. A dark, robed shadow that was singing weird songs. 
The first children stopped dead in their tracks and few gave a scream. At which point the girls in the back screamed louder and Corey had to step in. Luckily though, the boys had figured it out by then and were laughing.
"What do we do here?" one of the bravest asked, "Sing along and dance around a bonfire?"
"In fact that isn't a bad idea." Chiara answered and let the children play and explore the now not-so-scary shelter before she brought them back to the house.

~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~

The children's party had ended but Chiara wasn't ready to let the others go. It would be such a waste to go to bed when she was still so energised. Not to mention they had a lot of cleaning to do. Maybe the guys would want to help her so the house would be clean and tidy by the time her parents came home the next morning. 
Corey sighed, complained and gave in in a big show of graceful acceptance of his fate. But to his surprise, Chris also gave in without much problems. He probably had an ulterior motive. Corey vowed to himself to not leave before Chris did. After all, they barely new the guy and Chiara was home alone. Corey was pretty certain that Chris wasn't aiming for him after all since his gaydar wasn't firing. Although, if Chris was aiming for Chiara then his wooing needed some work. 
Chris settled himself on the couch next to the other two and felt a bit out of place. Luckily watching a movie meant that they wouldn't have to talk too much. Chiara had chosen a classic slasher movie, Scream, which wasn't too bad but also wasn't something he'd particularly like. Now Pet Sematary, that was a good classic horror movie and would be right for the night. Of course the other two weren't planning to sneak out to go look for a ritualistic site.
The movie ended and Chris fidgeted, hoping to be able to get out to search the grounds. He would say that he'd forgotten something at the storm shelter and then would hopefully be able to get away. He hoped the other two would just forget about him. But just before he could start, Chiara said:
"Could I ask you two to help clean up before you go? It'll only take a minute with the three of us."
Corey moaned and complained once more but smiled while doing it and asked to stay over. Chris figured they might be a couple after all. Good.
"I don't mind staying. I need to go back to the shelter anyway to look for my keys. I think I forgot them." he said, sticking to his story.
"Oh, Let's start over there then. If we all go together it should be easier to find your keys." Corey suggested. 
He still didn't trust Chris. Chiara's house was located in one of the more affluent neighbourhoods. Chris could be looking to break into one of the other houses and use them as an alibi. Chris shrugged but looked a bit dejected, which strengthened Corey's prejudice.
"Good idea." Chiara chimed in, "Let me get the flashlights."
They walked back to the storm shelter in a straight line. Earlier they'd made a big detour with the children but the shelter was actually close to the home, just beyond the first trees. It had been built a long time ago in a natural cave to act as a hideaway for whatever clandestine dealings the owners of the house were doing. Probably liquor storage. 
Chris got the same weird feeling again and felt his body freeze up and his voice chanting words he didn't understand again. His mind was awake but unable to control his body. Somehow he wasn't panicking. 
Corey however was: "What's he doing?" Is he going to kill us?"
"Don't be silly." Chiara said but feeling uncertain herself. She figured Chris was trying to scare them with his bit from the play earlier. But then why wasn't he smiling? Why were his eyes so empty? He almost looked like he was dead.
Corey had taken a few steps back and had found a larger tree branch that seemed just the right size to incapacitate somebody with. It would be self-defence. But before he could lug Chris with the heavy makeshift weapon, the air seemed to shimmer and suddenly they were standing in broad daylight. Though the sun was out the air temperature had dropped several degrees and their breath formed clouds in the air. 
"What just happened?" Corey asked, relieved to be in full control of his body again.
"You tell us." Chiara said as she tried to keep Corey from injuring Chris.
"I don't know what happened. It's your house."
"What about her house?" Corey asked.
Chris looked away and noticed a flock of black and orange things, maybe bats, flying their way. He could barely call before a brown one smacked right into him. Similarly Chiara found herself latched onto by an orange creature while Corey had to carefully entangle a black one from his bright pink shirt.
"Don't claw! You'll damage it!" he called and to their surprise the black creature that looked like a cross between a salamander and a bat obliged and retracted it's claws.
"Oh good, you aren't hurt!" a young woman called, "These firelizards keep escaping. You're lucky to have bonded only one each. Sometimes they all end up bonding to a single person and that's just a nuissance."
The three gave the young woman blank stares. 
"And you're not from around here..." she added as she stroked a hand through her short silver-streaked brown hair.
"So I'm wagering you were spirited away as often happens when people turn up here. Don't worry. It's perfectly safe, you are in a place called Meridian Weyr and my name is Silvri. We're a place where people and dragons live in peace. In fact we often form pairs when a dragon is born to help it and then form a partnership for the rest of our lives."
"Dragons?" Corey tried.
"They're a bit larger than the firelizards but somewhat similar in looks." she told them, whistling for her own blue Skyy to come toward her.
"In the grand scheme of things, people are usually brought here when a dragon that is about to be born is in need of them. So I'm guessing that is what happened. I can take you to the candidate lodgings if you'd like. We serve regular meals, provide housing until you can earn your own keep and lessons. You don't have to stay of course but I think you might want to hear a bit more about this before you make up your decision."
Properly stonewalled like this and without shelter, sustenance nor monetary means the trio could do nothing but accept the gracious offer they'd been presented with. 

~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~

[STORY]  [CHIARA]  [CHRIS]  [COREY]