“It’s the Game Master!” Kylie shrieked at the same exact time that Frankie bellowed, “Ghooooost!”

Becca screamed and bolted from the house, the others following suit, Matt in the front with his scooter, Miguel trailing in the back as he held tightly to Elephant’s cage. The friends ran and ran, all the way through the forest, not stopping even after the house was out of sight, only slowing when they broke out of the tree line and on to the main street.

“Who was that?” Danny cried, walking backwards to film the forest as they moved away, just in case there was anyone following them. “What was that?”

“I don’t know, but I am never going back to that house as long as I live,” Frankie said, panting as they struggled to catch their breath.

“Come on,” Matt joked, also out of breath on his scooter. “Not even on Halloween?”

“Sure,” Becca said. “Right after you.”

“I think I’m good,” Matt said, and everyone burst into relieved laughter.

“Did anyone think they’d be facing their worst fears by force when they woke up today?” Kylie asked as they made their way down the street toward their own neighborhood. “Because I sure didn’t.”

“Definitely not,” Miguel said. “This whole day feels like some sort of dream. Nacho disappearing, going to the house to investigate, all of it.”

“A dream?” Frankie scoffed. “More like a nightmare!”

Becca smiled and took a deep breath of the fresh air, turning her face up to the late afternoon sun, basking in its warmth. “We killed it today, plain and simple. Seriously, everybody should be proud.”

“We had a great leader,” Matt said, swerving the scooter in big half circles back and forth across the street. “Well done, Captain Becks.”

“Thank you,” Becca said. “I’m just so excited to see Angel’s face when Miguel walks in with Elephant.”

“Same,” Miguel said, stroking the spot beneath Nacho’s chin as the snake nestled itself happily under the collar of his shirt. “Our family will be complete once again, for the first time since summer.”

As the group approached the neighborhood, Becca remembered all of the flyers they’d posted for Elephant and Nacho before going to the house. Everybody spread out to take down as many as they could, Matt getting the most with help from his scooter, and Danny remarked that he’d never been so happy to have a flyer go out of business so quickly.

After all the flyers had been collected and stuffed into her backpack, the group finally entered their own neighborhood. Becca felt like she was looking at it with new eyes—all the houses looked so nice and tidy and normal, no shadows crawling over the walls, no mysterious figures in the windows. “Home sweet home,” she yelled, raising her arms at her sides as though hugging the general atmosphere of the neighborhood.