Mike had just walked a few steps ahead—he could’ve sworn. The cold wind tugged at his Ghostbusters jumpsuit as candy wrappers fluttered past like dead leaves. One moment, Will was there. The next, the sound of his footsteps had vanished.

He turns around. Nothing. No Will. Just the flickering of jack-o’-lanterns and the hollow hush of Halloween night settling in like fog.

“Will?” Mike calls, not loud enough to draw attention, but with enough urgency to cut through the silence. No answer. Mike’s brows knit together. He retraces his steps, back past the mailbox with the skeleton taped to it, past the driveway where they’d just debated which house had full-size candy bars.

Then he sees it—just a sliver of movement in the shadows.

Will is curled up behind a low brick wall, knees hugged tightly to his chest, trembling like a leaf caught in a breeze. His proton pack is skewed on his back, and his knuckles are white from gripping his arms too hard. His eyes are tightly screwed up, as if he’s frightened of something that Mike can’t even see.

Mike drops to his knees beside him, the gravel biting into his palms as he reaches out. He doesn’t say “Are you okay?” because it’s clear he’s not. Instead, he shakes Will’s shoulders, trying to wake him up from the daze he’s in and when Will’s eyes shoot open, Mike sighs in relief.

Because Mike knows this isn’t about ghosts or goblins. Not the kind other kids are afraid of.

This is something darker. And it’s following Will like a shadow.

“Will?! Are you hurt?!” Mike exclaims, Dustin and Lucas now having found them and are stood behind him, both panicked and worried for their friend.

“I couldn’t find you!”