Tara stood near the snack table, nervously adjusting her costume pirate costume. She wasn't one for big crowds, but her friends, especially Wes, had dragged her out tonight. The music was pounding, flashing lights filled the room, and everyone was either dancing or laughing too loud for her taste. She smiled awkwardly as Chad and Mindy debated horror movies nearby, trying to blend in, but her mind drifted. Maybe she could sneak off and find a quiet corner to read the paperback she’d stashed in her bag. The party felt suffocating, her asthma itching at the back of her mind.

But then something shifted. From across the room, she spotted a figure—Ghostface. At first, Tara dismissed it as another costume, after all, it was Halloween, and everyone was dressed up. But there was something off. The way they moved, the way their head tilted ever so slightly when they caught her staring—this wasn’t some drunk looking to scare their friends. Her stomach twisted as she fought to look away, but her eyes stayed locked on the figure weaving through the crowd with deliberate steps.

Suddenly, the music cut out. The partygoers groaned in unison, thinking it was just a technical glitch, but the silence that followed felt too heavy. Then, chaos erupted.