Kelli looked up at the clock. 7 o'clock. Ugh. The opening band, Darkness Descends was probably getting on stage now. For the thousandth time this summer, she cursed herself for taking classes. It's not like she was in a hurry to get out of college. Because of these two classes, and the projects due in each by the end of the week, her roommate, Beth, had to take someone else to see The Cutters.
She glanced back at her computer screen. Maybe she should have gone anyway. She wasn't sure just how much more she could concentrate on ancient European art without throwing up. Not that the subject didn't interest her, but two huge research projects in six weeks was too much. And her Eastern European history class was just as bad. People hadn't been kidding when they warned her summer school meant as much work as a regular semester class. Hell, it felt like more since the time was shorter.
The doorbell rang. Kelli had no idea who it could be, as no one ever visited without calling first. She got up quickly, though, glad to have an excuse to stop working on her paper. She went to the front window of the apartment, which gave a good view of the front door, and saw four kids dressed in costumes, holding trick-or-treat bags. She thought it strange for a second, then realized it was probably a birthday party activity or something. She remembered participating in similar games as a kid.
Kelli opened the door and was greeted with a hearty, "Trick-or-treat!" by a princess, a fairy, a devil, and a baseball player. She put on an act of fake disapproval and said, "But it's not Halloween yet."
The little princess, probably the oldest at seven or eight, jumped up and down excitedly. "Daddy said we could play Halloween!"
Kelli laughed. "Ok-ok. I wasn't expecting trick-or-treaters tonight, so can you kids wait here while I see if I have any candy?" The four nodded vigorously.
As she rounded the corner to the kitchen and found some candy--four regular-sized Nestle Crunch bars--she yelled out, "Is your daddy with you?"
"He's here," came the voice of the princess.
Kelli smiled. Maybe it was Daddy's weekend to take the kids and he needed something for them to do. Kelli figured he lived in the apartment complex and had a good vibe of the area. For the most part, the people living in the complex would find the situation amusing and get the kids a little something, like she was doing. She could picture a few neighbors who might be a bit insulted, but even they were too nice to not at least give the kids a kind apology if they didn't have anything handy.
"All right, who wants candy?" Kelli said as she left the kitchen and headed to the front door. No answer. The kids were gone. Maybe Daddy hadn't approved this game after all and had come to take the kids home. Then she heard giggling behind her. Though she couldn't see the front door from the kitchen, she could see the rest of the apartment, save for the two bedrooms and the bathroom. She surely would have noticed the kids run in and hide.
"Kids, this isn't funny," Kelli called out, her mind suddenly focused on the lost time on her papers. "You shouldn't run into other people's houses without being invited."
That met with more giggling, and a voice that probably belonged to one of the little boys, but sounded more like a croaking frog, repeated, "Trick-trick. Trick-trick. Trick-trick," over and over.
As she looked around and failed to find anyone, she felt her face flush with anger. She managed to keep her voice calm and sweet. "Kids, I have big candy bars for you, but if you don't come out, I'll have to put them away."
No answer, so she decided to check the bedrooms. She had reached hers when the front door slammed shut. She jumped and spun to look. A huge man, maybe seven feet tall and very muscular stood by the door. She should have been scared, but she was too mad.
"Are these kids yours?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice under control.
He didn't answer, but instead took a few steps into the apartment. Now fear began to overtake her. Not only was he so big, but he was covered from head to toe in tattoos. Evil, scary tattoos, the likes she wouldn't have even have seen if she'd chosen to go to the heavy metal concert tonight with Beth. She knew they covered him from head to toe because he wore only a leather thong that hardly even covered his private parts. Kelli was by no means a shrinking violet nor a virgin, but this guy was showing more than she wanted to see.
She took one more shot at gaining control of the situation. "Sir, I don't know who the hell you are, or what you're doing in my house, but you need to take your kids and leave."
He stopped and smiled. The little princess was suddenly standing next to her. Where had she come from? It was like she materialized out of thin air.
"He likes your moxie," the girl said. "He'd like to test you out."
"What?" Kelli yelled, practically screaming. "What the hell's going on here?"
The huge man nodded and her clothes, a pink cotton tank-top, jeans shorts, and white cotton panties, fell off her. Not as if some unseen entity took them off of her, but instead they fell straight off as if she'd temporarily lost corporeal form. She screamed and an unseen force knocked her five feet back onto the couch where she was held in place by something she couldn't see.
"He wants to see if you'll make a good breeder," the princess said.
Kelli looked over to the little girl, ready to beg her to stop the giant, but she wasn't a little girl at all. She actually looked to be an old woman trying to pass as a little girl. Her skin was pulled tight against her skull, makeup applied heavily in spots to hide veins and imperfections. Her hair, which had appeared blonde, now was clearly light grey. Kelli also noticed she wore gloves to hide her hands, which likely looked nothing like seven-year-old hands. Kelli didn't know if this was how the princess looked the entire time and she'd not looked close enough, or if she'd been under some sort of spell or something to not notice.
"Relax and enjoy," the old-lady princess said. "If you stiffen up and fight it, it'll hurt."
Tears started rolling down Kelli's cheeks. What'll hurt? I don't want to hurt. Please go away, all of you."
They, of course, didn't listen.