Nicole had been over to Amy’s house before, for other parties and ‘games’, but the darkness made everything seem odd and dreamlike as she made her way towards the stairs. Despite knowing the layout of the house, she still managed to get turned around once or twice before she found the steps, nearly tripping over them, and started climbing. In her hand, the electric candle flickered and dimmed, mimicking a real flame. It was difficult to make anything out beyond the few feet its weak light extended.

The knowledge that, somewhere in the claustrophobic darkness there was a pair of kidnappers lurking in the shadows at the same time frightened Nicole and got her excited. She expected, at any moment to be grabbed and tied up...

As Nicole reached the top of the stairs, she nearly ran into another girl, dressed as a jester, standing nearby, with her body between her candle and Nicole. The girl jumped, startled. “Sorry…” Nicole said, holding up her own light.

“Wow…I thought you were one of the kidnappers…” The girl replied, smiling with relief. The two nodded and went their separate ways. The teenage girl wandered around the house for another ten minutes or so. Periodically, she ran into one or more of the other guests, looking for the hidden prizes. To her disappointment, she didn’t manage to run into any of the kidnappers. Finally, from downstairs, Nicole heard the music start up again. With the rest of the girls, she headed back towards the main party room.

Because she’d been close to the stairs when the music started up again, Nicole was the one of the first girls to make it back. She and the other girls watched as the rest of the guests began to trickle back into the room, wondering who wasn’t coming back.

“Hey, where’d you go?” Nicole asked, spotting Rachel coming in. “You ran off so quickly…”

She shrugged. “I was looking for the prizes…didn’t have any luck though.” She said glumly.  

“Well, are we all here?” Amy asked, sarcastically, coming in. “Who’s not here?” The room hummed with conversation, as all of the guests looked around to see if anyone they knew was missing.

“I think Lisa is missing…” one girl said. A moment later, the door opened and a girl dressed as a princess ran in. “Sorry…got lost.” She walked over to her friends.

“Samantha’s gone.” Another girl said. “So is Beth!” This time, the two girls did not appear.

“Did anyone see them? Were they with anyone?” Amy said. “Samantha was dressed as Jasmine, if I remember right. And I think Beth was a jester.” The other girls nodded. Nicole mentioned running into the jester-girl, Beth, near the stairs on the second floor. Another girl confirmed seeing her as well.

“We saw Samantha with someone else.” A girl dressed as Dr. Who chipped in. “When everyone was going out.”  

“She was with Batgirl!” The girl’s companion added. “Batgirl is the kidnapper!” She pointed to the appropriate girl.

Almost immediately, the accused heroine shot back with, “No she wasn’t! You’re lying!” The room buzzed with excited conversation. A girl in the back spoke up. “Yes, I saw two together as well!”

“Well, looks like we have our first suspect!” Amy interjected. She guided Alice to the front of the room. “Is there anyone who doesn’t think Alice is the kidnapper?”

“I think Hope was the kidnapper!” One of the fairies called out with a giggle. “She was talking with Beth before the game started.”

The girl in question, dressed like a private eye glared back at her. “You’re just trying to get me locked up aren’t you!?!” Despite her protests, she joined Alice at the front of the room. A few more accusations came forward, until four girls were standing trial.

“Alright girls, you’ve got one chance to prove your innocence.” Amy told them. “Otherwise…” On cue, Carol stepped out of the jail, carrying several pairs of handcuffs.

“Look, I didn’t do it, ok.” Alice said, hesitantly. “I never saw Samantha. You’ve got to believe me!”

Hope spoke next. “Beth was on the second floor, we know that, right? Well, I never went on the second floor. Rachel can vouch for that, right?” Beside Nicole, Rachel nodded. “I saw her down near dining room…err…I think I did.”

The other two girls spoke and then Amy asked everyone to vote. When she called out Alice’s name, hands shot up. “But…but…I didn’t do it!” Alice protested.

“Don’t worry, Alice…” Amy told her. “I’m sure we’ll find out if that’s true soon enough…” Meanwhile, Carol stepped behind the young girl and quickly locked a pair of padded handcuffs around her wrists.

“Come on, off you jail with you…” She said, leading her first prisoner to the door.

Meanwhile, Amy turned to the crowd. “Before we head out again, did anyone find one of the pumpkins?” A vampire girl nodded, holding up a small piece of paper cut in the shape of a pumpkin. “Congratulations!” Amy said as the girl hurried forward, her smile showing off the plastic fangs. Amy ran into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a small gift bag, decorated with pumpkins.

Handing it to the excited girl, she called out, “Well, there are still plenty of pumpkins for the rest of you to find, so why don’t you get out there and find them.” She grinned. “I’m sure it will be safe now that we’ve got the kidnapper locked up tight…”

A couple girls ran to the snack tables to grab a few bites before they began again. The rest of the girls walked to the door. Nicole switched on the candle as she stepped out into the dark hallway. She glanced around for Rachel, but once again, her friend had vanished.

Nicole hung back while the rest of the girls spread out around the house. She picked a door, almost at random, and went through. It took her a moment to realize she was in the house’s library. Three of the four walls were lined with tall bookcases, crammed full of shelf after shelf of books. A couple large, padded armchairs were scattered around the center of the room.

In the darkness, Nicole didn’t realize someone else was in the room until she almost bumped into her. The girl squealed in surprise, turning around, as Nicole jumped back. “Oh!” The girl said, switching on her candle. “I thought you were the kidnapper!”

“I thought the same thing…” Nicole replied. Now that she was lit up, Nicole recognized the girl, Madison, from gym class at school. The short, blonde girl was dressed as a fairy, in a short green dress with plastic wings.

“I thought I’d just hide in here for a while…” Madison continued as they walked to the door. “I don’t want to get tied up…hopefully we’ll be safer together.”

“Right…” Nicole replied, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. Maybe she could find some way to slip away…

The two wondered for a few minutes, their way lit by the tiny, flickering electric flames. “Hey, who’s that?” Madison said, pointing as they came around a corner. At the far end of the hallway, they could just barely make out movement. Someone…no, two someone’s, were walking down the hallway towards them. They were shrouded in darkness, their lights off. The girl in front was wearing a lightly colored dress and a tall, pointed hat. The other girl was wearing all black, except for her hair, which was either a light brown or red. In the darkness, Nicole couldn’t tell. What she could see, though, was that she was leading the girl in front, who appeared to have her hands tied.

“Nicole!” Madison whispered in her ear. “It’s one of the kidnappers! Let’s get out of here!”

Hurriedly, Nicole switched off her candle, motioning for Madison to do the same. The two girls ducked back around the corner. For a moment, Nicole was blinded in the sudden darkness. When her eyes had adjusted, she peaked around the corner again but the kidnapper and her captive had vanished.

“We should get out of here!” Madison whispered. Nicole was about to say something, when, on the other side of the house, the music began playing again. The two made their way back to living room, joining the stream of girls returning. They glanced around, murmuring, as they tried to figure out who wasn’t there.

The crowd moved into the living room, blinking in the sudden light. A few headed straight for the snack table, two girls headed over to Amy and turned in two more paper pumpkins for their prizes. “There should be three more pumpkins out there, girls!” Amy called cheerfully, handing over the prize bags.

Rachel was one of the last girls to get back. “Don’t start without me!” She called playfully, walking up to Nicole.

“Alright…” Amy called out. “It looks like Lisa is missing. Wasn’t she the girl dressed like a princess?” Another girl nodded. “That’s her.”

“I think we saw her, with the kidnapper!” Madison cried, suddenly. “Me and Nicole!” she reached over and pointed at her.

“What did she look like?” Amy asked them.

“Well…” Nicole said, hesitantly. “She was dressed in dark clothes, and her hair was short, maybe brown or red…” As she said this, she noticed everyone was looking at her…no, not at her, over at Rachel beside her.

“Thanks a lot, Nicole…” Rachel whispered to her. Nicole shrugged.

“Do you think it was Rachel, Nicole?” Amy asked. “You’d probably have the best chance of recognizing her in that case.”

“Um…well…I…” Nicole stammered, suddenly put on the spot. “I couldn’t really tell, it was dark, but it could have been her.”

“Traitor…” Rachel said with a sarcastic smile, as she was led to the front of the room. The guests went through the rest of the crowd. There were two other girls who matched that description: Tabitha, a brunette, was dressed like a witch, and Mina, the vampire.

The debate went on for a few minutes. The private eye, Hope, spoke up to vouch for seeing Rachel alone. Another girl said she’d been with Tabitha the whole time. No one spoke up for Mina. When Amy called for a vote, she was judged guilty by several votes. Glumly, Mina shuffled off to jail, escorted by Carol.

Nicole turned with the rest of the girls and headed for the door. She ducked through a door to get away from the group. After a few minutes, she was all alone. Holding her candle out in front of her, Nicole crept through the hallway, not quite hoping she would run into the kidnapper.

A moment later, Nicole’s hopes were answered, as a hand clamped tight over her mouth, muffling the girl’s startled cry…