Well, I saw that DetachedPeople was having a Halloween contest that that got the gears in my head spinning/ This is the result. Too bad it doesn't use the required phrase, hope it doesn't cost me too many points.
Oh well, that'll teach me to not read things fully.
This is less explicit that most of my stuff. I felt that it wouldn't really fit in this story (but the setup is there). And while it's not exactly depressing, it's not really a happy story. If anyone feels like using this as a jumping off point for something of their own (I'd actually love to see it happen, and kudos if you can submit it to the contest), feel free.