Jack always got found first. No matter how dark the night was, how few dying streetlights remained, how far he got from the others, he was always given away by his heavy breathing and stifled screams. Manhunt always seemed much too real. But Jack wanted to be brave tonight. He knew the perfect hiding spot – that old abandoned house over on Oak Street. The others would never expect scared, shaky Jack to hide in a place like that.

Once in the house, Jack found himself in a circular room surrounded by doors. He was getting a bad feeling here – like the walls were closing in. He chose a door and fell eight feet to the floor of what seemed like a library. The door he had entered through, hanging out of reach, slammed shut as Jack realized it was the only way out.

It was Halloween, and Ryan hadn’t played manhunt in weeks, not since that night when Jack had disappeared. He had been planning for a while to hide in the old house on Oak Street, but hadn’t been able to last time because someone else had been running in that direction.

Once in the circular hall, Ryan chose a door at random. He ran in and crashed to the floor below. He looked around a bit, then picked up a book and started to sit down in a chair. It was already occupied. The dead body in it was holding a book, opened to the last page. There was a message in blood: “Don’t start reading. The books are cursed. You’ll never be able to stop. Ever.” Ryan thought about how ridiculous this was. It was probably just a stupid Halloween prank. He opened his book and started reading. It was the last thing he ever did.