He remembered his dream from the night before. He was stuck somewhere in a red forest. Screams echoed from the shadows of the trees. Chaos was everywhere. Zombies, vampires, skeletons crawled towards him. They were so close, almost touching, when a white light exploded and blinded everything and everyone.

Aemillius looked at the houses on the street which had jack-o-lanterns and barely any decorations. There was no sign of what he was searching for. He ignored them, walking out of his neighborhood along the road.

He walked alone down the silent road for a while, before something caught his eye. A small neighborhood with a few houses stood along the road. A light layer of mist hung in the dark night sky, illuminated by the red lights from the decorations hung over the houses and the moonlight that cast an eerie shadow onto the sidewalk. And right in the middle stood a haunted house. The windows were shattered, the door broken in the middle, the shutters creaking, the chimney filled with the sounds of bats yowling.

Aemillius smiled. This was what he really liked about Halloween. He strode along the sidewalk, not paying attention to the evil cackles erupting around him. He approached the house and yanked over the doors, enjoying the loud creak.

It was empty, almost as if the owner meant to amplify the sound of the door being shut and the lock clicking. Aemillius paced around the floor, but nothing popped out at him and even though he tried everything in his power to open the door, it remained shut. He screamed, desperately searching for an exit. Suddenly, a circle of light appeared in the middle of the room.

Aemillius screamed louder. He grasped the handle of the door as the portal pulled him closer and closer. Laughter echoed out, seemingly taunting him. His fingers were slipping, slipping, slipping. His eyes were closing. Let go, said a voice. His brain listened, and he surrendered to the irresistible tug.

His eyes shot open as he hit the ground. Was it even ground? It was red and hot. The objects towering above him looked like trees. He scrambled up frantically and looked around. Everything here was red. He both knew and did not know at the same time that he was in the Underworld.

His dream. His mind went back, switching between his dream and reality. Screams in his dream were echoed by the screams that were nearing him. They were getting close. He could feel the touch, the desire for his blood, brains, life. But then a white light appeared, blinding him once more.

All of the monsters scrambled back into the shadow and protection of the trees. A face appeared in front of Aemillius. It was a spirit.

“Look. I don’t have much time. There’s a path here that leads you to a portal out of here, but you have to get there before Halloween ends. Take this sword. I’m sorry, I have to go.”

“Wait!” cried Aemillius. But the spirit was gone, the monsters steadily approaching once more. He grabbed the bronze sword that the spirit had left, and wildly slashed all around, as all kinds of monsters collapsed on the ground beside him.

With his new adrenaline, he ran towards the path. Left-right, Left-right, Left-right. He paced himself, having to occasionally break his thoughts to slash down a monster. Left-right, Left-right, Left-light? He opened his eyes wide. There, in front of him, was a familiar white portal, one he never wanted to see again. But this time it wasn’t rapidly expanding. It was rapidly closing. He dived in.

Aemillius appeared back in his bedroom. He opened his eyes and got up, looking at himself in the mirror. He could see no sign of his journey, but the details were vividly displayed in his mind. He collapsed onto his bed again. This was his secret now.