Chapter 1

Robby plodded up the sidewalk, heading towards his fourth floor walk-up. It was Friday and he was looking forward to a quiet weekend. Children of all ages dressed up in a variety of costumes, from the ridiculously commercial to the sublimely hand-fashioned, raced around him screaming as adults in various states of frazzled tried desperately to keep up. Bags and buckets, filled part way with candy, swung from sweaty hands anxious to get to the next building, hoping for the mother lode at the next door. He frowned in memory of that hateful day ten years ago when his love for Halloween was tarnished so thoroughly. He sped up, trying to get out of the hurly-burly of the crowded sidewalks and into his apartment, secure in the knowledge that none of the trick-or-treaters – or their chaperones – would bother making the trip up three flights to reach the uncertain offering of treats at the top. In the six years he'd lived there, none had.

After digging out his keys, he opened the door to his apartment and dumped his briefcase on the small table by the door. His keys went into a bowl resting on the same table, and he shrugged out of his overcoat. He looked into the mirror on the wall near the door and brushed at the prematurely thinning hair on his head. He supposed he should be grateful that it was only thinning and not receding like his father's had. His father had been bald by thirty; Robby still had most of his hair as he approached that dreaded milestone.

He kicked the door shut with his heel, the deadbolt engaging with a metallic clack. He hung his coat on the hook next to the mirror, and scrubbed his face with his hands. It had been a tough day at work, and he was looking forward to relaxing on his couch with a glass of Scotch on the rocks and a rousing action film on DVD. Or maybe something more visceral, like a horror flick. His thoughts went to a movie he had picked up at a colleague's recommendation. The man had said it was a bit off the beaten path, not like the usual movie pap served up to the masses.

While he walked down the short foyer leading into the apartment proper, he could hear loud music and laughing voices through the walls. Pushing his glasses up to his forehead, he pinched the bridge of his nose, remembering that his neighbor had mentioned he was having a "grown-ups only" Halloween party tonight. He'd begged off the invitation, saying that he was having a bad week and really wasn't up to partying. The guy – Doug was his name – had shrugged and told him to think about it: the invitation was open any time there was a party going on.

He stopped on the way to the kitchen to grab the cellophane wrapped disk off the entertainment center, dropping his suit jacket on the couch back, picking at the wrapper when he continued on. He placed the disk on the kitchen counter then dug out a glass, filled it with ice, and topped it with a medium grade single-malt Scotch. He couldn't afford the really good stuff, but he would keep his palate cultivated until he could. Setting the glass down after taking a sip, he went back to stripping the wrapping off the movie case. He grimaced when the plastic shredded in strips instead of peeling off all at once. Once he got that done, he grabbed his drink off the counter on his way back to the living room. Setting a coaster close by, he placed the glass on the coaster after taking another burning sip, and parked himself on the overstuffed brown leather couch. He flipped the case over to read the back. He sighed deeply after he read the synopsis. Called "Let Me In", it was an adaptation of a Swedish vampire movie.

"Just what I really don't need, a movie about a Halloween monster," he muttered to himself. He sighed again and tossed the disk to the coffee table. "Aw, what the hell, why not? Maybe it'll take my mind off things."

He had just sat up and was reaching for the disk case when he heard someone pounding at his door. He grumbled as he stood up and walked to the door. A quick look through the peephole showed his neighbor peering back at him through the opening. He growled at the door when his neighbor stood back and displayed the two young ladies on his arms.

"Come on, Robby!" Doug called through the door. "Come over for a bit. Company's good and the girls are warm!" The young ladies both tittered, and the one on the left slapped his arm.

Robby opened the door and leaned against the jamb. "Look, Doug, I really appreciate the offer, and any other time I might take you up on it. But tonight is not a good night for me, and I'd really rather spend it alone, okay? Nothing against you..."

Just then, the girl on the right, who seemed be dressed as a forest nymph, for all the good the costume did keeping her goodies under wrap, moved over to stand by Robby and wrapped her arms around his bicep. After squeezing her breasts lightly against his arm, she reached up to measure the muscle she'd found with her fingertips. She giggled, and then cuddled up to his arm again, looking up at him with big, deep, ocean-blue eyes. For a brief moment, he saw another set of eyes, blue like a clear summer sky, gazing back at him. He felt the clouds gather on his brow. The young lady, whose name may have been Dawn, saw the clouds gathering and realized she had trespassed somehow. She pulled back and laid her hand on his wrist.