An Aria for Annie

Tim carefully stepped over the pumpkin ring, feeling a sharp chill as he did so. It felt like someone was watching him, but a quick glance around and the only eyes he met belonged to pumpkins. He tried not to get too close to the fire in his fur-covered costume and pumped up the steps. Even near the fire it was a cold night, and Tim was glad he'd decided to wear a thick turtleneck under the furry vest instead of Neil's suggestion of going in "nothin' but fur and skin like a wolfman!" He found the shorts too tight to wear anything else under without danger of tearing them off.

There was still no sign of anyone else. He decided if no one answered his knock in a few minutes he'd just leave. This was getting weird.

Tim heard the fire snap loudly and turned around, hoping someone had touched it. All he saw was dozens of pumpkins staring at him intently.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Tim spun back around to see a very upset woman, in a pointy black hat and sleeveless black dress, standing between him and the still closed door. She wore boots with short heels and pointed toes. Coming out of the boots were orange and black thigh-high tights that stopped an half an inch short of the hem of her dress, giving a peek at her thighs. Orange and black striped arm warmers, matching the tights, completed the look.

Tim recognized her as Annie's dismissive friend from the bar. How did she get there without opening the door or coming up the stairs?

"Who told you you could wear that? I don't recognize you from KNG! Who invited you?" She shouted, shaking a finger at him menacingly.

"Woah look I'm sorry! Annie told me I was supposed to wear an animal costume so I-"

"Annie invited you? Annabel Whelan? You're... Tim? You're Tim, aren't you?" She calmed down quickly, a look of surprise on her face.

"Yeah! Tim Ryan. Weren't you at the bar? Sorry I didn't catch your name." He held out his hand to shake hers, smiling. What was so wrong with his wolf costume? Did he hear the theme wrong? Her outfit clearly screamed witch and not animal.

"You're Tim Ryan. The one Annie invited. And you're dressed as...as a..." It was like she couldn't bring herself to say it, so Tim tried to help her finish.

"A wolf?"

Breanne burst out laughing. She laughed more than she had in years. She kept laughing for several minutes while Tim stood there dumbfounded. She almost wanted to reach out and hug him, she was so overcome by the absurdity.

"Is...is something wrong with my costume?" Tim asked. He really couldn't tell what had just happened, but between the menacing pumpkins and the possibly menacing laughter at his expense he had just about had it.

"No....haha, no, it's just...hehee, it's sooo perfect, is what it is...hooohoo..." Breanne finally managed to settle herself and turned to open the door. "Come inside then, Tim Ryan, I'm sure Annabel can't wait to see you!"

As she turned around, Tim saw a dark shimmering tail hanging from the back of Breanne's dress. He realized he hadn't noticed the pair of furry, pointed ears sticking out of the brim of her hat. She wasn't dressed as a witch, but as a witch's black cat familiar.

With one last glance back at the eager pumpkins surrounding him, Tim stepped into the house.

***

Tim was relieved to find the reason for the darkened windows was that the party was happening in the basement. There were two stairways leading to it; the one Breanne lead him down right next to the door, and one from the kitchen on the back side of the building. Food and drinks were brought down that stairway, and that side of the basement was clearly used for food storage for much of the year. He would've seen the lights in the kitchen had he approached from the other direction.

The basement was unfinished, with a stone floor and exposed pipes, but had sections that were clearly rooms, even if the walls between them had a few gaps. The main section, which had at least forty people in various costumes -- mostly animals, but some in white sheets as ghosts, some in black hooded robes, a few people just in their underwear -- took up more than half the total space of the basement. The ceiling was no more than nine feet high. An alcove at one end had speakers playing Thriller, and near it a table of punch bowls and assorted chips on a dark tablecloth. Coolers of beers and kegs dotted the floor, interspersed with already lively beer pong planks. It looked like a pretty normal college party, despite the strange scene outside. Tim finally relaxed. This was starting to look like it might be an enjoyable evening.

In that thought he heard the girl in the witch's cat costume -- she still hadn't mentioned her name -- call out to Annie, who ran over to him with a tipsy grin and a red solo cup in each hand. And for a moment his thoughts stopped and the rest of the party disappeared.

Her dark red hair, wavy and thick, cascaded over her uncovered pale shoulders, contrasting with the pink ribbon choker on her neck. A small silver bell dangled off of it, bobbing slightly as she came up to him smiling, too quiet to be heard over the music from the speakers. Her arms were bare, and her hands had thin white fingerless wool gloves, trimmed with pink and a little ribbon on each in the center of the wrist. They matched perfectly with the white socks she wore to just above the knee, similarly with a small pink bow on each leg. They left a pleasant stretch of the milky white skin of her athletic thighs exposed, as her legs were otherwise uncovered.

Covering the rest of her was a tight beige bodysuit, with short, dense, curly cream-colored fur trim around the legs and all along the top. Her breasts were on a slightly rigid demi cup shelf, and it was clear that was all the support they had- if it weren't for the thicker fur trimming in the bust area the top edge of her nipples would be visible. At her left collarbone, drawn in black marker and ringed in red, was a small black circle with the letter 'W' in it. Topping her costume was a small pair of folded, cottony white ears on a pink headband, poking out of that gorgeous red hair.

The laughter at his wolf costume made sense now, as he clearly couldn't have chosen a better match.

Annie made for the sexiest sheep he'd ever seen, and as Neil had recommended earlier, he was more than ready to devour her.

The rest of the world came back into focus as Annie shouted over the music. "I'm so glad you made it Tim! This night is gonna rock!" Annie handed both cups to him before turning back towards the table for more.

He saw the fur -- wool - covered much of the back of the sheep costume, including a strap that connected up to the choker for support. The wool went down her back and formed a semicircular edge just above her delicious looking rear end, where a beige tear-shaped plush tail sat. She looked over her shoulder and caught him eyeing her ass with a smirk. She gave it two shakes and winked before turning back to the punch bowl.

And he thought these shorts were tight before. He reconsidered his decision to not wear anything under them to prevent them coming off, since at this rate his cock was in danger of doing that on its own.

Annie came back from the table, handed the new drink to her friend the cat-witch, and took one of the two she'd handed Tim. As she did so she whispered, in that half-whisper, half-shout that anyone who has been to a loud party is well-acquainted with, "I love your costume! I guess the Big Bad Wolf is here to eat me up..."

Tim laughed and nodded in response. Annie turned and shouted, "See Breanne?" That was her name. "I knew he'd be perfect for this party." Breanne laughed again, but only a little this time.

The next few hours passed in a haze of conversation and alcohol. Breanne quickly disappeared into the crowd, and Tim didn't mind terribly. She clearly didn't like him all that much, but there were plenty of other people in this basement. They played beer pong with a tiger and a cardboard-covered grey 'snake' and lost handily, Annie handing him the drinks each time the surprisingly accurate tiger scored. The speakers played the usual mix of Gaga, Rihanna, Jackson, and standard Halloween party fare. They talked about classes in their subject and realized they were in two of the same but at opposing times. Tim was already looking forward to scheduling a study session for the next exam. They hung out in a side room that had a strobe light and dark electronic playing, mostly laughing at the unusual sights the flashing light showed them in. At one point she faced away from him, but only to lean her body up against his. He felt her hair on his face, her back against his chest, and a resurgence of tension in his shorts as she started grinding her appetizing back end against his shaft. They weren't the only ones in the room who had chosen to stand a little closer together. She turned her head back and flicked out her tongue to his chin.

"What's a matter boy? Get a feel for the territory before you go hunting." Tim needed no more encouragement, reaching his paw-gloved hands around her waist and pulling her just a little closer as he moved his hips in time with hers. He could feel the heat radiating between her legs, the tightness of the fabric in her costume and his as his hard lance took up the small amount of stretch her bodysuit had left between her firm cheeks. She gave a low moan as he pressed against her, just audible over the thumping bass. His hands wandered further up and lightly caressed her breasts, feeling the slightly stiffened tips of her nipples just under the trim. He felt something small, hard, and round alongside them.

Annie's heavy-lidded eyes shot open and she stopped moving. The dancing had felt better than she expected, so much better that she hadn't wanted to stop. But Tim's - Runt's -- touch on those metallic bars embedded in her areolas reminded her of what the plan was tonight, and she knew she dare not give in just yet. Besides, there would be plenty of time to enjoy it later.

Annie almost jumped out of Tim's arms and tried to regain her composure. She couldn't help diving in to kiss him, grabbing him by the back of his wolf hat and pulling his mouth into hers. This was different from their earlier kiss at the bar- hungrier, fiercer. He gave back just as smoothly as before, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back against him. She slid a hand in between them as she pulled her lips away,

"Mmm...looks like the big bad wolf is ready to feast..." she tapped the partially-opened velcro at his waist, missing the head of his dick only by coincidence, "but this little lamb isn't ready to be sheared just yet."

She grinned, twirled out of his grip, and ran off into the main room. Tim, wondering not for the first time that night what he'd done to get the hottest woman at the party so into him, hurriedly fixed his shorts and ran after her.

As the night wore on he saw people leaving up the stairs, but several times large groups of people arrived to refill the room. At least Tim felt it had happened that way. He could've sworn there were mostly animal costumes when he arrived, but increasingly it was people in black or white robes that had been only a few, or plenty of people barely wearing anything at all. If you compared to them even Annie was starting to look overdressed by eleven, and Tim was fully, if a little strangely, dressed by any standard. The room was certainly as full as when he got there hours ago. Likely several of them had just found the animal attire too hot for the crowded basement, and opted to go without. Luckily for Tim his cheap costume provided barely any insulation.

As he stood next to Annie in a circle of what seemed like the last group of animals in the room, listening to a story from the tiger about a summer hiking trip, he realized abruptly that the music had stopped.

"What! Time! Is! It!" came an excited shout from somewhere across the room.

From all over the room came a chorus of responses, but the loudest, from a dozen people easily, was "WITCHING HOUR!"

The music started back up again, this time louder, deeper, and more aggressively, to a chorus of hoots and hollers as drinks were thrown in the air. It was the music that had been playing in the strobe light room all night, but now on the real speakers it was nearly shaking the floor. Tim laughed a little nervously, and several people in the circle of animals turned to dance with the rest of the crowd.

Annie turned to him with a smile. "It's midnight! That means it's officially Halloween!" Her smile turned mischievous. "Want to head upstairs and...celebrate?" And the way she said celebrate, that look in her eyes, he knew it was time to satisfy the craving she'd been teasing him after all night, all week even. She grabbed his arm and led him up the front stairway.

Surprisingly, it was still dark in the rest of the house. Apparently anyone who had joined the party had just come straight in the front. He'd expected Annie had meant they would go up to her room, but she pulled him down a hallway. She opened the third door they came to and urged him in first while she glanced around to see if anyone else was around.

The room had a window that faced out the back of the house, and for the first time in hours he saw the pumpkins. Not a single one that saw into this window had gone out. The small room was almost entirely taken up by a king sized bed, though the fabric was indiscernible in the dim light. This was especially as what he could see was that the bed, the floor, and the handful of other surfaces in room were covered in discarded costumes. He even recognized a few from earlier in the night. He heard the door close behind him and a scrape on the floor. Annie reached out from behind him and put her hands over his eyes.

"No peeking, Mr. Wolf. Close your eyes, and while you're at it why don't you take those scary paws off for me...?" He did both, and felt Annie's hands pull his wolf-head hat off and then make for the velcro at his vest. He smiled and stretched his arms back while she pulled it off. He started to turn around to embrace her, but she gently pushed him back to facing away.

"Uh uh uh, let's get you all ready first, " she said, pulling his shirt up and over his head.

"Oh I have been ready all night." Annie laughed at this, but it was an eager, excited chuckle completely unlike Breanne's earlier laughter, the kind of laugh that always heralds a pleasurable time in a nearby bed. He continued to face away from her and heard a zipper that he guessed was the one on the side of her chest. He heard another scrape on the floor. He felt the floor throbbing from the intense music below, and felt himself starting to throb as well.

Then Tim felt that now familiar fur trim tickle his bare back as Annie leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Trick or Treat?"

It was Tim's turn to chuckle excitedly. "Oh I think I could go for a treat right now."

He felt Annie pull away slightly, a much shorter scrape, and then WHAM!

A massive pain in his head knocked him to the floor and nearly spun him around. He could feel something warm and wet on his scalp. What had just happened?! He couldn't gather his thoughts enough to even think about it. The door opened again, and now there was a light on in the hallway. In it he saw the silhouette of Annie, still in full costume, gripping a sledge hammer that rested on the hardwood floor.

"Sorry Runt, but there's a few more tricks to go." She turned and shouted something down the hall, but he couldn't make it out as his consciousness faded.

***

Tim woke up groggily, feeling the pain in his head ignite. He jerked in response -- or tried to, but found his arms and legs held in place. He tried to focus enough to take stock of his situation.

He lay on cold stone, short chains holding his limbs at corners of a slab raised a few inches off of the ground. He was still wearing the fur shorts of his costume, but nothing else. There was a light smell of blood, probably his. He could feel it caked lightly on the right side of his head, just above his ear. He tried to look around, but could only tilt his head slightly without painful shocks racing through it. What he did see terrified him.

He was inside a ring of pumpkins, probably ten feet in diameter. Outside the ring stood many people - some in black robes, some in their underwear, some in white sheets. And one, just one, in a tiger costume.

The room didn't look to extend much beyond the rings of people and pumpkins. It was lit by torches high on the walls, and was circular with a domed ceiling. Other than the slab he was on, the whole floor was dirt, the walls were dirt, the ceiling was dirt. He didn't see a door, but wasn't in a position to look that hard.

He heard a loud thwap as wood hit stone and jerked his head so fast at the sound that he instead distracted by another painful throbbing. Apparently there was at least one other person still in costume. Standing next to his chained-to-a-slab-body was Breanne.

"About time you woke up," she snapped. She jabbed a syringe into his chain-stretched inner right elbow. He couldn't help shouting as his pain momentarily increased. "You certainly have a concussion, but you won't have to worry about it much longer."

Breanne turned towards his feet, and pointed the wooden rod she held at the crowd.

"It's time to begin!"

Breanne walked towards the crowd, and it parted to make way as she crossed the ring of pumpkins. Into the gap, with a blonde girl on her left and a tall brunette on her right, sauntered Annabel Whelan.

She had removed the stockings, the gloves, and the headband, but still wore the centerpiece of her sheep costume. The bell had been torn off of the choker. The marker had been hastily rubbed off. She stood barefoot on the packed earth floor with a determined look on her face. She stepped gingerly over the ring of pumpkins, and her two-woman entourage didn't follow. The brunette handed her a large sack full of irregularly shaped objects, careful not to cross the line herself. Annie gave a quick smile and then turned back to the task at hand. She dropped the sack next to the stone slab and stood over Tim.

"Hello Runt."

She leaned over him and grabbed his face, pressing his cheeks in before he could form a response. She didn't need to say anything more though. Hearing that name from her mouth finally reminded him who she was.

Annie had been a frequent target of bullying in middle school. Several of these bullies were Tim's friends. He had usually stayed out of it, sometimes even feeling sorry for the girl. Then people started calling him 'Runt'. One day Annie did too.

From that day on he had joined in the bullying. Annie's family had indeed moved away in middle school, after the day she came home with a torn dress and a broken arm. He remembered now the things the things they had done to her that day.

And then Tim realized that the Annabel Whelan standing before him now, who he had partied and flirted with and fantasized over all night, remembered too. She had remembered all along. She had been thinking of that day all night. She had been thinking of that day all week. When she had turned to Breanne at the bar and said "from my neighborhood growing up," she had been thinking about it then.

Annabel Whelan, Tim realized, did not like him.

The situation he found himself in made a little more sense. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe even to apologize, but was met with a slap across the face.

"If you know what's good for you," Annie whispered harshly, "you'll keep your fucking mouth shut." She stood up and looked to Breanne, standing at the edge of the ring. A smile, menacing and hungry, crept along Breanne's face as she nodded slowly.

Annie glanced around the crowd and raised her arms, exclaiming "Welcome, all assembled...to tonight's feature presentation..." A few titters from the crowd of faceless robes. Tim was disturbed by what was going on, but found the pain in his head had lessened considerably. What had she injected him with?