Matt: Well, it's finally here.

I am a burglar: Yeah, well you'd probably want to get out soon, since the whole school is going down.

Godzilla183: You said it.

Alright, final chapter up. After over a year, this story is finally finished. One part of me is a little guilty it took so long to get this far, but it had a good run, IMO.

What happened next was a blur.

All I could remember was throwing the lighter at the massive blob that was the Mud Monster horde. As the lighter illuminated their faces in the darkness, I thought I could see their faces light up in horror for a split-second.

Then, the lighter hit the ground, and within seconds, the entire hallway lit up, along with the Mud Monsters. I could still hear their howls of agony as the fire melted away the mud, revealing the corpses of what they once were in a past life.

For a few moments, I thought I was going to join them. But then, I felt a strong force take hold of me. Before I knew what was happening, I was dragged down the burning hallway and out the nearest window. The sounds of screaming faded away, swallowed by the roars of the flames.

And then, we were outside.

I lay on the fields, breathing heavily. Before me, I could see the fire rage on within the school, spreading like a wildfire. It wouldn't be long before the whole building was destroyed.

Despite it all, a sense of relief washed over me.

After the scariest night of my life, it was all over. Truly over. No more Mud Monsters, no more dead people.

It was over.

"Eddie," A soft voice whispered by my side. Before I could turn my head to whoever had spoken, none other than Courtney was by my side. Tucking one arm under me to sit me up, she used the other to cup my cheek, staring me directly in the eyes.

Her face was covered in ashes and her hair was a mess, but despite it, she looked more beautiful than ever.

"Courtney. . ." I whispered, almost wondering whether she was truly there, or merely an illusion.

"I pulled you out," Courtney explained. "Me and your brother and his friends, we pulled you out."

"Where are they?" I asked, struggling to stand up.

"They're off to get the others," Courtney revealed. "I'm sure they're also calling the fire department." As if on cue, the two of us heard a small explosion within the school as the fire raged on, causing the two of us to flinch.

After the initial panic wore off, the two of us broke into a small, awkward chuckle. Eventually, even that tapered off into silence, and we simply stared at the burning school, where the Mud Monsters had once been.

"You know, Eddie, I didn't think you truly had it in you," Courtney said after a while, her voice empty.

"What do you mean?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my legs.

"I didn't think you could be so fearless," Courtney replied. "Last year, you were scared of bees. And here you are going up against a horde of Mud Monsters, including Old Man Butcher."

"Well I didn't think you had it in you, either," I said in a mischievous tone. "I mean, to admit to being scared."

I received a well-deserved punch in the arm. "Shut up, Bugs, I'm trying to be nice," Courtney snapped, using my brother's nickname for me.

I laughed it off. In the distance, I heard footsteps, and I turned around to see my brother, his friends, and my classmates all rushing towards us. Sam was helping a limping Hat to walk.

"Eddie!" Molly exclaimed, enveloping me in a hug. She was soon joined by Hat and Charlene, all of them crushing me in a group hug. Courtney scooted away, giving us some space.

"I called the fire department," Molly explained once my friends released me. "They'll be here in a short while."

Charlene turned to the burning school. "Did you get them?" She asked, for reassurance. "The Mud Monsters, I mean."

"Yeah, they're dead," I said. "Well, deader than they already were."

"That's good," Hat said, rubbing the back of his head. "You know, if there's one good thing that's come of this night, it's that there won't be any school for the time being. Heck, maybe next year, we could do this again to get out of high school."

He meant it as a joke, but the response, from all of us, was a resounding, "No!"

And we meant it. From this night on, I was never going to try to scare Courtney again. After all, I'd already succeeded in getting her scared.

And for me, that was more than enough.

Well, that all happened two weeks ago. Two long weeks ago. After that night, things were different, but still strangely familiar.

Almost immediately after Halloween, Courtney started bragging to everyone. Not only about how she'd seen actual Mud Monsters, but about how she'd actually fought them, except now she had proof she had.

I would've been annoyed, except I was right by her side, bragging along with her, about how the two of us had single-handedly saved the whole town from being overrun by Mud Monsters. It was funny; I used to wonder how someone could be so self-centered.

Now I knew.

Kevin and his friends, meanwhile, were now working on the sequel to their home video. He tells me he plans to send it to a movie studio, says it'll make us all rich. After that Halloween, I'd believe anything.

Hat was released from the hospital, meanwhile. Charlene had been by his side the whole time; they were closer than ever now. I swear, he spends more time with her than with me.

Then again, I wasn't one to talk. Because the same could be said for me and Courtney.

After that night, we stopped being enemies, officially, and even started to hang out sometimes. With Denise no longer around after that night, there really weren't many other people to hang out with. I could tell she was still rather broken up about it, but she was managing.

After we stopped trying to one-up each other, I learned Courtney was actually a pretty fun person to be around. Once you get past all the bragging, that is.

"Run that by me, again?" I said to Courtney up in her tree house.

"I said I was thinking we should go into acting," Courtney explained to me, Hat, Molly and Charlene. "Your brother is already making a movie, after all."

"Please, like anyone would want to watch us," Molly said.

"Are we not the town heroes?" Courtney said in her usual high-and-mighty tone, though it was strangely no longer annoying to me.

"You know, for once, you might be on to something," Charlene said, her arm interlocked with Hat's. "Though if we do, can we please not star in something scary?"

"Is that not our specialty?" I asked, mimicking Courtney's voice. "Heck, maybe the first film we star in can be about the legend of Old Man Butcher. My brother's already making a film about the Mud Monsters."

"Yeah, but what about after that?" Hat asked. "We're gonna have to start making films about things other than our personal experiences."

"Well," Courtney said, shifting her eyes. "I once heard someone say they saw Bigfoot in these woods once. That could give us some film ideas."

I immediately realized what she was getting at. "You sure you wanna do that, Courtney?" I asked. "It could be scary."

Courtney merely smirked in response.

"Please, Eddie," She said with a mischievous glint. "You Can't Scare Me Thrice."

The End.