Angela hummed as she tossed her overnight bag into the backseat of her dodge. It was four in the afternoon; she still had an hour before Joanne's party started but she wanted to get there early.

The sky was overcast and the smell of rain lingered in the humid atmosphere, so she threw an umbrella in as well before heading out. Though she was excited, Angela was also aware of that tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach. Nervousness.

She could never quite pin down a reason, but something about Joanne had always weirded her out a little. Perhaps it was because she always insisted that her friends bring gifts like little dolls and toys.

Sure that's fine for a gift she supposed, but...Joanne was turning twenty-three. Angela stopped at a red light and wondered if she should just go home. Then she laughed at herself and kept driving.

Joanne opened the door as soon as she lifted

her hand to knock.

"Angie!" She cried joyfully, grabbing the girl's hand and pulling her into the chaos that was every birthday.

The usual festivities followed; as they were all adults they did other things besides playing games and gossiping, such as discussing job opportunities and dancing to .

Angela began to feel remorse for her attitude towards her friend. But then came the time to open gifts.

"Everyone gather around," Joanne called, taking a seat on the middle of the living room floor.

The other ten girls did so, dropping into whatever seat was closest.

"Alexa, dim the lights," Joanne commanded, and promptly the lamps in the room dimmed and the young woman pulled out a flashlight and pointed it at the ceiling.

This was the usual "ritual" Angela was accustomed to at her friend's house. Everyone leaned in and waited for Joanne to open her first gift.

But suddenly Angela saw something change in her friend's face.

"Let's do something else this time," she said icily, rising and cutting the flashlight off so that the room was dark.

A storm had begun outside, and the wind was so strong it shook the house. Torrents of rain pelted the windows, and a crack of thunder made everyone but the birthday girl jump.

"Let's play hide and seek."

Something about the way she said it told Angela that there was something more. They weren’t going to play the normal kid version. That suspicion was confirmed when Joanne pulled a small knife from her pocket.

The other girls looked at each other, exchanging expressions of confusion and apprehension.

“Joanne-“ Angela began doubtfully.

“Shut up Angie,” Joanne snapped, and a clap of thunder rocked the house.

Simultaneously the doors in the house locked, bolting so loudly that everyone heard it. Angela glanced at her friends in the darkness. They were trapped.

“I’m going to count to…….sixty-six,” Joanne grinned, a giggle following the announcement. “Now everyone go hide, and when I find you you’ll see what the surprise is.”

Something told Angela that the “surprise” had something to do with the knife. One of the girls screamed and ran for the front door, only to be greeted by a blast of electricity that knocked her to the floor unconscious. The other girls turned simultaneously to stare at their host with frightened eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Joanne grinned, “you won’t ALL die.”

Angela took a deep breath. She couldn’t believe what was happening. With a final laugh the flashlight cut off and the room went pitch black. Several girls screamed, and Joanne’s voice rang out above them.

“ONE, TWO, THREE…”

Everyone bolted from the room, terrified and in a chaotic panic. Angela’s heart was racing as she stumbled through the hallway and ran into a door. She recognized the entrance to the basement, grabbed the handle, and slipped through as quietly as possible.

Here she tried to call the police, only to find that every bar of signal had vanished. They were all trapped, and there was no one to save them. The house was eerie and creaked with every gust of wind that blew outside.

Suddenly she heard singing. Angela crept down the stairs and crawled under an overturned dresser, beads of sweat forming on her face and her breathing rough and shortened.

“Come out…..come out….wherever you are….” A sing-song voice called out, and Angela shivered.

She could see nothing in the dark basement, and she was aware that the temperature had dropped quite a bit. Fear gnawed at her heart, and she curled into a helpless ball under the dresser.

It seemed like hours that she laid there in the silence, hearing nothing save for the occasional rumble of thunder. She wondered if Joanne had left or changed her mind.

She began to get cramped in the small space, and the silence was deafening. She waited a moment, taking a couple deep breaths.

Angela felt like an animal as she crawled on all fours across the concrete floor; pausing every few seconds to listen. She still couldn’t see, so she pulled out her phone for a flashlight.

Fumbling with the buttons, she finally turned it on and screamed. Joanne stood before her, grinning wickedly and brandishing the knife.

“Hello Angie,” she said smoothly, tilting her head at an unnatural angle.

Angela screamed, tears immediately flooding her eyes as fear latched onto her. She was frozen in place, phone flashlight raised and hand trembling violently.

“Joanne…” she whispered, “what’s wrong? Why are you doing this?”

Joanne looked confused.

“It’s my birthday,” she answered simply, in the same childish sing-song voice that chilled Angela to the core.

Joanne continued to stare at her, eyes slowly losing the smile though it was still plastered on her face.

“It’s….my birthday,” she repeated quietly, anger seeping into her tone.

Angela screamed as her host lunged forward, slashing at her with the knife. It grazed her arm and she winced, ducking the next blow and racing up the stairs.

“There’s nowhere to go, Angie!!!” Joanne screamed menacingly, all trace of playfulness gone as she tore after the girl. “You can’t hide from me!”

Angela tripped up the last step, feeling a sharp pain in her ankle. She sprinted as well as she could to the kitchen, hoping to gain a weapon or some form of protection.

Joanne caught up to her in no time, lashing out again and cutting her across the back. Angie screamed again, tears flowing down her face as she fell to the ground, turning to look one last time into the face of her friend…