Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Winter
Wouldn’t you know it, Jelly took me shopping for a costume and ended up buying a sexy nurse outfit despite my protests.
Okay, if I’m being honest, I didn’t put up much of a fight.
Earlier I saw Billy’s post about hitting up the carnival with his new girl and I’m secretly hoping he sees me there. I want him to see what he’s missing.
“No, girl.” Jelly shakes her head. We’re at her place getting ready for the carnival. Ducking into her closet, she digs around until she finds what she’s looking for. “Ah, these are perfect.” Dangling from her fingers is a silver pair of stilettos. “Here, wear these.”
I glance down at my flats. “But these are comfy.” Walking around in stilettos all night will absolutely kill my feet.
“Girl, it’s not about comfort.” Tossing the heels next to me, she stands at the mirror and applies red lipstick. “Tonight is about being sexy and showing that asshole what he left behind.”
Sorry feet, sexiness is our number one priority tonight.
Slipping into the heels, I test them out.
It’s been years since I’ve worn heels, and never any with this much height.
The first thing I notice is the strain on my ankles.
Jeez, this might be a long night. As I walk, I’m embarrassed to say that I’m almost as wobbly as a newborn horse.
Let’s just hope I don’t trip and fall.
After Jelly applies lipstick to my lips, she’s ready to rock and roll.
The carnival is being held at the fairgrounds on the outskirts of town.
It’s not a long drive, around fifteen minutes.
As we’re turning into the parking lot, I suddenly worry about how short this skirt is.
I’m not one to reveal too much skin. Being an author, I’m usually walking about in sweatpants.
“Stop fretting and get out, we have a night of fun ahead of us.” Jelly unbuckles my seatbelt and motions for me to get out.
Taking a deep breath, I open the car door and exit the vehicle. My eyes constantly scan the lot for any signs of Billy’s car. Even though I want him to see me all sexed up, I’m afraid of what seeing him with her will do to me.
Breathe, Winter, it’ll be okay.
I’m not convinced it will be. In fact, I’m pretty sure that once I see him it won’t be.
Tonight’s plans didn’t come with an exit strategy in the event I do run into my ex.
Walking across the parking lot in these heels is a sight, and not a good one.
Jelly is kind enough to loop her arm through mine when I nearly tumble to the ground.
Once we reach solid ground, my balance is better, and she untangles herself from me to dig through her purse.
The man at the gate is tall, bulky, and looks like he’d rather be anywhere other than here.
His reddish blonde beard is braided, and he’s dressed as a Viking.
Of their own accord, my eyes travel down to his bare chest, where his nipples are standing loud and proud.
“ID.” His eyes land on me and he smirks when he notices where my gaze had been. Jelly and I fish out our IDs and hand them over. Giving them a once over, he hands them back. “Have fun.” Turning, he points to the men standing either side of the gate. “See the guys for your curtesy drink.”
Curtesy drink? What kind of carnival did Jelly drag me to?
Ushering me to the right side of the gate, she gets two shots from a guy wearing a Santa outfit, minus the red coat. I glance over at the man on the opposite side, he’s also shirtless. “Jelly, what kind of carnival is this?” She giggles but otherwise says nothing.
Mr. Bare-chested Santa chuckles and glances at my best friend. “You didn’t tell her you were bringing her to a Biker Carnival?”
“Oh, I did.” She downs her shot and hands me mine. “I just didn’t elaborate on the fact it’s twenty-one and up.”
Okay, twenty-one and up is no big deal. Though it doesn’t explain the shirtless men at the entrance. Bringing the shot glass to my lips, I tip it and down the contents. A burn trails down my throat, and I suck air through my teeth. Damn, that’s straight up tequila.
Taking the empty plastic shot glass from me, Mr. Santa says, “You ever been to a Biker event, babe?” I shake my head. “Well, tonight’s carnival is adult themed. Don’t be surprised if you see a little bumpin’ and grindin’, if ya know what I mean.”
“Wait, what?” But before he can say more, Jelly takes me by the hand and tugs me through the crowd. As I glance over my shoulder, I see the Santa biker chuckling. Then he winks at me before handing the next in line their drink.
“Don’t worry.” Jelly bumps her hip into mine, nearly causing me to trip in these crazy shoes. “It’s not as bad as what you’re imagining. I promise.”
“But he said—” Now I almost wish I had stayed home. Almost.
“Forget what he said. Will there be the occasional couple having a quicky behind a building? Yeah, for sure. This is a Biker event. Of course, that’s going to include sexual behavior. But it will not be out in the middle of the festivities.”
I’m still unsure if this is where I want to be, but we’re here, may as well have fun. Right?
As we enter the festivities, I see normal carnival things. Games tables, rides, vendors, haunted house, corn maze, haunted hayrides, and I see there’s even a costume contest. We stop at the ticket booth and pay for the night pass bracelet, which will allow us unlimited access to every ride.
Of course, the first ride I want to hop on is the haunted roller coaster.
Luckily for me, the line for this one is fairly short.
As I look around, I notice that every ride is manned by what appears to be a Biker.
You guessed it, every single one of them is bare-chested.
I’m seeing the theme, and now I understand why Jelly picked a sexy nurse costume for me.
Once the ride comes to a stop and people start to exit, we’re ushered on.
It’s been so long since I’ve ridden a roller coaster, I’m a little nervous.
An older man with muscles for days comes to strap me in.
On his right pec I see the word SINNER tattooed.
He’s dressed in tight Wranglers, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat.
Holstered to his hip is a gun, I sure hope its fake.
Especially with all the drinking that appears to be going on.
Interesting.
“Enjoy the ride, darlin’.” He tests the bar to make sure it’s secure then moves on to the next car. Cowboy Biker takes his spot at the control panel and speaks into the microphone. “Get ready for the scariest roller coaster of your life.”
Without warning, he hits the switch, and we begin our ascent. It’s slow and our car jerks as it climbs the track. Once we reach the top and I see the drop, my stomach twists. That’s a mighty steep drop-off.
Jelly lifts her hands in the air once we start picking up speed. Screaming fills the air as passengers experience that swift drop. I can see the tunnel at the bottom. There is nothing but pure black from where I’m sitting.
When we fully descend and enter said tunnel, the car jerks to a near stop. It slowly moves through the darkness. Flashes of blue lights. Echoes of laughter, and not the happy kind. This laughter is of the creepy clown kind. The kind that makes the hairs on your arms stand on end.
A hand caresses my arm. At first, I think it’s Jelly. Then I realize that its coming from the outer side. Someone I can’t see is touching me. When the blue light flashes again, I see a dark figure moving away from tracks.
As we move along, there are other jump scares. A Jason mask that suddenly glows red with the theme song. Large spiders that fall toward the moving cars. The sound of a chainsaw starting. What feels like creepy crawlies on the back of the neck when its pitch black.
When the doors swing open and light filters in, I breathe a sigh of relief.
My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears.
We exit and I grip the metal railing to steady myself.
That ride was intense. I wasn’t expecting that.
Whoever put that together knows how to play on one’s senses.
It was scary and at times I felt like I may pass out.
“Ooh, I see a haunted house.” Jelly tugs on the sleeve of my top.
Another one? I’m not sure my heart is ready for round two of haunted attractions. “I don’t know. How about some food or something first?”
“Are you kidding me?” She shakes her head. “There’s plenty of time for food later. Look at that line.” I do. Compared to all the other attractions, this line is by far the shortest. “Let’s walk through and then eat. Come on.” Grabbing hold of my hand, she begins to drag me toward the house.
“Fine.” At least we’ll be on foot in there.
A man dressed as Thor is letting people in by groups of six. I notice that he flirts with every girl that passes him. As each group is let in, we move further up the line. Until we’re standing at the head. Thor winks at me as he takes a step toward us. “Naughty nurse, I like.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes. What a shameless flirt with zero regard to one’s boundaries. “Have you used that line on every female that’s come through here?”
“You jealous?” A smirk lifts one side of his mouth.
“Hardly.” Why would I be jealous over a man that shows zero signs of commitment.
All his actions do is remind me of my ex and his cheating ways.
Okay, I don’t exactly know that he cheated on me.
Billy could have just been interested in Shelbi before and didn’t make a move until this morning. I highly doubt it, but it’s possible.
Pressing a finger against the earpiece, he says, “Roger that.” Then we are ushed through the door along with the three guys behind us.
It’s pitch-black inside and I immediately reach for Jelly’s hand.
Blue light flashes and I see a bald man with smudges around his eyes.
At first, he’s across the room, but when the light flashes again, he is right in my face.
That’s not what causes me to scream. No, I let out a shrill noise because in that flash, I see him place a rat on my shoulder.
Oh God, is it alive? Yes, I think it is, I can feel it crawling from one shoulder to the other. Eww, I hate rats. This critter better not bite me. I will seriously throw hands if I end up with puncture wounds in my neck. Laughter rings right next to my ear. This creep is still next to me.
When the lights flash again, he’s gone, and so is the rat. Thank the good Lord.
Moving on to the next room, my stomach drops when I see that this one is a suicide scene. There’s a guy sitting in a chair with a gun in his mouth. He’s crying around the barrel, mumbling something about a breakup and wanting to leave this world behind.
Just when I think he’s going to pull the trigger, his eyes flick toward the guy standing behind me. With an evil smirk, he removes the barrel from his mouth and slowly aims his weapon at the person standing next to me.
Standing, his long legs stride toward us.
Not knowing what is happening is rapidly increasing my heartrate.
Surely this is a prop gun. Right? Jelly wouldn’t have brought me to a carnival with questionable activities.
I know her better than that, and judging by the way she’s clutching my hand, I’d say she’s just as surprised as I am.
The psycho with the gun stops directly in front of me, his weapon still aimed at the man who is now trying to worm his way behind me, making me his shield.
What a coward. The gun tips upward and the actor shakes his head.
“You’re a pussy, what kind of man uses a woman as a shield?
” Nodding toward an open door, he says, “Get out of here before I decide to tie you up and keep you as prisoners.”
Each remaining room is more interactive than the last. On more than one occasion, I wonder if my life is truly in danger. Whoever these bikers are, they sure know how to scare the life out of a person. I’m starting to wish I had just stayed home tonight.
When the back door opens and the carnival noises filter into the room, I breathe a sigh of relief. Yes, I love horror movies. Yes, I love scary attractions. But tonight was on a whole new level of fright.
The coward that hid behind me in room two shoves me out of the way, exiting the haunted house. I lose my footing and stumble into a man wearing big black wings. His dark hair is a right mess. It looks like he may have been running his fingers through it recently.
Gripping me by the shoulders, he steadies me. Those brown orbs pierce through me, down to the depths of my soul. “You okay?”