Chapter 3 Max
THREE
MAX
“Are you ready?” Skyler scans her employee ID at the Adventure Oasis turnstiles, getting us into Fright Nights for free. She reaches for my hand and pulls me close. “You made it out of the car. That’s step one.”
“Of course I’m not ready.” I let her lead me down the main stretch of sidewalk that brings us deeper into the theme park while I try to squash down my panic. “Nightmares, remember?”
I used to come to the park as a kid, but I’ve never seen it like this: decked out in Halloween decorations and dimly lit with unsettling fog that billows in the wind.
The ominous sign welcoming you to the event is covered in spiderwebs.
Coffins line the street, and shrieks of fear pierce the night air.
The sound of a chainsaw roaring to life adds to the ambience, and my body buzzes with anticipation and dread. Groups of friends huddle together as they run past us. A pair of girls scream and jump out of the way from a zombie that appears out of nowhere.
We’re barely in the park, and my palms are already sweating. I’m twitching, trying to take a deep breath but failing miserably, and I know I’m so fucking screwed.
“The house we’re doing is near the back.
We have one scare zone to get through, then we’ll be there.
I’m pretty sure a guy I slept with last year is one of the managers tonight, so he might let us skip the line.
” Skyler keeps our fingers intertwined, guiding me past a makeshift graveyard filled with tombstones and skeletons.
“Do you want a pro tip from someone who’s done every house every year since Fright Nights started? ”
“I can’t believe you do this willingly.”
“The actors are more likely to go after you if they see that you’re terrified. It’s like a game for them.”
“Lovely.” I sidestep around a fake spider that’s four feet wide. It looks so realistic, I swear it moves in my direction. “They’re going to have a field day with me.”
Skyler laughs and turns us down a path to the right. “I’ve started to find the places where I think the actors will be hiding in the house: behind corners. Behind a mirror. Definitely behind anything that looks like a curtain. When you learn where they are, there’s less of a surprise.”
“What if I keep my eyes closed?”
“Then you won’t know they’re right next to you until they whisper in your ear.”
“Fuck. I’m going to have to sleep with the lights on for days.
And I’m probably going to buy an ax to keep next to my bed.
” The shots we took before we left the house are working their way into my bloodstream.
I’m warm. Teetering toward tipsy, and I hope the alcohol offers me bravery I doubt I’ll find anywhere else.
“Okay. I’m not saying I’m enjoying myself, but this place looks so different with all the decorations up.
I can’t believe how much detail there is. ”
“They spend months getting everything ready. If you go back stage in May and June, you’ll see props and designs being put into place.”
“That early?”
“Oh, yeah. Every single inch of the haunted house has a purpose. Some of them have secret buttons you can hit that trigger special effects. The production teams think of everything.”
We reach a haunted house, the words TERROR brOUGHT TO LIFE written on a metal sign with a hundred different warnings listed under it. Sensitivity to fog, to loud noises. Fear of enclosed spaces and the dark. Intense special effects and sudden movements.
For someone who hates all of the things mentioned, I’m sure I’m going to have a wonderful time.
A crowd congregates around the entrance, and Skyler waves to a guy talking into a walkie-talkie.
“Who’s that?” I ask. “He’s cute.”
“Dustin.” She smiles and tugs me in his direction, keeping our palms pressed together. “Hi,” she exclaims when we get close, finally pulling away from me so she can give him a hug.
“Skyler.” He grins and embraces her. His hands linger on her waist for a second too long, and when he pulls away, his cheeks are pink. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in the show.”
“We don’t start until nine,” she says. “I’m here early so I could bring my best friend to her first Fright Nights before I go on.”
“First-timer?” Dustin looks over at me. “What do you think so far?”
“I mean.” I wave my hand in the direction of the wait time boasting a ninety-minute queue. “Clearly people love it. I’m glad they’re having fun, but I’m not one of them.”
Dustin laughs and glances back at Skyler.
“Janey, my manager, is dealing with a fight that broke out toward the exit. Normally I’d offer to walk you through the house, but I need to make sure we don’t have any more issues before she gets back.
The night is young, and drunk idiots always bring the mood down. ”
“So, I shouldn’t punch the person who lunges at me?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Please don’t. I hate paperwork. Head up to the VIP line to the soundstage and tell them I sent you. They’ll slip you in so you don’t have to wait.”
“You’re the best.” Skyler hugs him again then gives his chest a gentle shove. “Text me sometime. I don’t want Fright Nights to be the only time I know you’re alive.”
“I’ll see what you’re up to this weekend.” He hooks his thumb over his shoulder. “Entrance is that way. Have fun.”
“No paperwork,” I repeat, giving him a salute as we head up the line. “What the hell, Sky? He’s so nice.”
“He is, isn’t he?” Skyler links our arms together and practically skips toward the large white building ahead of us. I don’t know the last time I saw her smile this much. “He’s not the type of guy I typically go for, but he’s great in bed.”
“Really?” I glance behind us I laugh when I spot Dustin watching us walk away, looking like a lost puppy. “I’m surprised.”
“So was I when he tied my hands to the headboard and ate me out until I came three times,” she says, not fazed when the attendant in front of us overhears her declaration. “Hi! Dustin sent us this way.”
“Perfect.” The attendant stops the flow of the regular line, ignoring the eye roll and protest from a guy holding two beer cans, and gestures us forward. “Y’all can go on in. They just did a shift change, so the actors are ready to go. You’ll be the first ones with the new crew.”
“Great,” I mumble, almost refusing to move when Skyler tugs me behind her. “Are we really doing this?”
“Yeah, babe. We’re really doing this. Hold onto me, okay? I promise we’ll be out of here in no time.”
I step close to her, hooking a finger in the belt loop of her jean shorts so we don’t get separated.
It’s so dark, it’s almost impossible to see where we’re going, but I can make out a house at the end of a long hallway.
There’s a porch with a rocking chair on it.
A mailbox and fake grass. Old-time music plays, giving me a false sense of security.
I don’t let myself relax, following Skyler as we make our way inside.
I’m squeezing her hand so tight, I’m afraid I’m going to break her fingers. I keep my eyes downcast, studying the floor instead of what’s ahead of us. Out of my peripheral vision, a figure pops up behind a window, and I don’t let myself look at it straight on.
Out of sight, out of mind, and I’m not going to let these fuckers get the best of me.
Skyler is a good friend who doesn’t mention she’s in pain, and I heave a sigh of relief when she maneuvers us down the first straightaway.
“Okay,” I breathe out. “This is easy. A stroll through the park.”
“I told you–” she yelps and laughs, pulling away from me slightly at the flash of a light. There’s a scream and the loud clatter of something falling to the ground up ahead. “Damn. That one was good. I didn’t even see him.”
“I see nothing, and it’s better this way.”
“We’re just walking through a house. Pretend it’s our house, and we’re going from the kitchen to the living room for movie night.”
“It’s a house full of deranged people holding knives.” I step over a puddle that looks like it could be blood and grimace. “Normal behavior.”
“Fake knives,” she corrects. “They—”
A loud sound makes my ears ring. A figure with a mask and a weapon raised above his head appears inches away from me, and I lose it.
Fuck this.
I scream, hurtling toward what looks like a path that leads to the exit.
I make a left then a sharp right, not letting myself stop moving until I’m someplace quieter.
Brighter, and out of the way of danger. Putting a hand on the wall, I look for Skyler, and that’s when I realize none of my surroundings are familiar.
A water bottle leans against a door marked EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY. A flashlight and neatly-folded robe sit on a small table, and it’s very obvious I’m nowhere close to where I should be.
I’ve somehow stumbled into a back of house area, completely lost and totally alone.
“Fuck,” I whisper. I whirl around, trying to figure out which way I should go, but I’m disoriented. I’m clueless about where I am in proximity to where I was before, and I wring my hands together. “Fuck.”
“What the hell are you doing back here?” a deep voice asks from behind me, and I freeze.
Everything moves in slow motion as I turn, staring right into the eyes of a man wearing a mask that covers most of his face.
He’s tall, easily over six-feet and towering above me, with broad shoulders that tell me he absolutely works out.
There’s a tattoo of a dragon on the back of his hand.
Dark hair sneaks out from behind the mask, and when he turns his head to the side, I notice a smaller tattoo on his neck, right near his collar.
I swallow, throat dry and voice gone. I shuffle back, moving until my shoulders collide with a wall behind me. I tilt my chin to look up at him, and when I do, I notice his long fingers curled around a knife.
Fake knife, I try to tell myself.
None of this is real.
He’s just a man. Someone you’d see at the grocery store.