Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Welcome to Mayhem Motel
Madison
Ishudder visibly as we pass the welcome sign for Vitriol, the small town just off the interstate that has famously become known as Mayhem Motel’s home. But even that fame isn’t enough to upgrade a single thing.
It looks like a freaking ghost town, which I suppose is apt.
“You look like you’re going to throw up already,” Kane remarks. The car dips as we hit a pothole. I jerk, nearly smacking my head against the glass window.
We pass a green, moss-covered pond a few dozen feet off the road. Weeds nearly as tall as me line the body of water, only broken in segments where geese waddle through, honking and flapping around.
“I feel like it,” I mumble pathetically as I crank my head back, watching the aggressive little things disappear in the distance.
My stomach’s been in knots since the moment my eyelids cracked open to the mid-morning sunlight streaming through my curtainless windows.
I didn’t fall asleep till near sunrise, so exhaustion is already weighing heavily on me. Add that to my undiluted apprehension about where we’re headed, and I’m a pathetic, jumbled mess.
“You should’ve eaten something before we left, but here.” Kane hands over his half-eaten bag of Funyuns. “Eat something now. It might help with the nausea.”
Flicking him a grateful smile, I take it and munch on one, thankful for the obnoxious crunching now reverberating in my skull, drowning out the echoing noise of fear.
“Thanks,” I say once my mouth is clear. “But I don’t think this’ll help much. I was looking into this… motel—" the word sounds far too heavy on my tongue—"last night, and did you guys know we have to sign a waiver before we can enter? Because they, like, touch us and stuff?”
Lenny whirls around in the passenger seat. “Uh, yeah, dude. That’s the whole point.” Collin snickers, shaking his head as he flicks on his turn signal. Even his girlfriend, Brianne, laughs quietly from the other side of Kane.
My face burns with heat, so I turn into my bicep and rest against the door panel. “Guys, for fuck’s sake, quit giving the new kid a hard time.” Kane bumps against my side, making me glance up.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” He seems genuine, which makes me smile out of sheer gratefulness. Before I can even open my mouth to respond, Lenny’s shouting in a voice much too loud for the small space we’re all trapped in.
“Absolutely no backing out! For anyone! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we’re all gonna do it together.” He shoots his index finger out, pointing straight at me through the gap in his headrest. “Even you, new kid.”
I lift my head with the world’s most pathetic fake smile plastered on my ghastly face. “Nope—not backing out.” The words make me want to spew the single Funyun ring I managed to choke down.
Kane just snickers beside me.
Oh, God, it’s even worse in person.
My eyes catch on the broken, neon motel sign and the way that singular M is illuminated.
The car dips as Collin pulls into the packed parking lot.
Not that it’s very big to begin with, but nearly every space is filled with every kind of car imaginable.
My eyes rove over the cracked, stained concrete leading to the front entrance, where I’m assuming we all go to sign our souls to the devil if the long line leading to said door is any indication.
Gravel kicks up around us as Collin maneuvers into a tight space near the opposite end and slams the old, maroon Pontiac into park. He fiddles with the keys, wiggling them out of the ignition before he drops them into the center console.
He turns around, eyes immediately finding Brianne’s. “Ready to piss yourself?” She laughs and shakes her head. Her perfectly shaped brow arches in a challenge.
“That’ll be you, babe.” He scoffs but doesn’t bother denying it, which would make me laugh if I didn’t feel like I was about to have a panic attack.
Everyone’s digging through their bags, pulling out their IDs, and I’m just stuck staring at the gray, cloth fabric of the seat in front of me.
My breath feels faint as it rushes in and out of my lungs. Even my blood seems to have stopped flowing in my veins.
“Hey, you good?” Kane asks.
I shake my head. I can’t speak.
This is such a bad idea.
“Jesus, it feels like I’m about to walk toward my death.
” I laugh shakily, eyes wide and staring straight ahead.
Silence rings out around me, lulling me from my reverie.
I glance around the car, finding everyone’s eyes on me once again.
The weight of their stares makes my skin crawl worse than the prospect of getting out of the car, so I yank on the handle and shove the door open.
“Well, let’s go.” I don’t know how I manage to talk, let alone move, but everyone easily follows suit. The sun is nearly gone from the sky by the time we make it to the end of the long line that winds around the front of the motel.
Aside from the hushed murmurs of conversation, it’s surprisingly quiet. I thought we’d be able to hear screams from people inside, but there’s nothing. Just eerie silence.
That bodes well.
Not.
My roommates all start in on some conversation I try to follow, but it’s way past my capabilities.
My eyes wander around the expanse of Mayhem.
The motel is two stories with a level right off the ground and the other just above with a sawed-off guard rail.
The building is long and narrow, covering a large expanse before it cuts left, wrapping around to where it ends a short distance later.
The faded, baby blue paint is chipped off and missing across most of the building, leaving splintered wood panels exposed.
The windows are coated with what appears to be years of dirt and grime; it’s impossible to see inside, which I’m sure is entirely on purpose.
“Yo, Madison.” The sound of my name has my whole body jerking. My feet twist in the gravel, sending a plume of dust into the air.
“Yeah?” I croak, tugging on the collar of my shirt. I shove my hands into my jeans pockets. The fingers on my right hand clamp tight around my ID—the only thing I have on me. It doesn’t do much to ground me, but it’s something tangible at least.
“Did you happen to look at Mayhem’s gallery last night when you were doing your research?” Collin asks. I shake my head before he’s even finished talking.
“No, I, uh, didn’t think I should.”
“Better to be surprised.” Lenny waggles his brows.
“No.” I shake my head. “But after what I read, I was too scared to,” I blurt, then immediately clamp my mouth shut.
“That’s smart ‘cause the pictures alone would’ve talked you out of it,” the person in the line in front of us chimes in on the conversation.
Everyone turns to face them as they talk.
I’m just grateful we skipped right over my stupid admission.
“There’s Static, the clown, though he’s like, way creepier than a regular ol’ clown.
And then there’s Phantom, the ghoul, which is pretty self-explanatory.
Maggot is the Boogeyman. He’s absolutely terrifying.
All green with exposed teeth and shit.” They visibly shudder.
“But my favorite is Vulture. He’s the vampire.” Their eyes flash, making a few in the group laugh.
“I like Ravage,” Lenny adds.
“Ohhh, the cannibal. Nice.”
“Cannibal?” I squawk, eyes shooting wide. Everyone turns to peer at me with amused expressions that make my face heat.
“Yeah, and there’s a puppeteer, too. Ligature.”
Cannibal, the Boogeyman, and a freaking clown.
I heave out a breath, hunching over as my stomach revolts, my uvula twitching away.
They shake their head with a laugh. “Sorry—should’ve left ya in the dark.”
I hold out a thumbs up with a mocking smile. “Wish you would’ve,” I mumble and effectively tune out of that conversation.
The line takes forever to shuffle along. Apparently, they only allow a certain amount of people in at a time, so it takes a while to get through. Which makes sense, but with this supposedly being a two-hour ordeal, you’d think it would actually move slower.
I mean, we’re not even seeing people exit, which they’d have to be to allow more people in.
Ugh. I groan and clutch my midsection. My stomach flips and churns as we near the black-painted front doors. Kane rubs his hand between my shoulder blades.
“Take a deep breath, dude. You’re overthinking it.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I’m underthinking this whole thing,” I mumble but take his advice, regardless. The people in front of us disappear inside, spiking my adrenaline tenfold.
“Ohhh, shit, we’re nearly there!” Lenny rubs his hands together in a pose that closely resembles a praying mantis. It makes me laugh in spite of everything.
I time each breath to the mental tick of a clock, wishing I had my phone to distract me, but Collin advised us they’re not allowed, so we left them in the car. No way to call for help…
Another piece to the bone-chilling and absolutely terrifying scenario.
“Next five people,” a voice booms out, and I nearly jump right out of my skin. My hand slams across my sternum with a resounding crack, even through the fabric.
“Damn, Mads. Chill, dude. We’re just signing paperwork,” Collin so helpfully adds as he walks through the entrance to hell.
Yeah, I’m working on chilling.
Kane swings his arm out. “After you.”
“Oh, how freaking courteous,” I grumble as I shuffle over the split concrete, nearly tripping over an elevated slab. Kane laughs loudly as he follows behind me.
The lights inside are much brighter than I expected them to be. The walls are painted black, making the surprisingly large room appear smaller.
Another purposeful illusion of the mind, I’m sure.
Collin saunters right up to the counter. He tells the person his name, and they pull up his tickets on their system. Once he’s checked in, both he and Brianne are handed clipboards, along with a short, scripted explanation similar to the one I read online.