Chapter Fourteen #2
Ramona was staring at a fake corpse hanging upside down from the ceiling.
“That’s Gary.”
She looked at me. “You named him?”
“Piney did.”
“Why Gary?”
I shrugged. “No idea.”
She stared at the corpse. “Hi, Gary.”
Shay was telling McKayla where one of the actors normally hid when Pearl stopped in front of a coffin.
Ramona caught me staring at her while she watched McKayla try to scare Pearl. “What?” she asked me.
“Nothing.”
“You’re doing that thing again where you look at me and then pretend you weren’t.”
“I wasn’t pretending.”
Her mouth curved.
I put my hand against the small of her back and guided her forward. “Keep moving, doll.”
We entered the next section.
This one was darker even with the work lights on. Black walls, narrow hallway, fake cobwebs, and a row of doors that opened into different rooms.
Ramona slowed.
“Still not scary?” I asked.
“Nope.”
“Good.”
She looked suspiciously at me.
I kept my face straight.
We walked another ten feet, and I knew exactly what was coming.
Ramona didn’t.
Her foot hit the pressure plate and a hand shot out from beneath the wall and grabbed her ankle.
Ramona screamed.
Not a little scream. A full fucking scream.
She launched sideways and slammed directly into me.
I caught her, and she screamed, “What the fuck!” She clutched the front of my shirt and looked down. The rubber hand disappeared back beneath the wall. “What the fuck was that?”
“Hand.”
“I know it was a hand!” she hissed.
“Then why’d you ask?”
She smacked my chest. “You knew that was going to happen! You asshole.”
“You said it wasn’t scary. It touched me!”
I shrugged. “Fake hand.”
“I don’t give a shit if it was Mickey Mouse. It touched my ankle!”
Pearl was laughing while Shay was bent over trying to catch her breath. Even McKayla had a hand over her mouth.
Ramona pointed at all of them. “Fuck every single one of you.”
That only made them laugh harder.
I wrapped an arm around Ramona and pulled her against my side. “You good?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Shut up.”
I kissed the side of her head. “You’re cute when you’re scared.”
“I will shove you into Gary.”
“Gary’s two rooms back,” I pointed out.
“I’ll drag your ass back there.”
I laughed again.
My throat pulled. I stopped and rubbed the scar.
Ramona immediately noticed, and her eyes narrowed. “Karma for scaring me.” She did reach up and gently rub the scar. “Are you okay?”
I grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “I’m good, doll.”
She just slipped her hand into mine, and I squeezed it.
The farther we went, the more relaxed everyone became.
Nothing was wrong.
Skull and Prime checked doors. I checked cameras. Pearl and Shay fucked with each other every chance they got. McKayla asked actual questions about how the attraction worked. Ramona touched nothing after the fake hand incident.
We made it through most of the public part of the attraction without finding anything.
“Back section,” Skull said.
The girls followed us through a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY.
Ramona looked around. “Now this is disappointing.”
The walls back here were plain plywood. Shelves held boxes of props, extra masks, fake weapons, extension cords, cleaning supplies, and enough fake blood to make an actual serial killer jealous.
“Were you hoping for Gary’s brother to be back here?” I asked.
Ramona rolled her eyes. “Anything but hands that grab when I’m walking.”
We moved farther along the small corridor, and Skull walked ahead of us.
There were two storage rooms back here, a maintenance closet, and another exit that led around the side of the building.
I checked the first storage room. Nothing.
Window.
Door.
Ceiling.
Corners.
All good.
Before the fax, we’d wondered if somebody was watching us. Now we knew they were.
Ramona moved closer, and I looked down at her. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure?”
I squeezed her hand.
We reached the second storage room, and Skull opened the door.
Shay peered around him. “Anything scary in there?”
“Boxes,” Prime laughed.
“Could be scary boxes,” Shay whispered.
Skull looked at her. “If you are afraid of boxes, then you really shouldn’t be in here.” He stepped inside.
I followed with Ramona beside me.
The room was cramped. Shelves covered two walls, stacked with old props we didn’t use anymore. A broken skeleton sat in the corner missing one arm. Three mannequins were lined up against the back wall.
Ramona stopped. “No.”
I looked at her.
She pointed at the mannequins. “Those are worse than Gary.”
“Why?”
“They look like they’re waiting for us to turn around.”
“They’re mannequins.”
Pearl walked past her. “She’s right. Those things are creepy.”
“Thank you,” Ramona smiled. “I’m not crazy thinking they are creepy.”
Skull moved toward the back wall with Prime right behind him.
I checked the shelves on the opposite side. Dust. Old masks. Boxes. A plastic tub filled with fake rats.
Ramona picked one up by the tail and inspected it.
I stared at her. “You wouldn’t touch the fake hand, but you’ll touch a rat?”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “The rat didn’t attack me.” She dropped it back into the bin and wiped her hands on her jeans. “Still gross, though.”
“Bob.” Something in Skull’s voice stopped me. I turned to see Skull standing near the back corner. He wasn’t looking at us. He was staring at the wall.
Prime had moved further along the wall and turned to look back. “Do I even want to know what you found?”
“What is it?” I asked.
He didn’t answer. I moved toward him with Ramona, and the girls following.
Skull lifted one hand. “Stop.”
Everybody stopped.
I looked where he was looking. At first, I didn’t see anything. Just plywood, one of the mannequins, and a stack of old boxes.
Then Skull moved closer to the wall. His eyes narrowed. “What is it?” I asked.
He pointed toward the narrow space between the last shelf and the wall.
Something was there.
I couldn’t tell what.
Skull didn’t touch it.
He just stared.
“Skull?”
His jaw tightened. “That wasn’t there before.”