They said I stopped breathing on the operating table – I died for a moment before they brought me back.
I wondered… if maybe. . . it would have been easier if I really was dead.
But then I remembered… I was alive for them – my parents.
I averted my gaze from the mirror. It has been four years since I got the scars, but I still couldn’t look at them for longer than two minutes. They were a beautiful reminder that I was alive… but also an ugly reminder of that night and all that I lost.
Grabbing my ripped jeans and a matching sweater, I quickly got dressed, so I wouldn’t miss my bus. My grandparents were still at their grocery store, so before locking the door behind me, I made sure to turn on the alarm.
The moment I stepped out, I was thankful the sweater was my first option when the cold air hit me. It was mid-October; the sun was already at the horizon, and the Haunted House opened in less than an hour.
The bus ride was short, and Riley was waiting for me outside the main gate of Berkshire. This year, they used the gymnasium and the outer field as the haunted house. Apparently, it was a big project, and I could see that. Everything looked expensive and… creepy.
Creepy and scary things were not my forte. Hell, I didn’t even watch horror movies because they would give me nightmares for months.
Shit.
“I’m not sure I like this haunted house idea, Riley.”
She pulled at my arm, dragging me across the field and toward the fake mausoleum. “Don’t be a scaredy cat. Let’s go. I already paid for our tickets, and it’ll be fun!”
I dug my feet into the grass right before we could pass through the creepy, wooden door. “Wait, Ri–”
With one harsh tug, she pulled me forward before I could contemplate my decision. Okay, that’s it. I’m going to die.
The moment we stepped inside, we were swallowed by darkness, and the screams of previous victims who have entered this dark place. “And if I die?”
“You’re exaggerating,” Riley muttered under her breath.
She wrapped her arm around me and guided us through the darkness. “I can’t even see anything!”
“That’s the point, Lila! It’s called a haunted house for a reason, smartass.”
She was laughing now, but there was nothing funny about this situation. A loud growling sound came from behind us, and I jumped at least two feet high. Someone was close, way too close to us. I could feel them stalking us in the darkness, their hot breaths on our neck.
“They’re behind us,” I whispered, my heart taking a dive into the pit of my stomach. The temperature was cold, but I had stress sweats. The air was thick and almost suffocating, or maybe that was just me. My hands were clammy, and I clenched onto Riley’s arm.
She let out a shaky breath. “I can feel them, too. Just keep walking.”
We walked further into the labyrinth looking path. Metal chains clanged close to us, as if someone had been tied to them and they were restlessly pulling at the chains. None of it was real, I reminded myself. They were live humans with costumes and wickedly good make-up.
I peeked to my left and wished I hadn’t.
One very vile zombie man, his face bloodied and disfigured with his eyes pure white, walked out of the shadow, a mere inch away from me. His mouth was opened, and he snarled right into my face.
My lips parted with an ear-splitting scream. Riley jumped, and she let out a shriek, too. Grabbing my hand in hers, we made a run for it.
At every corner, there was a different horror waiting for us.
A bloody clown. Mass zombies. Ax murderers. A creepy nun with a white face and black, rotted teeth. They were snarling and quite terrifying. Another loud shriek came from Riley and I when they reached out to touch us.
They weren’t supposed to get this close, right?
Wrong.
Riley forgot to mention this Haunted House was supposed to give us the real experience. As in, the actors were going to be touching us and getting really close.
“Holy shit balls!” Riley screamed as a seven feet man with a bloody chainsaw came forward. I pulled her arm and guided us to the other corner. We moved from room to room, stumbling through tiny dark hallways as dozens of creepy arms reached out to touch us.
“Are you scared?” I whispered again. The exit was near, I could see the fluorescent light ahead.
Riley didn’t respond, but I noticed the change in her. Oh yeah, she was freaked out, too.
My heart was pounding like crazy with my whole body trembling. My knees were weak, and I wondered how I was still standing.
We finally walked through the exit and stepped outside through the backdoor. Riley giggled, although I could tell it was forced. She was definitely scared while we were in there. “See, that wasn’t so bad. It was freaky but fun.”
The heavy pressure on my chest was still there, but I finally took a deep breath.
Fun, ha. No.
“You look spooked,” she teased, bumping her elbow into my hip.
“Shut up.” I returned the favor, laying a soft punch on her arm.
We could hear other people screaming from the inside. Poor souls. If I had a choice, I wasn’t going back in there. Once was enough.
“Are you happy now?” I demanded with a smile, turning to face Riley. My heart was still racing a mile an hour, adrenaline and fear still coursing through my veins.
My smile froze and died when I caught sight of what – who was standing behind her. Riley’s gaze went over my shoulder, and her eyes widened, her lips parting as if to let out a scream.
Chills ran down my spine, my heart leaping in my chest.
Someone was standing behind me, just like the creepy mask man was standing behind Riley, too. His arms reached out for her, and my heart thudded so hard in my chest, it hurt.
Bile burned my throat, and I tried to warn Riley. Except, none of that happened.
One second I had my feet planted on the grass and then I felt a pair of hands on my hips, before I was airborne.
He lifted me up, hoisting me over his shoulder. I hung upside down, and I still couldn’t find my voice. My breath stuck in my throat, and my whole body went limp in fear. Riley shrieked and from my position over his shoulder, as he strode away, I found the mask man holding and dragging Riley backward.
No. No. Wait!
The man carrying me marched through the field, taking it toward the back of the Mausoleum.
Oh My God. No one was coming to save her, no one could hear us scream. We were alone and…
My whole body was cold and numb… I couldn’t feel anything, except fear.
I could be molested or… raped.
He was going to kill me.
This was not part of the Haunted House.
This was not an actor.
My pulse thundered in my throat and my vision blurred with black dots as I stayed limp, upside down over his shoulder.
From the distance, I heard Riley scream again, the sound filled with so much terror.
Alarmed, my body started to prickle with awareness, and I began to struggle against my captor. “Let me go. Let. Me. Go.”
He laughed, like a mad man. The laugh sounded right out of a horror movie.
“If… if you think you’re going to rape me… think… again. Let me go, asshole.”
The hiccups between each word made my threat sound less…threatening. Humiliated and panicked, my eyes burned with unshed tears. The lump in my throat made it harder to speak.