“I’m so excited that you’re here.” She smiles.
“Me too.”
The storm cleared, for now, but the cool breeze moving the wispy clouds above creeps me out. It feels like an Edgar Allan Poe story. It doesn’t help that there is some weird slasher movie music playing. I try to ignore the chill that comes over me as we wait in line to enter the haunted house. I can’t remember the last time I went to one. Mom’s not big on letting me experience much, if anything. She says a lot of things are a waste of time and there’s no point. Didn’t she ever want to do things like this when she was a kid?
We slowly enter the tunnels of Sloss furnace, and of course, one lone orange light shines. Weaving our way through the creaking iron tunnels, we’re surrounded by iron towers and boilers that was once the reason for the city’s nickname, the iron city.
We walk down the stairs to enter the underground tunnel. It’s dark. I can’t see my hand in front of my face, but there are black lights every few feet. Flashing strobe lights. Every so often, we hear someone screaming. Male and female. Cherry and I hold on to each other as we wait for something to grab us or someone to jump out. Adrenaline courses through my veins.
A skeleton falls from the ceiling. Cherry screams.
I giggle.
“You just wait,” she whispers.
Chills reach my neck.
We reach a room where a corpse lies on a table and a woman dissects him with a knife. She looks up, blood running down her chin, and eyes that glow. “Are you next, pretty girl?”
Cherry rushes me along.
I know it’s a haunted house, but I can’t get over the feeling that someone is following me. Glancing behind me, I see a shadow and gasp.
“What?” Cherry asks.
I look again and see nothing. “Nothing,” I tell her, but I speed her along.
People jump out. Blood splatters the walls. But I’m ready to get out. Every time I glance back, I see him. It feels like the same man who tried to chase me down in my dreams. My pulse edges higher. I hate this feeling, and I hate how much the dream keeps flashing in my head.
I’m ready to leave.
“Stop pushing me,” Cherry says.
“I don’t like this.”
“It’s okay, Megan. It’s all fake.”
I take a deep breath and keep going.
A man jumps out with a knife and both Cherry and I scream. He moves toward us; his dark eyes send an uneasy feeling over me. But then I recognize him.
“Vincent?”
He relaxes his face. “Megan, right?”
Cherry playfully punches him. “Omigod you scared us.”
“I should be sorry, but I’m not. Means I’m doing a good job.”
“You should get a raise,” Cherry says. “How’d you get this gig?”
He shrugs. “Just signed up.”
“Can you take a break?”
“I’m not supposed to, but I can. Why?”
“This one’s freaking out.” She jerks her thumb at me.
I throw her a glare. Way to make me look good.
Vincent gives a soft laugh. He seems more relaxed here than when I first met him. I like that. “I could walk with you.” His smile sends my stomach to do flips.
Cherry ends up walking ahead of us, and I feel completely awkward and nervous. I wasn’t prepared for this.
“You look cute, by the way,” he says.
“Oh, thanks. It was Cherry’s idea.”
“I like it.”
We’re quiet for a little bit as we continue through the tunnels. Something crashes down in front of Vincent and me and I scream, clutching onto his arm. He’s patient and doesn’t let it deter him.
Once my heart returns to normal, I thank him.
“It’s okay. This isn’t your thing, is it?”
“No, I love Halloween. I’ve just…” I shake my head, not wanting to bore him with my problems.
“What is it?”
“I’ve just been having scary dreams lately.”
“I’m sorry.”
I shrug. “Cherry says I should write them down for a story.”
“You write?”
“Yeah sometimes.”
“That’s cool.”
“Thanks.”
He walks me to a certain point in the tunnel and stops. “I should head back, but you’re at the end.” He grips the back of his neck.
“What? What is it?”
“There’s a really scary guy in chains that will chase you.” As he says this, I can hear Cherry’s blood curdling scream. Vincent laughs. “You’ll be just fine.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Guess I should get this over with.”
“Gary’s cool. He just scares the crap out of people.”
“Good to know.”
“See, ya Megan.”
I take a deep breath and use the adrenaline of talking to Vincent to propel me out of the haunted house. Gary doesn’t fail. Covered in chains with a bloody disfigured face, he chases after me until I run into Cherry’s arms.
We laugh.
“Thanks for convincing me to come out tonight,” I tell her.
“Anytime. And you got to see Vincent.”
My lips stretch into a huge grin.
Chapter Four
A constant beep sounds in my head. It’s so annoying and I can’t end it. It grates on my nerves. I can’t shut it off.
“Megan.”
“Hmmm.”
“Megan, turn off the alarm.”
My eyes jolt open and I try to adjust. Mom hovers over me, her eyes staring into mine with a heated glare. She’s seething and her arms are crossed.
I reach over onto my nightstand and shut off the irritating beep. My heart slows down after almost jumping out of my chest.
“I wish you wouldn’t let that go off for thirty minutes straight.” Her voice is loud, especially in the morning.
“Sorry. I didn’t hear it.”
Mom sighs and leaves the room. Like me, she’s also very cranky in the mornings.
At least I remembered to set it this
