field. A large building that looked like an old hospital loomed ahead.
“Can we stop and rest?” she asked, pointing to it.
“Sure,” I agreed. “But only for a little bit.” Without speaking, we crossed the field. I pulled open a heavy metal door, turned on the flashlight and stepped into a graveyard.
Chapter 5
“What the fuck?” I said to the darkness. The door shut behind us. I moved the flashlight around the room. Light reflected off of tombstones and a coffin lay open in front of a crypt. Olivia tripped over a grave. It snapped under her weight.
“Oh,” I said as I helped her up. “Right.”
“What’s r-right about this?” she stuttered.
“We’re in a haunted house,” I explained.
“And that’s right?!”
“A fake haunted house,” I continued. When she still didn’t get it, I went on. “The virus struck in October. The world is frozen in a permanent Halloween Town.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Can we get out of here? I hate haunted houses.”
“Sure,” I said. I wasn’t scared of haunted houses, but I didn’t feel like weaving my way through the maze the house was surely set up in. I shined the light on the door. “Uh oh,” I said.
“What is it?”
“There’s no handle. I can’t open the door,” I told her as I pried at the edges.
“What are we going to do?”
“Go through the house.”
She shook her head, making a whimpering noise of fear and protest.
“It’ll be fine. We’ll just go straight through.”
She extended her hand. “Can I hold your hand?”
I rolled my eyes, thankful the dark prevented her from seeing and took her hand, which was sweating already. I kicked a plastic skeleton out of the way. I slowly slid the light over the room; there were two doorways on each side of the graveyard. We were closer to the one on the left. I guided Olivia through it.
We entered a hallway. Strips of rags, stained with fake blood, hung down, brushing against our faces as we walked. I put my hand out, feeling what was in front of me. The hallway gradually got narrower, finally so narrow Olivia couldn’t walk next to me.
Then the ceiling dropped. I wasn’t scared of haunted houses at all, but the trapped feeling made my heart race. Crouching down, I rushed through the shrinking hall, not being careful with the light. I smacked into a wall; Olivia smacked into me.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
“Nothing, we just went too far.” I scanned the area with the flashlight. “There,” I pointed to a hole in the wall. “We have to crawl through.”
“No, I don’t want to,” she cried, clutching my arm.
“Olivia, we have to.”
“I know, but I still don’t want to.”
“I’ll go first.” I slipped through the hole, turning to help Olivia. We were in another room; this one was supposed to look like an evil doctor’s office. Fake brains and hearts in jars lined a shelf that also housed medieval style surgical instruments. The blood stained gurney had been knocked over.
We stepped over it, and I pushed aside the plastic curtain that hung in the doorway of yet another narrow hall. We had to go up a few stairs before we emerged into another room. This one was the biggest yet, and was filled with glass panels and mirrors.
“Seriously?” I said under my breath. We stepped into the maze. And something moved behind us.
The metal scrapping on concrete instantly terrified me. I whipped around, right hand curling into a fist. The stethoscope still hung around his neck, but he was worse than an evil doctor: he was a zombie. I thrust the flashlight in Olivia’s hands, not wanting to risk breaking it by using it as a weapon. Her shaking hands couldn’t get a grip and she dropped it.
I jumped out of the maze, took my stance and kicked him in the face. His jaw broke and he staggered back from the impact. I had practiced the 360 style kicks relentlessly but was never allowed or able to actually kick someone in the face that way. With a smile on my face,
“Can we stop and rest?” she asked, pointing to it.
“Sure,” I agreed. “But only for a little bit.” Without speaking, we crossed the field. I pulled open a heavy metal door, turned on the flashlight and stepped into a graveyard.
Chapter 5
“What the fuck?” I said to the darkness. The door shut behind us. I moved the flashlight around the room. Light reflected off of tombstones and a coffin lay open in front of a crypt. Olivia tripped over a grave. It snapped under her weight.
“Oh,” I said as I helped her up. “Right.”
“What’s r-right about this?” she stuttered.
“We’re in a haunted house,” I explained.
“And that’s right?!”
“A fake haunted house,” I continued. When she still didn’t get it, I went on. “The virus struck in October. The world is frozen in a permanent Halloween Town.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Can we get out of here? I hate haunted houses.”
“Sure,” I said. I wasn’t scared of haunted houses, but I didn’t feel like weaving my way through the maze the house was surely set up in. I shined the light on the door. “Uh oh,” I said.
“What is it?”
“There’s no handle. I can’t open the door,” I told her as I pried at the edges.
“What are we going to do?”
“Go through the house.”
She shook her head, making a whimpering noise of fear and protest.
“It’ll be fine. We’ll just go straight through.”
She extended her hand. “Can I hold your hand?”
I rolled my eyes, thankful the dark prevented her from seeing and took her hand, which was sweating already. I kicked a plastic skeleton out of the way. I slowly slid the light over the room; there were two doorways on each side of the graveyard. We were closer to the one on the left. I guided Olivia through it.
We entered a hallway. Strips of rags, stained with fake blood, hung down, brushing against our faces as we walked. I put my hand out, feeling what was in front of me. The hallway gradually got narrower, finally so narrow Olivia couldn’t walk next to me.
Then the ceiling dropped. I wasn’t scared of haunted houses at all, but the trapped feeling made my heart race. Crouching down, I rushed through the shrinking hall, not being careful with the light. I smacked into a wall; Olivia smacked into me.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
“Nothing, we just went too far.” I scanned the area with the flashlight. “There,” I pointed to a hole in the wall. “We have to crawl through.”
“No, I don’t want to,” she cried, clutching my arm.
“Olivia, we have to.”
“I know, but I still don’t want to.”
“I’ll go first.” I slipped through the hole, turning to help Olivia. We were in another room; this one was supposed to look like an evil doctor’s office. Fake brains and hearts in jars lined a shelf that also housed medieval style surgical instruments. The blood stained gurney had been knocked over.
We stepped over it, and I pushed aside the plastic curtain that hung in the doorway of yet another narrow hall. We had to go up a few stairs before we emerged into another room. This one was the biggest yet, and was filled with glass panels and mirrors.
“Seriously?” I said under my breath. We stepped into the maze. And something moved behind us.
The metal scrapping on concrete instantly terrified me. I whipped around, right hand curling into a fist. The stethoscope still hung around his neck, but he was worse than an evil doctor: he was a zombie. I thrust the flashlight in Olivia’s hands, not wanting to risk breaking it by using it as a weapon. Her shaking hands couldn’t get a grip and she dropped it.
I jumped out of the maze, took my stance and kicked him in the face. His jaw broke and he staggered back from the impact. I had practiced the 360 style kicks relentlessly but was never allowed or able to actually kick someone in the face that way. With a smile on my face,
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