Dead End: Midnight Hollow

by Penn Cassidy

  “You did this, didn’t you, Cruella?” Freddy sneered. His deep voice was like a rumbling growl that made me shiver. I’d never heard him sound quite so…feral. I swore on the holy pumpkin that his eyes flashed yellow and then to a pitch black before settling back on the familiar emerald green I was used to.

  “So you think what, that I somehow convinced fifty people to knock you out and then hide in a cornfield five miles from town for shits and giggles?” I snorted, crossing my arms as I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yeah, Freddy, that’s what happened. It was my diabolical plan all along. Idiot…” I shook my head and rolled my eyes for the millionth time, trying not to look at Norman. He had a thing about eye rolling.

  No, stop it, October. You do not get to think about Norman’s kinks at a time like this. Get your shit together.

  “She did it. No doubt about it,” Michael said in disgust, grimacing as he slid both of his hands through his silver hair, making his biceps flex. I glanced away, not wanting to get caught staring or worse…drooling. I almost couldn’t help myself. A few minutes ago, they were all very dead.

  The guys started arguing, just like old times, about how it was all my fault and they should have left me back in Sunset Hollow, as if it were even their choice to make. All the while, I just stood there with my arms crossed over my chest, staring up at the ceiling in annoyance. Maddie entered the fray when they started to get irate.

  The bus doors creaked wide open without warning, metal sliding on metal until cold air rushed in to greet us. All arguments stopped as we collectively stared at the creepy orange tinged fog that began to roll in. There was no driver, and none of us were anywhere close enough to pull the lever and open the door. Jason stepped into the aisle, since he was the closest, and made his way to the door on quiet feet. I held my breath as he bent over to look outside.

  “What is it?” Maddie asked, standing on her tiptoes to see over the seats. I was doing the same.

  “It’s just more orange fog. I think we’re still on the road…” Jason looked back at us with a deep, confused frown. “I say we get off this creepy bus and head to town on foot. I’d rather not get murdered in a cornfield, ya know? Can you imagine what the newspaper would say? We’d be known as those dumb fucks who disappeared in a freaking cornfield…probably abducted by aliens.”

  My whole body shuddered at the thought, but crickets only met his suggestion, along with raised eyebrows all around.

  Well, if no one else was going to do something, I would. I wasn’t going to be a sitting duck out here. Jason was right. I wasn’t ready to have a movie based on a true story made after me. I cleared my throat, smoothing my dress down the front of my body, and made my way down the aisle, only to be blocked by Michael. He held a hand out, clamping down on my shoulder.

  “We don’t know what’s going on yet. It might be safer to stay on the bus and wait, and you're definitely not going outside in the dark alone.” He was holding my shoulder to the point that I couldn’t move. It didn’t hurt, but was it just me or did he seem stronger than he should be? His eyes were deadly serious, enough to make me question if he might be right.

  I matched his stance, not backing down, because fuck if I was going to let him intimidate me. The only way to get answers would be to get our asses off this bus. Despite my hestiance to explore the unknown, I wasn’t about to be trapped in a vehicle again. I wouldn’t let them see me like that. Closed spaces made it difficult to breathe sometimes, and if I let it, it brought so many horrific memories to the surface I would rather not relive.

  I started to breathe a little harder now that I was thinking about it, now that the images from the crash that I wasn’t one hundred percent sure even happened came barreling back in. “I can’t be here…” My eyes shot to Michael, and I knew he could see the panic on my face. There was no hiding it, but right now, I didn’t care. I just needed to get out of this metal death trap.

  He didn’t say anything for a minute, just stared down at me before glancing over my head, off into space as if deliberating. He nodded to himself and then stepped to the side for me to pass. The space was a tight fit, so my body brushed against his, and a small whisper of his husky voice caressed my ear, saying, “I’m…here.”

  My feet couldn’t carry me off the bus fast enough. I barreled past Jason, not even bothering to say anything, and flung myself off the bus. I gulped in the strange fog filled air like my life depended on it, bending down with my hands on my knees. The smell of fall hit me like a train—hay from the surrounding fields, a small hint of burning wood, and the decay of dead leaves.

  There was a shuffle of moving feet behind me. I guessed they all decided it was indeed better to get the hell out of that bus. Maybe they chose not to become sitting ducks for the local axe murderer…not that quaint little Sunset Hollow had a local axe murderer, but who knew?

  A soft hand grasped mine, tearing my attention away from the undulating fog. I’d been zoning out for a second, but then I looked at Maddie. Her eyes were scanning our surroundings, her grip growing tighter and a little sweaty.

  “It’s too dark out here, Toby… It’s not right. I’ve been out here a bunch of times to pick peaches in the orchards, and it’s never been this dark.” Her eyes met mine, brimming with tears, until she blinked rapidly as she glanced up to get rid of the water works on the way. “I need you to tell me it’ll be okay. Please…even if it’s a lie.”

  “We’re going to be fine, Mads. I promise. Let’s just head towards town before Pennywise shows up with a red balloon,” I said, trying to make a joke and snorting awkwardly, but she didn’t even move let alone laugh as she continued to look up at the sky.

  “So not funny, Redrum,” Freddy snapped, stepping up to my side. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Damnit! How the hell did he sneak up on me? He was normally lumbering and heavy footed, since he was such a big dude.

  I chose to ignore him in favor of staring at the side of Maddie's profile in confusion. Is she okay? She wasn’t talking like her normal, bubbly self, and it almost looked like she was shaking. In fact, she was shaking. Her hand was covered in sweat, and her fingers gripped mine like a vice. Her head tilted back even further, and I followed her gaze. Holy fuck! I stumbled back a step, and a yelp ripped from my lips.

  “What the hell is wrong with you guys?!” Freddy snapped. “Hello, Earth to freak!” He waved his big hand in front of my face, but I couldn't look away from the sky. It was all wrong. So fucking wrong.

  I blindly reached up and grasped his chin, pointing his face upwards. He shut up real fast, but in less than a heartbeat, I could have sworn I heard him whisper, “Her skin is so soft… What the fuck—”

  I shook my head. There was something wrong with his voice. It was only a soft, echoing whisper in my mind, like he was talking to me from the other side of the street. Whatever it was, I didn’t have time to think about it.

  “I don’t think we’re on Earth anymore,” Jason said at my back. His voice shook and he sounded uncertain, which freaked me out because Jason was usually the voice of reason. He never let his emotions get the better of him in all the years we’d been friends. Right now, Jason was afraid, and that made the rest of us afraid too.

  “I’m going to wake up any moment now, and there definetly won’t be two fucking moons in the sky!” Michael said as he paced back and forth, looking panicked. He was gripping his hair and reminded me of a caged animal, repeatedly stopping and looking at the sky.

  I had to look back up again to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. They were still up there, the twin moons. They hovered in the starry sky, like mirror images of each other, except the one on the right was a little bit darker than the other one. Both were tinted slightly orange, just like the fog that flowed over the road. I was shaking now too. I didn’t know what to do. Clearly, we weren’t in Sunset Hollow anymore…but how could that be? I recognized the stretch of road we were on. I’d know this place anywhere, but I knew for damn sure there had always been exactly one moon in tha
t sky.

  I was officially losing my mind. At least I wasn’t alone.

  “Maddie,” I said calmly, surprising myself. “Let’s head to the aunties’ house. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling those two will know what’s going on. Maybe they slipped something in our tea again?”

  They’d been known to experiment with their herbal teas, claiming they were trying out some new medicinal herb, but it never ended well for the test subject—usually me or Maddie. Somehow, though, I just knew that if anyone had a chance of helping us, it would be those two crazy women. If they were even there… Oh god, what if they weren’t there?!

  Maddie nodded numbly, giving me a pathetic smile, but I watched her take a deep breath and square her shoulders before looping her arm through mine. We took off down the road.

  I glanced over my shoulder and noticed the guys were now arguing quietly. I shook my head. Nothing ever changed. It reminded me of the good ole days, when no one seemed to be able to make a decision until I stepped up and made it for them. Freddy usually sided with Norman, and Jason sided with Michael based on principal alone. A wave of nostalgia so strong it almost made me stumble came over me, but I shrugged it off. Now wasn’t the time for a walk down memory lane, pun fully intended.

  “Are you coming or what?” I eyed each of them individually. “Unless you feel like hitchhiking.” I shrugged, turning back around, and continued down the road. Maddie snorted a quiet laugh.

  Stomping feet pounded the pavement behind us. Now she outright giggled behind her other hand and bumped her shoulder with mine. Thank god the same old Maddie was still in there. It was going to be just fine. I had my best friend by my side, grumpy assholes watching our backs, and I knew what direction we were heading in. That was…unless they planned to use me as bait in the event things did go south. I really wouldn’t be surprised if that happened.

  It felt like we’d been walking for miles before we finally approached the orchard up ahead in the distance, but the itching feeling of being watched kept coming and going. I’d felt it for the last twenty minutes, and I thought Maddie did too, because her head was on a constant swivel.

  Five more minutes, and we were at the edge of Farmer Orson’s orchard, but something didn’t look right. For an orchard, it was awfully thick and dark. If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost call it a forest. This wasn’t right. Something was off about this place that was both familiar and alien at the same time.

  I knew that on the other side of the orchard was a cornfield and the cemetery before reaching the town line, so we’d be home free, I hoped. The road took a detour, cutting the orchard/forest in half, so we had no choice but to head straight into it. It shouldn’t have taken us more than ten minutes to walk through, but still, nobody moved. We’d come to a dead stop on the edge of the treeline, darkness looming ahead.

  There wasn’t one single sliver of movement from any of us as we peered into the darkness. The eerie sea of spindly trees was thick enough that it blocked out most of the moonlight. Orange fog still surged between them, folding over a landscape of upturned roots on either side of the two lane road. I couldn’t even hear the usual crickets or howling of the wind. It was as if everything had stopped moving at once. Even my own heartbeat seemed to slow. Fuck, I really didn’t want to go in there.

  “Maybe we should take a different route?” My voice came out a little too high pitched before I cleared my throat and refused to meet anyone’s gaze. They were all looking at me.

  “Don’t tell me goth chick is afraid of the woods,” Norman sneered. His sideways smile goaded me. He was such a fucking ass sometimes.

  “Be my guest.” I gestured ahead with a dramatic sweep of my hand and watched his eyes flicker with a small hint of doubt before he shrugged it off and bumped into my shoulder. “Your funeral,” I added cheekily, just to grate his nerves.

  Freddy rushed past me to walk along with his twin, quietly whispering in his ear. His jaw was clenched, and he rolled his eyes at whatever Norman said back to him. Jason and Michael stayed behind Maddie and me, giving us enough space that they weren’t breathing down our necks.

  “How you holding up?” I asked Maddie, staring idly down at my black stockings and finding it silly how just this morning, I was throwing clothes around left and right across my room because I knew the guys would be at the carnival. Dress to impress, even for my enemies. It all seemed so trivial now.

  “Honestly, not great. I don’t get how you’re so calm right now. I’m one more bat, shadow, or scarecrow away from running around in circles screaming,” she said with a straight face, telling the truth.

  I squeezed her arm tighter, noting the hopelessness creeping into her stare. She was petrified, but in usual Maddie fashion, she was trying to be tough for everyone.

  “Call me crazy, but after what I saw earlier…” My voice caught as vacant eyes flashed through my memory. “Everyone was dead… I didn’t even know where you were until I think I saw your hand sticking out…but everyone else…” I trailed off, scared to talk about it because it sounded crazy, even to my own ears.

  If I could, I’d bleach my entire brain. I needed those images gone. Taking a deep breath, I said, “I think I can handle the strange and unusual as long as you're here too. And the guys…” The last part was a whisper as I stared straight ahead at Freddy's sunkissed hair, then quickly glanced away when his eyes strayed to mine. His lips curled up on the sides, and my belly flipped at that stretch of perfect lips. There was no way he heard me, they were too far ahead.

  “It’s all right, Tobs,” she said with a small, sympathetic smile. “You can still love them and be afraid at the same time. After what happened last year… I know it seems impossible, but if you could just see what’s right in front of you…” She bit her lower lip and froze when I suddenly stopped walking.

  I crossed my arms and turned away, staring into the dark trees. “You have no idea what I went through. None of you do. You think you know because of what you heard on the news, but you don’t. I’m so not talking about this right now.” My body was vibrating with tension, suppressed anger swelling up in my chest.

  “No, I don’t know, because you never talk about it,” she snapped, stepping into my space. Suddenly, it was like the forest and the accident was forgotten. “I’m your friend, Toby, your best friend. We’ve been family for over a decade and you never talk!” Her chin wobbled, but she refused to back down. I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation right now, with everything else that was happening. But so be it. If it was time to hash it out, it might as well be now, to top it all off with a nice cherry.

  “You really want to know, Maddie?” I said bitterly with an emotionless laugh. “Want me to talk about it? Do you want to hear the gory details? Maybe I should’ve prepared a slide show!” Small tears trickled down her cheeks, matching my own, but I wiped them away angrily. I didn’t cry about this anymore. Not in front of anyone, at least.

  The guys had gone suspiciously silent. Jason and Michael moved closer, while Norman and Freddy were heading back in our direction, taking small, cautious steps. All I could do was stare at Maddie, but in reality, I was somewhere else…some other time and place.

  “Tobs—” she whispered brokenly, but a small sob ripped from my lips.

  “I’m fucking angry!” I squeezed my fists closed, my nails biting into my skin. “I’m so fucking angry, and nobody gives a shit!” I looked at Maddie through watery eyes, pleading with her to understand. “They left me here, and I didn’t get a choice to stay or go! They left…and I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” My throat closed, each intake of breath growing more difficult. “And for all of this shit to happen tonight of all nights…” I choked, a tear sliding down my cheek in earnest.

  Realization seemed to dawn on Maddie, and her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh god, October! I didn’t even realize it was tonight! The accident…”

  I was suddenly pulled into her arms, and a wave of comfort and familiarity surrounded me. �
�I’m always here, sis. You’re never alone. I promise you’ll never be alone. I was stupid and didn’t pay attention to what day it was…didn't realize how the bus crash would have brought it back,” she whispered softly.

  I couldn’t pick up my head from her shoulder. My face was buried in her hair as I let the last of my tears fall. We stood there for a minute or two before I felt myself calm down. I felt her hands slide through my hair for a split second before that touch was gone. To say I was embarrassed was an understatement. I felt like a coward, and I didn’t want to lift my head just yet. I didn’t want to see the judgement or hear the jabs from the guys about my rare show of weakness.

  Everything was silent. All I could hear was the sound of everyone breathing and my own heartbeat pulsing in my ear. But a second later, I felt the ground vibrate under my boots. It was like a semi-truck was passing over a road, but we were miles away from a freeway and the bus had no driver, so it wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Anyone else feeling that?” Freddy asked quietly, coming closer now. His chest was puffed up and his head was on a swivel as I peaked at him behind the curtain of my hair.

  I finally lifted my head and stepped away from Maddie, wiping my face and hoping my makeup wasn’t smeared all over my cheeks.

  “Um, the trees are moving,” Norman announced in a deep voice, grabbing my hand in an instant. I froze at the coolness of his touch and the fact that he was even touching me at all. He angled his body in the other direction, as if he was going to make a run for it with me in tow.

  “Mine,” he whispered, but his voice sounded like Freddy’s had earlier—too quiet.

  What the hell was going on? I watched his mouth, waiting for him to speak again so I would know I wasn’t losing my mind, but he was staring intently at the tree line. Maybe I’d imagined it.

  A branch snapped. Then there was a deep rumble, the noise of what I could only describe as a thousand feet heading our way.

  “Maybe it’s the rest of the class?” Maddie’s voice was squeaky, and she didn’t even sound like she believed herself. She took a small step back, her brown eyes darting everywhere at once.