Dead End: Midnight Hollow

by Penn Cassidy

  My blood was rushing in my ears and sweat dripped down my back, because something was coming, and I didn’t think it was our missing classmates.

  “Norman, run!” Jason shouted loudly, turning around to face us with wide, horror filled eyes. “Take her and fucking run!” His grey eyes met mine before his face contorted. He shook his head back and forth, repeatedly smacking his palm into his temple, like he was trying to get something out of his brain. I could have sworn I saw a flash of yellow in his eyes…

  I was about to tear my hand from Norman’s and run to Jason, but Michael and Freddy were shouting, frantically waving us on, telling us to move it. Maddie took off towards the woods, and Norman, without hesitation, swooped down, lifted me off the ground, threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and took off running.

  “Holy shit, holy shit, holy fucking shit!” Freddy cursed like someone in a horror movie—the part right before the bad guy inevitably offs the rest of the campers with a rusty chainsaw. His expression was pure terror, but he kept pace with us with relative ease.

  I was hanging upside down over Norman’s shoulder, straining my neck upwards as I placed my hands on his lower back. I pushed up to see better, just in time to watch Maddie trip over a root sticking up from where a crack split the road, almost face planting in some gnarled bushes off to the side.

  “Maddie!” I screamed, reaching out for her, but Norman wouldn’t slow down. “Maddie, run!” She was up and on her feet in seconds, catching up quickly, all those years of cheerleading working to her advantage.

  Something was moving at full speed behind her. A huge, dark shape raced through the shadows. My eyes went wide, and I pounded on Norman's tight ass, as if I could will him to run faster. “Faster!” I screamed. “Holy crap, it’s coming right for us!”

  “What is it?!” Norman tossed over his shoulder. “What’s coming?!”

  “I don’t fucking know! Just run!” I was hysterical now. There was no way I was seeing this…

  "I can’t turn around, so you gotta tell me what it is!” he shouted in panic, starting to slow down to look, but the ass slapping continued so he kept moving.

  “It’s a…” I fought for a coherent thought. “It’s a giant s-spider!”

  I was pretty sure Norman was going to have a bruised ass if we ever got out of this nightmare forest, because I was still slapping his butt cheek as if it would make him run faster, and I couldn't stop.

  “A spider?!” he yelled back hysterically. “What are you talking about?!”

  “A fucking giant ass spider! Just run!” The panic and the mad laugh I let loose must have been convincing enough that something scary was chasing us, because he listened.

  Legs…so many legs. All fuzzy freaking eight of them moved in perfect sync, and the speed those bad boys were moving at was nearly a blur. I screamed again as the spider slid right past a screaming Maddie, who was zigzagging down the path. It didn’t even stop, as if Maddie wasn’t there. All eight of those beady black eyes were focused right on me. Heck, I could see my reflection in all of its eyes.

  The tarantula spider was literally the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and inches away from my face as I bounced up and down on Norman’s shoulder. Its fangs—no, its tusks were dripping with saliva as it kept pace. The sound of its feet battering the ground was nearly deafening, like a herd of horses galloping over hard earth.

  “Wait!” a squeaky voice called into the night. I had to shake my head, my eyes bugging out of my skull. “Seriously, wait up!” it said again. The voice seemed to be coming from the spider itself as its mouth moved.

  What the fuck is going on?! There’s no way…

  “It’s me, Jessica, yo girl!” the spider cried out, catching up with us. “Holy crap, you guys are fast!”

  Yep…check me into the nearest mental institution and throw that key down the drain.

  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a strange girl, I guess you could say. I’ve been quite proud of that fact, actually. I even had a love of spiders and insects at a young age, keeping a few of them as pets, much to my mom’s horror. But I never, and I mean never, had one talk to me with real human words. Until today. I never even imagined what a spider might sound like…because the notion was absurd. But the squeaky voice yelling at us to slow down because of her asthma had my head spinning.

  “Whose voice is that?!” Norman shouted over his shoulder at me, still running as fast as he could.

  We didn’t even know where we were headed at this point, but with how fast we were traveling, we had to be getting close to the edge of town by now.

  “It’s the freakin’ spider!” I said with a hysterical note to my voice. “She says her name is…is Jessica!” I was laughing now, but I felt like screaming.

  Is this what it feels like to completely lose it?

  The thudding sound of her legs slowed down. She was making these weird wheezing sounds… The asthma, I was guessing. Oh my god, a spider with asthma? We kept going, but I watched in disbelief as an honest to god tear rolled out of one of the spider's eyes.

  Can spiders even cry? Is that a thing?

  I really didn’t think so. But she was completely stopped now and just standing there, crouched down low to the ground with her legs bent inwards, letting out a rough sob. I couldn’t explain why, but my chest felt suddenly tight. Was I really feeling bad for a giant tarantula? Was this how low I’d finally sunk?

  “Norman, stop!” I shouted, pinching his hard ass cheek to get his attention. He kept running, and as I calmed down and looked around, I realized the others were still way behind the spider. How the hell was Norman running so fast? “Stop, Norman! Put me down! Something isn’t right!” I slapped his ass a few more times, trying to get through to him.

  Usually, the ass slapping would be the other way around, but it worked for now. He wasn’t complaining at least.

  It took a moment, but he started to slow down. I hung there like dead weight, until we came to a stop and he literally dropped me on my ass without warning. I landed with a grunt and glared up at him, picturing myself punching him in his pretty face. But I’d save that for another day…when we didn’t have a giant spider crying on the ground behind us deep in the woods.

  I rolled to my knees and looked up through the curtain of my hair, only to freeze in place, barely breathing at all, hardly moving a single muscle.

  “Don’t move,” Norman snapped. “Not a muscle, October.” His voice had an edge to it. It was gravelly, threatening, and dangerous. It made me listen and not argue for once. I noticed belatedly how he’d used my name for the first time since last year.

  “Finally!” the squeaky voice yelped. “Oh my gosh, I’ve only been waiting foreverrr to meet you! Oh crap, where are my manners?” The spider was hovering close to my face now, but unless I was mistaken, she seemed about half the size she’d been when she was chasing us. Did she shrink?

  “W-what are you?” My voice shook as she peered closer at me, her tusks inches from my face.

  “I already told you, I’m Jessica. No last name, just Jessica, but you can call me Jess, or J if you want. Or you can just call me Jessica, that’s cool, too.” I was trying to keep it together, but failing. The spider’s voice was so high pitched, it sounded like she’d sucked on a helium balloon.

  She bounced in place, rubbing her two front legs together in, dare I say…excitement?

  I peeked at Norman out of the corner of my eye, hoping I wasn’t the only one experiencing this. His eyes were bouncing between me and Jessica, mouth parted in shock. He looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself.

  “Okay, Jessica…” I cringed as the others ran up to where we were standing. They took in the huge arachnid with wide terrified eyes, and Maddie skirted Jessica's legs, inching closer to me. The guys looked ready to fight. I kept my eyes on the spider. “What are you?”

  “What, you’ve never heard of a familiar before?” She giggled. “Silly girl, didn’t the aunties teach you anything?�
� She still seemed to be shrinking, little by little. She was the size of a shetland pony at this point, and my heart was slowing its frantic pace.

  “Like a witch’s familiar?” I asked, vaguely familiar with the term. “And what do my aunties have to do with anything?” Freaking hell, I just knew they had something to do with this. “So, what, you’re the Salem to my Sabrina?” I laughed nervously. Jessica was silent, and I got to my feet. “Wait…are you for real right now?” I slapped a hand to my forehead. “What the fuck am I saying? I’m having a conversation with a spider!”

  Could this year just…not?!

  “I don’t know what you’re so upset about. I’m actually pretty chill when you get to know me. And I’d prefer you call me an arachnid, not a spider. We’re politically correct in this neck of the woods.” She sounded like she’d have been smiling smugly, had she been human. “So basically, I’m your best friend now, and also your unofficial tour guide!”

  I felt another hysterical laugh bubbling up. This couldn’t be happening. Like…what the actual fuck was happening?

  “Hey! I’m her best friend,” Maddie huffed, sliding up to my side with her hands on her hips. “Don’t think I won't fight you, Jessica,” she spat, bouncing on her feet while punching the air.

  Oh shit, Maddie was about to throw down with a spider—ahem, arachnid. She took her best-friendship status very seriously, so I had no doubt she’d cut a bitch if they tried to steal that title.

  “No way!” Jessica said, growing even smaller now. “I’ve been waiting for this day since we were both babies! Tell her, October!” She stamped one of her long legs. “Your spidey senses had to be tingling at one point or another. Tell her!”

  “This shit is not happening right now. Tell me I’m tripping balls and not seeing this with my own two eyes,” Jason murmured in annoyance as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

  “That’s it. Game on,” Maddie said like she meant business, and I could suddenly imagine her tying her hair up in a ponytail, ready to claim best friend status.

  Michael coughed into his fist to hide a chuckle, and Freddy just kept staring at Jessica, eyes wandering over her skinny legs tipped with tiny little hooked claws that tapped against the ground. His whole body shuddered every few seconds the longer he stared.

  “We don’t have time for this!” I stomped my foot. With my cute ankle boots, I used more force than I probably needed to.

  It dawned on me suddenly, the scope of the situation. Maddie was threatening to throw down with a spider twice her size. Like…yeah, it would be pretty entertaining, but if Jessica grew again, she could probably swallow Maddie whole.

  We didn’t have time for any of this nonsense. We were on a mission—a mission to get back home, find out what happened to everyone on the bus, figure out why there were two moons in the sky, and lastly, change our hair back to normal. Jessica shuffled closer to me, her fuzzy little hairs brushing against my skin. It made me shiver, but in a comfortable sort of way. Call me weird, but I was actually really digging this odd turn of events.

  A spider familiar… Why the hell did I even have a familiar, wasn’t that for witches? Did I believe in witches? As far as I knew, I wasn’t a witch. I guessed I’d have to put up with it for now, and she really wasn’t even hurting anything. If this was all just some crazy hallucination, I might as well keep her around to answer some burning questions.

  She was cute in spider terms, I supposed. I loved her coloring—her soft little hairs were black with streaks of dark purple weaving along her body. I’d never seen a spider with such pretty colors before, and they matched my vibes.

  “That’s enough, I have plenty of friendship to go around.” I stepped between them with my palms facing Mads and Jess.

  I ignored Jason, but I heard pretty clearly as he whispered under his breath, “A little too much friendship.”

  Asshole.

  “As much as I’d love to have you stick around, Jessica, I don’t see how we could possibly hide you. No offense, but you're huge.” I eyed her up and down, wondering if we could just ride her into town. That would be freaking amazing, until we got shot down like King Kong by the police. We would totally be in the history books, though

  “Oh gosh, silly me!” Jessica giggled, her tusks flashing in the moonlight. “Just hold on a second.”

  Her giggle made me want to giggle, even though it would probably come out a little hysterical. The helium effect in her voice was almost too much, and it was hard to take anything she said seriously. That, and the fact that she was a talking fucking spider.

  Freddy cringed behind her, shuffling a good distance away and looking a little green around the edges. Michael rolled his eyes at him. I never knew Freddy had a fear of spiders.

  Jessica squeezed all of her eyes shut and seemed to be concentrating pretty hard. A moment later, a web shot out of her butt and barely missed a dodging Michael, who made a dive for the ground. Good thing he had quick athletic reflexes, because he’d probably be wrapped in a cocoon right now.

  “Oops, sorry! I got this, one second!” Jessica said to Michael, who just dusted dirt off his jeans as he stood back up, while she closed her eyes again. She was trying so hard, pushing and vibrating to the point that I genuinely wondered if she was about to croak.

  Then her body started twitching, and Jessica laughed in triumph as she began to shrink before our very eyes. She'd been doing it so gradually before, but it was like time sped up, and soon she was the size of a regular tarantula. Her maniacal laugh got squeakier and squeakier the smaller she got, and we all stood there dumbfounded, scratching our heads. I wondered when we’d finally wake up from this impossible dream.

  She immediately crawled over to me on fast little legs and hopped into my waiting hand, her legs tickling my skin. Mads and the guys crowded around me, staring down at Jessica in disbelief.

  “Take that and go pick on someone your own size!” Jessica said to Maddie, who blinked rapidly in return at an utter loss for words, before Jessica disappeared into my long hair.

  “Well that was interesting and all, but I’d like to pretend it never happened. Can we fucking go already?” His voice was tired as Norman scrubbed at his face in exhaustion, close to losing his shit.

  He took off ahead of us, grumbling to himself…something about ‘spidey senses.’ He was probably right, we’d had enough surprises for today. I was hoping that there was a gas leak somewhere that would explain the hallucinations.

  One by one, the guys moved past me, not saying a damn word or glancing in my direction. Back to hating my stinkin’ guts, I guessed. I was perfectly okay with that. Better they hated me than pretend to love me. I followed behind Maddie silently as we went deeper into the woods, getting swallowed by the orchard that seemed to want to eat me alive. I was tempted to let it. I came to an agreement with myself that it was all a dream and nothing was real.

  “It’s not real… It’s not real… None of it is real…” The chant came out of my mouth on repeat, until I almost started to believe it.

  “Oh it’s real all right,” Jessica said into my ear, like the freaking devil or angel on my shoulder, though I couldn't decide which one yet. “Don’t worry, October, I’ll help you survive the night.” Her words crushed my hopes. I supposed I was stuck in a nightmare.

  “I-I don’t understand. What happened to this place?” Maddie stuttered, terror coming off her in waves. I felt her hand grasp for mine, but she wasn’t looking at me. Her eyes wandered the darkness of our little town as we made our way towards the welcome arch.

  I didn’t answer her. I couldn't. My throat was tight, my hands were shaking, and the only thing grounding me to reality was Maddie’s grip. The guys were on either side of us, and I wondered for a second if the protective positions were intentional or not, because they were spread out around us pretty evenly. I was probably just reading too much into it.

  I didn’t understand what was happening. None of us did. I could hear Norman and Freddy mutte
ring to each other, and Jason was frantically checking his phone, trying to get a signal. Michael walked in a daze, eyes darting from one impossible thing to the next. We passed the edge of Farmer Orson’s corn field and spotted as many as four creepy looking scarecrows that I was positive had never been there before. Shadows seemed to sneak up around us like creeping spider legs, reaching out to caress my chilled skin.

  Speaking of spider legs…that was going to be another problem. I was all too aware of the strange arachnid perched on my shoulder. I should have been freaked out. I should have been squirming away from her hairy legs and her buggy eyes, but I felt no such inclination. Instead, her presence sort of made me feel…calmer. Yeah, I was losing my mind for sure. A spider named Jessica. I snorted out loud for the upteenth time. A talking spider, named Jessica. Honestly, nothing really surprised me anymore. I was just waiting for the next part.

  We passed the cemetery on our right, across the road from the cornfield. The gates were tall and black, spiked at the top and woven through with old dried up vines that were more grey than brown. A shiver snaked down my spine. The crisp atmosphere of the place gave me the heebie jeebies. Everything was gnarled and twisted, reminding me of a place I’d once seen on a trip to Salem a few years back. Something about the place just gave me weird vibes.

  The gate had an archway reading Midnight Hollow Cemetery in spindly wrought iron letters.

  What the hell is a Midnight Hollow?

  Behind it was a series of skinny hilltops covered with old stone graves and creepy, broken statues that I didn’t remember being there before. I knew more than anyone what the cemetery should have looked like, as I’d spent hours and hours out there lying at the base of my mom and dad’s gravestones.

  We kept walking, and I could feel Jason’s burning gaze on my back but he didn’t say anything. I wondered if he knew about my frequent cemetery visits, but he probably couldn’t care less what I did these days. Reaching the edge of town seemed like a blessing, until I realized how empty it was. The familiar silhouette brought me comfort, but there was something different about the place I’d called home my whole life.