Dead End: Midnight Hollow

by Penn Cassidy

  Perhaps the aunties and I had a lot to talk about still. A tiny part of me was dreading it. Another part of me wanted to go back to my parents’ graves and demand they tell me why I was being forced to go through all this without any warning. But I knew they wouldn’t be there. They’d moved on to wherever it was people went when they died, and there was nothing to resurrect.

  I shook off Frank’s ominous words and waved the guys down. They sat outside on a bench, just outside a small café. I didn’t know how long I’d been in that shop, but I was surprised they were still waiting for me. They jogged across the street, meeting me on my side.

  “So, who’s your soulmate?” Norman asked.

  Freddy slugged him in the bicep, saying, “I am, fucker.”

  I shook my head, turning my back on them, and proceeded down the street. “You’d have to have a soul to have a soulmate.” I winked over my shoulder.

  The guys paused as what I said resonated before Freddy burst out laughing. “Was that a fucking ginger joke?!”

  They caught up to me, both of them still chuckling. We passed shop after shop, lit up from within by flickering candle light, and just about every shop had a jack-o’-lantern in the window. I knew I’d heard somewhere that jack-o’-lanterns were often used to keep away evil spirits and demons. I wondered what they meant here, in a place where spirits and demons were your everyday citizens.

  “Let’s cut through here,” said Norman, nodding towards a tiny side street. It cut between buildings and saved us from having to walk through a horde of street vendors up ahead just to get to campus.

  The side street was narrow, not even wide enough for a car to pass through, and instead of pavement, it was paved in cobblestone. A footpath, I realized. We walked at a leisurely pace, and after a moment, I noticed Freddy bobbing his head. It took a second to register the fact that music was playing. I stopped and stared at Freddy.

  ‘It’s close to midnight’

  “Are you shitting me, Fred?” I asked with a snort.

  He grinned and pulled out his cell. None of our phones worked in this world, but we still had them stashed here just in case we ever had the chance to head back. Freddy was apparently carrying his around.

  He tapped the screen, and “Thriller” immediately shut off. “It’s my alarm,” he said through a chuckle. “Fitting, right?”

  “Christ, man, do you have an off button?” said Norman, shaking his head at his twin.

  A sudden chill raced down my spine as a low moan traveled down the narrow walkway. We all froze. Something about the sound made my stomach tighten and caused my skin to start itching all over. Our heads were on a swivel, and another moan rattled through the air. It was sort of gurgly and broken and sounded like… No… No fucking way was I going to voice what it sounded like. Not here. Watching The Walking Dead before bed time messed me up with nightmares, and now it seemed in the daytime, it caused me to hear things.

  Dragging footsteps echoed between the sides of the buildings, but I couldn’t tell which direction they were coming from. Freddy and Norman inched backwards, keeping me between their massive bodies. I appreciated the thought, but we really needed to get out of here before whatever was making those noises found us alone in the fucking dark alley where no one could see us from the street.

  The lanterns began to flicker, and a cold wind blew my hair off my shoulder. I was regretting my choice in skimpy attire as I shivered. Norman groaned, “What now?” as more broken moans joined together in a haunting chorus.

  Out of the shadows stepped several slender figures, moving in jerky, harsh movements. I yelped and jumped back, heart pounding against my ribs painfully. My brain instantly recognized the danger we were in. I was a lifelong horror buff, but the one thing I’d always been deathly afraid of were zombies. Give me demons, vampires, and werewolves, and I’d be fine…but zombies were fucking terrifying, and they were headed right towards us.

  It was wrong on so many levels, especially when my gaze swung over to the zombie at the end of the alleyway behind the cluster of brain eating corpses with a freaking marionette dummy strapped to its bony chest in a baby carrier. Why did that dummy fucking turn up everywhere? I had to squint my eyes to see him fully, but I could have sworn his arm moved as if pointing at us, unless the zombie was pulling a string I couldn’t see. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The doll’s mouth looked like it was vibrating as a creepy as fuck laugh slipped past his unhinged painted on lips.

  ‘It’s close to midnight’

  The music made me jump and I whipped my head to Freddy, forgetting about the zombie carrying around a dummy for a second. “Are you freaking kidding me right now?!” He fumbled for his phone, but the shadows were coming closer, so he had no choice but to just shove it in his pocket and let the fucking alarm play.

  ‘You try to scream...but terror takes the sound before you make it’

  The zombies were getting closer now. I searched my person for any object I could possibly use as a weapon, but all I had were a few feather quills. Holy shit, this was not how I imagined going out. And with a fucking soundtrack, no less…

  ‘As horror looks you right between the eyes’

  “Here’s the plan,” Norman said in a murmur. “we fucking rush them. We run for it, barrel our way through, and keep running.”

  “And get bitten?!” My eyes were wide, and I shook my head back and forth. “That’s the worst plan ever! Not all of us have vampire speed, Norman!”

  “Well if we don’t do it now, more will come,” he stressed, his fangs shoving past his gums into his bottom lip.

  “Technically, we don’t know if they're the biting kind… Maybe zombies are just regular—”

  A growling moan ripped through what Freddy was about to say as one of the zombies appeared seemingly out of nowhere. In the light of a lantern, its grotesque features were enhanced. Its eyes were sunken in, and the whites were glossed over in pure blackness, soulless pits with hunger and desperation in them.

  I screamed and jumped back, Norman steadying me by the waist. I heard a ripping noise, and I looked to my left and watched as Freddy shifted his fingers into massive claws. I sucked in a breath. “I didn’t know you could do that!”

  He looked at his claws with wide eyes, now shining bright yellow. “You and me both…” He smiled a heartbeat later and winked a wolfy eye. “But it’s convenient, right?”

  I was too scared to say anything particularly witty, and I think he knew that. Freddy slashed at the zombie, nearly severing its head with one swipe, before staring at his hand again in shock. “Holy fuck, that actually worked!”

  “We need to move!” Norman urged, grabbing me by the hand and tugging me down the alley. Freddy followed.

  ‘You hear the creature creepin up behind… You’re out of time’

  I watched Freddy cut a few more of the zombies down as they stumbled out of the shadows. “Where the hell are they coming from?!” I shouted over the music that wouldn’t stop playing over and over again.

  We kept running as we cleared the end of the street and didn’t stop. I spotted an old building up ahead with a revolving glass door. It looked like a theater, and the marquee above had some kind of play listed for tonight’s event.

  ‘You're fighting for your life inside a killer thriller tonight’

  We made a beeline for the theater with zombies on our heels, snapping their teeth each time they got close enough to bite. Slamming through the revolving doors was comical, and I was surprised we didn’t break the damn thing. I didn’t know how smart these zombies were, but I really hoped the door would slow them down.

  “This way,” Norman said, leading us through the darkened theater. It was too early for anyone to be here, and the hallways were empty. Freddy’s alarm kept repeating, echoing off the walls, making my teeth grind.

  It smelled musty, but not the bad kind, just old. The walls were decorated in a deep red velvet wallpaper, and there were massive portraits adorning them, of what I assumed
to be famous playwrights in this world. We took a staircase to the right that brought us to a landing. There were a few doors scattered around the dark hallways, but Norman seemed to pick one at random and shove his way in, pulling Freddy and I behind him.

  We’d weaved around enough corners that I was fairly sure there was no way the zombies could have followed us. Freddy’s phone was still blaring, so once we were in the room, I shoved my hand in his pocket, grabbed his phone, and turned the fucking thing off.

  The room was cast in silence and darkness, until Freddy broke it, saying, “If you wanted in my pants, all you had to do was ask.” I heard a thump, and knew Norman had just smacked Freddy. Hopefully, in the balls.

  The three of us allowed ourselves to fall completely silent, waiting to see what happened next and hoping the zombies had given up. I was still panting, but Norman and Freddy seemed fine. Damn superpowers. It really was unfair.

  “You okay?” Norman asked. I felt him reach out and brush a section of my hair over my shoulder. Shivering at the touch, all I could do was nod.

  “Love you…” he said, his voice echoing in my mind, and he threw me a grin when I mouthed I loved him too. I frowned, wondering who spilled the beans, but he just shook his head.

  Freddy had his ear pressed to the door, but after a moment, he turned around, running a hand down his face. “What the fuck was that?”

  “Did anyone else feel like that attack was targeted?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” said Norman. “Like someone set those things on us?”

  I nodded, and Freddy asked, “But why would someone do that?”

  “Maybe it was the same person who attacked me the other day. Did you guys see that creepy doll? I’ve seen him one too many times for this to be a coincidence.”

  “Shit, you’re probably right.” Norman’s fists tightened at his side. “We need to find this fucker.”

  He was right, but the notion was impossible. How could we fight someone we couldn’t even see? Someone who had the ability to attack without me seeing him, and who could…

  Wait a second.

  “Guys,” I said quietly. “Zombies are corpses.”

  They turned to me, and Freddy snorted. “Um, obviously?”

  I groaned. “Ugh, you don’t get it? They were dead. Meaning someone had to make them, um, not dead.”

  “Undead?” Norman suggested.

  I snapped my fingers. “That’s it. Someone had to make them that way. Someone like me.”

  “A necromancer,” Freddy finished. “So whoever attacked you is a necromancer too?”

  Shaking my head, I tried to puzzle it out. “I don’t think so. Remember what the aunties said about the unsanctioned magic that was used on the corpse in the morgue? I got the same feeling just now. It didn’t feel like necromancy. I’ve been reading a lot about my powers, and it says necromancy is passed through a bloodline and it’s actually tied to dark magic, using a connection to the earth to raise spirits from the grave. But spirits can only come back if they haven't already moved on… Whatever this person is doing isn’t how it’s supposed to be done. They’re not a necromancer. They’re something else. Something wrong and unnatural.”

  “Shit,” Norman sighed.

  I nodded. “Shit, indeed.”

  “Well, we can’t do anything about it until we talk some more with the others. Maybe the aunties know something more about dark magic. In the meantime, we might as well get comfortable in here, until those things are gone. We still have a couple hours before classes start. What is this place anyways?” Freddy turned away, moving a few things here and there.

  Now that I had a chance to look around, I realized we were in a small room, lit by nothing but a single skylight up above, allowing the moonlight to shine through and bathe the room in an orange hue. We were surrounded by clothing racks, chaise lounges, old chairs, and shoes. “This must be the costume room. We’re in a theater, remember?”

  I started sifting through the clothing racks, unable to help myself. I was such a sucker for clothes. I spied dresses that looked like they came from the Renaissance, peasant blouses, boots, ruffled collars, and cloaks made of soft silks and velvets. Running my hands along the different textures, I suddenly craved to watch one of these productions.

  “Is this where you’ve been clothes shopping this whole time?” Freddy teased.

  I cut him a narrow eyed look over my shoulder, but my lips were stretching into a smirk. “You’re just jealous you can’t pull off something like this.” I held up a black corset to my torso.

  Freddy’s eyes darkened with hunger, and his face suddenly sobered. His gaze flickered down to the item I held up, and then back up to my face, only he wasn’t looking at my eyes. He was staring at my lips. “I can think of a few things I’d like to pull off.”

  His voice had a growly quality to it that I hadn’t heard since that day in The Wicked Quill. I shivered as memories of what his fingers had done to me came back. Even here, stuck in this small room while zombies roamed around town, my clit throbbed, the ghost of those skilled fingers coming back.

  “I bet you say that to all the girls nowadays,” I said, only half teasing.

  The twins looked at each other seriously for a moment, and Norman’s eyes darkened as he said, “I can assure you there’s been no one else, October.”

  I sucked in a breath, wanting to believe it so badly. “But I saw you guys with other cheerleaders—”

  “Fuck what you saw. It was all a show. Every single time you were out of sight, the show stopped. There’s been no one else. Not for any of us.”

  I was speechless and tongue tied. Both of them just smirked.

  “Why don’t you try it on?” Norman suggested. He was seated on the torn velvet chaise lounge by the far wall, watching my exchange with Freddy. His eyes were on the item in my grip as he licked his lips.

  The whole vibe suddenly changed, and so I decided to just roll with it. I’d been waiting a long time to make them realize what they’d been missing this last year, and being with three of them this past week emboldened me just enough to peel my tank top off and let it fall to the floor. I watched smugly as their eyes collectively widened. They hadn’t expected me to take them up on the suggestion for real.

  I wore a crimson colored bralette made of lace that had a cobweb design stretched over each cup and a little silk bat-shaped tie in the center. I smiled at the two of them watching me with hungry eyes and reached around behind me, unclasped the bralette, and let that fall to the floor as well.

  I was standing in front of them in just my skirt and boots and nothing else. I could feel their eyes tracing every curve and dip of my body, and my nipples puckered under the phantom caress. Black veins were beginning to creep under Norman's skin, his eyes darkening and filling with hunger in both ways that set my blood on fire. He licked his lips, and his fangs elongated, poking out ever so slightly.

  I realized suddenly that the thought of their monsters coming to the surface didn’t scare me in the slightest. The thought of Freddy’s claws and Norman’s fangs just made me hot. My mind flickered back to Jason’s yellow eyes and forked tongue, and Michael’s dark, tingling magic crawling up his skin and sinking into mine. That’s what I liked.

  I moved to wrap the corset around my torso, but too fast for me to see, it was ripped from my grasp and thrown against the far wall with force. There was a low growling sound emanating from Freddy’s chest as he prowled closer. I was still smiling as I watched every step. I’d been waiting for this since the day in the bookshop, imagining when we’d get a second chance to finish what we’d started.

  “You look hungry, big bad wolf,” I purred. He prowled closer, stalking my movements. My eyes flickered to Norman, who stared back leisurely, just watching.

  Freddy grinned widely, and I noticed that his teeth looked just a little bit sharper than normal. “Then I guess it’s a good thing you look like a fucking snack.”

  I wanted to roll my eyes. Freddy was forev
er a jokester, but this time, his words just served to make my clit pulse again. Shit, I really was a horny bitch sometimes. I mean…how many times had I fucked one of the guys this week? Three? I didn’t regret a thing, though. All of it was a long time coming. We’d had a year apart to build up this need, this desire. A year of pining for them and fantasizing about every dirty thing I wanted them to do to me. I wasn’t about to let this time go to waste, especially knowing that apparently, someone out there wanted me dead.

  He stepped in front of me, towering over my short frame like a giant. Even through his T-shirt, I could see the way his muscles flexed. My guys had always been built like fucking trucks, and I wanted him to park his truck right inside my garage. Eight years of basketball will do that to you—layer you with muscles that make girls go stupid. But now, fueled by these new supernatural abilities, it was like the magic took what they already had and honed it, sculpting them to near perfection. I sent up a silent prayer to the great pumpkin, because holy geez, I wanted to lick him all over like an ice cream cone.

  Freddy dropped to his knees before I could register what he was doing. He was so tall that his face was now exactly level with my breasts. I groaned as his hot breath caressed my nipple, and my thighs rubbed together to alleviate the sudden ache.

  Palms skimmed up my legs, towards the apex of my thighs, and then back down again. Freddy calmly unzipped my boots and helped me out of them. Next, he skimmed his clawed fingers up my stockings, but it only took a moment of exploration to realize that the stockings ended on my thighs in little lace bows. He stopped, setting them back into place in favor of hooking his claws around my thong and peeling it down until it pooled around my ankles. My skirt went next, and soon, I was standing there before him, naked, save for the stockings.

  “Sexy…fucking adorable…all ours…”

  I was growing used to their voices scattering through my head here and there, craving them, really, just to get a glimpse of what they were thinking.

  I’d never felt more exposed in my whole life, but I’d also never felt more thrilled. Freddy was rumbling deep in his chest, something like a purr, and it had me shifting on my feet. A hot tongue swiped my right nipple, and I moaned, tipping my head back. Freddy sucked in, rolling my nipple with his tongue and gently biting it as he locked his gaze with mine. His hands slid back up my thighs, forcing me to widen my stance. Then his claw tipped finger grazed my pussy, and I whined in uncontrollable need.