by Claire Adams
I shrugged nonchalantly. He didn't owe me anything, so there was no need to make a big deal out of it.
“Hey, if you're not doing anything, some buddies and I are heading to that haunted house for a good scare. Why don't you come with us?”
“Oh really? Wow, no, you assume I enjoy having the shit scared out of me, but I don't.”
He laughed. “It'll be fun. You're not the only one who will get scared.” He winked at me, and I found it charming.
“I'm tired, Jet. I just want to go chill out.”
“No, that's a terrible idea. You can sleep when you're dead. Come on, it will be fun. Trust me.”
“Oh, I definitely don't trust you, Jet,” I whispered.
He chuckled. “Please? Don't make me beg. I will get you home promptly after that, I promise.”
I paused, thinking about it. I couldn't seem to shake this guy, no matter what I did. It wasn't like it was a date; in fact, his buddies were going to be there, so what was the big deal if I went? It's not like I was encouraging advances from Jet. We were just friends, and I was no different than the buddies he was going with ... okay maybe a little different.
I hoped Kyle wouldn't be there, though. I got the idea that he didn't like me much. Considering he had been around on more than one occasion when Jet and I had slept together and seen me naked, I think we’d met our quota on how much time we should be around each other.
“Okay, I guess it won't hurt. But if I pee my pants, you are in big trouble.”
“Right back at you.”
I giggled as I followed him off campus.
We walked to Jet's car on the other side of the lot, where Kyle was already waiting. I groaned inwardly as I had hoped I would not run in to him anytime in the near future. By the look on his face, he didn't seem too impressed to see me.
“Hey, Jet, what's going on?”
“Natalie, here, decided to join us at the haunted house.”
“Ahh, cool. Hi,” he said to me.
“Hi, Kyle, nice seeing you again.”
He nodded while he looked down at his shoes.
“So are we meeting everyone else there?”
Kyle looked up. “Yeah, they are meeting us.”
I looked at Jet. “Am I the only girl going, because I don't want to intrude.”
Jet laughed. “Don't be silly. It's a haunted house; you aren't intruding. But to answer your question, no, you aren't the only girl. I think one of the guys is bringing his girlfriend, and there are a few girls from the gym going. So no big deal, right?”
I nodded, and we all piled into the car, Kyle allowing me to have shotgun privileges. I sat in the seat and put my purse at my feet. I started fiddling with the radio station until I was able to find some tunes we all liked. It wasn't a very long drive, as the haunted house was downtown, which was close to school.
When we arrived, Jet found parking, but it was evident the area was very busy. We climbed out of the car and saw his friends in a large group. There were some surprised looks on some of his friends’ faces’ especially the girls’ when Jet walked up to them with me in tow. Kyle circled us and went to talk to one of the gym girls.
“Hey guys, this is Natalie; she decided to join us tonight.”
Everyone said hi to me, and Jet introduced everyone by name so I would know who was who. There were so many of them that I was sure I would lose all the names anyway.
We all headed to the ticket stand and bought tickets for the scare house. Jet offered to pay for mine, and I allowed him to. We then headed to the haunted house.
It was an imposing structure, much larger than you would anticipate a mobile unit to be. Although it was imposing from the outside, it looked smaller outside than it did on the inside. The front of the structure was decorated in blacks, whites, and reds. The red depicted blood and slaughter, and the drawings were that of madmen, skulls, witches, and spiders. Although they were harmless drawings, the whole scene completely creeped me out, but I guess that was the purpose of it.
“Hey, beautiful, are you okay?” he said it lightly, with humor in his tone.
I looked over at him and smiled. “Don't start with me, Jet.”
He chuckled. “You don't need to worry. I will protect you from all the ghouls and goblins.”
“Yeah, well I should probably be more afraid of you than any ghoul or goblin.”
He winked at me. “Maybe.”
I looked back at the scare house as we waited for everyone to get tickets and meet us over there. The haunted house didn't have the best history, which was probably why people found it so creepy, and wanted to take the walk for themselves. I didn't like the history; in fact, it was the reason why I didn't want to go in. Twenty years ago when the haunted house first opened to scare unsuspecting teens and adults, a twenty-year-old-girl had been raped and murdered inside the house.
No one had heard her, because the place had been filled with people running and screaming. It wasn't until the haunted house closed for the night and they turned on the lights that they had found her. She had been a young college student with a bright future, and she was found covered in blood, having been stabbed repeatedly. The weapon was never found, and forensics had showed that she had been raped right before she was murdered. The killer had never been found, either, and that was the most disturbing part of all. They had interviewed everyone who was there that night, including staff, and they were not able to determine if it was someone who had gone into the funhouse with her, or whether she had been murdered by a staff member whose job it was to jump up and scare people.
I shivered at the thought. How terrible to have been raped and to be screaming, and no one comes to your aid. It was the perfect place to murder someone, because you couldn't tell one scream from another. Surprisingly, the haunted house didn't close down after that as was expected; it just grew in popularity. There were rumors and legends going around that the killer probably still worked there and was in search of his next victim. Whether the killer had been a staff member or not; that person had gotten away with it and was still out there in the world, possibly killing more.
Since the murder, the rules had changed so that no one was to go into the house alone, and all staff members had to wear a Go Pro camera, so whatever they did was recorded in the main office. The owners were determined not to have another murder happen in their place.
All Jet's friends met in front of the house, and we went to the ticket guy, who started letting us in two by two as he took our tickets. Jet clasped my hand in his as it was our turn to go into the house. He squeezed my hand gently as we walked into the darkness.
The house was set up so that it was pitch black in hallways, and whenever you came to an opening you could see different rooms and objects―sometimes even people through lamplight. Staff workers would often jump out and grab you, or you could turn a corner and see one just be standing there silently watching you, like the little girl in The Ring. You never knew what was going to happen, because it always changed. Every time you entered the haunted house, it was different.
We could hear screams coming from up ahead, and I wondered what we were about to walk into. I couldn't see a thing as we navigated a hallway. My heart pounded through my chest and I clasped Jet's hand even tighter. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it softly.
As we shambled down the hallway, looking for a way out, I felt something brush against my feet, and I screamed.
“What?!” Jet yelled.
“Something touched my foot. There's someone in this hallway.” I was trembling with the idea that someone could be beside me, and I had no idea what.
“No, it's too tight in here. You probably just felt a breeze on your leg.”
“I did not just feel a breeze,” I hissed at him.
Just then, my ankle was grabbed by a cold hand. I screamed again, let go of Jet's hand, and ran down the hallway. I needed to get out of there, though I was sure new horrors would find me right around the corner.
�
��Natalie, wait! Don't run off.”
I could hear him running after me. I slowed as I came to an opening that was filled with jail cells. Jet came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Holy crap, girl, you are scaring me worse than this place. Don't run off like that.”
I turned to face him. “Let's just get through this before I murder you.”
“Alright, fair enough.”
We slowly walked passed the cells, unsure of what might pop out at us. Just as we were about to leave the area, something came running at us from inside the cells. What could only have been described as an insane person, grabbed the bars in front of us, and screamed while shaking them. It wasn't even a scream; it was more of a wail, and I screamed and covered my ears. I tried to take another look at the person, as it was hard to believe that it really wasn't just some crazy person. That staff member definitely deserved a raise, because I couldn't believe the behavior was all just an act. We hurried out of the room, only to find ourselves in another dark hallway. We were about through it, when I heard a door slam behind us. I turned to look, but all I could see was darkness ahead of us. There was light, so we quickly moved toward it. All of a sudden, we heard footsteps hurrying behind us.
“Jet!” I shrieked. He took my hand and he ran down the hallway toward the light, with me in tow. It sounded liked the footsteps were growing closer―that the person was gaining on us. My heart felt like it was going to burst through my chest, I was so terrified. I held Jet's hand so hard, hoping he wouldn't let it go for anything. The steps were close now―too close, in fact. I was sure that the person had to be right behind me. I sensed that the person had his hand out, reaching toward me, just a fingertip away from grasping my body or hair, and pulling me to him.
“Jet, get me the hell out of here.”
We reached the light and we spun around, but nothing came out of the darkness. The footsteps were gone and even though we waited to see what had been behind us, nothing came out.
“Holy shit, that was intense,” Jet said.
“Do you think it was real? Was someone actually behind us, or was it a recording?”
He shrugged. “You tell me.”
“I don't know, it may be paranoia, but I could have sworn it was so close that I could hear it breathing.”
Jet laughed nervously. “Geez, listen to us. We really are losing it in here.”
There were screams ahead of us that startled me. Some were bloodcurdling screams, and they made me wonder. I could definitely see how easy it would be to ignore the screams of a girl being raped and murdered when everyone around me was screaming. Not to mention having to deal with your own fear, which was hard to control, and the last thing I wanted to do was go toward another person's screams. Instinct told me that whatever was out there making them scream should be avoided at all costs.
The light led us into a graveyard, which was scattered with open graves and coffins. Jet clasped my hand once again, and led me around the graves. A moan erupted from one of the graves we were passing. When we peered inside, I couldn't see much, just a shadow of a coffin down below. All we could hear was scratching, as if there was someone inside the coffin who couldn't get out. Then we heard the whispering, “Help me, please, help me. Don't leave me here.” It was coming from the closed coffin, followed by those sickening scratching sounds. We started walking away from the coffin, when I turned to look behind me to see an axe-wielding madman coming at us. I screamed so loud I thought I might lose my voice. Jet turned to see what I was looking at, and when he saw the man he yelled, “Oh shit.”
He pulled me out of the room and away from the man, who was swinging the axe behind us. As we left the room, the girls’ whispers turned to full out screams, “Help me!! Hellllp me!” as the sound of axe hitting wood was heard.
I started whispering, “Oh my God,” over and over again as we were plunged into darkness once more. Shaking, I pulled away from Jet and wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the shakes that were taking over my body.
“I think this might be the end of it, actually.”
We saw a light on at the end of the hallway, and we moved toward it. I heard another door slam, and dread came over me like a flood. We kept moving toward the light, and I wondered what was in the hallway with us. I could hear no footsteps, just like the last time, and I wasn't sure if that was better or worse.
Arms grabbed me from around the waist, and pulled me away from Jet. I screamed bloody murder, and tried to struggle out of the grasp.
“Jet, help me. Something has me.” But at that point I couldn't even see Jet anymore; I could hear him running toward us so I knew he was coming for me.
“Natalie, where are you?”
“Here, I'm right here; you're so close.”
Just as Jet came into view, the arms that were wrapped around me let go. I heard footsteps disappearing, and a door slam.
Jet was immediately beside me. “Oh God, Natalie. I’m sorry, that was a little hard-core, wasn't it?”
“You think? You didn't tell me that people could just grab me.”
“I didn't know. It's always different; you know that. The guys that work here are allowed to do anything to scare people.”
“Let's get out of here, please?”
“Of course.”
He grabbed my hand, and we hurried down the hallway toward the light. We reached the end without further incident, and came out into the fresh night air. Some of Jet's friends were outside waiting for us, while others were still inside.
One of the gym girls approached us. “How was it? I almost died in there.”
“Natalie was grabbed, so she's pretty freaked out.”
“You got grabbed? That's nuts, where?” she asked me.
“Just at the end, the last hallway. Someone wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me away. Jet had to come and get me.”
“Oh my God, that's terrifying. No one grabbed me when we were in there.”
“Gee, that's comforting.”
“Well, they always try new things. At least we made it out alive.”
I laughed. “Just barely.”
I realized then that Jet was still holding my hand, and I squeezed it gently. He turned to me and smiled.
“I'm glad you came,” he said.
I woke up the next day with a smile on my face, despite the sheer terror I had experienced the night before. I had also had a really good time with Jet. He had stayed true to his word and brought me right home afterward. I almost regretted that part, though, as they all ended up going out for burgers after. I had been invited, of course, but since I was such a nerd I had told everyone I had a creative writing assignment I needed to work on. They must have loved jabbing Jet about it all night. I could just imagine the things they were saying, like why are you hanging out with a girl who would rather study then spend time with you? Or maybe one of those gym girls spent the night licking his wounds for him.
Either way, I wished now that I had gone with them. It may have done wonders for the rumor mill if his friends actually gotten to know me instead of assuming that I was that weird girl that Jet had hooked up with once.
I rolled over in bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. I had to be in the gym in an hour to meet Jet. He had asked me to meet him there to do some more self-defense training. I wasn't entirely sure he even thought I needed it anymore; I guessed he just enjoyed teaching me. I didn't mind though, I was really starting to enjoy it myself. It made me feel tough, and I had never felt tough before. It was nice to feel strong and capable, even if I never got the chance to use my new skills.
I left the bathroom and went to the kitchen to get some fruit, I didn't like feeling too full before a workout, because it made me feel lazy and nauseous. This way, I would have something for energy, and still be able to accomplish what I needed to.
Julie was already in the kitchen, and she turned to smile at me when I came in the room.
“Hey, girl, want a cup of tea?”
“I
would love to, but I don't have time. I'm meeting Jet at the gym.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Two days in a row? Wow, lucky him.”
I laughed. “Oh, be quiet. I didn't even know I would be seeing him last night. It was hardly a date. I was terrified the entire time. It doesn't exactly scream romance.”
“Scream ...” she chuckled.
I laughed too. “I'm just grabbing some fruit. I will see you later.”
“Hey, maybe we can have some dinner together later.”
“Sure, I would love that. Pasta though, I have been craving pasta for days.”
Julie nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
I hurried out the door and down the stairs. When I reached outside, it was nice to see that the sun was shining bright. We didn't get that many sunny days now that fall had arrived; we had to enjoy them while we could before winter hit.
I walked briskly as I made my way to the campus. I loved long, crisp walks; they made for refreshing exercise, and woke me right up. Once on campus I made my way into the gym. I was smiling as I looked around for Jet. When I saw him sitting beside a gorgeous and ridiculously fit girl, my smile disappeared. They were whispering and laughing together, and the sight of them turned my stomach. They looked intensely intimate, like new lovers, and I almost felt like walking out of the gym and skipping the training. I didn't know how to feel about what I had seen, and what was worse, was that I didn't know why I felt so jealous. I wanted us to remain just friends, didn't I? And yet, there I was, losing my mind over the fact that he was sitting beside another girl. But she was so pretty―way too pretty―far prettier than I. I didn't know what to do, but I felt stupid standing there staring at them.
How did a girl get that fit? She must be in the gym round the clock, and never eat a bowl of ice cream. Was that any way to live? I wondered if I could give up ice cream if it meant looking as hot as she did.
Jet looked up, and saw me staring at him like an idiot. He smiled and waved at me, so there was certainly no way I could walk out of the gym at that point. The girl looked up to see who he was waving at, and she smiled at me as well, but that I didn't think that it was the warmest of smiles. I felt like I was being assessed, and that I failed to impress her.
