Kirk lunged forward, hugging Allen’s legs, bringing him to the ground. The two men started to roll around, their punches flying out left and right.
I was so stunned by their brutality that I could barely move.
Allen had his hands around Kirk’s neck. “Tell me where the item is.”
“I don’t know where it is, you idiot.” He slammed his head into Allen’s, disorienting him for a moment. “I didn’t come up with this game myself. What about that can’t you understand? Gretchen is the mastermind behind all this.”
“Well, where the hell is she?”
“I don’t know!” he shouted, ramming his elbow into Allen’s face. “I already told you, I don’t know a thing. All I know are my lines and what I’m supposed to recite to you guys. Jeez, don’t kill the messenger.”
The two men circled one another, both of them breathing hard, blood on their faces.
Finally, I snapped out of my stupor and moved forward. “That’s enough!” I held out my arms to keep them away from one another. “Killing one another won’t accomplish anything. We need to figure this out…”
Allen, however, was much too angry to listen to reason. He grabbed me and pushed me out of the way. “Stay out of this. I’m going to get us out of this room one way or another.”
His shove sent me into the couch where I sunk into the cushions. Before I could get up, the lights went out.
Silence.
The darkness was so thick, it was suffocating.
No one moved, waiting.
Who would be next?
Suddenly, someone grabbed me.
It was me.
Chapter 16
ALLEN
The lights came back on slowly. First, one light flickered and then the other until the whole room became bright – too bright.
I blinked, letting my eyesight adjust. Once it had, I looked around.
My heart dropped.
Where was she?
“Essie?” I called out, turning around but she was nowhere to be found. “Essie!” I screamed, the blood in my veins turning to ice.
No, she couldn’t have been taken.
“Where is she?” I roared at Kirk. At this point, I was done playing stupid games. Something had happened to Essie and I was going to figure out what. Whoever had taken her would have hell to pay. “Where the fuck is she?” I demanded, ready to beat him to a pulp if he didn’t answer me.
“Um… I think I found the item…” A short woman dressed as Pocahontas stepped forward, holding a get-well card in her hands. She pointed to the red dot on the back of it.
“So you have. So you have.” Kirk smiled, side stepping me to approach the girl. Quickly, he congratulated her and adorned her with a new red mask.
The doors opened.
In a flash, I bolted through them.
My first impulse was to run to Gretchen’s room. If she was truly behind all this she would have some explaining to do. Where were all my guests? What had she done with Essie? My rage was bubbling up inside me, making it hard to breathe.
I had never felt so responsible for someone in my entire life. I needed to find her.
Once I reached her room, I didn’t even bother to knock. I charged right in but there was no one there.
“Gretchen?” I checked the bathroom but she wasn’t there either.
Great, just great.
My house was enormous, where was I supposed to start looking for her? She could be anywhere. And, who says that she was still inside the house.
Desperately, I started to check every single room, calling out Essie’s name, praying for a miracle.
Deep down, I was starting to think that this wasn’t a game anymore. Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Downstairs, the party proceeded as if nothing had happened. People continued to drink and dance with bright smiles on their faces. If only they knew that something was roaming the house, taking people when the lights went out. It couldn’t be a person… could it? Who moved that fast? That silently? None of this made any sense…
“Essie!” I was starting to grow desperate. What if something had really happened to her? I would never be able to forgive myself.
I stepped into one of the guest rooms.
A giant mechanical spider jumped out at me, startling me. I tore it right off the wall. Why had I insisted on decorating the house so heavily? It was like everywhere I turned, there was something waiting for me in the shadows. It was really starting to get quite unnerving.
“Essie!” I looked all around but still, I couldn’t find her.
Where was she?
I reached the top floor. I checked my bedroom, Chris’ bedroom, the library.
Nothing.
Finally, I opened the door to the pool room. It had been repainted in a soft violet color. I lingered by the door, my hand still on the handle so it wouldn’t close on me. This had to be another part of the game…
I scanned the room.
And then, I saw her.
Without thinking, I rushed to her side. “Essie!” She was lying down, motionless.
I feared the worst.
“Essie, are you okay?” I brushed her hair out of her face. Her cheeks lacked color. She felt cold.
No. She couldn’t be…
My heart hammered, each beat impossibly painful.
“Essie… say something… please…” Tears burned in my eyes. The night had gone from a beautiful dream to a horrible nightmare.
She groaned, her eyebrows furrowing together in discomfort.
“Oh, thank God, you’re alive!” I took her into my arms, holding her tight against my chest. “I was so scared…”
Her eyes fluttered, a look of confusion on her face. She rubbed the side of her head. “What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know, but I’m calling an end to this party this instant.” I was about to get up when the door slammed shut.
We both jumped.
No, we couldn’t be trapped again.
I helped Essie to her feet. “Are you okay to stand on your own?”
She nodded her head.
I hesitated to leave her side but nonetheless, I checked the door.
It was locked.
“Just my fucking luck!” I screamed in frustration. “They aren’t trapping me into a room again.” I took a few steps back before running forward, ramming my shoulder into the door.
It shook but held fast.
I stepped back again, ready to run forward when another door clicked open.
I turned, peering into a room painted by shadows. Essie and I ventured toward it, but neither one of us summoned the courage to step into the void.
A single light turned on, illuminating a large, menacing grandfather clock.
Its hands were both pointing to the twelve.
Midnight.
Dong!
It started its chant, announcing the time.
My heart beat fast. Something bad was about to happen. I could just feel it…
Essie grabbed my hand, holding it tight in hers.
It stopped.
Silence.
We both looked at each other.
What was going to happen now?
Chapter 17
ESSIE
“Allen…”
He looked down at me as he cupped my cheeks in his hands, his thumbs rubbing against my skin in a soft, gentle motion. “Shh, I’ll protect you. Whatever is to come next, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.” He pulled me into his chest, resting my head on his shoulder.
I melted into him, clinging to the fabric of his shirt. I just wanted all of this to end.
We stood in each other’s embrace for quite some time.
I could hear his heart beating fast. He was just as scared as I was, and yet, he was still determined to protect me.
“What’s happening…?” I asked.
“I don’t know…” He care
ssed my hair. “But we are going to get out of this. This nightmare can’t last forever.” He kissed the top of my head. “I’m going to figure this out, one way or another. You have my word.”
I nodded, trusting him with my life at this point.
“Let me try the door and maybe you can look for anything else that might help us.”
“Okay.” I reluctantly let him go.
“You don’t happen to have a bobby pin, do you? Maybe I can use that to pick the lock or something.”
I quickly pulled one out of my hair, messing up my do, but I didn’t care at this point. All that mattered was getting out – alive.
Why hadn’t we just quit the game along with Ebony and Chris while we had the chance?
“Thanks.” He kissed me quickly before heading to the door, tinkering with the lock.
Numbly, I walked around the room, looking for anything that could help us. I picked up random objects but none of them seemed useful.
A part of me felt like we were going to be trapped in this maze of rooms forever. Just thinking about it nearly gave me a panic attack.
Calm down, Essie, everything is going to be okay, I told myself, trying to ease my troubled mind.
I knew Halloween was supposed to be scary, but this was becoming hellish.
Suddenly, I stopped, pressing my ear against the wall.
Soft murmurs floated to my ears. People were talking just beyond the wall! Maybe they could help us!
“Allen!” I called out.
“What? Did you find something?” He jogged up to me.
“Is there a room next to this one?”
He thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“No, why?”
“There are people talking on the other side of this wall,” I said, gesturing for him to listen.
He did so and his eyes widened. “That sounds like Chris!” He started to bang on the walls, shouting his brother’s name.
At first, nothing happened, but then the bookcase started to move.
I watched it curiously as it rolled on invisible tracks to the left.
A hole appeared in the wall, revealing a secret room, also painted purple.
“What the hell are you guys doing making so much noise?” Chris asked, poking his head through the opening.
“What are you guys doing here?” Allen demanded. “Were you taken as well?”
“Taken?” Ebony appeared beside Chris. “What do you mean? We came here to get away from all the nonsense.”
“You two have been here the whole time?” Allen asked.
Chris sighed. “This is my secret library. When I don’t want to deal with you, I hide here, because I know you won’t be able to find me,” he explained. “Besides, I wanted some privacy with Ebony.”
Allen walked into the library, bringing me along with him.
It was a smaller room, filled floor to ceiling with books, most of them leather bound and expensive looking. Comfortable chairs were tucked away into the corners. A small electric fireplace crackled away with fake flames.
“What the hell is wrong with you two? You look like you just saw a ghost,” Ebony teased.
“Something strange is going on…” I whispered.
“Such as?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
“People started disappearing from the game. There was blood,” I said, almost in hysterics.
“Blood? Are you sure? It was probably just a gag,” Ebony pointed out. “It is Halloween after all.”
“It wasn’t a gag.” Allen stepped forward. “I saw it with my own two eyes. Something bad is going on.”
“Okay, but you aren’t playing the game anymore, so what are you worried about?” Chris was about to grab a book and start reading when Allen knocked it out of his hand.
“Don’t be an idiot. These rooms are part of the game or were you too blind to realize that they changed the color of the room?”
“Hmm… violet…” Ebony looked around. “If we work off the Poe logic, then we are in the room of imminent death.”
“Imminent death?” I repeated, my blood running cold. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, in the story, the next room is black – death. Inside of it is a clock.”
My eyes widened. “We already saw a clock.”
“Where?”
“In the other room.”
“Then, death is upon us,” Ebony said sinisterly.
Chapter 18
ALLEN
“Shut up. That’s not funny.” I snapped.
“Of course it’s funny. You two are scared out of your wits because of some stupid little game.” Ebony shook her head. “Honestly.”
“This isn’t a game.” Essie grabbed her sister by the arms. “Something is going on. You have to believe us.”
She sighed. “Okay, but I swear to God, if this is one of your little jokes, I won’t forgive you this time.”
“I’m telling the truth,” Essie insisted.
“Alright, where’s the clock?” she asked.
“You aren’t really going to go in there, are you?” My eyes widened. “Didn’t you just say the last room was death?”
“I did, but do you really think something is going to kill me? I mean if you hired murderers for your party, that’s a whole different story.”
“Of course not.”
“Then, what do we have to worry about?” She whipped her black hair over her shoulders before she sauntered out of the room.
Chris’ eyes were glued to the sway of her hips before he followed her.
Essie looked at me, a sense of dread in her eyes. “Nothing is going to happen,” I whispered, sounding more confident than I felt. I just couldn’t shake this sense of foreboding deep within my chest.
This wasn’t right.
I took her hand in mine, squeezing it tight. “I won’t let go,” I told her.
She nodded and together, we approached the last room.
The light had turned off and now the only thing beyond the threshold was pure darkness.
Even Chris and Ebony hesitated, their previous confidence wavering in front of the wall of black.
Eventually, Chris pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight. It didn’t do much to illuminate the room.
At a snail’s pace, we all moved forward until we were wrapped by the ethereal blackness. It seemed to get tighter and tighter around us like a snake trying to crush our every bone.
I held onto Essie’s hand even tighter.
“There seems to be a trap door,” Chris observed, shining the light of his phone at a handle protruding from the ground. “Did you know this was here?” he asked me.
“No. I didn’t even know you had a secret library.”
“Should we see what it leads to?” he asked, already squatting down, his fingers wrapping around the iron handle.
Beside me, Essie shook her head.
The door opened with a loud, drawn out groan.
We all peered down the narrow shaft but we couldn’t see a thing.
“We aren’t really going down there, are we?” Essie asked. “I mean… in movies… going down something like that is a sure-fire way to get killed.”
Ebony rolled her eyes. “What are you twelve? There’s nothing to be afraid of.” She was the first one to start down the ladder. Chris shrugged and followed.
“Allen… please don’t tell me you’re going down there too.”
“We have to get to the bottom of this, Essie. It’s the only way.” I told her, giving her a passionate kiss before I helped her onto the ladder.
The descent was long and perilous. The ladder was slick and slippery, making it hard to hold onto. The air smelled of rotten eggs – sulfur maybe. Whatever it was, it was making me sick to my stomach.
Then, the further down we got, the weirder the sounds became. At first, all that could be heard was the sound of our feet against the rungs of the
ladders, but then strange moans emerged from the darkness. Sometimes, the sound of metal grinding together. The hair-raising sound of nails on a chalkboard.
Beasts Awakened Page 39
