Page 4 of All Hallows' Haunt
Everett
I stoodnear the exit of Rocker and leaned into the gate to hide myself behind large bushes. Screams bounced around the avenue as I waited forher.My phone went off in my pocket. No doubt it was Matt telling me to hurry up.
Around the corner, the converted maintenance building formed an admissions line. I convinced Matt to go on without me, but I was pushing the time constraints. Looking out again, a guy stepped through the exit gate first. He was blond, relatively tall, and wore a black hoodie. He was in the girl’s group,Sienna.
Shortly after he passed by two girls walked into view as they chatted about nonsense. I waited a beat, and Sienna walked out, but the guy she was walking beside draped his arm around her. Her expression was bored; there was no smile or crinkle in the corners of her eyes.
Hmm.
It was a split-second decision, and I didn’t even have a legitimate reason for proving it. With the gloves on, I skidded behind them and raked my hands across the asphalt. Sienna screamed and jumped at the noise. The douchebag she was with let his fear out on her and pushed Sienna away from him. The force of his blow sent her careening to the ground, and I broke the most important rule.
I stepped forward, sliding my arms under her. She fell into my body and went into a fit of rage.
“Shawn! What the fuck was that?” she yelled at the idiot who put his self-preservation over her safety. Big, round eyes looked up into mine. They were icy, piercing. I found myself excited for the next time I got to see them this close. She seemed much shorter when she wasn’t staring me down in a stand-off. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, straightening and taking a step back, yet not completely out of my hold.
I nodded, unable to get any words to cross my lips. Her body was warm, and I wasn’t ready to let her go.
Don’t touch the patrons.
I stepped away as common sense echoed through my head. Without another word passed between us, she turned to her friends and started fussing at the idiot. Despite their size difference, she swung at his side while he muttered half-assed apologies. I kept my distance as they walked ahead.
The group veered to the left, away from the clown house, and I kept straight ahead. People were screaming, running up and down the avenue, and laughing as they tried to get away. None of it sparked anything inside me. The only thrill I cared to experience was watching the excitement dance in Sienna’s eyes as her pupils dilated and her heart raced.
As if on autopilot, I found myself at the employee entrance for the maintenance building. Matt was leaning against the doorframe and looked me up and down as I approached.
“What’s killed your mood?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, feigning ignorance. If I confessed the last twenty minutes, he’d rightfully throw my ass into a dumpster.
“Your face, it’s all mopey and shit.” He stuck a finger in my face and waved it around. “I know clowns here aren’t all smiles and kittens, but that energetic start you had earlier has fizzled. Why?”
“Are you gonna get mad if I tell you?”
“Depends.”
“Fine. That girl from earlier,” I started. “I saw her again. When I jump-scared their group, the guy she was with pushed her to the ground.” I scratched my head, not wanting to go further.
“Ev, you didn’t,” he sighed, raking a hand through his hair.
“What was I supposed to do, Matt? Should I have let someone twice her size knock her onto the asphalt?” I kicked at the gravel as I folded my arms.
“I suppose it’s not toeing the lines of fraternization.” He turned and pushed the door open for me. I walked though, and he followed behind. “That’s kind of shitty on him. What a dick.”
“Agreed.”
We walked through the back, and screams and shouts came as the other actors worked their roles. The guy I met at the table earlier approached us.
“Evan,” he said slowly, unsure if that was actually my name.
“Everett,” I corrected politely.
“Right, sorry. There’s a lot of people I’m managing tonight, and I’m bad with names.” He laid a light fist bump into my shoulder. “Everett, I want you at the entrance. Then we’ll rotate around to different areas throughout the night.”
“Sounds good,” I said, making my way to the front of the building.
A gauzy curtain covered a doorway and a couple approached. The woman was frightened and clung to the man’s arm as she frantically looked around in the darkened hallway. I jumped through the curtain and banged my hand on the metal table. She shouted and pulled the man down the hall with desperation.
I laughed to myself and continued walking through the back corridors for the employees. More screams rang out and bounced off the walls as they let patrons through the doors. I stayed back as new people approached and waited for the path to clear. James was standing there counting the minutes between each group.
