Page 12 of Scaredy Cat
“Unfortunately, I can’t do any of those,” I snicker.
“Not even cook?”
“Not even cook.”
The woman gives me an unimpressed look, though her smile shines through the act. “Well, we’ll find something to do with you, I’m sure. Husband!” she barks the word loud enough that I flinch. “Don’t kill this one, ya hear? She’s going to be part of the family tonight!”
Heads turn in the line, and the butcher looks me over with pale eyes made more intense with blue-white contacts. I give him a small mock salute, and he snorts, shaking his head before disappearing back into the haunt. The interaction has taken up enough time that the line has moved significantly, so when the woman follows her ‘husband,’ I’m next in line to enter.
Andfirstof the next group to go, which makes me take a sharp breath to prepare myself. I love going first. Even though I adore being the one to be hit by the jump scares and scenes before anyone else can remark on them in front of me, I still have to scrub my clammy palms against the fabric of my shorts and do a few quick little bounces on the balls of my feet from anticipation.
“All right.” The man standing in front of the door isn’t dressed up for the haunt. Instead, he’s wearing all black, with white letters spelling out STAFF on the front. Like the other employees, I knowScare Acres’logo is on the back, since I have a shirt of my own from here that’s just missing thestaffpart.
Maybe I’ll buy another one this year.
“Are you ready?” he asks, then lifts his walkie-talkie to his ear for a moment. He glances at me and I nod, though he’s already gesturing for me and the next group behind me, a clump of five or six high schoolers, to head on into the barn.
Immediately the screaming starts, timed perfectly even though I’m pretty sure it’s just coincidence from another group ahead of us. Laughter sounds, and a chainsaw revs, but the screaming never ceases. It only grows and fades, from actors andguests both, as I walk down the dark hallway with strobing lights that make it almost impossible to see where I’m going.
I’m not shocked when I have to rely on feel, nor am I surprised by the light brush of a girl’s hand on the back of my hoodie. “Sorry,” she murmurs in my ear, but she doesn’t let go. “I-I can’t see where we’re going.”
“You’re all good,” I call back, still walking forward with my arms out. Thankfully, I manage not to trip, and I push through a tarp-covered door into a light-flooded room, which causes me to blink as black spots dance through my vision.
“Don’t let them take any more of me!” a man sobs from the kitchen table. He’s bloody and writhing in his restraints, and when he lifts his arm, it ends in a bloody stump that shines wetly. On closer inspection, he’s positioned so it looks like one of his legs is gone, covered by a bloody sheet to mask it on the table. “Don’t let Mama take my other leg! Help me!”
“Not much more of you to take.” The woman enters the room, sweeping through the curtains on the other side of the space as we walk through the kitchen. She looks up at us with a grin as she drops a large knife on the counter. “And I’m going to need something more than this to finish the job…” Instead of the cleaver, she picks up an electric filet knife that buzzes when she presses down on the trigger.
“Who’s hungry?” The woman giggles. “You wanted to be part of the family… Right, dear?” the butcher’s wife looms toward me, causing the girl behind me to shrink back. “Time to learn how to cut a good leg fillet.” The person on the table screams, and my smile widens as I walk by, amusement and enjoyment bubbling up my throat.
God, Ilovehaunts.
The next few rooms are more on the simple side, leading us to a hallway made to look like it’s twisting with the way pictures are placed and the blood is sprayed on the walls. A few peoplein masks and torn clothes take their turns screaming in my face until I reach the end of the barn and to a door that leads to the woods outside.
The man outside grins at me, tugging on the straps of bloodstained overalls. “Hullo there.” He greets my group, and the girl behind me holds on to me more tightly, huddling closer like he’s going to pull out a chainsaw.
Though really, I wouldn’t put it past them.
“Hello,” I greet once the screaming from the barn has stopped. The group behind us really are loud, and I hope they’re also slower so they won’t catch up to us and ruin the whole thing for me. Not that they don’t have the right to scream and freak out.
But if I had to guess, I’d say they’re a little intoxicated, which explains why they’re being so loud.
“Now I have to warn you”—the man leans back on his heels—“those cousins of mine in these woods? They ain’t right. Don’t look ‘em in the eye. Don’t run from ‘em. You know how those kinds of people are.”
Two of the guys behind us chuckle nervously, letting on their bravery is all bravado and they’re just as scared as the girl climbing me like a koala.
We wait for another minute or so, and I watch as two haunt actors prowl through the woods, one of them going into the house closest to us on the path. I shiver with anticipation, glad I wore a lightweight hoodie. Now that the sun has set, it’s chillier than I expected it to be. Still, I rub my arms under the soft fabric, waiting for the man in the overalls to gesture for us to head down the trail.
“Be careful out there,” he warns cryptically, but that only makes my smile grow. I doubt I’ll be afraid, but I can still enjoy myself. As I did before, I take the lead without question. Theyounger girl behind me is still holding onto my hoodie, traipsing after me before slowing to a halt.
“Wait. Umm…” I glance back at her and see her worrying her lower lip, looking back at the two boys. “Would you guys be mad if I ended here? W-we can, right?” she asks the man in the overalls, who nods without hesitation. “You guys can go on. I can wait at the car?—”
“Hey, it’s fine.” One of the guys steps forward and she transfers herself from me to him. With a few reassuring words, they all leave the trail, going back towards the parking lot. Not one of them looks particularly disappointed, and I can’t help thinking that this placereallyisn’t scary enough to warrant their reactions.
“You okay to go on your own?” Overalls asks once they’re gone. “You can wait for the next group if you want.”
I shake my head. “Can I go on my own? Unless you’d rather me wait to go with a group?” I mentally cross my fingers, hoping he’ll tell me I can continue solo.
He does, thankGod.Now my anticipation is nearly a physical taste in the back of my throat as I stride to the rickety cabin at the front of the trail, surrounded by a yard strewn with debris. Stepping inside, I’m a little surprised by the Christmas music, though I grin and mouth along to “Silent Night.”
