Page 16 of His to Fear
Chapter 5
Nadia
The Slaughterhouse
“I thought it wasreal there for a second.”
We’re just walking out of the forest, into the enclosure outside. Eveline is hugging herself, a shudder overtaking her as Zack holds her close to him.
Her words barely register. There’s an aching need inside me, and a feeling that perhaps I’ve grown delusional. It wasreal.Somehow, someway, something did happen in there.
The stranger I was attracted to at the beginning of the night and the enchanting man in the circus are both the same person. And he let me ride an axe all the while tied to a tree…
Is he a worker here? Or something else?
I ball my fists, my nails digging into my palms and distracting me from the reality of what just happened.
A stranger.
Outdoor candles light the rest of the path forward until we reach the enclosure of the forest and the haunted hayride.
“Where’s the driver? And the tractor?” the attendant asks, a look of bewilderment flickering over his face.
He peers intently at the woods where we just came from, as if doing so will reveal whoever he’s looking for.
“Oh, you’re good,” Eros mutters.
The attendant frowns with hunched shoulders as he looks at us, before hesitantly giving us the stamps for completing this level.
“Did you see where he went?”
A lump settles deep in my stomach, tingling with unease. “No. He ran away after seeing the man with the axe.” I try not to let the flush creep up my cheeks. I don’t think sexual encounters with the employers of the fair are encouraged very much.
That expression on his face is back, paling.
“Was that not supposed to happen?” I ask, feeling the lump growing stronger. I swallow, balling my hands even tighter until I’m sure crescents form from my nails.
“O-of course it was.” He plasters on a smile, but it’s uneasy and full of trepidation. “Good luck with the next level, it’s scarier than any other.”
After waving us off, encouraging us to continue with the haunted houses, the unease still hasn’t eased inside me. No one seems to notice or think that something is wrong.
“We only have two more levels left, and then the reward is ours,” Eveline exclaims, hooking her arm through mine. “Are you cold?” she asks, frowning when she realizes my teeth are chattering and my body is trembling.
My knees feel weak, like the earth underneath me is quavering. All I can do is nod, unable to tell her the truth or outwardly lie to her.
Truth be told, I’m as affected by the very mysterious stranger as before. An aching need inside me for the realization I was just about to get the greatest pleasure, before it was snapped away from me.
“Come on. Let’s move to the third level,” Zack says. “I wanna get it down with.”
The later the night becomes, the colder it gets. The chill in the air makes my fingertips feel like they’re burning, and I attempt to hide them in the sleeves of my dress, though it does nothing to ease it.
We follow the map to the next level, right around the corner to the entrance of the haunted hayride.
A chorus of upset voices erupts from behind us, people gathering in a crowd around the archway. “We paid a lot of money for this!” one person shouts.
“I’m sorry. We’ll have to postpone this ride. The driver isn’t here yet.”
Grumbles of displeasure echo in the frigid air, smoke billowing from their breaths. I’m distracted by them, not realizing we’ve arrived right outside the next haunted house.
