Page 5 of His to Fear
We follow the stone path leading us to the first level, which will then take us to the next one. It’s all for thrill, but it’s said there is a reward for those who do get out of level four.
The moon hides behind dark clouds, the only thing leading our way being the lamplights posted along each side of the path we’re on. Until eventually, there’s a soft red glow coming from ahead of us. The same glow we saw when we first entered the park—their theme color, it appears.
We arrive at a huge tent at the furthest end of the fair, striped in both white and red, which only adds to the eeriness. It’s definitely not deserted, with people standing in line outside andwaiting for their turn to enter the infamous circus.
Above the tent is a sign that glows in large, bright letters with the word: HELLCUS.
I bite my lip, staring at those letters that seem to seal my fate as we all enter the queue.
A group of guys stands ahead in the queue, all looking to be in their mid to late-twenties, talking and laughing among themselves. They’re all vastly different yet act the same, all dressed up in Halloween attire.
One of the guys stands out, giving the whole vibe of not giving a fuck if he’s here or not. Same. But compared to me, he’s not dressed up. He doesn’t need to be. He’s got that lumberjack vibe, wearing a flannel shirt stretched across a muscular chest, enough to draw anyone’s attention. A few days’ worth of stubble shadows his jaw, and he appears almost bored. As if he got dragged out here by his friends, much like me.
The night is colder than expected, and I hug myself in an attempt to warm myself. Eveline’s gaze flicks over, but I catch it just in time to plaster on a smile, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze.
“This will besofun,” she exclaims.
I need to try to have some fun, at least. “Sure.”
She turns back to her men, quickly picking up their conversation. I cross my arms, stomping my feet gently to a melody playing in my head just to try to pass the time.
I wish I had a good book to read. I always carry one with me, but it was apparently not appropriate for a night out.
Then, something catches my attention.
I glance up, noticing it’s the guy from the group ahead.
Even from a distance, I notice he’s tall, towering over his friends.
“Not excited to be here, either?” he asks, increasing his tone to be audible through the masses of people surrounding us. Hegrins as he looks at me.
My stomach flutters at the move.Damnit.
“Is it that obvious?”
He lets out a chuckle that’s dark and rumbling, seemingly vibrating deep inside my own chest despite standing at least one foot away from me.
Fuck, he’s handsome. Not in the typical, drool-worthy way of most women’s fantasies, but there’s something undeniable about him. He’s unconventionally hot. A rugged appearance, with a fading scar lingering right along his forehead, barely perceptible. His eyes aren’t as breathtaking as the men in the books I read, but they’re pulling me in like gravity. Bright gray ones, impossible to look away from.
I’m staring, probably drooling, quickly averting my gaze to make it less obvious.
Apparently, he notices, because he sidesteps one of the guys in his group to come closer to me, a smirk tugging at his lips. Even from here, I get the distinct whiff of his cologne, something tinged with sandalwood that has female appreciation washing through me, but also a note of something else. He smells like the forest. When he scratches his chin, I catch sight of calluses on his hands. One hundred percent a lumberjack.
He winks.
“Oh, you’re trouble,” I mutter, feeling my cheeks flush.
“You have no idea,” he grins. “See ya inside, beautiful.”
With that, he and his friends turn to enter the circus.
I can’t help but feel something stir deep inside of me. An attraction I haven’t felt in so long, flooding through my veins like pretty poison. For a few minutes, I’m lost in the memory of him, remembering the way he looked down at me with such intensity.
A sharp clearing of a throat breaks me out of my reverie.
“It’s your turn next,” someone says.
Standing at the entrance is a woman dressed in the same clown dress I recognized earlier, but without the stilts. There’s something different about her, though.
