Page 44 of Something Cryptid This Way Comes
Whispers of “this way” drift from the right.
“Come here,” floats from the left.
“We’re waiting…” a sinister voice sounds from deeper in the room.
With Alaric’s contribution of the slow-spinning platform covering the floor, we get turned around, literally. The lights continue to flash. Our reflections meet us in every direction, repeating on and on forever. It seems like we’re stuck in another dimension with no way out.
Muttering a curse, Bram grabs hold of my arm. “This is a mind-fuck.”
“I have you.” I point to the light coming from the emergency exit beyond the mirrored walls. “We’re heading in that direction. Keep holding on to me.”
I follow my mental layout, walk us along the one wall, then the next, and get to the door disguised as another mirror. “This will take us to the hallway. We made it.”
We step into the hall, lit with the same purple as the entry way.
Smiling, Bram shakes his head. “Damn, that was fun.”
“We can skip the upstairs. It’s more of the same.”
“No, let’s do it. Helping to construct the rooms was one thing. Going through them like this is another.”
We climb the stairs hand in hand. I point to the first room. Bram opens the door to a space steeped in shifting shadows, and we step inside.
The door is set on a timer, and slowly closes behind us, encasing us in darkness. Puffing exhales of someone breathing comes from deeper in the room. Then footsteps, with matching vibrations on the floor.
Bram’s hand tightens around mine, then he pulls me behind him, ready to protect me from an unknown entity.
Another gruff sigh, like a bull before a full charge, roughens the air, followed by the metallic scrape of a knife being unsheathed.
“Hey,” a creepy voice whispers behind us.
Bram and I startle and spin around. Of course, nothing’s there. Though the darkness prevents us from knowing whether that’s true.
Light illuminates one of the walls, showing us the path. We hurry along. The level of brightness glows and fades and flashes of images spring from the darkness, playing tricks on the mind.
We walk into spiderwebs. Dozens of silken fibers catch on our faces and in our hair.
Clawing them away, we’re cast into darkness.
The sound of footsteps returns, louder, faster, and coming our way. Harsh breaths accompany warm puffs of air hitting our necks.
“Gotcha,” that creepy voice whispers.
Bram and I yell and run like hell. My heart pounding, I grab him. And pull him into the hallway.
Sucking in breaths, he clutches me, his fists tightening on my shirt. “Trev, what the hell? Thatwas actually terrifying.”
“It really was, and I knew what was coming.” I want to laugh at how I got caught up in the experience, but I’m still working on calming my heart rate and catching my breath. “The spider web was fishing lines. We used hidden speakers, and a sound track. The vibrations were a nice touch, I’m glad we added that in.”
“Those warm puffs of air… I thought someone was breathing down my neck.” He rubs a hand over it.
“Fans and blowers.” I smooth my hand through his hair. “Both of those are on timers.”
He shakes out his arms and twists his neck from one side, then the other, like he’s psyching himself up. It’s freaking adorable.He’sfreaking adorable. “What’s next?”
“Smoke, shadows, and mirrors.” With a smile, I open the door to the next room.
We step into a rolling mist. Spooky piano music begins and builds in tempo and volume. Lightning cracks and thunder booms. With the next bolt of lightning, a dark, cloaked figure appears.
