“I was kidding. You’re way hotter than any of those girls,” Ryan says. I shake off his compliment and pick the Haunted Woods since it has the shortest line.
The breeze picks up, and I tug my beanie down on my head and pull my jacket tighter around me. The hair on my neck prickles, and I glance around for the source of being watched.
“I’m serious, Tess.” Ryan places his hand on the small of my back, and I jump in response.
“What? Yeah, okay,” I say dismissively.
He’s here.
He has to be. Who else would have my body reacting this way? I have half a mind to leave Ryan standing in line and go search for him. A clown pops up in front of me, its serrated teeth dripping some kind of gooey liquid. I scream and fall backward, but Ryan catches me. The actor is round with smudged paint across his face, and manic laughter pours out of him.
He steps closer, and I shove Ryan in front of me. His laughter shakes his entire body as I hold a death grip on his jacket. “Tess, it’s okay. He isn’t going to touch you. They can’t.”
Ryan pries me out from behind him, and the clown holds two pieces of paper out with bracelets.
“What’s that?” I ask. Ryan takes them and reads over them.
“It’s an exclusivity bracelet for the Haunted Nights. We’ll become part of the attractions we walk through. Only a select few are getting these during the events.”
“Like taken?” I ask, my adrenaline spiking.
The clown laughs once more and leaves to harass another group of people standing in line for the clown house.
“This is awesome! Talk about kicking the horror up a notch.” Ryan has my bracelet taped to my wrist before I can process what is happening.
“You idiot! Take this off. I am not wearing this through the clown house!”
“Calm down. I’ll take it off before we get there. We’ll go through it last.”
“Or not at all,” I mutter and spin the nylon bracelet around my wrist.
The bells ring, signifying the attractions are now open. The crowd cheers, and actors amp up their scaring tactics. I’m grabbed around the wrist and am dragged away from Ryan.
“Wait!” I squawk.
“Tess!” Ryan shouts from behind me, but I’m quickly sucked into the crowd. I can’t see the face of the man dragging me along. He wears black clothing from head to toe, and my stomach contracts while sweat quickly coats my skin. He takes me to the front of the line for the Haunted Woods, and I search behind me for Ryan. The people in line protest at me, going first while simultaneously begging for a bracelet like mine. They can fucking pry mine off if they want.
The dumbass didn’t think about us being split up when he put these fucking bracelets on.
The thumping music from the entrance fades into the haunted sounds of the woods as the door closes behind us. Laughter echoes from the shadows, and hands reach out to brush against my cheek as we quickly walk by. My beanie is snatched from my head, and I try to turn to demand they give it back, but my abductor tightens his hold and pulls me along.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask as he leads us down a dirt path. Red lights illuminate the skeletal face made from twigs and branches that loom over us. I crane my head back to stare into the black pits of its eyes.
Are small red lights burning in the empty sockets,or am I going crazy?
I’m shoved into the mouth of the fixture by my jacket, and I slip my arms free, losing my warmth but also taking the chance to escape. I spin, looking for a way out of this black space, and someone roars, grabbing my biceps before I can and presses me against the wall with a hand clampedover my mouth. They muffle my screams and pleas to be let go. Not like there is anyone out here to help me, anyway. As a last-ditch effort, I bring my knee up to nail the guy in the crotch, but he grips my knee and squeezes the sides, shooting pain down my leg.
Blue lights flick on, and I freeze, blinking my sight into focus.
Three other actors stand behind the one with his hand on my mouth. They all have white face paint and black clothing head to toe. Each wears black contacts, and their features are void of emotion, simulating quadruplets except for the body types. In the back of the group, one holds a lit blue mask like X’s. He tilts his head to the side when he catches my gaze.
I shove the man’s hand from my face so I can talk. “Where did you get that?” I ask. It’s not impossible for someone else to have a mask like that, but I know what I felt earlier.
Once again, darkness engulfs us as the light flickers out. The heat from the person’s body leaves me, and I turn my head, relying on my hearing. The mask lights back up, and there is only one guy in front of me now, with the mask in his outstretched hand.
“What do I do with it?”Is X waiting for me somewhere here? Is this his way of getting a thrill?
The actor leans closer, his front pressing into mine, and my body heats immediately. I search his blacked-out eyes and white-painted cheekbones and jawline for recognition. My fingers reach out to touch his cheek, but the light blinks out. The mask hits my hand, and I grab onto it.
