As the days ticked down until the haunted house opened, the pledges worked hard to finish it. Hana managed the look of each room. She was in her element and felt confident for the first time during pledging. Hana also came up with a unique idea, which Keisha loved.
"We have this long, dark hallway. What if we painted it with this glow-in-the-dark paint? We could paint dots up and down the walls. Then we have people in black outfits covered in the same dots. They can blend against the walls. As the people walk through the hallway, they can scare them!" Hana said.
"I like the way you think, girl," Keisha said.
"Thanks! Oh, and the room before it should disorient them. We could make it bright and white to mess with their eyesight. That way, the people in the hallway blend in as much as possible."
"A white room, huh? Ooh, let's make it an insane asylum! It could be a padded white room with a crazy person inside. The room doesn't have to be scary. It just has to make it hard to see. We could have someone in a straitjacket act all wild and weird."
"Do we have a straitjacket?" Hana asked.
"Yeah, I saw one on the costume rack," Keisha replied, gesturing toward the loft. "I'm sure it will fit..." Keisha started, but a commotion in a nearby room distracted her. Hana and Keisha walked to the curtain and peered inside to find Tamara and Bart arguing.
"Look, I think I've been acting longer than you, young lady. You should listen to me," Bart said, placing his hands on his hips and leaning down to stare at her. Tamara lay on a table in front of Bart. They were doing a Bride of Frankenstein room. Bart was Dr. Frankenstein, while Tamara played the bride. Her only job was to sit up and scare the guests when the time was right, but Bart felt the need to critique her performance. "I'm not feeling your emotion in the moment!" Bart said.
"I'm sorry," Tamara replied, trying not to laugh at the situation's absurdity. "Maybe I should scream," she suggested.
"No, we need to preserve your voice for your play. You must find a way to convey emotion without screaming. Try something like this," Bart said before twisting his face into what looked like a mix of constipation and confusion. A strangled cry accompanied the expression, making Tamara bite her lip hard enough to almost draw blood. She had to refrain from laughing for his sake.
"Tamara, I need your help with something," Keisha said. She couldn't let the poor girl suffer any longer. Keisha beckoned her to follow. She led Tamara to the break room and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Coffee?" Keisha asked, gesturing at the table.
"I would love some," Tamara said.
"Great. Make me a cup, too. I'll be back in a second," Keisha said. Tamara looked confused as Keisha left, making Keisha chuckle. When Keisha returned, Tamara had their cups ready. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. Remember, you are still a pledge. Are you okay, girl?"
"No, Bart is a real pain in my butt."
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to put up with him until the end of the haunted house."
"Oh, this is complete bupkis!" Tamara yelled, but she immediately realized her mistake. Tamara looked at Keisha remorsefully and said, "I apologize, Sister Keisha. I shouldn't have said that."
"Bupkis?" Keisha asked.
"You know—BS," Tamara replied, muttering the last part.
Keisha stared at Tamara momentarily before both of them broke into uncontrollable laughter. Tamara needed it.
***
Back at the campus, Felicia was in the park photographing birds for a class project. She spotted a pretty blue jay and had found the perfect angle and lighting when a shadow appeared over the bird. Felicia's finger was on the button of her camera. She groaned and glanced at the person who cast the darkness. When Felicia saw who it was, she squeaked and almost fell over.
"What was that god-awful sound?" Marla asked, digging a finger into her ear.
"I'm sorry. It was me. What do you want—I mean, what can I do for you?" Felicia asked, scrambling to her feet and adjusting her glasses. Marla moved closer, making Felicia back up a step and stumble.
"Relax. I'm not going to attack you," Marla scoffed. "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf for Chloe's sake," Marla continued. When she saw Felicia's skeptical expression, Marla added, "Honestly!"
"That's great. I'm glad to hear it."
"I thought a good way to do that was to offer you a job."
"A job?"
"I'm doing a small fashion show for a class project and need a photographer. Would you like to work the event? I'll pay you well."
"I..." Felicia began, but she wasn't sure about what to do. The offer from anyone else would tempt her, but this frightened her to her core. Felicia opened and closed her mouth a few times. She could see the impatience growing on Marla's face.
"Well, I don't have all day. What is your answer?"
"O-okay. Sure. When is it?"
"Next Friday at six o'clock."
"Oh, I have the haunted house that night."
"You shouldn't have accepted the offer then."
"I didn't know the date yet."
"And yet you agreed to do it. Are you backing out now?" Marla asked with an eerie calm. She stood far too close for Felicia's liking, but a bench prevented Felicia from moving farther away.
"N-no! I'll do it," Felicia said.
"Good. Be there an hour early for preparation," Marla said and left. Felicia let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding once Marla was gone.
***
Meanwhile, back at the haunted house, the pledges stood at a safe distance and watched while Keisha fired up a chainsaw. She lifted it, making everybody back up a few steps.
"Relax, it doesn't have a chain. It's just noise," Keisha said, chuckling softly. "Someone will run around the parking lot chasing people after they exit the building."
"No, thanks. I don't want to touch that thing," Hana said as she tried to meld into the wall behind her.
"I've got this. It sounds fun to me," Kennedy said as Keisha handed her the saw. When Kennedy grabbed it, she revved the engine a few times and smiled. "Yeah, that's nice," she grinned. "Do we have a hockey mask in the loft?"
"I think so," Keisha said.
"Aren't you mixing horror franchises?" Claudia asked.
"Sure, but who's counting?" Kennedy shrugged. A cigarette dangled from the corner of her mouth. Between that and the chainsaw, she was quite the sight. Hana felt a little scared of her.
"Okay, moving on. Who will work the insane asylum room?" Keisha asked.
"Chloe would be good for that," Claudia said, but Chloe looked hurt by her words. "What? I meant because you're a psych major. You understand crazy people."
"I don't like to use that word, but I get it. Do I have to tie the straitjacket closed? That would make me feel claustrophobic."
"No, just hold your arms around yourself," Keisha said.
"Sure, I'll do it."
***
They had almost finished the preparations but had one obstacle: the Fire Marshall's inspection. He had to approve the place before they could open it, and he was taking his time. Keisha bit her nails as she watched him take notes.
"I could slip him a twenty," Shawna whispered to Keisha.
"No," Keisha replied, nudging Shawna with her elbow.
"A fifty?"
"Shawna, stop."
"Fine," Shawna said, raising her hands. She moved away from Keisha because Keisha's anxiety was rubbing off on her. Thankfully, she spotted someone to take her mind off things, but Shawna knew something was wrong within seconds. "Fel? You okay?" she asked.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Uh-huh," Felicia said, but she couldn't meet Shawna's eyes.
"Don't try that on me. What's wrong?"
"I got a job."
"That's not a bad thing."
"Marla hired me to photograph her fashion show."
"What!? Why didn't you say no?"
"I was nervous. Plus, I could use the spending money," Felicia shrugged.
"You could have just asked me for spending money. Tell her you can't do it."
"She swears she's trying to change for Chloe. I'll be fine."
"She's lying. This is a trap. I can't let you..." Shawna started, but Felicia cut her off with a stare. Shawna never expected such a look from her.
"You don't have to always protect me, Shawna! Let me do this to prove I've got the guts!" Felicia said with such determination that Shawna stepped backward.
"O-okay. I'm sorry," Shawna replied. Felicia's response rendered Shawna speechless. She was almost thankful when Keisha returned and interrupted the awkward pause that followed.
"We have to adjust a few things, but he approved us," Keisha said after a long sigh. When she noticed the tension in the air, she added, "Is everything okay?"
"It's fine. I'm going to go help Chloe with her room," Felicia said and left without looking at Shawna again.
Keisha turned toward Shawna with a questioning gaze.
"Don't worry about it. She's just a little mad at me," Shawna explained.
***
Opening night surprised everyone. Keisha was right. The town loved having a haunted house for Halloween. They turned out in droves. A line stretched around the outside of the HRT building. Kennedy watched from her hiding spot and smiled. She had the hockey mask perched on her head. The chainsaw sat against the wall beside her. Kennedy waited for the first group to emerge.
Inside, Keisha greeted the first group. She could already tell she wouldn't like the man in front. He bore a smug look that seemed to dare Keisha to say something.
"I never find these places scary," he said to the woman beside him. "And what's that smell?" he asked.
Keisha hated to agree with him, but the old playhouse did contain a musty smell. She wasn't sure what caused it and was too afraid to ask.
Once Keisha collected their payments, she led them into the first room, which was the operating room. Hana played a doctor while an HRT actor named Kevin lay inside the table. His acting was so over the top that Hana was glad for the mask. Otherwise, everybody might have seen her laughing.
"Oh, no! God! I'm still awake. Stop cutting!" Kevin yelled, waving his arms around.
"Hush, you! I just need to remove this, and I'll finish," Hana replied in an equally cheesy manner. She pointed at him, flicking a mixture of Karo syrup and food coloring that they used for fake blood. The mess hit him in the eye, and Hana did the one thing she could think of. She reached out to rub it away and made it worse. "Oh, sorry," she whispered. "I mean, that's enough out of you!" she added louder. Then she reached into the hole in the fake body and pulled out a half-inflated balloon covered in the phony blood. It looked like a small organ. She lifted it and shook it at the people behind her. They recoiled in disgust, but the guy in front laughed.
"Lame," he muttered.
"Brad, stop," his girlfriend said, slapping him on the arm.
Hana didn't know how to react. She watched him go and flicked fake blood in his direction as he left. Sadly, she missed him.
She didn't need to worry. What followed erased Brad's arrogance. Keisha brought them into a darkened room, and there was a small pause. The overhead lights didn't come on. Instead, headlights blinded them, and a horn blared as one of the HRT workers pushed the cart with the car's front end into a barrier. The contraption smashed against the wood, causing the laughing guy to shriek and stumble. He backed into his friends, knocking them over.
"Are you okay? That was a close one. You can't trust drivers around here," Keisha joked. She helped the people to their feet and led them onward.
The corridor beyond had a chain-link fence on one side. Once they entered, someone switched on a strobe light and dragged a device across the fence. It caused small but harmless sparks. They punctuated this with screams and threats. When you coupled it with their facial expressions, it was an alarming sight.
"Get out!" a voice said, making the group jump back.
The customers inched along the wall until they moved through another curtain. They found themselves in the Bride of Frankenstein room. Strobe lights and thunder sound effects created the atmosphere while Bart pretended to operate on Tamara.
"Yes! My experiment is almost complete!" Bart yelled dramatically. "Rise, my bride!" he cried as the loudest thunderclap played over the speakers.
Tamara sat up, turned her head, and mimicked Bart's instructions exactly as he had demonstrated. What resulted was amusing enough to make the group laugh instead of recoiling in horror.
"Is she okay?" Brad asked. "She looked like she needed to take a shit," he added, earning another groan from his girlfriend.
Tamara felt grateful for the makeup and hair because she didn't want anyone to recognize her. She wasn't sure who she wanted to smack more, Bart or Brad. As the customers moved to the next room, Bart looked at her and said, "We have plenty of time to perfect it. That was—better." Tamara decided she wanted to smack Bart, but she refrained.
Meanwhile, Keisha led everyone into the insane asylum. The lights turned on to reveal a padded room on the stage. Since everything was bright and white, the group squinted. They had come from a darkened room filled with strobe lights. The stark contrast only further disoriented them. As their eyes adjusted, they saw Chloe in a straitjacket. She laid on her back with her head draped over the edge. Chloe wore makeup around her eyes to make it appear like she hadn't slept in days and looked at them with a wild expression. The sight made Brad's girlfriend back up a step.
"Hello there. Why are you all upside-down?" Chloe asked, tilting her head slightly. "Come closer. I have to tell you a secret," she added, widening her eyes to make herself look creepier. Brad stood over Chloe and smirked. "I can see up your nose, but I don't see anything," Chloe said.
"Hey, check it out," Brad grinned. "She's at just the right height," he said, thrusting his hips.
"Ew, gross! Go away," Chloe said. She lifted her arms, revealing she didn't buckle the straitjacket's sleeves. Chloe didn't care. She pushed him back and sat up.
"Brad!" his girlfriend yelled. "Chloe, I'm so sorry," she said while dragging Brad toward the dot hallway.
Keisha whispered an apology as they left. Chloe heard Brad laughing as they entered the darkness, but his joy ended abruptly. She heard Brad's girlfriend scream, followed by Brad crying out in pain. "Ow! What the hell? The wall just hit me in the junk!" Brad yelled in a high-pitched voice. A few seconds later, Claudia poked her head through the curtain and gave Chloe a thumbs-up.
"You gotta watch where you're walking," Keisha said. "You must have run into something."
Brad was too annoyed and sore to react to the next few rooms. He couldn't muster enough energy to make fun of the HRT actors' over-the-top antics. They heard the man in the electric chair room yelling as he supposedly got electrocuted. He hollered long and loudly enough for everyone to hear him, but it didn't elicit a response from Brad. He continued nursing his sore balls. However, Brad's confidence returned as they reached the exit.
"That wasn't scary at all," he muttered as he exited the building. "I want my—OH, SHIT!" he screamed. Kennedy fired up the chainsaw when he passed her and chased him into a field. Brad's pants fell as he ran, tripping him.
"Sweet! I pantsed someone! I figure that's worth twenty points," Kennedy said, marking it down in a notebook. She wanted to keep score.
***
More people came through the house. Chloe laughed when Tommy entered her room and looked at her with his bloodshot and half-baked eyes.
"Sup, Chloe?" he asked. "I like your new look. Where can I buy a straitjacket like that?"
Chloe fought hard not to laugh. She didn't want to break character. "We have more in the back. They are cheap. The price is your sanity!" Chloe cackled.
"Oh, sweet," Tommy said and tried to climb onto the stage.
"No, no, stay here," Dan said, pulling him down again.
Unfortunately, the fun didn't last. After an hour, Barb poked her head through the curtain into the operating room. "Heads up," she said to Hana. "Guess who is in the next group."
"You're kidding," Hana replied.
"I'm not joking. She's here."
When Barb left, Hana poured more fake blood into the hole they cut in the dummy on the table.
"What are you doing?" Kevin asked.
"I'm making a mess. You'll understand why later," Hana said. Kevin was unsure he liked where this was going.
A few minutes passed before Keisha began the tour. Hana noticed Marla's unimpressed expression as she entered the room. She also spotted Marla was wearing nice clothes. This discovery only strengthened Hana's resolve to do some mischief. She waited until Marla stood beside the table to enact her plan.
"We have to remove his spleen!" Hana yelled, flinging fake blood at Marla. Marla jumped and shot a glare at Hana. Some fake blood splattered her shirt, causing a murderous look in her eyes. "Get out of my operating room! You're not sterile!" Hana added, flicking more goop at Marla. She thought she would pay for this later but didn't care—much.
Marla's annoyance only grew when they reached the car room. She shrieked and bumped poor Sandra, knocking her into a wall. "That was not funny!" Marla screamed.
"It's not supposed to be," Barb replied under her breath.
By the time they reached Chloe's room, Marla was seething. Chloe was ready for her. They had warned Chloe her sister was coming through. Chloe hid behind the curtain and waited for everybody to enter. Once they stepped before the stage, Chloe approached them from behind.
"Lovely weather we're having," Chloe said, making them jump.
Marla turned to see her and flinched at the sight of Chloe's wild eyes and makeup. She quickly recovered before saying, "Chloe, you finally cracked. Mom and Dad would be so proud."
"Who's Chloe? There's no Chloe here," Chloe said, standing inches from Marla's face. She didn't flinch. For a brief moment, Chloe thought she saw a genuine smile. The sight almost made Chloe break character because she saw a glimpse of the old Marla, and it tugged at her heart. Sadly, the moment passed, and Marla returned to a blank expression.
"You can't scare me, Chloe. I've known you too long," Marla laughed and moved toward the curtain. "None of this scares me," Marla continued as she entered the dot hallway. Within seconds, Chloe heard her yell, "Who touched me!? I will throw you across the room!"
"Go ahead and try it," Claudia replied in an over-the-top spooky voice.
"Claudia, I know that's you," Marla grumbled.
Marla was ready to leave once she reached the exit, but they had another surprise. When Kennedy started the chainsaw, she saw Marla's smug look disappear. She screamed and ran into the field. Kennedy chased her longer than usual, delighting in the chance to make Marla afraid. Kennedy chased her until she felt too winded to continue.
"Oh, yeah. That's worth at least thirty points," Kennedy said, marking it in her book.
***
Marla regained her composure and said goodbye to Sandra and her friends. She returned to her car alone but found someone waiting for her there.
Shawna leaned against Marla's car, smoking a cigarette. She had borrowed one from Kennedy and fought hard not to cough. Shawna wasn't a smoker but hoped it would add to the intimidation factor.
"Shawna, what the hell?" Marla asked.
"I don't know what you're planning with Felicia, but if you hurt her, I swear to god..."
"You swear to god what, Shawna? What are you going to do?"
"Try me and find out."
Marla showed no fear. She walked over to Shawna and got in her face, daring her to make a move. "I'm not going to do anything to your little girlfriend," Marla said. "Oh, wait. I forgot. She's not your girlfriend. You got friendzoned, didn't you?" Marla smirked.
"Fuck you, Marla."
Her reaction made Marla's smirk widen. Shawna was trying her hardest to hold in a cough from the cigarette smoke because she didn't want to give Marla the pleasure of seeing her suffer, but her lungs burned.
"I swear I'm not going to do anything to Felicia. Back off and go home," Marla said, moving around Shawna to get into her car.
"Yeah, well, you just remember my warning," Shawna said. She watched Marla drive away and finally released the coughing fit she had held back. "Oh, god! Why does Kennedy like these things? They're awful," she said, throwing the cigarette down and stamping it. Once she caught her breath, Shawna said, "I think she got the point."