“Katie! I need to work!”

“No you don’t. It’s not like we only have a few days left, right?”

It was Sunday, which meant the games would begin again tomorrow. In the morning, Katie went straight to Caitlin’s place. She was in a very good mood after getting Arnold’s inheritance, so she decided to have some fun, and what fun would it be if she was alone?

So, she dragged Caitlin away from her desk and into her car. The entire way to their destination, Caitlin has been protesting.

Caitlin laid back in the car seat. Hearing her friend’s reassurance, she closed her eyes and groaned quietly.

“Fine. I hope you’re right. Anyways, how was your side job?”

“Brilliant.” Even with Caitlin, Katie didn't say what she did during the rest of the weekend. Something tells her Caitlin wouldn’t be too happy with the idea of killing for money. “And yours?”

“I have been going over the surveillance footage in the school. Gotta say, I saw a lot of things I can never get off my mind. But I’m not getting anything useful. You’re right. I really need to get some time off. Where are we going again?”

“Thunderbird Amusement Park.”

“Wow.” Caitlin smiled. “You know...if I knew we’re going there, I could’ve found a few boys to come with us.”

A trace of unhappiness crossed Katie’s eyes.

“Why?”

“Well, it just doesn’t feel right to ride a rollercoaster without someone beside you to hold on to.”

“Hmmm.” Katie couldn’t agree, but she wisely remained quiet.

Katie’s red Sudan came to a stop in the parking lot of the amusement park. Katie rested her hand on the window’s handle before Caitlin suddenly remembered something.

“Oh wait. Katie...hand it over.”

“What?” Katie rose her eyebrow innocently. “What do you want from me? You have already claimed my heart!” She was being playfully dramatic.

“That is...cute. Anyways, give me your gun.”

“Hmmm?”

“You’re not gonna need a gun in an amusement park,” Caitlin reassured. “It might fall out on the rollercoaster or something. For some reason, I don’t believe you have a permit. Hand it over.”

Katie struggled internally for two seconds before reaching into her pocket and taking out her Glock. Caitlin took it over and stuffed it into the compartment in front of the passenger seat.

“Can I go now?”

“That depends. Do you have more guns?”

“Well...no...”

“Katie?”

“Fine.” Katie finally took out two more Walther PK380s and tossed them into the compartment. “Happy now? No guns.” She pulled up her t-shirt from the bottom, showing off her bare belly to Caitlin on purpose.

“Good girl.” Caitlin grinned as the two girls exited the car. Katie locked the vehicle as the two went to the ticket booth. The ticket was fairly pricey, but neither girls cared about money much.

As soon as they walked in, the two were consumed by crowds in joy. Boys and girls from infants to teenagers ran around the place, enjoying themselves. Whatever problem they had in their lives, it’s gone for the moment. In that atmosphere, even Caitlin smiled. At this second, she dropped her burden of putting an end to the cursed game. At this second, she was just a normal girl having some fun with her friend.

Katie smiled warmly as well. She didn't care about the amusement park. She would have more fun if she shoots herself in the leg or goes to an assassination mission, but something about seeing her friend having fun just made her heart twitch.

“Want to get some ice cream?” Caitlin pointed at an ice cream booth. Katie followed. They bought two full cups of chocolate ice cream and sat down at a table to enjoy it.

Katie stuffed ice cream into her mouth so quickly she almost choked herself, which was exactly what she wanted.

Caitlin paused for a moment before saying something.

“I’m thinking about getting a boyfriend.”

As soon as Caitlin said that, Katie wanted to kill someone.

WTF? Is she really going to get involved in some sort of cliche love triangle? For god’s sake, please no! She would hate to have some random boy get in between her and Caitlin. Just the thought of Caitlin having sex with some boy makes her furious.

“Are you asking for my advice?” She asked slowly. She was being hopeful. “That’s why you’re telling me this, right?”

“Well, I’m just seeing what you think about this. You’re right in that we need to find ways to get our attention off all the death.”

“That’s not...I don’t...uhh.” Even Katie, who could keep talking in front of a murderous supernatural teacher, was silent. It took her a few seconds just to organize her argument. “I don’t think that’ll be a good idea. Maybe you’ll find a boy one day and he’ll die the next. And don’t even think about getting someone outside of the class. You’ll never be able to relate to him.”

“But I really don’t want to die a virgin.” Caitlin sighed as she played around with her ice cream to distract herself. “I can’t decide if I live or die, but I can decide what I do before that.”

Katie shrugged. She shouldn’t be surprised. They were teenagers. Teenagers have powerful hormones. In a lot of cases, their hormones are much more powerful than their logics. Katie herself had the same hormones. The only difference was she considered having fun to be more of a priority, and having sex and killing people don’t really work well together.

All she could do was say an answer that would always be correct.

“It’s your call.”

Caitlin realized the environment was a little tense, so she wisely changed the topic as she finished the last ice creams.

“Wanna try the rollercoasters?”

“Sure.”

The two spent half an hour in line to get onto the rollercoasters. It was a pleasant ride. Katie enjoyed the thrill of speed and height. She secretly hoped something would go wrong with the device and make this ride a lot shakier, but she changed her mind when she saw Caitlin. Her companion was screaming and gripping onto her arm nearly the entire ride.

When the ride was over and Caitlin moved away, Katie felt a little aggravated. She really enjoyed Caitlin’s presence beside her. This only made her more angry at the boy who would be lucky enough to become Caitlin’s boyfriend.

“Now what?” Katie wondered, stretching. The two looked around before Caitlin’s eyes landed on something special.

Haunted house.

“Let’s check it out.” She tapped Katie’s shoulder. The brunette waited for a few taps before turning around. When she saw where Caitlin was pointed at, she frowned.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Really? Haunted house? We have a real haunted classroom and now you want to go to a manmade one? I feel like you’re holding the employees here at a high expectation.”

“It’s just to have some fun.” Caitlin waved her hand. “And I don’t expect them to be able to scare us, not after what Isaac did to us. Either way, you coming?”

“Of course.”

After paying for the tickets, the two made their way into the haunted house. They were let in in groups. Aside from Katie and Caitlin, there were two more people. A young couple in their early twenties. The four briefly introduced themselves before moving into the process.

As they entered another room, the four suddenly found themselves in a dark, gloomy environment. There was something about this place that made all four of them feel very uncomfortable. It was as if something here was very wrong. Even Caitlin was silent. She has seen a lot of death, so much that she could see someone die in front of her and not make a sound, but she still felt off.

Katie’s feet hit something. She looked down and saw a severed arm.

“Wow. You’ve got to give the credits to this place. It’s got some good props.” Katie knelt down and picked the arm up. Her expression changed slightly when she felt how real the arm was. A smile climbed onto her cheeks as she saw the swarm of flies on the arm.

Props don’t attract flies. Human arms do.

Katie silently rested the arm back on the ground and leaned to Caitlin.

“Something’s wrong. The arm. It’s real.”

“Wait...what? Are you being oversensitive?” Caitlin knelt down and examined the arm as well. “Nevermind. It’s real.” She concluded quickly. A trace of fear appeared, but it was more annoyance than fear. “What is wrong with us? Do we naturally attract problems? What do you think? Psychopathic murderers or supernatural killers?”

“Wow wow. Don’t worry. It’s just a prop.” Beside them, the young man in the couple reassured. As the only male in the four men group, he felt like he needed to be more manly. Plus, both Caitlin and Katie had a sense of spirit that made them so attractive. Maybe he could have a chance to play hero and get a chance with one of them, or maybe both?

He kicked the arm to the side and started moving down the road. His girlfriend followed him tightly while glancing jealously at Katie and Caitlin. Both Katie and Caitlin exchanged a look and followed. They didn't know what was going on here, but they do know they need more information to get out of here.

A figure appeared in the front. It was a girl who looked barely ten, based on her height, and she was whimpering gently. She had her back facing them.

“Hey girl. You lost?” The man had neither fear nor caution toward the figure who he thought was man-made. “I didn't know the park actually highers employees this young. You’re good at this though. I almost thought you’re a real ghost.”

The figure paused.

“Have you seen a real ghost?”

The man turned around and glanced at the others. “Um, not really…”

“In that case,” The girl turned around. “how do you know I’m not a real ghost?”

As soon as she turned around, the man’s legs started shaking. The girl looked fine, if you could ignore the two eyes that were obviously disproportionate to the rest of her face. She had no nose, and her mouth contained two lines of sharp teeth that were obviously not human ones. Her entire face was covered in blood, the ones that weren’t rid of skin, at least.

She was missing an arm.

“What...what...how...I…”

The girl was obviously impatient. She didn't give the man any more time to recollect himself before suddenly grabbing onto the man’s head and ripping it off brutally.

“No!” The girlfriend screamed and turned to run. The ghost stayed where she was with a cold smirk on her face. Ten seconds later, the girlfriend returned to the same location. She was exhausted, but she didn't seem to have accomplished anything.

“Don’t bother. You can’t escape.” The ghost put her last arm into her mouth, licking off the blood on it. She was really enjoying this. What she enjoyed more than the taste of blood was the fear she saw from the girlfriend. However, she wasn’t as pleased with the other two girls, who just stayed there like they were watching a play. “You don’t seem afraid.”

“Well, you’re not the first murderous monster we’ve seen.” Katie replied casually.

“Really? I knew something was strange with you two. I haven’t gotten a visitor in...longer than I can remember.”

“To be honest, we’re probably marked by death, and we’re marked by someone who is like you, only stronger.” Caitlin tried her best to talk her way out of the situation. “He’s not restricted to a location, and he’s locked on to us. I have seen him turn my friends into puppets after he killed them. Look, it’s the same for me, but I don’t think he’ll be too happy if you kill us.”

Katie cut in as she pointed at the girlfriend. “You can kill her if you want, but it is to your best interest to let us go.”

The girlfriend’s eyes were filled with rage, but before she could speak, the ghost has made her decision.

“Let him come. If he comes over, he will be slaughtered just like this fool. Just because you think he’s invincible doesn’t mean he really is.” The girl ghost tapped the headless corpse on the ground. “Either way, you’re all going to die here, and then your soul can stay with me forever!”

“No!” The girlfriend has finally had enough. The notion of being trapped here with a ghost for an eternity was too much for her. She turned and ran, but the girl ghost has gotten bored of the chase. The arm she had that was severed suddenly came out of nowhere and leaped onto the girlfriend. It literally forced its way into the girlfriend’s mouth. She collapsed and twitched in excruciating pain, but whatever she did, the pain only got worse. Finally, she stopped moving. The arm climbed out the same way it entered, holding onto pieces of intestines.

“That’s a gross way to die.” Katie commented and turned back to the girl ghost. “Wait a second. Since we’re going to die anyway, why don’t you let us die with our doubts resolved? What did you mean when you say just because he’s invincible to us doesn’t mean he’s really invincible?”

Katie’s opinion toward Mr. Isaac was mixed. On one hand, she enjoyed the sickening games he played and the protection over external threats his curse provided that allowed her to do basically whatever she wanted. It felt good to kill without having to worry about the police. On the other hand, she didn't like the idea of losing Caitlin. In fact, a part of her hated Mr. Isaac for the same reason she loved him: she didn't want to submit to her growing nature and become a murderous psychopath, but Isaac’s games were forcing her to become exactly that.

She was really mixed in that regard, but either way, it could never hurt to have more knowledge.

The girl ghost tilted her head.

“I’ll tell you...after I kill you!”

She charged forward. Caitlin lowered her body as she looked around for a weapon, but that was a lost cause. The room was empty. Suddenly, she saw Katie pulling out a knife.

“Katie!”

“What? It’s not a gun!” Katie’s eyes were trained on the girl ghost. The girl ghost saw Katie’s knife as well, but she wasn’t bothered.

“Normal weapons can’t hurt me!”

That was when Katie jammed the knife into her chest and put an end to her charge.

True. Normal weapons couldn’t hurt her. But was Katie’s kitchen knife a normal weapon? It has claimed at least a dozen lives. It has pinned down half a dozen undead, revived by magic, as their bodies burned and their souls evaporated. It was dipped in blood, pain, and death, which has transformed it from a normal kitchen knife to a weapon so menacing that it was fatal, even to a ghost.

The girl ghost coughed as she looked down on the knife in her body. The wound itself wasn’t a problem, but it was burning! The mysterious heat on the blade started burning through her soul like radioactive materials to human flesh. She mobilized all the energy she had to suppress that heat.

Seeing the effect, Katie moved a step forward and grabbed onto the handle of the knife and started twisting it.

“Tell me!”

The girl ghost screeched sharply. Her voice returned to the innocent one that she used to lure the man in as she begged for mercy. Caitlin took a step forward. She wasn’t fooled by the girl ghost’s play in the very least, not after what she saw in Isaac’s house. She wanted the answer to Katie’s question even more than Katie did.

“What did you mean?”

“Our kind, ghosts, phantoms, wraiths, whatever you want to call us, have limitations! By nature, we have certain powers. We are invisible to most people if we want, and we can’t be hurt by normal weapons. But if we want to as much as move a piece of rock, we need to use a type of energy. I call it soul energy.”

“How do you gather this so called soul energy?”

“I don’t know! I really don’t know! I have this energy naturally, but my power has never grown since the day I died. Whatever the wraith that haunted you are, it’s powerful, and it knows how to strengthen itself.”

“Really? That’s it?” Caitlin was hardly satisfied. She got next to nothing. “You told us you could’ve killed that ghost! And what about the limitations you talked about?”

“I was lying. He could’ve killed me easily.” The girl ghost explained quickly. The longer Katie’s kitchen knife was inside her, the weaker she gets. Her words got quicker and quicker. “There are limitations. If you can find out how your ghost is gaining energy and shut that down, you can try to exhaust his energy and kill him with a single stab. Now, take the knife out!”

“One last question.” But Katie wasn’t ready to stop just yet. “Where are we? You seem to have been here for a while, but how come no one else has been attacked?”

“I pulled you four into a mirror dimension! Nothing has happened...nothing has happened before because I was too weak to do it to others. Whatever your ghost did to you, it made you more vulnerable to us...now take it out!” The scorching pain was starting to get past the girl ghost’s resistance and burn her soul. But as she screamed, Katie smirked and took a step back and watched.

“No! No! You promised me...no!” After the girl ghost saw the cruel smirk on Katie’s face, she knew she could get no sympathy from the brunette. She quickly turned to Caitlin, only to find her backing off as well. She screamed and cried before getting burnt to crisp.

One BBQ Crispy Soul, coming up now.

Katie’s kitchen knife hit the floor. Katie walked over and returned it to her pocket.

Suddenly, she heard something behind her. She immediately snapped around and punched it in the face with all her strength.

“Ah!” A haunted house employee in a clown mask collapsed on the ground. Below his mask, his nose was bleeding. The last thought that crossed his mind was: I need to find a new job!