Page 13 of Dead End

“As much as I’d love to have you stick around, Jessica, I don’t see how we could possibly hide you. No offense, but you're huge.” I eyed her up and down, wondering if we could just ride her into town. That would be freaking amazing until we got shot down like King Kong by the police. We would totally be in the history books, though

“Oh gosh, silly me!” Jessica giggled, her tusks flashing in the moonlight. “Just hold on a second.”

Her giggle made me want to giggle, even though it would probably come out a little hysterical. The helium effect in her voice was almost too much, and it was hard to take anything she said seriously. That, and the fact that she was a talking fucking spider.

Freddy cringed behind her, shuffling a good distance away and looking a little green around the edges. Michael rolled his eyes at him. I never knew Freddy had a fear of spiders.

Jessica squeezed all of her eyes shut and seemed to be concentrating pretty hard. A moment later, a web shot out of her butt and barely missed a dodging Michael, who made a dive for the ground. It's a good thing he had quick athletic reflexes, because he’d probably be wrapped in a cocoon right now.

“Oops, sorry! I got this, one second!” Jessica said to Michael, who just dusted dirt off his jeans as he stood back up, while she closed her eyes again. She was trying so hard, pushing and vibrating to the point that I genuinely wondered if she was about to croak.

Then her body started twitching, and Jessica laughed in triumph as she began to shrink before our very eyes. She'd been doing it so gradually before, but it was like time sped up, and soon she was the size of a regular tarantula. Her maniacal laugh got squeakier and squeakier the smaller she got, and we all stood there dumbfounded, scratching our heads. I wondered when we’d finally wake up from this impossible dream.

She immediately crawled over to me on her fast little legs and hopped into my waiting hand, her legs tickling my skin. Mads and the guys crowded around me, staring down at Jessica in disbelief.

“Take that and go pick on someone your own size!” Jessica said to Maddie, who blinked rapidly in return at an utter loss for words, before Jessica disappeared into my long hair.

Well, that was interesting and all, but I’d like to pretend it never happened. Can we fucking go already?” His voice was tired as Norman scrubbed at his face in exhaustion, close to losing his shit.

He took off ahead of us, grumbling to himself. Something about ‘spidey senses.’ He was probably right; we’d had enough surprises for today. I was hoping that there was a gas leak somewhere that would explain the hallucinations.

One by one, the guys moved past me, not saying a damn word or glancing in my direction. Back to hating my stinkin’ guts, I guessed. I was perfectly okay with that. It's better they hate me than pretend to love me. I followed behind Maddie silently as we went deeper into the woods, getting swallowed by the orchard that seemed to want to eat me alive. I was tempted to let it consume me. I came to an agreement with myself that it was all a dream and nothing was real.

“It’s not real... It’s not real. None of it is real.” The chant came out of my mouth on repeat, until I almost started to believe it.

Oh, it’s real all right,” Jessica said into my ear, like the freaking devil or angel on my shoulder, though I couldn't decide which one yet. “Don’t worry, October, I’ll help you survive the night.” Her words crushed my hopes. I supposed I was stuck in a nightmare.

“I-I don’t understand. What happened to this place?” Maddie stuttered, terror coming off her in waves. I felt her hand grasp mine, but she wasn’t looking at me. Her eyes wandered through the darkness of our little town as we made our way towards the welcome arch.

I didn’t answer her. I couldn't. My throat was tight, my hands were shaking, and the only thing grounding me to reality was Maddie’s grip. The guys were on either side of us, and I wondered for a second if the protective positions were intentional or not because they were spread out around us pretty evenly. I was probably just reading too much into it.

I didn’t understand what was happening. None of us did. I could hear Norman and Freddy muttering to each other, and Jason was frantically checking his phone, trying to get a signal. Michael walked in a daze, his eyes darting from one impossible thing to the next. We passed the edge of Farmer Orson’s corn field and spotted as many as four creepy-looking scarecrows that I was positive had never been there before. Shadows seemed to sneak up around us like creeping spider legs, reaching out to caress my chilled skin.

Speaking of spider legs, that was going to be another problem. I was all too aware of the strange arachnid perched on my shoulder. I should have been freaked out. I should have been squirming away from her hairy legs and her buggy eyes, but I felt no such inclination. Instead, her presence sort of made me feel calmer. Yeah, I was losing my mind, for sure. A spider named Jessica. I snorted out loud for the fifteenth time. A talking spider named Jessica. Honestly, nothing really surprises me anymore. I was just waiting for the next part.

We passed the cemetery on our right, across the road from the cornfield. The gates were tall and black, spiked at the top, and woven through with old, dried-up vines that were more gray than brown. A shiver snaked down my spine. The crisp atmosphere of the place gave me the heebie-jeebies. Everything was gnarled and twisted, reminding me of a place I’d once seen on a trip to Salem a few years ago. Something about the place just gave me weird vibes.

The gate had an archway reading ‘Midnight Hollow Cemetery’ in spindly wrought iron letters.

What the hell is a Midnight Hollow?

Behind it was a series of skinny hilltops covered with old stone graves and creepy, broken statues that I didn’t remember being there before. I knew more than anyone what the cemetery should have looked like, as I’d spent hours and hours out there lying at the base of my mom and dad’s gravestones.

We kept walking, and I could feel Jason’s burning gaze on my back, but he didn’t say anything. I wondered if he knew about my frequent cemetery visits, but he probably couldn’t care less what I did these days. Reaching the edge of town seemed like a blessing until I realized how empty it was. The familiar silhouette brought me comfort, but there was something different about the place I’d called home my whole life.

The one and only gas station in town across the street was deserted and quiet, when usually it was filled with teenagers and college students grabbing snacks before peeling out of the parking lot and heading to parties. I stepped closer onto the blacktop where the street met the parking lot, drawn towards the gas station.

“Don’t,” Freddy said suddenly in a hesitant, gruff voice. “It feels…off.” His whole body was locked up tight at my side, as if his muscles were frozen. His eyes were darting around the area frantically, and his pupils were dilated until nearly all of his iris was gone.

I turned and watched as the lights that illuminated the pumps started to flicker. It only lasted a brief moment before all of them shut off at once, leaving it pitch black and eerily still. The orange-tinged moonlight almost made things worse, as the only part of the darkness we could make out was the rolling orange fog and a little bit of the parking lot. It took too many heartbeats for my eyes to adjust.

“You guys hear that?” Michael asked, his deep voice breaking through the silence. His hand was held out, as if to stop anyone from taking even a single step that might shatter the silence.

“I don’t hear anything,” Maddie whispered, tilting her head as if she were straining to hear what he was.

He looked at us incredulously. “Exactly. There’s nothing.”

Goosebumps instantly covered my skin. He was right. No buzzing insects, no rumbles of car engines, or the sound of human life. Absolutely nothing. The silence only made the stillness all the more fascinating and eerie in equal measure. Once again, everything about the town I’d lived in my whole life seemed both familiar and alien at the same time. It was as if a lens had fallen over my world.

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