Page 1 of Haunt the Mall

1

Beckoning

The black widow animatronic dangling from the theater’s balcony seemed to honor the delicate truce between man and spider: leave me to my darkness, I’ll leave you to yours. Except this one wanted us to see its movie: The Widow. And we were coming.

“See you soon, darling,” I crooned, wiggling my fingers through fishnet gloves at it as we hurried past.

My coworker Willow twisted her muddy, seaweed-colored hair in front of her face. “Hey, Kat, do they ask for your ID when scanning you in for R-rated movies?”

I grinned. “Is this your first one?”

Her shoulder twitched. “I don’t notice ratings when they’re on TV.”

I bumped her arm with my elbow. “This is so exciting. Your first R-rated movie, and it’s probably a masterpiece.”

I caressed the black cords on my cross necklace and smiled at this year’s monster. Her limbs flexed like long, bony fingers beckoning her prey. My pulse quickened with the urge to lift my arms for a dance macabre—not that I could reach. She was low enough for fun photo ops but high enough to dissuade bored teens from taking a swing. How did they get eight jointed legs to move? Her head swiveled too. Black eyes glinted red—almost as bright as the marking on her back. God, she was magnificent.

Just beyond the tangle of legs and fake webbing, a guy in the theater’s black and blue uniform leaned over the railing like some phantom spider guardian, his sleeves rolled up over toned forearms. Dark hair swooped across his face as he scanned the guests below. Did he want to dance with the widow, too, or was he enjoying the view?

Willow cringed to avoid the crowd and accidentally knocked into me. “I guess a lot of people are excited about spider-things.”

“‘Tis the season for it, and for us to make money. Widow merch will be hot this year, but Halloween costumes sell like you wouldn’t believe.” Especially if they were a little slutty. I adjusted my lace-up top and flashed a smile at the teenaged ticket-taker.

He blushed and fumbled the scanner over my phone. “Theater six. Enjoy your movie.”

“We intend to.” I strode across the lobby with Willow clinging to my side. I patted her hand. “See how easy that was? Prepaying for tickets is the key. That’s how my sisters and I snuck each other in.”

Willow raised her eyebrows. “Did they take you to your first scary movie?”

“No.” I laughed. “Not unless you count smutty vampire series as horror.” Those movies had their own level of intrigue. Pretty boys who promised their lovers forever. Villains who’d burn the world for a single person. Captive situations, biting…

I shook my head and marched into the theater. No fantasizing about fictional men until I got home. Tonight, my team needed me.

Bree barely looked up from her phone as we approached our seats. “Hey, you almost missed your own party.”

“Yes, long close. Lots of folding.” Mostly because she hadn’t done her share of it this morning. I forced my tone to stay positive. “But we’re here now. A spider didn’t eat us on the way in.”

“Did you see that big one in the lobby?” AJ pushed up his thick, black-framed glasses. “That’s some expensive movie promo. I totally thought it was gonna snatch somebody.”

“Maybe that’s how they get rid of annoying customers,” I joked, sitting between him and Willow.

The lights dimmed. Chatter dropped as the curtains swished aside to reveal a wide, glowing screen. Electricity and air conditioning prickled the fine hairs on my arms. My aching feet wiggled in my thick, tight leather boots. This was it. The big, magic portal feeling. I scooped popcorn into my mouth and leaned back in my seat.

The movie was everything. Serious but silly. Relatable and thrilling. By the time we got to the first big spider scene, people were gasping and clutching various seats, drinks, and dates.

My chair wobbled. We hadn’t signed up for the 3D experience. Next to me, Willow trembled, holding her hair tight in front of her face so that she could only peek through. She was almost as pale as the victim being wrapped in spider silk on-screen.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

She shook her head.

I knew she was young, but I thought she’d be fine with a monster flick. This wasn’t even that scary. Bree and AJ clawed for popcorn as the movie spider descended from the ceiling.

I scooted to the edge of my seat. Yes, yes, it was finally happening!

A low noise stuck in Willow’s throat, her eyes shining with fear.

Shit. She wasn’t gonna make it through the movie.

---