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King

“Halloween Town, you stab ‘em, we slab ‘em,” Margot at the ticket booth answered the phone. I chuckled as I squeezed out of the small room that housed the two women who ran the ticket booth.

The town was getting ready for Halloween; it was our biggest night of the year and everything had to run smoothly. We weren’t an actual town, more like a carnival that was here year-round. I ran this place along with Boogie. I was usually the face of everything while he took care of a lot of things that happened behind closed doors and a lot of things happen behind closed doors here.

This was my last run-through before I got ready for the night. The haunted house was ready to go. The haunted cemetery, the corn maze and the hall of mirrors were getting cleaned. The shops, games and concessions were my last stops before doors opened in an hour and a half.

The crew we had for concessions was getting the last of the food prepped and ready. The alcohol was getting rolled out to coolers and our spooky cotton candy vendor was getting everything set up.

The small row of shops were almost done when I checked to make sure no one needed anything. My last stop was our famous fortune teller who only graced us with her presence on Halloween night.

“Need anything, Addie?” I walked into her tent looking around.

“I’m good, King,” she said, grabbing something out of a box and turning around to me.

Addie was a beautiful woman, but her one dark and one blue eye made me feel like she was seeing into my soul. I willed myself not to shiver from her gaze.

“Tonight will be a good night for you,” she said, putting a few things on some shelves.

She told fortunes and sold things like candles, herbs and a few trinkets; but she made most of her money from her fortune telling. Many people came tonight just for her, which is why I always waived her booth fee. It was beneficial for both of us and we made a lot of money.

“I hope so. Halloween always needs to go well,” I said, getting antsy and ready to leave.

“Care for a little bit of advice,” she said, walking up to me.

“Advice or my fortune?” I tried my best to stay cool.

“Maybe both.” She shrugged, looking up at me since I was at least six inches taller than her.

There were times, I felt like Addie was something more than she led me to believe, like she really could see the future and it wasn’t a hoax.

“Sure, hit me,” I said, forcing my eyes on her.

“She loves funnel cake and tonight will be different if you're ready for it,” she said, patting my chest before turning around to go back to unpacking. “She is nervous, but she wants more, maybe just a taste or maybe a lifetime.”

I knew exactly who she was talking about. A girl who had shown up to the town every Halloween for the past two years and that creeped me out even more. She shouldn’t have known about her, no one did. We didn’t even know who she was, other than she was dressed like a doll every time, and she’d piqued our interest the first year we saw her.

I remember it like yesterday, she walked through the town, unbothered and curious. She strolled through the haunted house with a small smile on her face and each time she got scared, her smile grew. The first time we looked at each other, I swear something happened between us. I was trapped in her gaze before some asshole ran into her. When I told the guy to watch where he was going, she had left, and I hadn’t seen her again till the following year.

“If you're too creeped out, you can forget I said anything.” She looked over her shoulder pulling me from my thoughts.

“I just don't know what to think of you,” I said. “I’m used to knowing everything about everyone here and well, with you, you're the wild card I know I should respect, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be wary.”

“Fair enough,” she chuckled. “Tell Boogie I said hello. I hope you have a good night, King.”

“You too, let me know if you need anything,” I said, walking out of the tent, letting out the shiver I had been holding back.

Addie always left me on edge. I hoped the walk back to the trailer I stayed in with Boogie would be enough to rid me of the uneasiness. I didn’t quite understand this feeling, but I had met some deranged people in my life. Our trailer was behind the haunted house far into the woods, so far that no one knew we were there. People said hello as I walked past, and a few people stopped to ask about a few issues.

“Uh… King?”

I stopped, looking back at Dax. He was a pain in my ass, and I was getting tired of his shit.

“What?” I clipped.

“I was wondering if I could work the haunted house instead?—”

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