Page 35 of Things Get Dark

“Come on, Hannnnuuuuh,” Lainey complains with garbled words. “Get up. We are here to have the sssspooky fun!” It takes Lainey and me a good thirty seconds to haul Hannah to her feet while she keeps collapsing in a giggle fit. Lauren eventually holds her upright while I secure her arm around me. Once everyone is vertical and can keep a straight face, we all begin to cross the grounds, looking at what is available.

“Oh, wait!” Hannah shouts as she pushes away from us. “Spooky selfies for the SnapSpace grid!” She stumbles to the front of the farmhouse, collapsing into a pose on the steps. I can only sigh as the other two attempt to run after her. While they pose for the camera, I glance around and admire the work these guys have done. The farmhouse looks to have once been painted white, but from what I can tell with the dramatic lighting, there are highlights of a deep red and shadows of dark gray used to enhance the gothic theme. All the hardware is black, mimicking the old, wrought iron look. Even the windows have a dark, sheer lining with a lace curtain. The inside lighting switches from a strobe to a flickering candle. All the little touches only up the horror effect. It makes me grateful they dragged me along. I’d love to do a story documenting the wonderful aesthetic they’ve curated. I wonder if I could secure a section cover with a photo of this house? Maybe with the right angle…

“Alex! Take a picture of us!” Lauren squeals with excitement as she hops off the steps to run to me. She shoves her phone in my hands with barely a whispered ‘thanks’ before running back to the others. As they primp and fix their hair, my eyes wander across the front of the house. One of the swiveling lights set up outside swings low, bathing the front porch in brilliant white light. It's then that my eyes find another set staring back at me.Bright golden eyes lock onto mine, shining in the brief moment of the spotlight. When the light swings away, the brilliant eyes are hidden in the darkness. But I remember the feeling those light eyes now hidden in the shadows gave me. It felt as if they could see to the bottom of my soul.

The eyes belong to a man—a shirtless man, disguised with a gargoyle mask and body paint. When he shifts in the darkness, I startle, remembering I have a job to do. “Any day now,” I call out to the girls, and they all settle in a pose. As the phone’s camera app focuses, I feel the weight of the gargoyle man’s stare. It takes a moment as the swiveling lights distort the image, and I feel the warmth of a blush as it rises in my cheeks.

Fuck me.

“Excuse me?” I’m startled out of my reminiscing by a disembodied voice. The girls on the steps and I all scream, frightened as a person emerges from the shadows. But, to our surprise, a man dressed in a simplistic plague doctor costume strides toward us.Did I say that out loud?

“Ah, my apologies,” the man says as he approaches me, a distinct British accent reaching my ears. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I only wanted to be of service. I can take a picture of you with your friends, if you want.”

“Ah, no thanks,” I mumble. “We’re okay.”

“Are you sure you don’t want a picture with your friends? Your beauty shouldn’t be hidden behind the camera.”

If I wasn’t blushing already, I am now.

“No, I’m good, thanks.” I duck my head and rush to meet the others. I hand Lauren back her phone before tucking my hands into the pockets of my coat. We wander toward the rest of the farm, and I can’t help but feel anxious after that encounter. “What now?” I ask the girls.

“Oh!” Lainey squeals with delight as she hops up and down. “Let’s go get hot cocoa and warm up before we go into the cornmaze!” She points to some food trucks parked near the edge of the property, right near the parking lot. Second in the line is a hot cocoa vendor. We all agree, but as we approach, Lauren spies one important detail.

“Oh my god! They sell boozy hot cocoa!” Fucking hell, if I wasn’t the designated driver, I’d totally indulge at this point. I internally groan as the girls debate what alcohol they want. Is there a better recipe for chaos than mixing alcohol?

Collecting their warm and heady refreshments, we find ourselves huddling around a bonfire. While it's quite a way from the main area, the fire is halfway to the corn maze. It’s the one thing about this outing I’ve been trying to avoid. They don’t understand that my anxiety spikes when there is a possibility of getting lost because I just don’t bring it up. Mazes freak me the fuck out, and they have for years. It all stems back to when James and I went to a hedge maze at his friend’s parents’ house, and he left me roaming the maze by myself. It was dusk, and I felt like I was never going to find my way out. When I finally did hours later, it was to find James drinking with his buddies and laughing off my anxiety.

Now, I stand here, wondering if I’ll even be able to step closer to the corn maze. The girls are oblivious to the cold sweat breaking out on my forehead. It’s not long, though, before they are throwing away their paper cups.

“Come on,” Hannah says, grabbing my hand and dragging me toward the entrance of the corn maze. “Let’s go get lost!” Her screams of excitement and fun are lost on the breeze, and as I stumble toward the towering corn stalks ahead of me, but when I feel eyes on me, I spin and survey the area. There, on the other side of the bonfire, standing in the same spot we just were, is the plague doctor actor. And somehow, from his stance, I can tell that this won’t be the last time we see him tonight.

Chapter Two

Alex

Oct 1st 12:31 AM

I’m okay. I’m fine.I have friends here with me, and I know we’ll get out. We have phones, and this is a business. They need good word of mouth, so they will rescue us if need be.

Pushing down the heavy weight laying on my chest, I slowly lead the others through the maze. The girls stumble and giggle, trailing along behind me, making me stop and wait for them several times. I do my best to ignore their nonchalance and steadfastly trudge through the maze. It’s a challenge to keep the panicked thoughts rattling through my head to myself, but with the drunken mood the girls are in, I know I’d draw their criticism.

The corn stalks aren’t as high as the hedges in my mind, and that is the only thing holding my fight-or-flight reaction in check. All I can think about is the sky blocked off fromthe giant bushes looming over me. Being alone back then only exacerbated the scars that feeling trapped had on my soul. So, while I’m still in a maze, I’m at least not by myself.

“You’ve got this, Alex,” I mumble to myself. “You can do this. No need to spill your phobias to the girls.”They’d probably just make fun of me for being afraid of the dark.

After another stumble from Hannah, I pause to wait for her and swipe my hands over my face. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart before it beats out of my chest. When a drop of sweat trickles down my spine despite the cooler temperatures, I know it won’t be long before my mind gets the best of me.

“Hey girls,” I say with a slight tremble to my words, “can we walk a little faster? I’d like to get to bed before dawn.” I add a small chuckle, hopefully coming across as non-confrontational as possible.

“Actually,” Lainey says with a hiccup, “I need to find a bathroom. I’ve got to pee so bad!” After those last few words slip out on a groan, she shifts from side to side, wringing her hands together as a distraction.

Giggles spill from the other two at Lainey’s ‘potty dance’, until they too grow silent while squirming.

“Come on, then,” I say, grabbing Hannah’s hand to help her along.

It takes another fifteen minutes before we find our way to the end. At one point, I nearly broke down when we hit a dead-end, but Lauren only spun around and headed back, and Hannah dragged me along. I guess their need to pee trumped my potential emotional implosion.

As soon as the bonfire appears around the corner, the girls take off, presumably to find a bathroom. Me? I’m finally able to take a calming breath, even though I don’t stop walking until I find the closest log bench surrounding the fire pit. I drop tosit, staring off at the surrounding scene. It feels surreal that I survived one of my living nightmares. Focusing on the white-hot flames and glowing-red embers in front of me and the tall, green and yellow stalks behind me allows me to ground my consciousness.

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