Page 8 of Hell of a Thing

Instead, it was just me and the darkness.

The others didn’t look back, not one of them. They were only a few yards ahead now, but I didn’t feel the need to catch up to them. High-pitched laughter broke through my panic, and I looked up to see a girl dressed in a nurse costume, jabbing at a skull-shaped candelabra set into the wall. She smiled as she pulled back a finger coated in brown liquid, holding it up to her friend with a triumphant cheer.

That used to be me.

Pumped for the thrill.

Fearless.

Who the hell was I now? I stared down at mytrembling hands.

Weak, pathetic, afraid.

No, I was the girl who laughed when others shrieked. This place felt real, every bit of it, but it was all an illusion. It had to be. Clearing my throat, I stood straight, wiping my sweaty palms against the slick material of my jumpsuit. Hoping no one had seen my outburst, I hurried down the hallway after the others. My eyes struggled to adjust to the flickering red light of the candelabras set into wall sconces. Longing for enough light to see properly, I had to make do with the little that was available, running my palms along the walls for safety as I tried to quicken my pace and catch up with the others.

I was going to make it through this house and out the other side, dammit. I would prove to myself that this place wasn’t real.

My straps were secure, the parachute tight on my back.

I pressed on.

Chapter 4

“You see, my King? Humans always act sophisticated, but whenever put to the test, they will not only let those around them suffer, but laugh in the face of the dying. Many of them are ignorant enough to believe they’re immune to the pains of this world. There are a precious few who truly stand up to injustice. It is those souls we are after. Finding them is a challenge, but well worth it. Those are the souls I offer to you, my King. The kind you would not find within the red gates.” Closing my eyes, I let out a soft sigh and casually leaned against the wall of the dark room. One of the things I enjoyed about Hell was the closeness I got with human souls.

“Which one do you think will be the best of this batch?” The Devil asked.

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I recalled the little kitten, shaking off her fear. “I’ve always been a cat person…” We’d followed the last group of humans into the attraction and got a delightful view of her pathetic attempt to escape. One little run-in with Claunid, a once proud chaos demon nowdisguised as a clown, and she lost all the nerve she’d gathered at the ticket booth just a short time ago.

“Something tells me she’s going to produce the most exquisite flavor. Humans drawn to this attraction have an earthy quality.”

“What’s going on? Where’s the door?” someone asked. A tall guy wearing a letterman jacket ran his hands over the blank wall as though that would make a door appear. “It has to be here somewhere. There has to be something.” My heart clenched as a man wearing a hot dog costume shoved Letterman Jacket away and ran his palms up the wall.

Even at the back of the group, I could see the wall was completely smooth. There were no cracks to feel. No handle outlined.

Steady. I needed to remain calm. A barking laugh escaped me, drawing the attention of a cheerleader on the arm of Letterman Jacket. Her look of annoyance pissed me off. I was allowed to make some fucking noise in a crisis situation. I flipped her off, watching with satisfaction when she rolled her eyes and turned back to the wall in front of them.

“Let’s go back. Maybe we went the wrong way somehow.” Letterman Jacket was a real thinker. Except there had been no choices. Just a long, winding hallway leading to a blank wall and a solid dead end.

He turned back anyway, pushing his way through the crowd and shoving me so hard I caught a whiff of stale leather

When he was two steps past me, there was an audible click and the sound of a spring being released. A white panel shot out of the wall, gliding across thehallway almost too quick for my eyes to see. It locked into place on the other side with a click turning our section of the hallway into a cramped room. There were a few nervous coughs from the people behind me as they settled into the new smaller space, but my eyes were locked on Letterman Jacket. He stood still as stone. Like he was frozen mid step.

I stared, ice pounding through my veins as I studied his immobile form.

No, he was fine. It was a trick of the haunted house. Another one of this carnival’s amazing effects. He probably was just stunned, trying to decide whether he was injured. My arms were heavy and numb, but I was the closest. Somehow, I reached out a trembling hand to touch his shoulder.

“Hey, you okay, buddy?” It was the slightest amount of pressure, the lightest touch, but he crumbled. The half of his body on our side of the panel slid down with a sickeningly wet sound to fall on its side and reveal a perfect cross section of guts and brains quickly obscured by pooling blood.

Someone screamed.

It might have been me.

A warm body collided into my back, and someone was definitely screaming now, a fucking lot of someones. I took a step and slipped on the blood, falling backwards. A combat boot came down on my arm, and I cried out, struggling to rise only to get a knee to the face. Clutching my throbbing nose, I threw myself backward onto Letterman Jacket’s still-warm body and found the space I needed to get my feet under me.

Clutching my arm to my chest, I tried to wiggle my fingers and found I could do so. Not broken then. Turning my attention to my surroundings, a sea of panicked faces greeted me. A motor somewhere over our heads whirred to life, and I watched in horror as the ceiling began to slowly lower. The cheerleader shrieked. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

“It’s gonna be okay. It’s a trick, somehow.”Because it had to be. None of this could be real.I assured myself, working to find a confidence I didn’t feel. I didn’t have time for her, but I couldn’t help feeling bad seeing the genuine heartbreak twisting her face. Not bothering to scramble against the smooth wall where adoor should be, I used the deadly panel at my back to make my way over to the side.

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