Page 15 of Theirs to Chase

Eveline

I scramble out ofthe pumpkin house on shaky legs, trying to find my surroundings and locate where I am.

What the hell was that?

He seemed different, but it was the same pumpkin mask and clothes as when he went to call the cops. Did he even call them?

Helvete.

I look around, panic making my chest heave, but it’s so dark. I need to find the exit—I can’t fucking be here anymore. Heaving, I spot a map of the park, and with the help of it and a dimly lit lamppost, I manage to find which way to take to find the exit.

This feels like a sick game of hide-and-seek.

I find the exit, the looming gates with that ominous pumpkin above it. But as I try the gates, they refuse to budge open because the electricity is off.

“Little pumpkin, come out, come out, wherever you are,”a voice singsongs behind me, deep and raspy.

I look back, seeing his bloodied clothes and that pumpkin mask covering his face. Fear spikes inside me, even when I know I have no reason to be scared…right?

I try the gates again, wiggling them in a futile attempt to force them open.

He steps even closer, an ominous presence in the shadows behind me. I can’t breathe, can’t think, as I desperately try to open the gates.

I’m locked in, trapped with a man who both terrifies and arouses me.

Where the fuck are Nadia and Max?

I veer off, my only thought on hiding from Eros who now seems to stalk toward me. I run through roller coasters, looking around in an attempt to find the office.

Why hasn’t no one called the cops?

My heart sinks, feet pounding against cobblestones as I push my way forward, barely daring to look behind me in case he’s stalking me. I suddenly halt outside the spooky ride, where the sign reads “Dödens Tåg.”Death’s Train.

It’s a journey through tunnels closing in, scenes of ghostly figures appearing, and the unnerving feeling of someone poking you in the back from the backrest of the train cart. A haunting melody drifts through the air, provoking a slight tremor in my limbs.

That’s not the only thing catching my attention.

A shrill scream tears through my own soul, and I move without thinking, rushing toward it, straining to identify that feminine voice.

“Nadia?” I call out when I stand precisely outside of the spooky ride, hearing the creaking of a cart before it stops. Nadia and Max emerge from it, their faces ashen, like the ghosts said to haunt this ride.

“Nadia?” I call again, anxiety knotting my stomach.

Tears brim the corners of her eyes as she spots me, rushing forward to crush me in a hug.

“What the fuck were you doing in there?”

Max looks at me, his eyes darting nervously around. “We were pushed into the ride which started before we could get out…”

Nadia holds me closer, a little tighter at his words.

“T-there were people there. T-tied to the t-trail…”

Her tears stain my dress, and I’m frozen in place, staring at him.

“We saw a man in the shadows, smiling with a sickeningsweetness as our cart crushed the people.”

It’s not until then that I notice the blood stained on their faces. A lump lodges in my throat as I take in both of them.

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