Page 17 of Burning Souls

HALLOWEEN NIGHT

The music drifts throughout the crowd. More people than intended turned up to our Halloween party, and everyone’s outfits are shocking, to say the least.

I take immense pride in how I made this party look. I have skulls hanging from a pole that goes from the entrance and stops just before the pits of darkness lurking in the trees. My stomach growls; I’m hungry, but not for food to send a new soul to hell.

It’s been weeks since I got the thrill of killing. I’m more than a killer tonight, more than the Grim Reaper. I’m ready to open all the darkness that I hide and unleash it tonight. I don't want to be fair; I want to take what was taken from me over and over. I’m the executioner that people fear.

I dressed up as Annabelle, just like my doll. I’m wearing an oldish white dress and black-and-white striped tights. I have a jet-black wig with two buns on either side of my head and two skull clips. A red ribbon is tied around my stomach to mimic a belt.

We fixed up the nearly non-existent haunted house that had been abandoned. The last week had been spent losing sleep and neglecting any business. The guys had to completely redo it, and I’m so glad we did.

When you walk inside, Michael Myers jumps out with a knife to your throat and welcomes you. That’s Sean’s costume. If you keep walking, you’re met with a long hallway of darkness, and fake smoke opens a path, the walls decorated with many creepy dolls, skulls, body parts like arms, legs, eyes, lips, nose, even organs, hearts, and livers.

The best part is that they are all real; not a single body part or organ is fake. As you turn the corner and continue walking, you’re met with a door. When you walk through, you enter my dollhouse, which we personalized to my theme.

I have my rocking chair to sit in.

I called it Endless Eclipses, where souls enter but never leave. An evil laugh leaves as I throw my head back. I’m not alone in my dollhouse. I have Tobias, who is dressed as Freddie. I want it to make people cry and run away, so he has to chase them over and over. I want them all to chase me and take me in their costume, making me fear for my life.

It’s just about time for us to open.

The guys turn all the lights off, allowing only the disco-like light to roam through the place.

While I walk to my dollhouse, I sit in my rocking chair and turn it away from the door. I hold my doll and brush her hair as I rock back and forth.

Jessie is controlling the crowd while I do what I do best.

He was boring and refused to dress up. We have the same argument every year, and he’s always keeping the crowd under control. I guess it’s something I have to live with now.

The first group enters my dollhouse while I sway back and forth, singing like a child in a creepy voice.

“Hush little baby, don’t you cry, mama’s going to buy you a rocking chair.” I sing childlike to my doll while brushing her hair.

I can hear three voices, and I’m guessing it’s a group of three, which means one of them is a mean girl. I don’t make the rules. One is always a mean girl, and one is always left out. The other just stays out of the whole friendship and minds her business. I like that one.

I turn my chair around, placing a creepy smile on my face. The girl in the middle has dark urban hair that flows down her back, leaving two pieces over her eyebrows covering her eyes. The eyes I’m now attached to. I picture how I would carve them out or how I could send her into the trees and have my men run after her, only for her to get caught in my trap.

The trees are laced with multiple traps, so if anyone went for a walk, they wouldn’t last long. I may let them go, or I may use them. I know this is wrong, and I don’t have a reason to kill this girl, but I don’t get the passion for anything. There is a reason I’m drawn to her.

“You in the middle,” I point out, narrowing my eyes. She points to herself, looking around the room; she has no way of getting past me. The voices are screaming at me. Take her back to your house and show her just how brutal you can be. It takes a lot for me to want to hurt a woman, as I was once hurt, but today I'm listening to the voices that are so loud in my head I can't get rid of them unless I get rid of her.

“Yes, you. I think I have found my lucky winner. Follow me; your friends can wait outside.” I chuckle, rolling my eyes at how stupid she must be. A smile beams off her as if she's happy she was picked. Little does she know that her life was over the moment she decided to come here. The girl follows me without hesitation.Stupid girl.

She walks behind me as I skip, humming down the hall until I stop. Freddie Kruger stands in front of me as my lips curl.

“I have someone for you.” The girl looks at me with fear and worry in her eyes, as if she wants to ask me for help but knowsit’s too late. Oh, it was too late the minute they entered the house. We clearly stated that once you're in, you never leave. The silly girl needs to be taught a lesson.

“Don’t worry; I will be back in a couple of hours,” I tell her as Tobias takes her forcefully.

I skip back to my dollhouse, humming. I sit in my chair with my doll, brushing my hair. Another group of people walks in. I turn around to keep in character. The girls stand laughing, looking around the room, and taking photos. Not one person is left out. I don’t need to take a soul, at least not from these people. They seem happy, and I’m not one to take away someone’s happiness.

After what feels like an eternity, the group leaves while a new one enters, one girl and two men who I suspect are in their late twenties.

One girl has ash blonde hair that’s up in a ponytail. She wears a Playboy costume but has a jacket over her because of how cold it must’ve gotten outside.

The girl entered with two men but is now left with one. He grips the woman’s arm, causing her to pull away, but he stops her, putting more of a firm grip on her. She looks uncomfortable. I don’t interrupt, I need more than him grabbing her arm to take him, and I think he’s in for a shock for the rest of the tour.

I can’t take all the work. Hours go on, and more groups of people walk in. Once it was around midnight, we shut the house tour down. I didn’t want to be up until the early hours, hiding a body in broad daylight.

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