Page 39 of The King of Halloween
As Raj slipped through the exit door, a blast of cold air chilled him to the bone. The winds pushed dreary clouds across the moon, hiding his only source of light. Trying to not take that as an ominous warning, Raj undid the latch on the cellar doors. He heaved one open and listened. A slow drip, then plop, echoed from deep inside the brick and mud cellar.
Great. What am I doing in my best suit?
Why, I’m waltzing through mud and investigating a thousand-dollar piece of equipment that only seems to work once every week. Thanks for asking.
Leaving the door open, Raj descended the rickety stairs. He kept one hand on the bricks while fishing for the light switch. All the while, the slow drip, drip, drip, beckoned him into the darkness.
?
Adam preferred to think of himself as determined and unflappable. Some people, however—parents, boyfriends, dentists, grocery store clerks—called him stubborn. That streak of iron had led to him walking into a prom that’d all but banned him, where he pretended to have fun for four hours just to see the look on their faces. Of course, in retrospect, he’d have enjoyed himself more staying home and watching movies with a few friends instead, but then they’d have won. And Adam could never let that happen.
Not then.
Not now.
He clenched his hand, steeling his nerves to walk back in there, greet Burt Soup, and introduce not only him but the movie.I can do this. I’ve faced far worse from far better and come out ahead.
Adam smiled at the image of his bullies’ faces melting as he shrugged off their attacks like he was bulletproof. Shoring up the last of his hard-won confidence, he took a step into the ballroom.
What about New York?
That unbidden thought fluttered in his mind like a raven through an open window. He jerked, his foot hovering above the polished floor. Rather than fly back out, the thought perched above his door, peering into his soul and daring him to challenge it.
His foot spun him around, and he damn near ran out, his back on fire. As he hit the cool air of the hall, he glanced up at the spider rigged to drop on anyone who triggered the sensor. Cute. A bit passé perhaps, but that nostalgia hit made it all the more precious.
He hadn’t seen Mr. Choudhary since he bounded past on some mission. Maybe he was planning a huge show for the audience. Pull out all the stops, every animatronic at his disposal, even scare actors. Ooh, dancing zombies—that’d get the town to love him.
Pain stung the back of Adam’s eyes as he stared into the room. Kids were oohing and ahhing over the movie, their parents either watching along or busy on their phones. No one defended him, no one wanted him. And he was going to walk right back in and act like nothing happened.
Shit. I should pee first.
Who knew what else the little shits had planned. He refused to go in there unprepared. Gazing up for a bathroom sign, Adam trucked down the hallway, ran into a dead end, and turned around. “Where the hell is the damn…?”
A straw hat bounded in the distance. Adam took off, waving to the only soul he’d seen. “Excuse me.” He skidded to a halt as they turned their bony, straw-stuffed shoulders. Adam’s jaw dropped at the intricate details of the costume. It wasn’t just the aging on the burlap, the mud stains up the jeans, or the straw poking through seams. A smell of fields, corn stalks, and even bird shit wafted in the air. “Amazing work,” he admitted before shaking his head. “Do you know the way to the bathroom?”
The scarecrow answered by raising a gloved finger and pointing down the hall to a door. As Adam looked up, a red sign glowed ‘bathroom’above it. “Thanks,” he said. A great gasp broke from the ballroom, telling Adam they were nearing the end of the movie. He didn’t have a lot of time.
Taking off, he only glanced back once at the mysterious scarecrow walking away. They didn’t make a sound other than the swish of straw bouncing inside the burlap.
Who is that?Skinny as hell and tall didn’t leave a lot of options in the town. Either way, that was a problem to solve later. Adam hit the plain, metal door, shoved on the latch, and stumbled into cold air.
He blinked, fully confused. Instead of tile and urinals, he’d wandered into old grass and a barely tended path leading toward the barn store. The hotel lights didn’t even reach back here. Only the moon could guide him.
Another joke at his expense. Hilarious. Adam spun around and reached for the door handle, only for it to stick. He tried once more, but it wouldn’t give.
“Great. I’m trapped outside. And I can either walk all the way around the damn building in the dark to get in, or…”
Go home. Forget Burt, forget the one damn thing he loved about this season more than anything else. Forget showing Raj that he knew something about movies and magic, too.
Adam had never felt more tempted to quit in his life. He checked his phone to find it was only eight-thirty. Would it really be that sad if he sat on his couch watching the same movie in his pajamas instead of this getup? At least he had good beer in his…
A light poured through the bushes. Curiosity ensnared him, and Adam poked about the thick foliage.
A mysterious cellar door that’s wide open. Not spooky at all.
He reached for the door to get his bearings when a great grunting broke from inside, followed by a rabid splashing. Anyone with sense would have noped out of there. The problem with being obsessed with the macabre was that the worst scenarios only intrigued Adam more.
Taking care with the stairs, Adam eased his way down into the mysterious cellar. He used the door for leverage until he moved too far from its reach. It slammed into place. The grunting stopped. Then the splashing increased.
