Page 4 of Raiding Halloween
Rebel chuckles then says, “I think we might be too close to the good ol’ bible belt for that to be accepted, but Psycho and Data can always check into those as well. Anything else?” When we all shake our heads, he slams the gavel down and says, “Church dismissed.”
THREE
MARNIE
“What do you think about this one?” I ask Holly before I start talking again. “We have the guys put up frames in the garage to make interactive rooms. Then in each room, we’ll have some kind of interactive thing for the kids to do that will scare them but not so badly that they have nightmares.”
After Holly told me what the club’s plan was for the Halloween carnival that the town holds every year, I was eager to help. Anything to help eliminate, even if it’s for a short amount of time, the impending sense of doom away that’s steadily getting worse with every second that passes. We’re at their house and the girls are at daycare, which gives us the peace and quiet we need to do some brainstorming. She mentioned that Psycho and Data were also looking into things, and that’s when I suggested that she and I be responsible for planning the kiddy haunted house.
“Oh, I like that idea,” she murmurs, grinning at me. “We can play kid-friendly spooky music and maybe some of the guys can dress up as ghosts or something.”
I start laughing as I remember something that happened when I was a kid. “I was about six years old and there was one of the dads who was in a fantastic Dracula costume. White face, blood dripping from his fangs, and a deep voice that would say, ‘Good evening’ in a Transylvanian accent whenever someone came around the corner. A kid right before me went around the bend and after hearing the dad, all I heard was screaming and then that little boy ran past me and out the door.”
By the time I’m done telling her the story, we’re both giggling hysterically as she jots down more notes. “I think we’re going to do something like that. Kind of a jump scare that’s not too scary, you know what I mean?” she asks.
“That’s a great idea! Oh, I found another one. What do you think of maybe having a maze inside one of the mini rooms?” I question.
“Jot it down. I know the club is bringing in several vendors with food trucks, and there’ll also be a face painting booth, as well as some crafts. It’s never too early to shop for the holidays, after all,” she replies.
We continue to slog through the countless ideas I found on the internet, keeping some while vetoing the others as too frightening for little kids. I know the house itself is getting a complete transformation, with each of those rooms depicting scenes that will have the customers freaking out. Personally, I’m a bit of a chicken, so I likely won’t go over there, but I’m happy to help with stuff even though I’m just a club employee. Many hands make light the work and all that jazz.
“Okay, Holly, I need to run and get ready for work,” I say once I have all of my notes organized.
She waggles her eyebrows at me, causing me to break out into a giggle. “You and Ash working together tonight?” she asks.
“I’m not sure,” I admit. “But there’s nothing there, Holly, at least on his part.”
She scoffs and retorts, “Mmhm, I’ve seen y’all looking at each other when you don’t think the other person is paying attention.”
I can feel my face heating because in another lifetime, I probably would’ve considered letting Ash know I was interested. “Not willing to screw up my job and living situation for a man,” I reply, standing to my feet. I see a slight grimace cross her face and ask, “You okay?”
“Yeah, Rebel’s son is jumping on body parts that remind me why women who have children end up wearing Depends once they’re older,” she says, snickering. “I might as well go to the bathroom before I tuck back into my real work, huh?”
“I think what we were doing was work, since it was for the club,” I tell her. “Okay, I’m gone. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Absolutely.”
The bar is hopping tonight with Fall in the air. If I wore one of those step counting watches, I’m sure I’m well over the ten thousand steps a day that health professionals recommend, based on how much my thighs and calves are aching. Thankfully, Maggie is here tonight to help, so I head into the kitchen for a quick break.
“Got you some sliders ready, Marnie,” Bert, our cook, calls out as he passes me a plate. I brought my tumbler full of ice water with me, so I quickly inhale my food while sucking down all the fluid I can get in me.
“You’re slammed tonight too,” I muse as I watch him putting more of the small burgers on the grill, then check the fryers for the wings and fries.
“No shit and with Zach no-showing tonight, I feel like I’m spinning my wheels,” he replies.
I watch him adeptly flip the fries into a warmer before he lightly coats it with the seasonings that make the fries here fucking amazing. Not gonna lie, there’ve been a few nights when I’ve taken a box upstairs that had more fries than meat!
“Of course, tonight’s karaoke night and the wings are on special as well,” I tease. When I see the trash is overflowing, I point and say, “I’m going to run this out to the dumpster before I head back into the chaos.”
“Appreciate it, Marnie. I’ll slide your tumbler through the window so Ash can get it filled back up and ready for you,” he replies.
Grabbing a pair of gloves, I gather the rest of the trash that’s fallen to the floor and manage to get the bag tied. Before I walk out the back door, I put a new bag in the can to save Bert some time. It’s not the first time I’ve taken out the trash because Zach isn’t the most reliable person we have on staff. I mentally make a note to see if maybe the club would bring in one of the prospects. At least on these theme nights. I have no clue if the prospects get paid, but I know they do all the yucky, grimy jobs as proof of their loyalty or some bullshit. At least if they came here andworked, they’d get a paycheck. Plus, we cash out to the kitchen staff every night.
Once I’m sure I’ve done what I can to help Bert, I put my own tumbler in the window since he’s putting the sliders together, then head to the back door. The club’s serious about their security; I have to input the code for the door to even open to the outside. It’s to prevent anyone who might’ve been removed for the night from sneaking back in and causing havoc. At least the parking lot is well lit. Maybe not at the dumpster, but I have no fear because it’s a club run business and while the Steel Raiders aren’t a one percent club, they’re still a bunch of badasses.
I’m humming to myself as I reach the dumpster. “Ugh, it smells horrible out here,” I murmur as I lift the lid, then the bag and toss it inside. I’m definitely going to have to scrub my hands thoroughly when I go back insidebeforeI even go to the bathroom.
Must remember to use my hand lotion when I’m done for the night, I muse.
