Page 5 of Dead Woman Walking

“Yeah, you!” She giggles.

My chest swells at her laughter. “I told you not—”

“Well, you didn’tgetme to listen—”

“How was I supposed to compete with your heartandpussy? I told you he was lesser than you! You wanted his ‘massive dick’ that he didn’t know how to use and liked ‘his chestnut brown hair,’” I mock. “You live, and you learn. You have the rest of your life to find someone who will treat you better and can find the clit.”

Silence stills in the car before she finally whispers, “Thanks, Art.”

“You’re welcome, Blair…” I glance over a few times at her to make sure she is okay as she drives us to the party. She’s always thinking she deserves less. I desperately want to tell her about the three men, so we can laugh about it, but I’m not sure if she would laugh. She’d probably scold me for not going to the police.

I wouldn’t, even if she said so.

After a bit of listening to music, the sky grows darker, and we finally make it to the Field of Screams, an old haunted Halloween attraction. But it wasn’t even close to Halloween. It was the start of summer; the day college students nearby celebrated their last day of school.

Blair manages to find parking in the almost full parking lot. I know people from other places will be here, but I never realized how massive this party would be. The whole Halloween attraction is filled to the brim, like a can of sardines.

A shiver runs down my spine when I step from the parked car. The breeze dies, and then the air feels humid. It’s so weird to go from shivering to sweating within seconds. A massive arched sign stands at the entrance of the park, gargoyles sitting still on each side, swallowing hoards of people. In the middle of the sign, in a creepy font, it reads “Field of Screams.” The closer we get to the entrance, I can see a few fire pits through the small layer of trees just beyond the sign. They light up most of the park, besides a few glowing lights hanging in the willow trees or the keg stands.

I know from coming here as a child that the Field of Screams has a few attractions. There is, of course, the “haunted” corn maze, dead center. In the furthest corner of the park there is a “haunted house,” which is more of a huge red barn. Parallel to that is the hayride that used to take us around the park, trying to scare the piss out of us. In the right front corner, I can see the peak of a colorful eerie funhouse. It is painted like a clown, with an evil one on the sign.

I can almost hear the high pitch rings of the clown’s laughter when I used to run from them. I shudder visibly at the eerie memory.

“What?” Blair chuckles, brows pulling.

“Just remembering the clowns,” I explain, trying to shake away the cold sweat.

She stiffens. “Fuck clowns.”

Laughter bubbles up my chest.Looks like someone else also didn’t get over their fear.

Off to the left side is the forest. Kids would walk through that, ending up closer to the haunted house, but men with chainsaws would chase them. It was like ifWrong TurnandThe Hills Have Eyeshad a baby.

A heavy laugh cuts through the air, drawing my attention toward the many groups loitering by the entrance. My blood runs cold like ice, and the laughter and voice move thousands of years away. I swallow, hearing my throat choke deep in my eardrums. The sounds around me dulled as my eyes landed on the source; a guy sitting on a table with a horde of people surrounding him. A smirk rests on his pale, thin lips, and his dark, hungry eyes lock onto my body. His eyes shift upwards, and our eyes meet. My lips part as a heat wave washes over me, head to toe.

Did he remember me? Was I safe here? What if—

“Oh, Arty!” Blair screeches in my ear and grabs my arm.

Reality snaps back and instantly, I can once again hear all the people around me.

Blair tugs on me, forcing me to turn and face her. “My friends are here!”

Glancing at her, I feel my pounding heart calm down. A smile slants on my lips as she waves wildly at her group of friends. It is so innocent. I loved seeing Blair excited, especially over her friends. Believe it or not, I am the more extroverted one when we met in middle school. Then we just shifted, and now she has all these friends around her that love her.

She pulls me closer, smiling. “We are going to have so much fun tonight!”

“Yeah,” I mutter, straightening and lifting my chin. My eyes scan the crowd, looking for… whatever I am looking for.This is not the moment to freak out.

Blair sways her hips, moving us to her group of friends. I barely know them, but I know of them.

“Hi! Guys, this is Art!” Blair announces with a wide smile. “Art! Guys!”

I smile awkwardly at the various types of people.

“Let me get us a drink!” She beams, practically skipping away.

My hand reaches for her, but she’s already gone. Just because she is behaving all social now doesn’t mean I wanted to be. To be fair, I forced her out of her shell the same way she wanted to do for me now.

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