Haunt

Chapter 3

3

By the time everyone else has signed and handed in their wavers, I’ve texted my friends approximately sixteen times back to back with no reply.

I’m starting to think they were murdered, quite honestly. Biting my lip, I sit back in my chair, wishing it didn’t creak so much. My breath leaves me in a low sigh when the actors once again line up on the other side of the room, all of them looking so strangely formal.

It’s like they’re here for some kind of planned, choreographed event that has more meaning to it than just a viral underground haunted house on Halloween night. My eyes flick over all of them again, but this time I don’t stare at anyone in particular.

“Welcome, friends.” Roman Emperor sweeps out his arms in front of himself and from the corner of my eye I watch Skeleton Mask prowl over to stand in front of the door leading back out to the parking lot. “We’re so lucky you’ve agreed to join us here tonight.”

A murmur of excitement goes through the others, and I see Ivy lean into her boyfriend and grip his arm.

“Let me introduce your guides and hosts for this evening, shall I?” He steps forward, gesturing first at the girl with the doll mask. “Hex. Blight.” He gestures at the girl in the clown mask and works his way down the line until he gets to the end where Skeleton Mask and Animal Skull stand. “Ravage.” He points at Skeleton mask, then at Animal Skull. “And our handsome Harrow.”

The animal mask tilts to the side, studying Roman Emperor.

“And I’ll be here to get you whatever you need. You may call me Nero. ” He sweeps a bow, and my eyes narrow.

Does he know exactly what that name means? Or rather, the story of the emperor who made it famous? It seems…ill-fated. Though I suppose most people who didn’t have three Roman history classes in college might not know who Nero was.

Or what he did.

“We’ve decided the order for tonight’s fun. If you’ll indulge my friend here and let him sort you into groups?” Another man steps forward, and as I watch, he starts to move the other visitors into groups, using gestures and touch more than his words. If he even speaks at all.

When I look back, I notice most of the actors have left the room, the door to the black hallway behind Nero is open as Doll Mask skips through it.

By the time everyone is grouped up, it’s pretty clear I’m still alone. My stomach twists, and I cross my legs nervously, foot bobbing in the air once more and giving away that I’m anxious.

But then again, I’m sure everyone here is anxious. Even the ones who are pretending to be completely unbothered.

My vision is obscured by a black figure, and when I look up I find Skeleton Mask staring at me, fingers tapping against his arm.

“It was…Ravage, right?” I ask, watching him as he just stands there . He nods once, but doesn’t say or do anything else.

“And the guy in the animal skull, that’s Harrow?” They aren’t exactly words I use on a daily basis, and Nero went through the names pretty fast.

This time I don’t get a nod in reply. At least not right away. Ravage watches me until my phone lights up in my hands and draws my eyes down to it.

And his too, judging by the way he kneels down, rocking forward on his heels to peer at my phone as well. “Well, you’re certainly welcome to message them back,” I mutter with surprise, theatrically holding up my phone to the masked man.

Unexpectedly, he takes it out of my hand, plucking it from my palm with his skeletal gloves and turning it so he can read the texts, too.

I watch him scroll through the conversation, and finally his eyes find mine through the eyeholes of his mask. Slowly he tips his head to one side, then the other, before tugging off his glove to type out a message on my phone, hit send, and hand it back to me.

But not before his fingers brush against mine, a movement that makes my little, hopeless romantic heart twist in excitement. My eyes fall to the message he’s sent in response to my friends’ promises that they’re about to pull into the parking lot.

YOU’LL BE TOO LATE.

The message makes me glance up at him, and I swear I can see the flicker of excitement in his eyes. “That’s a little dramatic,” I murmur. “Don’t you think?”

This time I know I hear his chuckle. He rocks forward onto the balls of his feet, pressing one hand to my knee. It seems like he wants to say something until a gloved hand descends on his shoulder and both of us look up into Harrow’s animal skull mask.

He’s not looking at me this time, however. His attention is all for Ravage as he tugs him to his feet with a small shake of his head. I shift nervously, which unfortunately prompts them both to look at me silently from behind their imposing masks.

My phone vibrates in my hands, but I don’t look away from the intimidating pair. I don’t think I can , truthfully.

“So… Texas Chainsaw Massacre is my favorite movie,” I say conversationally, unable to give into rambling from nervousness. “And I mean that as in, like, all movies, not just horror movies. The classic, obviously, but the remakes are fine. Except the new one, which—” A quick roll of Harrow’s eyes is the only warning I get before he’s covering my mouth with his hand, forcing my words to come to a halt.

Which is more than fine, really, since they really were just me rambling away my anxieties at them.

His gloved thumb strokes along my lower lip as I watch them both and squirm under their gazes. Finally, I have to pull away, and I drag my lower lip into my mouth to bite it nervously. Then, without a word, they just turn and walk away as if triggered by some unspoken signal I certainly didn’t catch.

Eventually, my eyes fall back to my phone, and I scroll through the few messages I’ve gotten in the last minute or so. My friends are predictably weirded out by my last message, though I’m not about to tell them a guy in a mask sent it instead of me.

You just need to hurry the fuck up. I’m not sure what I’ll do if they don’t get here in time. Really, I’m not sure what I can do, other than apologize and call an Uber. I suppose, according to Nero, there are more people here than they’d expected, so they probably won’t mind if my friends don’t show up and?—

A scream sounds from further inside the warehouse, prompting my phone to clatter to the floor when my hands jerk in surprise. I murmur a soft curse and pick it up, feeling around the device for any cracks or scuffs. Thankfully, it survived the fall without a blemish. Which is more than can be said for my last four phones.

May they all rest in pieces.

“It’s part of the haunt, you baby,” whispering the words to myself, I shift to try to find some comfort in the chair I’m sitting in. A quick count shows me two of the four groups have already been taken back, and two more groups, one of two and one of three individuals, are the only ones left. Ivy and Dalton are the pair, and Ivy smiles at me anxiously, unable to stand still now that she’s next in line.

All I do is give her a little mock salute before looking down at my phone again.

We’re here, so where are you?

Relief floods me, making me feel like my ribs are no longer trying to press my heart to pieces. Thank fucking God they’re here so I won’t be alone anymore.

Inside. The door’s shut, I’ll ask them to open it.

Glancing up, I watch as Ivy and her boyfriend are beckoned down the hallway, leaving only me and a group of three college-aged boys. They joke and tease each other, one of them catching my eye and wiggling his brows suggestively.

The movement makes my nose scrunch, but I don’t have a chance to make some childish and rude gesture back. Ravage is suddenly there, reaching out to slam his hand into the wall by the guy’s head and leaning in close.

The guy yelps and jerks back, nearly cracking his head on the wall before glaring up at the masked man and muttering something at him that probably isn’t friendly.

But Ravage doesn’t react. Instead, he turns to look at me, head tilting as if asking for my opinion or advice.

Like he wants me to decide if he should let the guy off the wall.

My phone rings, dragging my attention down to it, and when I see Sienna’s name on the screen, I bring it to my ear, huffing out a sigh. “Can you, like, come to the door?” I ask in a soft whisper.

“ What fucking door, Noa ?” Sienna sounds exasperated as hell, and I hear other voices in the background. “ We talked to the staff to see where you are, but they’re saying you’re not here. ”

“I’m definitely fucking here—” Another scream cuts me off and I glance up to see the three boys filing down the hallway, still joking and laughing. “Maybe you’re not here. Do you see the door to the building?”

“ Yeah. It’s closed, but are you sure that’s where you are? I haven’t seen anyone go in or out. ” She sounds unsure, and maybe even a little disbelieving.

“You think I’m lying to you about where I am? Sienna, you’re late. They’ve already done the waiver signing and everything.” Looking up again, I find that I’m alone in the room.

Except for Harrow.

He stands in front of the closed door to the hallway while two screams ring out. His attention is fully trained on me, and that’s when it hits me I really am alone.

“You’re really gonna miss it if you don’t hurry up.” I’m distracted, sure, but I’m really just desperate for my friends to get in here. But since they’re here, I push to my feet and warily approach the only other person in the room. “My friends say they’re outside,” I tell him, my words a little quieter than I intend. “Can I go and look for them?”

Slowly, he shakes his head and lifts one finger to tap his wrist, like he’s telling me the time.

Like he’s telling me it’s too late for them to get in. “Sienna, I don't think he’s going to let you guys in. You are seriously so late and—” Harrow reaches out, his fingers crooking toward me for my phone. In response, I glance back at the door I came in through, biting my lip.

“ Are you sure we’re in the same place?” Sienna’s starting to sound even more unsure of the situation, and I can hear Joey asking if everything’s okay. “ Can you come outside? Show us where to go ?”

Hearing her, Harrow shakes his head slowly and his fingers twitch again. “No, I…I gotta go. I hate that you’re not here and God, I’m probably going to safeword out so fast, but I don’t want to miss this when it’s never going to happen for us again. I’ll call you later, okay?” Hanging up the phone on her protests, I drop my hand to my side and stare at the man in front of me.

Yet again, he crooks his fucking fingers at me.

“You want…?” I glance down at my phone, surprised, and look back up at him. He nods once, just as my phone starts vibrating incessantly. Even when I hit the button for it to go to voicemail, Sienna just calls me back once more.

“I’ll get it back in one piece, right?” I ask, waiting for him to nod before adding. “And all I have to do for it to stop is say Fair’s Fair?”

There's a little hesitation, but Harrow steps forward and meets my gaze, his eyes so impossibly dark, and nods.

A low huff leaves me and I reach up, pressing my phone into his hand and hoping I’m not getting into something that’s going to give me trauma for the rest of my life.