“I think she pissed her pants.” Seth laughs, throwing Demi’s now empty bag of popcorn in the trash can as we pass it.
Austin covers her mouth to muffle her laughter. “Sorry …”
“No, you’re not.” Becky pulls away from her.
“I don’t even know why you came,” Demi growls. “You hate anything even remotely scary.” Then her blue eyes slide to mine before looking away.
What was that for?
“Watch what you say and where you look. For it may blind your sight and take your voice,” a creepy man sings while he stands in a corner and gestures to a hallway on his left.
We enter a makeshift room no bigger than the entryway to Cole’s house with black walls and ceiling. Creepy Halloween music plays softly through the hidden speakers. The girls are standing there, waiting for us to pack ourselves inside. Cole walks up behind Austin and places his arms around her chest. Seth pulls Demi into his side, and she looks like she wants to push him away but won’t due to the cramped space. Becky stands next to me awkwardly, biting her lip nervously.
We all stare at a girl who sits in a white clawfoot tub against the opposite wall. Water black as night, not allowing you to see through it, fills the bath, coming all the way up to the sides. She’s wearing a dirty, cheaply made replica of a straitjacket, and the wet fabric clings to her small frame. You can tell she isn’t wearing a bra because you can see her hard nipples poking through the thin fabric, showcasing a set of big tits.
A man who looks to be about our age kneels beside the tub. He gently runs his hand down the back of her wet, dark hair. “Did you learn your lesson?” he asks her sternly.
Her body shakes uncontrollably, her lips are blue, and her eyes are red from crying. She has tears running down her face, leaving black streaks in their wake. She turns to look at us; gray eyes meet mine, and she whispers. “Help … me …”
He grips a fistful of her hair, and a scream erupts, cutting off her words. Rising to his feet, he bends at the waist and shoves her face-first into the black water. It splashes us, and the girls jump back, but Becky is the only one who screams in surprise.
He holds her under the black liquid surface as she thrashes around, water continuing to splash onto the floor. He yanks her back up, and she gasps for breath. He lowers his face down to hers, pulling her head back by her hair as she openly chokes and weeps. His other hand grips her chin tightly. “You will either learn, or you will die,” he says simply.
“Please … don’t—”
“The choice is always yours.” He shoves her head into the water once again.
A door to the left opens, and Cole pushes Austin through it, entering a hallway. She’s trying to look over his shoulder at the girl still submerged. Once we’re through the door, it slams shut behind us.
“I wanted to see how long she could hold her breath.” Austin pouts, disappointed.
“Long enough,” he tells her.
The hallway curves to the right, and we follow it. It’s narrow and only allows you enough space to walk single file. Cole grabs Austin’s hand, taking the lead, so I take up the back. She rolls her eyes and then bumps into his back when he takes another turn and comes to a stop.
We’ve reached an opening. A man stands before us in a white lab coat covered in blood. His arms lie against his chest and cross at his wrists. He lifts his eyes to us, and a light that he has around his forehead shines on us. “Separate,” he demands.
The main hallway splits, leading to the different doors. Cole drags Austin through the one closest to them. Demi and her boyfriend go through the second one, leaving me and Becky alone. She bites her bottom lip nervously, and I refrain from smiling.
I can do far worse things to you than anyone in this haunted house could possibly think of, baby.
I gesture for her to enter. “After you.”
She sighs heavily and then enters. It’s dark, but the light that comes through the seams in the makeshift wall is enough for me to see where the hallway leads us.
“Where do we go?” she asks, and her voice shakes with fear of what is to come.
She thinks something is going to jump out at us, grab her, and drag her to hell. I laugh at that thought. Honey, I’m the closest to hell you can get.
A scream erupts from the left, behind the wall, and she jumps, bringing her hands to her pounding chest.
“Here, let me get in front of you.” Reaching out, I place my hands on her shoulders and push her behind me. She grips my upper arms and doesn’t let go. Another sound to my right has my head whipping in that direction. It’s a door, and a light shines from the room on the other side of it. A man dressed in all black stands there. You can’t see his face through the black mesh mask over it.