by J. D. Oliva
"Y'all were," Roscoe said pointing his finger at the crowd. "It was your hard work, your creativity, your dedication to the craft of fear that terrified me. It was your efforts that sold me on this place. I can be honest with each and every one of you when I say that it is my honor and my pleasure to work beside you."
In near unison, the crowd of workers dropped their shoulders, and let out a cheer. Roscoe smiled at the crowd he'd won over with merely a few words.
"I don't wanna change a thing. I don't wanna fire anyone. I don't wanna move anyone from what they're doing now. What I see here is art, and artists should be allowed to paint. The only thing I want to add to this amazing canvas is my own family. I want my children to learn from you. I want them to be schooled in the art of fear."
"Now with that, let’s keep the wheels moving and let's keep the nightmares flowing. Let's go to work!"
The crowd cheered again as they headed to work inside the old slaughterhouse.
"Excuse me, sir."
Roscoe looked down and saw a boy with dark hair and a lean, athletic build. The boy had a face Roscoe had seen before, but the boy didn't seem to remember him. That was good.
"You must be a Burk," Roscoe said.
"Yeah, I'm Cody. My dad used to own this place."
"Ah, your momma drives a hard bargain, son. What can I do you for?"
"I miss, my dad," Cody said.
"I'm sorry, son. I remember losing my daddy. It wasn't a good day. Now, sometimes a building or a business can have some feeling attached to them, but letting go is important."
"Nah, that's not it. I worked on this place with my dad every fall since I was seven. I didn't wanna be here this year. Then Mom told me she sold it. It's like, now that we don't have it anymore, I wanna be here again."
"I'm sorry, son, but your mom and I made a deal--"
"No, no, I get it. I wanted to know if there was a job here for me,” Cody said.
"Are you telling me that the progeny of the master of fear himself wants to come work for me?" Roscoe asked with a smile,
"Huh?"
Roscoe's attempts at eloquent flattery went over the boy's head.
"Yeah, you got a job," Roscoe answered.
"Great! Thank you!"
The two of them shook hands. The boy looked down at Roscoe's hands and titled his head. Roscoe knew why.
"Our core temperature is slightly warmer than yours. It's a Southern thing," he said.
"Okay," Cody said, "Oh, would you mind if I brought two of my friends with me?"
"Are they also veterans of these hallowed halls?"
"No," Cody said.
"Well, in that case, I'm not sure--"
"We'll all work for free," Cody said.
"You're hired! The lot of you!" Roscoe said as he slapped Cody on the back.
"Thank, Mr. Slater, sir."
"It's my pleasure. Heck, I'm sure you could teach me a trick or too!"
XXI
Leah sat in the local Starbucks near Town Square, staring at her laptop. She should have been updating her resume, but instead she'd been running these 'worst case' scenarios through her head. Staring at Microsoft Word, she hoped that helpful, little paperclip would update her resume for her. He wasn't cooperating.
It had been more than two weeks since the fire at Hawk Hallow Area Hospital. Fortunately, there was only a handful of injuries. Clean-up crews worked to sweep away the charred debris. Investigators knew it was arson, but there was little evidence that pointed them toward a suspect. Though the hospital had suffered extensive damage, repairs started on HHAH on September 25th.
During the reconstruction, much of the hospital staff was out of work. After the fire, Leah didn't regret selling the Haunted Hallow. The fifteen thousand dollars would help the family get through the next couple months and would help ease the transition while Leah tried to find another job. There were a couple general practitioners in the area, but every out of work nurse in town would be fighting for those few opportunities. There were other hospitals in Minnesota but going to work in your hometown was a huge advantage, one she didn't want to lose. Word was that the hospital would reopen in the spring, but she hadn't heard anything from her union rep yet. With two teenage boys and the holidays fast approaching, that fifteen thousand dollars wouldn't last long. Maybe she should have hung on to the Hallow.
At first, giving up the Hallow seemed like an easy choice but now, she started to miss the place, and the extra income. Now she alternated between pacing in her house and touching up her resume at Starbucks while debating a career change, but to what? She was a nurse and had been for sixteen years. Maybe it was time for all of them to leave Hawk Hallow? The last year hadn't been kind to her family. The boys were not only drifting apart but were starting to dislike each other and not in the typical teenage sibling way. Maybe they needed a fresh start?
"Excuse me, Mrs. Burk."
A stocky, middle-aged man with wire-rimmed glasses took the seat across from her. His unshaven face was greasy, and it looked like he hadn't slept in days. A powerful whiff of body odor poured out from behind his wrinkled clothes, forcing her to gingerly cover her nose. She tried to be polite while saving herself from the stench. When he opened his mouth, she saw the black and brown spots dotted along his teeth and tongue. The hand covering her nose now had to hold the stomach acid inside her mouth.
"Can I help you?" She asked, trying not to breathe in the stench.
"Mrs. Burk, did you recently sell something called The Haunted Hallow to a man named Roscoe Slater?"
"I'm sorry but, do I know you?"
"No. My name is Blake, and I need you to answer a few questions for me."
Leah debated making a scene or calling the police, but decided against it. Something was wrong with this person, but maybe if she answered a few questions, he'd just leave her alone.
"What do you need to know, Mr. Blake?" She asked.
"It's not what I need to know, it's what you need to know. You sold your family business to a very dangerous man."
With her best sleight of hand, Leah kept eye contact while pulling her cellphone into her lap and very carefully hitting the numbers 911 while hovering her thumb over the send key. She should probably have hit the button right away, but she didn't. This Blake was a disgusting person, but she didn't know anything about Mr. Slater. She was so anxious to get rid of the Hallow that she sold it to the first person who made a significant offer without really doing any background check. Thinking about it now, that was a pretty stupid decision.
"How so?" She finally asked.
"We don't have the time to get into that now. You just have to trust me and understand what I'm saying," Blake said. "I need you to give me any and all information that you might have on Mr. Slater. I need to know how much he paid, and I'm going to need to see a copy of the check."
This was a little too much for her. She was about to hit the send button when she heard, "I'm sorry, sir, you're going to have to leave," the Starbucks manager said. "You're making a lot of the customers very uncomfortable."
Blake looked over toward her, hoping she'd vet him, but she didn't. Instead, Leah looked down to her feet.
”You're making a big mistake, Ms. Burk. A big mistake," Blake said as the assistant manager escorted him from the coffee shop.
“We're really sorry about that, Mrs. Burk," the manager said.
"That's okay. If that's the worst thing that happens to me, it'll be a pretty good day," she said with a smile.
XXII
3:15 pm. The 12th period bell rang and the building at Hawk Hallow Middle School emptied. Cody ran out of his math class to his locker. He grabbed two books and put them inside his bag, throwing it over his shoulder. He had places to go. Cody slammed the door of his locker.
"Where you going, Cody?"
“Oh, hey, Coach," he said.
Coach Pawley stood there with his arms crossed over his Hawks Football sweatshirt.
"You haven't been to practice in weeks
. You're barely paying attention in class. Is everything okay at home?"
"Of course not. Things are terrible at home."
That's what Cody should have said. That would have been the most honest response. But that's not what Cody said.
"Yeah, everything is fine. I just got a job."
"A job? Doing what?" Coach Pawley asked.
"I'm working at the Hallow."
"I thought your mom sold it?" Coach asked.
"She did, but that was before she lost her job at the hospital. We need all the money we can get right now," Cody said.
It bothered him a little at how easily lying came to him.
"How long have you been working there?"
"A few weeks," Cody said.
"If that's what's best for your family right now, I understand. I just want you to know I'm not mad at you for quitting."
"I didn't quit. I'm the best guy on the team. I just haven't been there lately," he said.
"You can't be the best guy on the team if you've missed four games. Our last game is tomorrow."
"Oh," Cody paused. "Can I play?"
"That wouldn't be fair to other guys on the team. I was thinking maybe you and Nick can come and cheer them on."
"Yeah, we gotta work."
Silence. Coach Pawley knew he was full of it. Cody wanted to play. He missed football a lot, but he had more important things to worry about these days. Besides, next year, all this would be behind him and he could play in high school. Football wasn't going anywhere. This was too important. Not that he could tell Coach Pawley that. Instead he, just stared down at his shoes waiting for Coach to go away.
"Okay, bud. You know where to find me if you need me."
"Yep."
"One last question, buddy. If you wanna quit, I understand. But can you look at yourself and say you tried as hard as you possibly could? If you can honestly say that to yourself, then there's nothing wrong with walking away. But if you can't, well maybe you should think things over."
"Okay, Coach."
Cody had clearance. He took off, running down the stairs and out the front door. He jumped on his bike and rode the six blocks down Gable Point to the Haunted Hallow.
Cody hit the brakes and hopped off the bike, running through the entrance. He took the first turn down the back hallways that linked all of the rooms together. The back hallway was the main branch that connected all the rooms. Unlike the front hallway that lead the customers through the maze, this one bypassed all the attractions, letting the employees move freely from room to room. Cody dashed down what his dad always called the 'back artery' and found their room. Mr. Slater allowed everyone working on the Hallow to have their own room. Most of them had to have their ideas run by him and, as long as he cleared it, they could pretty much do whatever they wanted. The only trick was that they couldn't see what anyone else was doing with theirs until the Hallow was finished. He said it would "enhance the horror" if even they didn't know all of its secrets. He never asked Cody what he was doing with his room. Maybe he just trusted that the former owner’s kid knew what he was doing?
"Hey, guys," Cody said as he walked in.
Nick and Abi had been there for close to a half an hour. Nick was painting the walls, while Abi was fashioning screws into the wooden ceiling that they'd made. At first look, their room wasn't much to behold. It was just a black box. No crazy lights, no blood, nothing special. At least at first glance."Where you been?" Nick asked.
"Coach Pawley grabbed me after class. He wants us to come to the game tomorrow."
"Why?"
"To watch."
"Screw that," Nick said.
"That's pretty much what I told him," Cody nodded. "How’s the net coming?"
Abi looked down from her ladder and shrugged her shoulders.
"It's okay. I need to screw a few more eye-screws into the ceiling.
"Cool."
"What do we have here?"
The kids all stood at attention immediately. The boss had entered.
"Hello, Mister Slater," they said in unity.
In the three weeks that they'd been working at the Hallow, this was the first time that Roscoe visited their room. He seemed less than impressed.
"So, y'all painted the walls black...what else?"
"The ceiling is a little lower," Nick eeked out.
"And the ceiling is slightly lower. That should terrify anyone with extreme claustrophobia," Roscoe said. "Gotta be honest, kids, I'm disappointed."
"Sorry, we let you down, sir," Cody said.
"We've got ten days till Halloween and I gave you the benefit of the doubt cause of your pop, but I can't use this. I'm gonna have to let y'all go and try to salvage this room,"
"No wait, you can't do that!" Abi said, "Cody, show him!"
"Yeah, Cody show him!" Nick added.
Nick and Abi grabbed Roscoe's jacket and begged, while Cody stood there, not showing any emotion.
"There's nothing to show," he said.
"Show me what?" Roscoe asked.
"Nothing."
"You better show me something or I'm getting rid of all three of you."
Cody scrunched his face and sighed. He was beaten.
"Fine!" He finally said. "Abi, Nick, get in position."
All three of them went to different spots in the room. Roscoe was alone and shaking his head. The lights went out and the tight room was dark. Not bad, but the Hallow already had a dark room that was much scarier than this. Then the room was bathed in dark red light.
CRRRRREEEEEEKKKK
Roscoe looked up toward the sound of grinding metal.
THHUUMMMPPP CLIK CLIK
The door into the room the shut and locked behind him.
CRRRRREEEEKKKKKK
Roscoe looked up toward the ceiling again.
SNNNNNAAAPPPP
A switch flipped and the ceiling came crashing down toward Roscoe's head. He tucked down and covered up with his arms. Hunched over, he ran to the exit and tried to push though, but walked right into a darkened wall. The exit was a fake. The collapsing ceiling came to a stop just above his head. Then a trap door in the middle of the ceiling opened and a net fell down, ensnaring Roscoe. He was trapped.
The regular lights came back on and the kids remerged.
"Very, very impressive," Roscoe said. "You built a literal drop ceiling!"
"Thank you, sir," Abi said.
"I knew you had something special, Cody," Roscoe said trying to pull his way free from the net. Cody nodded. He'd never been very comfortable with praise.
"One question: why the secret? Why not just tell me and be proud?"
Cody didn't know what to say. It was like he was choked up. Instead, he just shrugged his shoulders.
"We're still working the bugs out of it," Abi finally said. "One thing. The trap door and the net are a nice touch, but it's gonna take too long to pull the net back up and reset the room, every time someone comes in. Maybe rethink that part," Roscoe said. "We only gotta use it once," Nick said.
"Shut up," Cody finally said.
Realizing what he'd done, Nick covered his mouth with both hands.
"I swear, you're an idiot," Abi said under her breath.
"What does that mean?" Roscoe said.
He was on to them.
"Nothing, sir. You'll have to excuse Nick, he's a moron. It's not his fault, his mom took mushrooms when she was pregnant," Abi said.
"No, no, no, that's why y'all were being hush hush when I came here," Roscoe said. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing," both Nick and Abi said at the same time.
"Cody Burk, what are you up to?"
Cody scrunched his face again. He didn't want to tell their boss the truth, but if he didn't, they'd be fired any way. All that work they put in would be for nothing.
"Fine. The net and trap door are for a specific group of kids. We're gonna drop it on them."
"Then what?" Roscoe asked.
"We're gonna pelt them with dog shit and r
otten eggs," Nick said.
"Are you kidding me?" Abi asked "Do you know when not to talk?"
"So, the entire reason you took a job with me had nothing to do with your dad or wanting to move on. It had everything to do with using my business to take a little revenge on some punks?"
"Yes, sir," Cody said.
Roscoe nodded for a moment while scanning the room."The real problem with that is there's only one fake exit. If you've got a group of kids, you're gonna want them to scatter. That means you need at least two more fake exits," Roscoe said with smile. "You need to maximize the fear quotient. But I will give you credit on the locked doors. That's a great idea."
Roscoe patted Cody on the shoulder and walked through the proper exit, which was shielded next to the fake one. The three of them were alone in their trap.
"What the hell does 'maximize the fear quotient’ mean?" Nick asked.
XXIII
Halloween on a Saturday. One of the best sentences a kid can hear. A regular Halloween is a day of candy, costumes, and for some, low-level vandalism. A day that authority figures may not completely turn a blind eye to what happens, but they at least turn a more forgiving glance. But Halloween on a weekend? All bets were off. No school meant longer trick or treating for the little kids. No school night meant fewer restrictions on the indiscretions of the older kids. Everyone in town knew it. The Hawk Hallow police had their hands full with the Hospital arson, but they knew tonight teenagers would push their limits, and it was their job to make sure that push wouldn't go too far.
For Abi Ahmad, it was going to be the best Halloween of her life. Mostly because it would be the first time she'd ever participated in Halloween at all. When Abi was seven, she asked her father why she couldn't trick or treat with the other kids. Dr. Ahmad responded that they didn't need Halloween, they had Eid.
Eid al-Fitr, or the Feast of the Breaking Fast, is one of the most important holidays on the Muslim calendar. It marked the end of Ramadan, the holiest month of the year, a period of extended feasting. In the Ahmad's native Turkey, they celebrated the end of the feast by visiting the graves of beloved family members, and children were given gifts of chocolate, baklava and sometimes, money. As Abi got older, she understood why her father related the two holidays together. The Ahmad's weren't comfortable with Halloween's embracing of demonic mythology. It was easier for Dr. Ahmad to ignore the holiday, which worked because Abi never had any friends that wanted to trick or treat with her. Mrs. Ahmad always made sure that the family had a bowl of candy ready for children who didn't understand their family's stance. She knew that the family didn't have to go out of their way to stand out any more than they already did.