by Brian Keene
The O’Bannon family screamed as one and Nodens began to feed.
At the entrance to the Ghost Walk, Ken nodded at each customer as they climbed aboard the waiting hay wagon. Many of them reacted to the sounds drifting out of the woods. Some of them looked frightened. Others looked excited.
Grinning, Ken nudged the security man next to him.
“Listen to that. You hear those screams?”
“I sure do, Mr. Ripple. Sounds like it’s a big hit. People are having fun and getting spooked. We should get some great word of mouth tomorrow.”
More screams echoed across the field.
“Yeah.” Ken smiled. “It really is beautiful, isn’t it? That’s the sound of success. We’re doing good things here tonight.”
Nodens continued to feed, sending tendrils and feelers in all directions, consuming every living thing it touched—taking the form of their greatest fears and confronting them with it, waiting until their energy peaked from terror and pain and regret, and then gorging itself, draining them dry and spreading onward.
It pushed more of itself into the world, and felt the walls shake around it. They grew more fragile with each passing minute. Soon, they would shatter altogether and the feast would truly begin.
Until then, Nodens was content with the appetizers. It took plea sure in the horror it caused. It relished the destruction. Reveled in the anguish that it knew the Creator must feel every time it or one of the other Thirteen did this. Every time they snuffed out another of His favored creations.
The darkness continued to expand, engulfing everything in its path.
Another group of people had just emerged from the maze house when a wave of darkness rolled over them. It flowed through the building’s exit, racing down the winding hallways—darker than the darkness around it. It crashed over the roof and wrapped itself around the trees towering above the maze house. Then it gushed down the other side of the building and sent ebony tentacles rushing into the entrance, as well, trapping those inside. Their screams faded quickly.
Tammy Hays had volunteered to be a Ghost Walk runner. She was delivering hot chocolate to the other volunteers when the darkness took her. For Tammy, the darkness looked like snakes.
Benson Nugent was hiding behind a wall of cornstalks, waiting to jump out at a group of teens. Benson wore glasses and they kept fogging up beneath his rubber mask. He heard the screams all around him, but the sound didn’t concern him. There was supposed to be screaming. When the teens faltered, Benson pulled off his mask and quickly tried to clean his lenses. He noticed the darkness pooling around his feet. Then it turned into a pool of water, just like the pond he’d almost drowned in when he was nine.
Doris Anderson, Philip Nguyen, Steve Midler, and Sara McCauliff heard Benson’s screams. Doris and Sara screamed along with him, frightened by the outburst. Philip and Steve laughed, assuming it was part of the show. Then a wave of darkness swelled out of the forest and crashed down on them. Doris saw spiders, Philip saw the parents who’d given him up for adoption, Steve saw his drunken father, and Sara drowned as the darkness filled her lungs and throat. They were all swept away in a flood of black.
Jim “Jimbo” Sylva and Brandon Clark had a sweet setup. They’d located their hiding spaces directly across the trail from each other. They jokingly called it The Gauntlet. Passersby had no choice but to walk between them, at which point Jimbo and Brandon could jump out and give them a double-whammy of a scare. When they heard footsteps approaching, they leaped out onto the path—only to be confronted by a nine-foot-tall cancerous tumor and a wall of black fire, respectively.
Some surrendered to the darkness right away. Others, driven mad by its touch, insane by having their fears exposed, pulled away and attacked the others around them.
Christopher Jones had listened to Ken earlier. He’d removed his chain from his chainsaw. But now, after just reliving the car crash that had killed his parents, he’d changed his mind. He dug through his toolbox, hidden behind his wall of cornstalks. The darkness hovered around him, enjoying the emotions pouring from his body. Christopher grabbed a wrench and put the chain back on. Then, repositioning his Leatherface mask, he began to systematically slaughter others along the trail, until the darkness took him completely.
Throughout the forest, the screams grew louder and the darkness grew thicker.
Nodens continued to feed, siphoning off their energies and leaving behind empty husks. With each victim, its mass grew—but its movements were still limited. On the other side, it strained against the walls, felt them weaken. Nodens knew impatience for the first time. It was eager. Ravenous.
Soon.
Ken listened to the screams and stared at the exit. He felt uneasy. Apprehensive. Something was wrong. The shrieks and shouts coming from the Ghost Walk seemed frenzied. There was no laughter, only screaming.
And the exit remained empty.
The tractors had continued taking people to the entrance. Group after group walked into the forest.
But nobody was coming out.
“What the hell is going on? Where is everybody?”
He wondered again where Terry was, and felt the first real pangs of fear.
The screams reached a fevered pitch. Now, many of the volunteers and attendees were beginning to look unsettled. They kept glancing nervously at the woods.
Ken pulled aside some security personnel and asked them to hold off on sending anyone else in. Then he flagged down the tractors and told the farmers the same thing. Grabbing a flashlight, Ken walked toward the darkened entrance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The line of traffic lessened as Maria, Levi, and Adam neared the Ghost Walk. Cars were still backed up, but at least they were moving now. The majority of attendees had already parked. All that was left now were the stragglers. Blowing the horn and flashing the lights, Maria raced past them and zipped toward the entrance. A volunteer in an orange safety vest waved his flashlight at her, making frantic motions and shouting at her to slow down. Ignoring his protests, Maria swerved around the man and barreled through the field. The car bounced on its shocks, jarring them all. Maria’s teeth clacked together and Levi held on to his hat. In the backseat, Adam squawked, pleading with her to slow down. Something scraped against the bottom of the vehicle.
“There.” Levi pointed at the entrance.
Maria drove toward it, weaving around angered pedestrians. People leapt out of her way, shaking their fists and hollering as she passed.
“Coming through!” she shouted out the window. “Sorry. We have an emergency!”
“All these people,” Levi said, staring at the midway. “There must be several hundred, easily. And who knows how many have already entered the woods?”
Two men wearing ball caps with “Ghost Walk Staff” emblazoned across the front ran toward them. They yelled at Maria to stop, but she gunned the engine, sending mud and grass flying out from beneath her back tires.
“There’s Ken,” she said, pointing to the entrance.
He stood just a foot from the start of the trail. He turned, blinking, as the car shot toward him.
The screams emanating from the woods were now joined by shouts of alarm from those standing in line. Ken cried out along with them, cringing as the car bore down on him. It slid to a stop about ten feet away from the entrance. Two people got out, but Ken couldn’t see who they were. The car’s headlights blinded him. Ken shielded his eyes with his hand. Then the shadowy figures stepped in front of the car.
“Maria?”
“Ken, don’t go into the woods!”
“What?”
She hurried toward him. With her was an Amish man. A third figure slowly got out of the car and trailed along behind them. Ken grunted in bewilderment. Despite the gloom, the second man wore sunglasses. Far behind them, Ken saw two of his security personnel running across the field. One of them seemed to be shouting into his cell phone. Ken briefly wondered if he was calling the police.
Maria stopped in f
ront of him and bent over, holding her sides and gasping for breath. The Amish man stood next to her, seemingly unruffled. The man with the sunglasses approached them slowly, as if afraid.
“Maria,” Ken hollered, “what the hell is going on? You could have killed someone coming in here like that!”
“I’m sorry,” she panted. “We had to find you…talk to you…Jesus, I’m out of shape.”
“Well, I hope you had a good reason. My security guys are probably calling the cops right now.”
“Excellent,” the Amish man said. “They can help keep the crowd back. You mustn’t let anyone enter the forest.”
Ken flinched. “Excuse me?”
“Anyone who enters your Ghost Walk is damned, Mr. Ripple.”
Ken opened his mouth to speak, and found that he couldn’t. Behind him, the screams from the woods intensified.
“You were right, Levi,” the man with the sunglasses muttered. “I can feel it.”
He held his hands up, palms facing the forest, as if warming them over a campfire.
“Look,” Ken demanded. “You people better start making some goddamned sense. Maria, I thought you supported what I was doing here?”
“I do…”
“Then what the hell is this?”
“It’s very simple, Mr. Ripple. You can’t let anyone else go into that forest. If you do, their souls rest in your hands.”
“I’m sorry. You are who, exactly?”
“You can call him Levi,” Maria said.
Ignoring her, Ken glared at Levi. “You’re Amish. What is this, some sort of religious protest? You here to picket me or something?”
“No,” Levi explained. “This is beyond religious dogma. This is something else.”
More screams poured out of the forest.
“Screw this,” Ken said. “I want all three of you to get out of here, now.”
“Ken,” Maria pleaded, “please listen to us. I can explain everything. Something bad is happening.”
“Take a listen.” Ken nodded toward the forest. “You hear those screams? Those aren’t your normal I’m-having-fun-getting-scared screams. Somebody might be hurt. I need to get down there and find out what’s going on. What I don’t need is this bullshit. Now get out of here.”
“Those people are already dead, Mr. Ripple.” Levi stepped forward. “And if you go in there, you’ll only join them.”
Ken leaned toward him, so close their noses almost touched.
“Buddy, I don’t know who the hell you are, but after the day I’ve had, if you don’t get the fuck out of here right now, I will knock you flat on your ass. Do you understand me?”
Levi smiled. “You can try.”
The flashlight slipped from Ken’s grasp. His hands curled into fists. His jaw clenched. He glared at Levi through narrowed eyes.
“It’s true,” Maria interrupted, pulling Levi back. “It’s all true, Ken. Everything they said about LeHorn’s Hollow and these woods. The Goat Man. The murders. I know it doesn’t make any sense. I know it sounds crazy. We just talked about this the other day. But I’ve seen things—things you wouldn’t believe. And I’m telling you that you need to listen to us. Just five minutes, okay?”
Without giving him a chance to refuse, Maria plunged ahead, giving him an abbreviated account of what she’d learned.
“There’s something evil in the forest. It’s a force—a living darkness. It drains the energy from living things. If we don’t stop it before midnight, then it will expand all over the world. This man, Levi, knows how to stop it.”
“And who’s that guy?” Ken nodded toward Adam.
Maria sighed. “This is Adam Senft.”
“Now I know you’re full of shit.”
Maria exploded. “Don’t you take that tone with me, you son of a bitch. I interviewed you. We had dinner together. Now, I know you don’t know me very well, but you damn sure know I’m thorough and skeptical about everything. Everything. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s fucking true! You said yourself that something was wrong. Listen to those screams.”
Adam shuffled forward. “What screams?”
They paused, listening.
The forest was silent.
Ken paled. “What the hell is—”
The sudden silence terrified him more than the screaming had.
“We’ve got to act now.” Levi turned to Maria. “Give me your keys. I need to get my things out of your car. Adam, will you carry that bag of salt, please?”
The two security men finally reached them, breathing hard, their faces red and covered with sweat. Ken couldn’t remember either of their names.
“We’re sorry, Mr. Ripple,” one exclaimed. “She drove right by us.”
“We called the police,” the other one said. “They’re on the way.”
“Good.” Ken grasped at Levi, spinning him around. “Hold up. You’re not going anywhere.”
Levi’s voice was like stone. “Unhand me now.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
There was a commotion near the ticket booth. Ken turned to see what was happening and saw Sammi Horton, the woman in charge of tickets, running toward them.
“Ken, Terry’s wife just called.”
“What now?”
“He never came home last night. She said at first she just assumed he was here, but when he didn’t call today, she began to get worried. She’s left him several messages but he hasn’t called her back. She says she’s been calling your cell phone, as well.”
Ken’s temples began to throb.
“Goddamn it. I should have checked earlier…”
“There’s something else,” Sammi said.
“What?”
“There’s a woman over at the booth. She says her grandchildren went in with the first group and they’re still not back yet. She’s getting a little worried. What should I tell her?”
“Tell her we are looking into it. And hold off on calling Terry’s wife back.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. And don’t sell any more tickets until I tell you to. We’re closed.”
Maria gave Levi her car keys. Adam and Levi retrieved the salt and Levi’s bag from the car. The security guards moved to stop them, but Ken waved them off and retrieved his flashlight.
“Keep an eye on that line,” he said. “Don’t let anybody else through.”
“So you suddenly believe me?” Maria’s tone was skeptical.
“No,” Ken told her. “What you’re saying is ridiculous. But I do think something’s happened. Hell, something’s been happening. I was just too stupid and fucking prideful to notice. And now my best friend is missing, along with a whole bunch of other people. I’m going in there. You and your crazy friends are staying here.”
“The hell we are.”
“I’m not gonna argue with you, Maria. Stay put until the police get here. If that really is Adam Senft, then you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
“Somebody mention my name?”
Adam and Levi had returned from the car. Levi clutched his bag and Adam had the sack of salt thrown over one shoulder. Ken glanced at it and snorted.
“I don’t think ice on the trail is a problem right now.”
Ignoring him, Levi nodded at Maria and Adam. “Come on. We’re running out of time. I can feel it getting stronger.”
“What part of ‘stay here’ don’t you people understand?” Ken shouted.
“Ken, please!” Maria shook her head in frustration. “Listen to us.”
“Screw this. I don’t have time to argue with you. You guys want to follow me, fine. But stay the hell out of my way.”
He wheeled around and marched toward the entrance. Levi, Adam, and Maria followed along behind him, walking side by side.
“Are you sure about this?” Adam asked Levi. “I mean, maybe we should get a couple shotguns or something. Maybe some chainsaws. They worked okay when me and my friends did this.”
“They’ll do us no good this time.”
“Okay.” Adam shrugged. “It’s your funeral.”
“No,” Levi whispered, “it isn’t.”
The four of them stepped onto the trail and plunged into the forest. Ken stopped before he’d taken a dozen steps. The others halted behind him.
“Jesus,” he wheezed. “Look how dark it is in there. I can’t see shit. The flashlight doesn’t even penetrate.”
“That’s because it isn’t a normal darkness,” Levi said, hunkering down on his haunches and staring at the path.
“It’s so quiet,” Maria whispered. “What do you think is happening, Levi?”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he examined the ground closely, running his hands across it. “What are these white lines?”
Frowning, Ken glanced back at him. “It’s lime. We use it to line the trail, so people don’t wander off. It’s supposed to glow in the dark, but for some reason, it’s not doing a very good job tonight.”
Levi fell backward, landing on his ass. He began to laugh. The sudden outburst surprised the others.
“Are you okay?” Maria asked, concerned.
“What’s so funny?” Ken demanded.
“Lime! Oh, this is perfect. Better than I could have ever hoped for. This, my friends, is a testimony to the power of prayer.”
Ken glanced at Maria. “What’s he going on about?”
She shook her head.
Levi gazed upward. “Thank you, Lord! Thank you for this boon.”
“LeHorn used lime,” Adam said. “I remember, from his journal. He used lime in one of the banishing spells, when he tried to cleanse the hollow.”
“That is correct.” Levi stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. “He did indeed. Although lime is not as powerful as salt, it can be used as a substitute. All you have to do is charge it properly.”
While Levi examined the lime, Ken turned back to the trail and took another tentative step forward. He thought he sensed movement in the darkness, but he couldn’t see anything. He stared harder, trying to peer beyond the black curtain. There it was again—movement, a slight tremor. But from what?