by A. E. Davis
“Amber?”
“Yeah?” My chest tightened.
The sad look was back. “Never mind.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes, okay?” The sad look I thought I saw had disappeared but my heart was still thumping erratically. I ignored it, chalking it up to nerves.
“Okay.”
Giving him one last smile, I opened the door and climbed out into the torrential downpour. Shutting the door, I ran under the canopy. I shook off the water and turned around to look at him, to see if he was really okay, but he was already gone.
A warm gust of air and music wafted out of the door as it opened. Snow white stepped out under the canopy, talking on her phone. I ducked around her and made my way inside. Heat enveloped me. The same pretty girl I had seen before from the tour was taking money for the party. She was dressed up as Little Bo Peep, with a Sheppard’s Hook leaning against the podium she stood behind. She even had a stuffed sheep on the floor.
A short line was formed in front of the podium, waiting to buy tickets. There were a lot of really cool costumes. So far I had seen Heat Miser and Mr. Freeze, Darth Maul and Darth Vader and several Vampires—Twilight and a few Interview with the Vampire ones, that were decked out in dated clothing and round lilac glasses, like Lestat and Louis. I even saw a small girl that looked like the character Claudia from the movie. There were also a lot of sexy everything’s—Pirates, Witches, Fairies and even a girl that was dressed up as Tinkerbelle. When she turned, I laughed. “Glinda!”
“There you are!” She ran over to me and the little Pom-Poms on her shoes even made a tinkling sound.
“You look awesome.”
“You think?” She smoothed her hand over the little green skirt.
“Ah yeah! You look amazing. Where did you get that outfit?”
“My mom made it.”
“Wow. She did an incredible job.”
“I bought the wings off the internet.”
“They look so real.”
“I know!” she gushed. “And check it out, they move!” She pressed a little button and sure enough, they flapped back and forth.
“Those are amazing!”
“I know, right.”
“Where’s Peter?”
“Oh, he’ll be here any minute now.”
“So what are you?”
“You can’t tell?” I frowned down at her.
Her eyes swept over me. “Hmm.” She chewed on her lip. “I know,” she said excitedly. “You’re a sexy pirate.”
“No.”
“Oh.” Her brows creased. “Oooh, I know. You’re one of the Volturi.”
“No.”
“A serving wench?”
I sighed. “No.”
“I give up. What are you?”
Seriously? “Red Riding Hood.”
“Oh.” She laughed. “I can see that now, but where’s your basket?”
“Dangit. I forgot about that.”
“I still think you look really good.”
“Thanks.” By the frown on her face, I doubted that. “What’s Peter dressing up as?”
“You tell me.” She gave me a mischievous look. “Here he comes.”
I turned around and gasped in surprise. Peter was decked out in all green, with tights, pointed shoes, and a pointed feathered hat. “Ha. That’s so good.” Peter was Peter Pan and looked equally amazing next to Glinda. They were the perfect counterpart to one another.
“Thanks,” Peter said. Somehow, even though he was all dressed in green and wearing tights, he still looked pretty hot.
“You likey?” Glinda hooked her arm through his.
“Yes, very much.”
“I thought you might.” Glinda gave me a knowing look.
“Why’s that?”
“Duh.” She made a face. “Because Tinkerbelle and Peter Pan are like your favorite all time characters, right?”
“Yeah.” Prickles rose on my skin. What she said was true but how did she know that? I didn’t remember telling her that.
Reaching up she fixed Peter’s feather and then whispered something in his ear.
I felt stupid just standing here. The people in front of me paid and took off down the hall. I stepped up to the podium. “Hey,” I said to the girl.
She gave me the once over. “Pirate?”
I tensed. “No.”
“One of the Volturi?”
“No.”
“Serving wench?”
“Red Riding Hood,” I deadpanned.
“Oh,” she laughed. “I was wondering.”
“I bet you were,” I mumbled dejectedly. “How much?”
Her brows creased. “Twenty Five dollars.”
I pulled my money from my cloak pocket and handed it over.
She took the money and put it into a little metal box. “Here you go.” She lifted up a paper bracelet.
I stuck out my hand and she wrapped a little paper bracelet around my wrist.
“You’re in luck,” she said.
“Huh?”
“It matches.”
“Oh. It does. Thanks.” I pulled my arm back and turned away.
“You ready to go inside?” Glinda asked.
“I was going to wait for Viktor.”
“Come on.” She tugged on my cloak. “He’ll find you.”
I glanced back out the doors. It was still raining really hard. “I guess.”
Glinda dropped my cloak and grabbed Peter’s hand, swinging it merrily back and forth, as they walked down the dimly lit hall.
I followed behind looking at the decorations. Lucky was right. They did do a really good job. Bales of hay, skeletons, and stuffed scarecrows along with several Jack O Lanterns lined the walls. It looked really cool. The double doors were open and had streamers hanging down in orange and black.
Peter held them open and I ducked inside right behind Glinda.
My breath caught. I felt like I just walked into a real haunted house. Candelabras dotted the perimeters of the room with cobwebs and spiders hung down from the ceiling. Bales of hay were set up with checkered cloths and people sat on them talking in small groups. There was even a faux graveyard equipped with tombstones and a guy dressed up as Beetle Juice sat on one, doing photo ops with other costumed guests.
Music thumped loudly and a lot of people were dancing. I bobbed my head in time, taking everything in. Someone tugged on my cloak and I turned.
Glinda lifted up on her toes. “Hey, we’re going to dance,” she yelled over the music in my ear.
“Okay.”
Glinda gave me a cheesy grin and bounced out onto the dance floor with Peter right behind her. I smiled watching them. They looked so darn cute together.
A few people started dancing in front of me and I moved back out of the way, against the wall near the door. I kept checking for Viktor but he hadn’t made it inside yet. I tried not to let it worry me. But I couldn’t shake what he said to me, “Don’t forget about me.” Another feeling of dread closed in on me—I pushed it from my mind. I was being silly. He was probably just waiting for the rain to let up—he would be here at any moment.
Cressida glided past me with a long red haired wig covering her boobs with leaves sprinkled throughout. The nude stocking leotard also had leaves stuck to it in all the right places. She looked amazing. I groaned inwardly and backed up more, not wanting her to see me standing all alone.
Instinctively, I looked for Vincent. It didn’t take me long to spot him. He wasn’t dressed up as Adam though. Instead, he wore a pair of ripped up jeans, a t-shirt, and flannel. He pulled out a mask and tugged it on. My breath hitched in my chest. He was dressed up as a werewolf too, just like Viktor. In fact, if I hadn’t seen him pulling on the mask, I would have thought he was Viktor.
The music changed and “Hungry like the Wolf” started to play over the speakers. On cue, Vincent started dancing. He grabbed Cressida and she let out a peel of laughter. It wasn’t normal dancing either, like the other kids, but bump and grind da
ncing like he had done with Glinda the last time we were here. He danced really good. I felt heat rise to my cheeks as I watched him and took solace in the fact that Cressida wasn’t nearly as good as a dancer as he was. If she was, I may have had to throw up. Still, it was getting uncomfortable to watch and not to mention, a little depressing.
I looked at the doors again, hoping Viktor would appear but he didn’t. “What’s taking him so long?”
“What’s taking who so long?”
I whirled around and stared into the black eyes of a Skeleton. “Ah…” Instinctively, I stepped back but there was nowhere to go since I was already against the wall.
The Skeleton moved closer to me and gooseflesh rose on my skin. “Guess who?”
“Lucky?”
He tugged off his mask and his long hair fell down around his broad shoulders. “How’d you know?”
“Lucky guess.”
“Ha. That’s a good one.”
It would have been but I didn’t mean it as a joke.
“Where’d you get that?” It was the same outfit I had seen at the Psycho Social—the one that gave me the creeps. It was creepy the first time I saw it and things hadn’t changed much because I still thought it looked pretty creepy, maybe even a little more, now.
“I’ve had it for a while.”
“Oh.” I glanced back towards the door but there was still no sign of Viktor.
“Where’s Glinda?”
“She’s dancing with Peter.”
He ducked his head down close to mine so we were almost cheek-to-cheek. “Where?”
“Out there.” I pointed.
“Oh, I see them. Wow. Their costumes are great.”
“Yeah, they are,” I agreed, trying to move away a bit in case Viktor walked in. “You guys did a great job. The decorations look amazing.”
He grinned from ear to ear. “Thanks. We were pretty pleased with the results.”
“You should be. You did a really great job.”
“Wait till you see what else we have in store. You’ll flip.”
An uneasy feeling swept over me. “Care to share?’
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“It would ruin the surprise,” he said eerily.
I used to love surprises, but lately, not so much. “Okie Dokie.” I pulled my cape up on my shoulders and glanced back towards the doorway. There still was no sign of Viktor; if he didn’t show soon, I was going to go and look for him.
“So, what are you?”
I turned back towards him. “Can’t you guess?”
“Um…” He crossed his arms and gave me the once over. “A pirate?”
I took a breath. “No.”
“I’m just messing with you,” he laughed. “I know what you are.”
“Really?” I asked doubtfully.
“Yep.” He nodded.
“What am I then?”
“A serving wench.” His face was serious but then a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
I smacked his arm.
“Ow.” He rubbed his arm with his skeleton-gloved hand.
I balled up my fist, acting like I was going to punch him.
He started laughing and dropped his arm over my shoulder. “Come on, Red. Can’t you take a joke?”
“I can when something is funny.” Even as I said it, I was secretly pleased that someone, finally, actually knew what I was.
He laughed and shook his head. “Aren’t you in a testy mood?”
“No, I’m not.”
“You better watch it.”
“Why’s that?” I asked smartly.
“Because I might have to sic the Big Bad Wolf on you.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Care to press me on that?” His dark eyes glittered as he stared down at me.
I would have laughed off his comment but prickles rose on my skin, not from him, but from something else. I suddenly felt like I was being watched. I scanned the room and my gaze settled on Vincent. Even wearing a mask, I could see that he was starring right at me. Heat climbed to my cheeks and my stomach flipped. Embarrassed and a little irritated at myself for the pleasure I felt from him looking at me, I tried to act like I didn’t seen him. But that didn’t last long. He pulled off his mask. His hair was wet underneath and he was mouthing the words to the song, as his hips rocked against Cressida’s. “I’m hungry like the wolf.” His eyes bore into mine never wavering.
A shiver of unease flitted over me and something else. Something I didn’t want to think about. Flustered, I ducked out from under Lucky’s arm.
“What’s wrong?” His brows creased.
“Nothing,” I lied.
He looked out to the dance floor and then back to me. “You want to dance?”
“Um…not now.”
A hurt look crossed his face.
I immediately felt bad. He was just being nice. “I’ve got to use the bathroom,” I added quickly, so he didn’t think I was ditching him. Which I was, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Want me to walk with you?”
“No. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”
I gave him a forced albeit cheesy grin and turned away. Making my way through the crowd towards the bathroom sign on the back wall, warm bodies pressed in on me. A few people stepped on my cloak, stopping my progress abruptly. Once I was across the room, I headed into the hall. It was much quieter here. It didn’t look like this hall got used much, either. It wasn’t fancy or decorated like the hall coming in. There were no potted plants or carpet and the fluorescent overhead lights flickered, making a funky humming noise.
Passing several closed doors, I made a left and stepped into the bathroom. The floor was wet. “Eww.” I lifted my cloak, and peeked under the stalls for an empty one.
A stall door flew open and barely missed clipping my head.
“Oh sorry,” a disembodied voice lilted.
I straightened up and my breath whooshed from my chest. Evelyn was standing in front of me wearing a dated black dress. The front and her hands were covered in something red that looked a lot like blood.
Another bout of déjà hit me. She looked just like Glinda did in my weird dream.
“Oh, hey, Amber,” she said conversationally as she made her way past me over to the sink.
I swallowed hard trying not to freak out. “Hey.”
“That toilet is stopped up.”
What from? The body you just tried to flush. “WH—aat is on your hands and dress?” I stuttered.
“Someone spilled their drink on me.”
“What were they drinking, blood?”
“Oh,” she giggled. “I guess it does look like blood.” She gave me a weird look, turned on the faucet, and rinsed her hands. Red coated the inside of the white sink and disappeared down the drain. Once she was done, she grabbed a paper towel and dried her hands. “I like your pirate outfit.”
“Gee, thanks.” Seriously? Did anyone other than Lucky know who Red Riding Hood was?
Her brows creased. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I glanced over my shoulder and stepped backward, giving her a wide berth.
“Have you had a chance to talk with Vincent?” She gave me an expectant look.
“Ah…no. Not yet.”
“Oh.” She exhaled and her shoulders slumped.
“He’s with Cressida,” I blurted.
Her face turned red and she made a face. “I was wondering about that when I saw her earlier.”
“Yeah, I just passed them. They were dancing.”
“I guess they’re together then?”
“I’m guessing so.”
“Are you alone, too?” Her eyes glittered strangely under the lights.
“Um, no. I came with Viktor but he’s…”
“You what?” Her face showed her shock.
“Yeah.” My brows creased. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh, nothing.” She chew
ed on her lip and smoothed her hand over her the flounces in her gown.
“Who are you dressed up as?”
“Evilynn.”
“What?” I gaped at her... sure I heard her wrong.
She giggled hysterically—she sounded a step away from crazy. “You haven’t heard the stories?”
“Which ones?” Goosebumps rose on my skin and my heart jumped into double time.
She gave me a questioning look, and then narrowed her eyes. She was freaking me out.
“I’ve heard a lot of stories since I moved here,” I quickly added.
“Hmm.” She pressed her lips together and gave me an assessing look. “Do you want to hear her story?”
NO! “Um…I guess,” I said because I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Evilynn was an early settler here.”
“Oh.” I tensed.
“Yeah, she’s …well, she went batshit crazy and chopped up a bunch of people. She had some issues.”
You think? “I haven’t heard that one.” I swallowed hard.
“I’m surprised.” She cocked her head strangely to the side. “Everyone knows it.”
“Well, no one has told me.”
“Do you want to hear the rest?” Her eyes got glassy quality to them and she stepped closer.
“Ah…maybe another time.” I put my hand up to block her from coming closer. “I have to use the bathroom.” I backed into the stall. Slamming the door shut and locking it, I took a shaky deep breath.
“See you.”
“Yeah, see you,” I called out and waited to hear her walk out of the bathroom but I didn’t hear any footsteps. I pulled a paper liner out of the box behind the toilet and laid it down on the seat. Turning back around, I peeked through the crack in the door.
An eye was staring back at me.
Stumbling back, my legs pressed into the toilet. “What are you doing?” I yelled.
There was no answer.
Leaning forward, I looked again, but no one was there. I started second-guessing myself. Did I really see an eye? Everything in me was telling me that I had.
With shaking hands, I dug my phone out of my cloak. I didn’t even care that my cloak was now in the funky water on the floor—not when probably-definitely freak- me- out Evelyn was on the other side of the door.
I texted Glinda quickly.